Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
My Reading Shelf — Trade, Tech & Mindset
13
items After 22 years on the tools, I started building software alongside the trade — CabinetOS, Threads Machine, the websites. None of it would exist without the books on this list. These are the ones I keep returning to, across three areas: the indie foun...
Map
Sections
3
For the Indie Founder:
For the Working Carpenter:
For the Mind:
For the Indie Founder:
The books that taught me how to actually build and sell software as a solo operator. No VC fantasy, no growth-hack nonsense — just the practical stuff that works.
The book I reach for when I need a kick. Short chapters, real advice, no fluff. Reads in under a week and you'll bookmark half of it. be yourself
100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, Revised Ed.: Change Your Life Forever
Honestly, this is the one that changed how I price my work — both my carpentry quotes and my software. Hormozi breaks down how to make an offer so good people feel stupid saying no. Direct, blunt, no fluff. Bought mine in 2022 and still go back to it...
$100M Offers: Make Offers People Can't Refuse
The one that started it all for me when I was thinking about software. Test cheap and fast before you build something nobody wants — that's the whole idea. Reads a bit corporate in places, and some of the case studies feel dated now, but the core ide...
The Lean Startup: Continuous Innovation
If you're a bootstrapped founder, this is your playbook. Arvid Kahl built and sold his SaaS for proper money, then wrote down exactly how. No Silicon Valley unicorn fantasy, no "raise £10m and figure it out later" advice — just the practical stuff fo...
Zero to Sold: Start, Run & Sell Business
For the Working Carpenter:
Books that made me a better tradesperson. Some about tools, some about the philosophy of doing skilled work properly. Worth the read whatever your craft.
This one's special. Sennett's book on craftsmanship is the most thoughtful thing I've read about doing skilled work properly. Not a how-to manual — more about why we take pride in making things well, why shortcuts hurt the work, why the head and the ...
The Craftsman
The British classic. Wearing strips woodworking back to fundamentals — proper joinery, hand tool basics, how to think about a piece before you cut it. None of the YouTube faff, just clear principles from a master who knew the trade inside out. Reads ...
The Essential Woodworker
For the Mind:
The books that get me out of my own way. Productivity, discipline, sharing your work, doing the thing when you don't want to. The mental scaffolding behind 22 years of getting up and going.
The book that first made me question whether I had to swing a hammer every day for the rest of my life. Tim Ferriss isn't always right, the lifestyle isn't always realistic, and some of it's dated now — but the core idea of designing your work around...
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere
Honestly refreshing after reading too many "you can do anything" self-help books. Manson's point is simple — you've got limited energy, so be careful what you actually care about. Funny, blunt, occasionally sweary. Read this when I was burning myself...
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The original. Reads a bit dated in places — Covey was writing in the late '80s — but the seven habits themselves are timeless. "Begin with the end in mind" and "First things first" still shape how I run my carpentry days. If you've never read it, it'...
7 Habits Of Highly Effective People: 30th Ed
The book that changed how I think about money — assets vs liabilities, working for money vs money working for you. Some of Kiyosaki's later stuff is a bit out there, but the original ideas in this one are genuinely useful. Read it years ago and it's ...
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T Kiyosaki 2nd Ed
Like this one. Big idea is simple — we are what we think. Catch yourself in bad thinking before it turns into bad decisions. Sounds obvious until you actually try doing it.
As a Man Thinketh (Fingerprint! Classics)
Like this one. Told through old Babylonian stories — properly memorable way to learn about money. Shows you how to actually approach life and win at it. Simple ideas, told well. Stuck with me more than any modern finance book.
Richest Man in Babylon Deluxe Hardbound
Like this. Old book but it gets you. Whole idea is — you become what you keep thinking about. Sounds simple, but try it for a week and you'll see.
Think and Grow Rich (Deluxe Hardbound Edition)