Essential books for product builders

Reader-sourced reading list from Lenny's newsletter, grouped by what you want to get better at.

Design

• Don't Make Me Think, by Steve Krug
• The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman
• Refactoring UI, by Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger

Taste and craft

• The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
• The Work of Art, by Adam Moss
• Creativity, Inc., by Ed Catmull

Influence

• How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
• Influence, by Robert Cialdini
• Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss

Starting a company

• The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries
• Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore
• Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, by Uri Levine

Career

• Great at Work, by Morten T. Hansen
• 7 Rules of Power, by Jeffrey Pfeffer
• The Effective Executive, by Peter Drucker

Happiness

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson
• A Guide to the Good Life, by William B. Irvine
• Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert

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