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My favorite book recs
14
items These books have had a profound impact on who I am and how I think.
From grade school to College to adulthood- books shape the people we become. My earliest memory with books is eagerly waiting my turn to read as we went around the circle in class....
Sections
5
Our Future
Canadian classics
Creative Curation
Musical Musings
NEW ME, Who dis?
Our Future
These books were written speculating about what society would be like in the near future
The beginning Margaret Atwood's Flood Trilogy,
I read it as it was coming out and it has framed the way I analyze the world we live in today.
Atwood's future spares us flying cars or laser guns, but posits a world we already signed off on. The bi...
Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam Trilogy #1) by Margaret Atwood, Paperback
This is the second book in Margaret Atwood’s trilogy. Following the events of Oryx and Crake we meet a new protagonist who shows what the city is like in their time. It’s a lot like ours.
The Year of the Flood (MaddAddam, #2) by Margaret Atwood
The conclusion of the Trilogy. Has since been made as an opera. It’s still the best book I’ve ever read.
MaddAddam: Atwood, Margaret: 9780771008467: Books
The Nineties isn’t nostalgia bait. It’s an autopsy of a decade we still don’t realize we’re living inside. Klosterman doesn’t romanticize the era—he dissects how our ideas about irony, authenticity, fame, and identity quietly locked into place during...
The Nineties: A Book|Paperback
Canadian classics
Books by Canadians about Canadians for Everyone
Regarded one of Canadas leading intellectuals of a bygone era, Richler paints a vivid picture of old Montreal, a city that was once (and arguably still is) the jewel of Canada.
The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz|Paperback
Whibley gives an honest portrayal of the rock star life and his recovery. I would argue the best parts are in his childhood before fame, where you can see how his unshakable confidence and sense of self would carry him through it all.
Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell|Hardcover
Creative Curation
Austin Kleon’s book lets us get rid of the shame and hesitation we often feel when creating work that inspires us. We are the sum of our influences and it’s therefore obvious that our work include the dna of everything that inspires us.
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things About Creativity
Nick Fancher creates some of the most beautiful photo compositions around today. Any opportunity to learn from him should be taken post-haste.
Chroma: A Photographer's Guide to Lighting with Color : Fancher, Nick
This is essential reading for any creative who’s hesitant about self-promotion. Kleon makes a compelling case that sharing your process is just as valuable as sharing finished work. The book’s genius is in reframing “marketing yourself” as simply bei...
Show Your Work! a book by Austin Kleon
Musical Musings
This one if for every elder emo out there. It chronicles the unlikely ascension of bands like My Chemical Romance and The Used (among others) as they became full fledged mainstream stars. It’s not a straightforward overnight success story- you learn...
Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream ...
When I was young the worst insult you could call an artist was “sellout”. Careers were shaped based on the fear of being seen as one. This is especially prevalent in the hardcore scene- the very scene that gave way to emo.
Sellout chronicles how th...
Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and ...
How do you get to know a band that’s almost designed to be unknowable? Sonic Youth don’t have a clean narrative, or even a clean relationship to genre, and that’s exactly why this book helped me. I didn’t really understand them until I heard Evol—the...
Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth|Paperback
NEW ME, Who dis?
Why this book stuck with me:
The Tipping Point reframed how I think about momentum. Not grind, not talent—timing, context, and small leverage points. It made me realize that most breakthroughs don’t arrive loud or obvious; they arrive quietly, after ...
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|Paperback
This book changed how I think about failure in a way that actually stuck. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big isn’t motivational in the corny sense—it’s practical in a slightly cynical, grounding way.
What landed for me is the idea t...
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life|Hardcover