I love everything that has to do with lists, goal setting, and self-improvement, which is why I thought I would publicize the books and plays that I have read so far. So here it is! If you like these types of lists, you might also like to check out my list of the best musicals of all time, or my list of theatre TED talks, ranked!


Note: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase through one of the following links, I’ll earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info. All of the following links open in a new tab.



Rating: 5/5 – Books I Loved

The following books are among my favorite of all time and I would definitely recommend them.

 

1984 by George Orwell

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Anything You Want by Derek Sivers

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Die With Zero by Bill Perkins

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

How to Live by Derek Sivers

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Room by Emma Donoghue

Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Sum: 40 Tales From the Afterlives by David Eagleman

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

The Charisma Myth (reread) by Olivia Fox Cabane

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The One Thing by Gary Keller

The Power of Broke by Daymond John

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Tools of Titans by Timothy Ferriss

Unlimited Memory by Kevin Horsley

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

 


 

Rating: 4/5 – Books I Really Enjoyed

The following books are ones that I really enjoyed reading. I would recommend them if they seem like your type of book.

 

11/22/1963 by Stephen King

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service by the Walt Disney Company

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, & the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

Invisible Solutions by Stephen Shapiro

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles

The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman

Think Like a Rock Star by Marc Collier

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

 



Rating: 3/5 – Books I Appreciated or Kind of Liked

These are books that I kind of liked reading or thought were alright. I might recommend these based on a person’s specific interest.

 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Disney War by James B. Stewart

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Life Without Envy by Camille DeAngelis

Marley and Me by John Grogan

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Self-Made by Nely Galan

Set for Life by Scott Trench

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Studying Musical Theatre by Millie Taylor & Dominic Symonds

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Experience: 5 Principles of Disney Service by Bruce Loeffler

The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

The Mastery of Self by Miguel Ruiz Jr.

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcom Gladwell

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life by Cheryl Strayed

Towards a Poor Theatre by Jerry Grotowski

Ultralearning by Scott Young

Upstairs at the White House by J.B. West

We Are All Weird by Seth Godin

 


 

Rating: 2/5 – Books I Didn’t Like

These books are ones that I didn’t particularly enjoy, but I still appreciated the effort behind them.

 

Acting: Advanced Techniques for the Actor, Director, and Teacher by Terry Schreiber

Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk

Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon

Smart Cuts by Shane Snow

The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander

The End of Loneliness by Benedict Wells

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

 



Rating: 1/5 – Books I Struggled With

And finally, these are the books that I struggled to get through, could not get through, felt offended by, or would not recommend.

 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success by Steve Harvey

The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

 


 

Plays Read:

⭐ = plays I found to be particularly special

 

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen ⭐

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare ⭐

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams ⭐

A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller ⭐

Black Super Hero Magic Mama by Inda Craig-Galván

Buried Child by Sam Shepard ⭐

Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill

Deathtrap by Ira Levin ⭐

Equus by Peter Shaffer

God’s Ear by Jenny Schwarz ⭐

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin Manuel Miranda ⭐

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill ⭐

Miss Julie by August Strindberg

No Man’s Land by Harold Pinter

Othello by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard ⭐

Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello ⭐

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

The Skriker by Caryl Churchill

Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett ⭐

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

 


 

Librettos Read:

⭐ = librettos I found to be particularly special

 

101 Dalmatians KIDS

A Christmas Story ⭐

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Little Night Music

Anything Goes

Bonnie & Clyde

Carousel

Disney’s Descendants ⭐

Evil Dead

Fame

Fun Home

Junie B. Jones

Mamma Mia!

Matilda

Meet Me in St. Louis

Miracle on 34th Street

Moana Jr.

My Fair Lady

Parade ⭐

Ragtime ⭐

She Loves Me ⭐

South Pacific

Sweeney Todd ⭐

Tarzan

The Scarlet Pimpernel

 


 

 

Skip to content