You are what you read, which is a pretty useful jumping off point for changing your life. Here are 10 books Steve Jobs read and recommended to the people around him. While you might not want to “be Steve,” there is no doubt the Apple co-founder has lessons for us all — read what Steve Jobs read and be more!

Atlas Shrugged ($8.99) by Ayn Rand — This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world—and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators? Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world’s motor—and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story.
— Audiobook ($23.95)
— Kindle Edition ($8.54)

The Innovator’s Dilemma ($10.99) by Clayton M. Christensen — Cited by the world’s best known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In his bestselling book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, innovation expert Clayton M. Christensen introduced the world to the revolutionary principles of disruptive innovation-new rules for doing business in a rapidly changing environment. This business classic shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership. Every thoughtful business person-no matter your level or industry—should read this book to avoid a similar fate.
— Audiobook ($14.95)
— Kindle Edition ($9.99)

Be Here Now ($9.99) by Ram Dass — In 1970, Ram Dass’ Be Here Now became the counter-culture bible for thousands of young people seeking enlightenment in the midst of the darkness of Vietnam. It was a pioneering bridge, written in colloquial language, from the psychedelic 60s to eastern spirituality, and over the years has sold and continues to sell more than two million copies.
— Kindle ($10.89)

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind ($9.99) by Shunryu Suzuki — In the forty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much reread, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics—from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality—in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page.
— Audiobook ($9.95)
— Kindle ($9.99)

Autobiography of a Yogi (free) by Paramahansa Yogananda — Designated One of the 100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th century, here is a verbatim reprinting of the 1946 first edition, with all its inherent power intact. Read about real-life saints and masters, how yogis perform miracles, the science of kriya yoga and much more.
— Audiobook ($14.95)
— Kindle (free)

While Steve Wozniak is the source for the Atlas Shrugged recommendation, Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography, which is very much a book, too. In fact, it’s quite a book also available in audiobook and Kindle formats.

Only the Paranoid Survive ($13.99) by Andrew S. Grove
— Under Andy Grove’s leadership, Intel has become the world’s largest chip maker and one of the most admired companies in the world. In Only the Paranoid Survive, Grove reveals his strategy of focusing on a new way of measuring the nightmare moment every leader dreads-when massive change occurs and a company must, virtually overnight, adapt or fall by the wayside.
— Kindle ($10.80)

Diet for a Small Planet ($7.99) by Frances Moore Lappe — Here again is the extraordinary bestselling book that taught America the social and personal significance of a new way of eating- one that remains a complete guide for eating well in the 90s. Featuring: simple rules for a healthy diet; a streamlined, easy-to-use format; delicious food combinations of protein-rich meals without meat; hundreds of wonderful recipes, and much more.
— Kindle ($6.83)

Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets ($10.67, Kindle) by Geoffrey A. Moore — Once a product “crosses the chasm” it is faced with the “tornado,” a make or break time period where mainstream customers determine whether the product takes off or falls flat. Moore details various marketing strategies that will teach marketers how reach these customers and how to take advantage of living inside the tornado in order to reap the benefits of mainstream adoption.
— Audiobook ($10.95)

Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism ($14.99) by Chögyam Trungpa — In this modern spiritual classic, the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa highlights the commonest pitfall to which every aspirant on the spiritual path falls prey: what he calls spiritual materialism. The universal tendency, he shows, is to see spirituality as a process of self-improvement—the impulse to develop and refine the ego when the ego is, by nature, essentially empty.
— Kindle ($10.49)

Wanna get Atlas Shrugged or any other single-unit audiobook, like Leander Kahney’s Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products, for free? Then check out Audible’s free trial offer…

Source: Favobooks

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