Today, we are going to check out some of the best James Clear book recommendations.
James Clear is the author of the highly popular book, Atomic Habits. The book has spent a long time on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has sold over 5 million copies throughout the world. James Clear also does a lot of speaking events where he teaches people all about habits, decision making, and self-improvement.
James Clear is most known for his theory that small habits can add up into something huge, and he definitely applies this to his reading habit. He says that a few pages each day can contribute to reading a large quantity of books over the course of time.
James Clear has an extensive list of books that he has read over time, and while it seems that he is interested in all sorts of books, most of the books he recommends have to do with productivity and improving your life.
James Clear Book Recommendation List
We love to see someone who is so well known for being able to accomplish great things, so James Clear’s book recommendations are very interesting for those who want to live productive lives. Here is a full list of his book recommendations:
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mlodinow
- Range by David Epstein
- Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee. The book was originally published back in 1960, and it is 281 pages in length. The book is considered an American classic of literature, and even won a Pulitzer Prize.
To Kill a Mockingbird follows six year old Jean Louise Finch, who goes by Scout, in a small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. She lives with her brother and father, the well known Atticus Finch.
Atticus takes a case in order to defend a Black man, Tom Robinson, after he is accused by a young white woman of unwanted sexual advances. Taking the case proves to be extremely stressful for Atticus and his family. Even Scout and her brother receive hate for their father’s decision to try and protect a Black man in the Southern United States.
Meanwhile, the children are compelled by a mysterious neighbor who never seems to leave his house. Despite all the unpredictable events that happen in their lives due to the high profile case, the children conjure up ways to try to get their neighbor to leave his house even leaving him small gifts.
While the book mainly focuses on racial injustice, To Kill a Mockingbird shows very well the compassion and humanity that we can all have for each other, but also gives us the experience of hatred and cruelty.
The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mlodinow
The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives was written by Leonard Mlodinow. This book was published in 2008. It has about 272 pages. When it was first published, it immediately became a New York Times bestseller.
When James Clear recommended the book, he said, “I just finished The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mlodinow. It was great and very useful for daily life. I think it deserves to be more widely known. What is another book that is incredibly useful and deserves to be more popular?”
The Drunkard’s Walk is a scientific book about randomness. Basically, Leonard Mlodinow argues that our lives are heavily influenced by completely random events.
Humans use cognitive biases to misinterpret what is otherwise a random occurrence. We tend to see these random things as “signs” that we use to influence our life, even though they are nothing more than just stochastic processes.
He then goes on to show how statistics and rating can be heavily influenced by mathematical processes, like regression toward the mean and the law of large numbers, and shows how they may not be as reliable as we are led to believe.
The book’s subject is quite interesting, though difficult, but it is very fascinating to see how randomness, chance, and probability can dictate our lives in such a way that can inspire whether positively or negatively.
Range by David Epstein
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World was written by David Epstein. This book was published in 2019 and is about 350 pages long. The book was number one on the New York Times Bestseller List and almost won a McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.
James Clear first recommended the book on his Twitter, tweeting, “Looking for a book that makes you smarter with every page? David Epstein’s new book, Range, is out today. It’s smart, scientifically-backed, and a fantastic complement to Atomic Habits. His first book, The Sports Gene, was also top notch.”
Range is all about showing how people who aren’t specialized in something specific are those who live the most fulfilling lives.
For example, ‘experts’ say that in order to be really good at something, like playing guitar or developing any skill, you must practice and spend all your time specializing in that specific thing. If you stray from the path then those who have focused solely on their subject will pass you and be better than you.
But David Epstein believes that those who are a jack of all trades, master of none, juggling many interests at the same time are able to make creative connections, can be more agile, and better learners than their more specialized peers.
Being able to pull from experience over a range of topics is a better skill to have in this modern, ever-changing, unpredictable world. Generalists will be better equipped to handle the world’s demands and solve new problems.
In order to back up his claims, he interviews some of the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters, and scientists to show the generalists are those that really excel.
Range will make you believe that you didn’t have to start playing piano at the age of 4 and practice 14 hours per day for 20 years to be good. Anyone is able to achieve any level of skill no matter when they start.
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
Stillness is the Key was written by Ryan Holiday, published in 2019, and contains 288 pages. The book earned an instant number 1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List.
James Clear is a big fan of Ryan Holiday, and when recommending his book, he said, “Congrats to Ryan Holiday! For years, he has worked to complete his ‘Stoicism Trilogy.’ First, The Obstacle is the Way. Then, Ego is the Enemy. And finally, launching this week, Stillness is the Key. A beautiful collection of timeless wisdom.”
In Stillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday argues that all great people whether they are thinkers, artists, athletes, or leaders all share the quality of ‘stillness’. These prominent people are able to overcome anger, avoid distractions, achieve happiness, and determine how to do the right thing with clear thinking.
The book is a guide on how to achieve this ‘stillness’, which Ryan Holiday believes is the path to mastery, discipline, and focus.
To show us how to accomplish this, he pulls from the great thinkers of history. People like Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Confucius, Nietzsche, Winston Churchill, Sadaharu Oh, Thich Nhat Hanh, Anne Frank, and many more.
In this world, there is no doubt that many people are overwhelmed and stressed out more than they should be. Stillness is the Key will put you on the path to excellence in this world caught in the grip of social media and 24/7 negativity in the news.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind was written by Yuval Noah Harari. The book was originally published in Hebrew in 2011 and was later translated to English in 2014. The book has 443 pages.
James Clear did an entire podcast where he had an amazing discussion about Sapiens.
A few blurbs where he was highly praising the book went like this, “I found the book fascinating. Harari is very interesting in the way that he frames issues and the way that he talks about things. He does a really great job of looking at things from a new angle… I love thinking about laws as one example. For example, why do we all stop at a stop sign or a red light? Well we stop there because we’ve all agreed we’ve decided that there are certain laws of the road and we’ll adhere to those. Our ability to collectively agree upon this shared myth or story allows us to have roads and cities that function in an orderly fashion. There’s nothing fundamental about that in the sense that it’s not a fundamental law of the universe (like dropping a ball, it will fall regardless if someone agrees with it or not) and that’s just one example of some of the interesting ideas that he shares.”
Yuval Noah Harari guides us on a journey through human history, starting from the time when there were many different species of humans on earth, and coming to end in the 21st century.
He explains how Homo Sapiens became the only species of humans to continue on, how modern day humans have impacted the world throughout time, how empires started to rise, and how science has changed the way that we see the past, ancient worlds.
In Sapiens, Dr. Harari also looks towards the future and tries to predict some of the events that may occur based on the evidence from the past. Where will humans lead the world as we are slowly acquiring the ability to control everything around us.
There’s no doubt that Sapiens is an extremely popular book when it comes to human history.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones is the only book that James Clear has written, but its impact on the world is incredible. The book is popular all over the world, even being translated into more than 50 languages.
In his book, James Clear argues that in order to achieve big things we need to focus on the little habits that will add up into something big over time.
For example, reading 10 pages per day means that you can read 300 pages per month, which would be about 12 books per year. Same thing with writing, learning a new skill, or achieving any goal that you want.
Too many people currently have bad habits, or believe that if they don’t become a master of something within a few days that they must give up. This is not true. Great achievements take time.
In Atomic Habits, James Clear teaches us how to get rid of these bad habits, how to learn new positive habits, how to overcome a lack of motivation, and how to get back on track whenever you fall off course.
Atomic Habits is one of the best books in recent years that will change the way you think about progress and success.
Fun fact: This was one of the best books recommended by Ali Abdaal.