The Most Important Books of All

Which books do you cherish?

From a display at the House on the Rock in Wisconsin, March 2025

When I research now, I tend to listen to the audiobook (if available) and also purchase a hard copy of the book. I have found that each method of ingesting the material yields different nuance, and to have both tools at my disposal allows for a fuller understanding of the material.

The result is that I think about books a lot, since they provide part of my income and also much of my entertainment, too. And it is this that brings me to ask you this: Which books have mattered the most to you in your life?

I’ve got a list of my own below, and I don’t necessarily mean that they are the finest books ever written, or even the best ones I’ve ever read. They have just mattered to me a great deal at certain points in my life. I am a better person for having read them.

I invite you to tell me about your own favorites in the comments.

Now, in no particular order, here are mine…