Reading guides
We compare our books openly with the classics of each field, and tell you which to read when. Every guide is read and checked by a person, with honest notes on what each book is for. Start with a topic below.
Calm & clear thinking
Best Stoicism Books
Meditations, Seneca and Irvine, and where our own Stoic titles fit.
Read the guide → Reading guideBest Translations of Meditations
Hays, Hammond, Hard and Waterfield: which Marcus Aurelius to buy.
Read the guide → Reading guideStop Overthinking
Zen classics, the science of a racing mind, and a weekly practice.
Read the guide → Reading guideBest Zen Books for Beginners
Suzuki, Watts, Thich Nhat Hanh, and a practice that survives a real year.
Read the guide → Reading guideBest Buddhism Books for Beginners
Hagen, Rahula, Armstrong and the Pali Canon, in the order that works.
Read the guide → Reading guideNewBest Meditation Books for Beginners
Gunaratana, Salzberg and Kabat-Zinn, and the practice that survives week three.
Read the guide → Reading guideAnxiety & a Calmer Mind
Panic, worry and a steadier nervous system, plus a Stoic take on work stress.
Read the guide → Reading guideBest Taoism Books
The Tao Te Ching, The Tao of Pooh and a one-page-a-day habit.
Read the guide → Reading guideBest Tao Te Ching Translations
Mitchell, Le Guin, Addiss and Lombardo, Feng and English, compared side by side.
Read the guide → Reading guideBest Minimalism Books
Goodbye Things, Marie Kondo, Essentialism and minimalism as inward practice.
Read the guide →Focus & digital life
Focus & Digital Distraction
Why attention broke, how to concentrate anyway, and how to do less.
Read the guide → Reading guideBreak Phone Addiction
Digital Minimalism, Dopamine Nation, Irresistible and a real detox program.
Read the guide → Reading guideDigital Detox Plans
Catherine Price's 30 days, a week of challenges, and the empty evenings after.
Read the guide → Reading guideSlow Productivity
Four Thousand Weeks, Slow Productivity, Rest and the case for doing less.
Read the guide → Reading guideNewBest Books on Procrastination
Why you stall on the work that matters, and the five books that each fix a different cause.
Read the guide →ADHD & neurodivergent life
ADHD Books for Adults
Driven to Distraction, ADHD 2.0 and How to ADHD, plus picks for work and for partners.
Read the guide → Reading guideFor Partners of People with ADHD
The couple patterns, the shame, and both sides of the story.
Read the guide →Relationships
Modern Dating
Attached, Models, How to Not Die Alone and a no-nonsense playbook.
Read the guide → Reading guideBooks on Attachment Styles
Attached, Hold Me Tight, Wired for Love and the work you do alone.
Read the guide →Work & modern skills
Books on AI
Co-Intelligence, The Coming Wave and the hands-on guide to being found by AI.
Read the guide → Reading guideBest SEO Books
The Art of SEO, They Ask You Answer, and the shift to AI answers.
Read the guide →