Top 21 Books for Twentysomethings
The #2 most popular post on All Groan Up in 2013!
I still can’t believe my debut book 101 Secrets for your Twenties is on paper and in bookstores. Still feels surreal. As of Dec. 31, 2013 it has 101 5-Star reviews on Amazon and is currently on its third print! Thank you for your incredible support for 101 Secrets and your help in de-bunking the lie that we’re alone in this twentysomething struggle.
And what better way to celebrate the success of the book than to talk about the 21 books that influenced me on this quest for finding the twentysomething secrets.
The list below is entirely non-fiction. Some I’ve just recently been introduced to. Others have been with me for the entire decade. I often get asked what books I’d recommend for twentysomethings. Now here it is!
How many of these books below have you read? What books have been crucial for you that I left out? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
1. Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl
Writing about his survival of concentration camps, Vicktor Frankl’s powerful book shows twentysomethings the power of hope and belief to get us through any situation. (Link to Man’s Search for Meaning)
2. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation – Parker Palmer
If your grandpa, who just happened to be an incredibly wise, well-spoken educator who is 100% authentic and honest, just took a day and talked you through how to truly find what you love by looking at your life, this would be that book. (Link to Let Your Life Speak)
3. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild is a powerful and provocative warning that we need to know, and be known. So much so, that in my book it became Secret #14 — “Don’t go Into the Wild all by yourself.” (Link to Into the Wild)
4. Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes – William Bridges
Life after college is one of the most significant transitions we will ever go through. William Bridges provides a stellar framework for how to handle transitions and not freak out! (well at least not too much). (Link to Transitions)
5. Amusing Ourselves to Death – Neil Postman
We are obese on information and entertainment – useless facts that are high in fat and sugar, and that require us to do absolutely nothing. This is an incredibly timely and needed book for plugged-in twentysomethings. And it was written in the 1980′s. (Link to Amusing Ourselves to Death)
Read my full review of Amusing Ourselves to Death.
6. They Don’t Teach Corporate in College – Alexandra Levit
A no BS, honest, practical, tactical handbook for entering the workforce. (Link to They Don’t Teach Corporate in College)
7. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years – Donald Miller
Encouraging book for twentysomethings looking to take an active role in their own life story. (Link to A Million Miles)
8. The World is Flat – Thomas Friedman
“On such a flat earth, the most important attribute you can have is creative imagination.” – Thomas Friedman.
In the infancy stages of All Groan Up, I did a video review of the World is Flat – full of stop-motion, phrases like “Wii me please“, and the like. If you want to have a 300 page book given to you in three minutes, check it out. (Link to The World is Flat)
9. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
It released way back in 1936 and continues to stay a bestseller. (Link to How to Win Friends)
10. Defining Decade – Meg Jay
A recent book that’s making a giant splash. The basic premise – your twenties are not a throw-a-way decade. When her Ted talk came out, I had email after email telling me I needed to check it out. (Link to Defining Decade)
11. Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
The book is a beautiful reminder on how to live the beginning of our story from someone at his end. (Link to Tuesdays With Morrie)
12. Life After College – Jenny Blake
Presents practical and insightful “tips & resources for life, work, money, happiness, personal growth & productivity”. (Link to Life After College).
13. No Man is an Island – Thomas Merton
Written by a Catholic monk, this book is packed with so much wisdom on spirituality and living life well, that you could sit with this book for a year and just scratch the surface. (Link to No Man is an Island).
14. Life After Art – Matt Appling
An encouraging and challenging read about our ability and need to create as we grow up. (Link to Life After Art).
15. The Book of Awesome – Neil Pasricha
One. This book is hilarious and insightful.
Two. There was a lot of heartbreak that lead to so much awesome. As author Neil Pasricha described on Huffington Post:
“My best friend took his own life and my wife and I went separate ways. We sold our house, I moved to a tiny apartment, and I tried to get things back on track by talking about one simple, universal little joy every single day — like snow days, bakery air, or watching The Price Is Right when you’re at home sick.”
When life is tough you just have to laugh at the small sweet goodness that weaves through the details. (Link to The Book of Awesome)
16. Start – Jon Acuff
The subtitle is: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work that Matters.
Enough said. (Link to Start)
17. The War of Art – Steven Pressfied
For any twentysomething trying to create something worth creating, this is your battle guide. (Link to The War of Art)
18. Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success – Dan Schwabel
Dan Schwabel brings a field-guide to the importance of building your brand online and off. (Link to Me 2.0)
19. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
A small, powerful book of a dying man sharing his secrets of success as he nears the finish line. (Link to the Last Lecture)
20. Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale – Frederick Buechner
As I struggled with my own faith in my 20s this book was paramount in helping me wrestle with the questions in an authentic and honest way. (Link to Telling the Truth)
21. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – Dr. Seuss
Because you’re never too old for Dr. Seuss. (Link to Oh, the Place You’ll Go!)
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below: Have you read any of the books above?
What other books have influenced you in your 20s?
If you buy any of these amazing books through the links above, you’re also helping support the work here at All Groan Up as well! Double-win!
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Related posts:
Top Websites for Gen Y Twentysomethings
How Twentysomethings Thrive in Today’s Globalized World
5 Greatest Obstacles Facing Twentysomethings (and how we overcome)
