20 Books That Will Change Your Life

Books have immense power, they can transform your life, perspective and even who you are. Here are 20 universally acclaimed books that will change your life as they have changed the life of millions of people. If you give them a shot, you might just become one of them, in small ways or big.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Written by existential psychologist Viktor Frankl after drawing on his experiences during the holocaust, this book is a brilliant exploration of life. It delves into what the purpose behind life and its experiences is, and will totally shift your perspective.

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay

This book is a culmination of Gay’s challenge to write an essay every day for a year about something simple in life that gave him joy. This book is comforting, like a hug to the heart, but it is also eye-opening. It will teach you to become attuned to the simple pleasures of life, which will transform your whole life.

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

This is a practical book that will change your life by changing your financial mindset. This is not a quintessential finance book, it is rather a life advice that Robert’s father gave that he is passing on to you. With valuable lessons on finance that will make your life smoother and happier, this one will also give you lasting life lessons.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

This rich portrait of Afghanistan follows the life of two women, Mariam and Laila, whose paths converge in strange ways. Along with geopolitical sensitivity, this book will change the way you think about women. As a woman myself, this book was perhaps the most empowering one I have ever read.

The Other Side of Silence by Urvashi Butalia

This is another historical non-fiction that may seem divorced from you in time and space but holds important and precious content. This documents the stories of over seventy people who were directly involved with the Partition of India in 1947. This book has valuable lessons about the pervasiveness of memory and presence of history in the present, and will change the way you think about history.

1984 by George Orwell

This book is a bold and biting satire on authoritarianism and totalitarianism. It is actually a dystopian tale but feels so akin to reality that it gives you goosebumps. This book will change the way you think about society, history, politics and archival violence.

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli

This book will change your life by changing the way you think. It will expose all your mind’s fallacies, biases and loopholes of thought, and suggest ways to minimize being outsmarted by your mind.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The quintessential spiritual novel, this follows a shepherd’s journey to the Saharan desert in Egypt in search of a treasure. This journey and his encounters teach him about life, and change is life, and vicariously this book allows you to live that journey.

Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The subtitle of this book is ‘the psychology of optimal experience’ and that is exactly what this book is. The author talks about a fulfilling stream of consciousness called the flow, and how to achieve it.

As A Man Thinketh by James Allen

This classic is a meditation on the purity of mind, which leads to purity of life. It offers ways to cleanse the mind and hence your life.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

As the name of this book suggests, it explores the importance of experience in the present tense. This book will prompt you to change your lifestyle and mindset, and allow you to revel in the beauty of being alive in the now.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

This work of poetic prose is essentially a series of sermons and advices a Prophet gives to a village before leaving. From love, beauty, joy, marriage and children to work, pleasure, money, houses and more, this book talks about everything. The philosophy is as enriching as the work is life changing.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

This book is a series of advices the writer Rilke gives to a young student who is an aspiring poet via ten letters. This is a meditation on creativity and art, but also permeates every sphere of existence. This book has tremendous potential to change your life.

The Art of Happiness by the 14^th Dalai Lama

Imbued with Buddhist philosophy, this book explores the human path of happiness, and how this elusive thing that everyone strives for can be attained.

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

In this memoir, Mitch documents the life lessons he learned from his mentor, his college professor Morrie.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The best way to change your life is to build upon good habits and discard bad ones – everyone knows that. But it’s as hard to practice as it is easy to know. Clear, a leading psychologist, offers insight into exactly how you can do that.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This is a gorgeous children’s book full of innocence and purity which provides life lessons about the meaning of love and relationships in our life.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

This is a story about learning to follow your dreams, disregarding rules and pressures. This book is a life changing experience for those who dream big.

The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz

This book offers a practical guide to thwarting self limiting beliefs and enriching yourself with personal freedom. It will allow you to shed all negativity and become joyous and buoyant.

And The Flowers Showered by Osho

Full of simplistic and peaceful Zen philosophy, this book consists of Zen anecdotes with Osho’s long meditations on them.

Also Read: Best Books Based On Chinese Mythology