This is my first yearly book recap post in what I hope will be a helpful guide if you’re in need of recommendations from the books I read in 2018.

As I mentioned in the December Book List post, I’m still shocked that I read 38 books in 2018, 2 more than my goal.

Before jumping into the list, I want to share the best of the best books that I read: Living with a SEAL by Jesse Itzler, Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss, The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis.

I could have included many more, however, I would have considered it a successful reading year had I only read those 3.

With that said, here’s the full list of books that I read this year broken down by Amazon book category.

The Best Sports & Outdoors Books I Read In 2018

Sports & Outdoors wasn’t a category I heavily dug into, as I didn’t find that many books that caught my eye.

1. The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam

The Best Self-Help Books I Read In 2018

I’m always hesitant with this category because there’s so much variability in quality, however, there are several books in this list that impacted me tremendously. I enjoyed every book in this list and found a ton of value in 1 through 5.

1. Living With A SEAL by Jesse Itzler
2. Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink
3. Tools Of Titans by Tim Ferriss
4. Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss
5. Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven
6. The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
7. The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson

The Best Politics & Social Sciences Books I Read In 2018

While living in DC, I’ve become more interested in politics, and it showed with the selection of books I read in 2018. The top 2 are worth reading while you can’t skip 3 through 5.

1. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
2. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
3. Once Upon A Time In Russia by Ben Mezrich
4. The Pentagon Wars by James Burton
5. The Storm Before The Storm by Mike Duncan

The Best Biography & Memoir Books I Read In 2018

I’m a huge fan of biographies, especially ones about people I’ve heard a lot about but have limited knowledge of what lead to their success. You can’t go wrong with any of the books in this list outside of 13.

1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
2. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
3. The Everything Store by Brad Stone
4. Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
5. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
6. Bitter Brew by William Knoedelseder
7. Finding My Virginity by Richard Branson
8. Sam Walton by Sam Walton
9. The Operator by Robert O’Neill
10. American Kingpin by Nick Bilton
11. The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
12. Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman
13. The Hidden-Hand Presidency by Fred Greenstein

The Best Business & Money Books I Read In 2018

If there’s one topic that interests me more than biographies, it’s books about business and money. I grew so much professionally from books 1 through 6 in this list. Feel free to skip number 9.

1. The Million-Dollar One-Person Business by Elaine Pofeldt
2. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
3. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
4. Principles by Ray Dalio
5. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
6. Side Hustle by Chris Guillebeau
7. Screw It, Let’s Do It by Richard Branson
8. Like a Virgin by Richard Branson
9. Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity by Michael Lewis

The Best Science & Math Books I Read In 2018

Science is not an area I dabble too much in, outside of the occasional Crash Course or Khan Academy video. The one book I did read is great and should be on your list.

1. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

The Best Literature & Fiction Books I Read In 2018

I have a gaping hole in my fiction book portfolio so if you have recommendations, please let me know. I simply can’t find fiction books that interest me but am always on the lookout.

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Best History Books I Read In 2018

History is another category I absolutely love, and in particular books about war. I typically read more than 1 book per year in this category so it looks like I’ll need to up my game in 2019.

1. Killing the SS by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

Links to all of this year’s reading lists: April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December