📖 Day 1: Quick Hacks For Finding Life-Changing Books

Welcome to Day 1/5 of The Art of Reading 101!

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📚 3 Quick Hacks for Finding Amazing Books

The good news is that there are millions of books out there for you to choose from.

The bad news is that there are millions of books out there for you to choose from.

With so many options, trying to find the right book can feel overwhelming and even stressful at times.

So, how can you figure out which ones are worth reading?

Here are 3 quick and effective hacks that will help you find amazing books:

1) The Podcast Strategy 🎧

If you listen to podcasts this tip is perfect for you.

Look at your podcast history and pick out a few episodes that you loved.

Chances are the guest is an author who has a book (authors tend to go on podcasts to talk about or promote their new book).

If you enjoyed listening to the author talk for 1-3 hours, chances are you’ll love diving deeper into the subject by reading their book.

For instance, I loved Dr. Anna Lembke’s podcast with Dr. Huberman.

So I bought her book “Dopamine Nation” and absolutely loved it.

I also loved Noah Kagan’s podcast with Tim Ferriss.

So I bought his book “Million Dollar Weekend” and loved it as well.

Using podcasts as a way to sample books is one of my favorite ways of finding amazing books.

2) The AI Librarian Strategy 🤖

Librarians are some of the most well-read people in the world.

They spend hours every day reading, organizing, or recommending books.

Now imagine asking a super librarian that instead of having read 1,000 books has read 100,000+ books.

That’s the power of AI.

Type in the name of a book you love into an AI website like ChatGPT or Claude AI, and ask it to recommend 3 books similar to it.

For example, I asked AI to recommend a book similar to “Atomic Habits” and it recommended "The Power of Habit”, “Deep Work” and “Tiny Habits.”

I’ve read all three books and would say this is an excellent recommendation.

3) The Rule of 3 Strategy 👌

If one person you respect (boss, mentor, podcaster, etc.) recommends a book, you should look it up.

If two people you respect recommend a book, you add it to your shopping cart.

But if three people you respect recommend a book, it’s a sign to buy it.

For instance, one day I was listening to a Tim Ferriss podcast where he said great things about a book called “Sapiens.”

A few days later I saw a billionaire investor talking positively about it on Twitter.

A little while after that, I saw Mark Zuckerberg did an interview with the author (which caught my attention since Zuck rarely does interviews).

At that point, I knew I had to buy the book and I ended up loving it.

So the next time you hear several people you respect all talk about the same book, see what all the excitement is about for yourself.

✅ Actionable Advice

1) Look at your podcast history and pick out 2-3 podcasts you loved. Chances are at least one of the guests is an author–go buy their book.

2) Go to ChatGPT or another AI website and type in this prompt: “I loved [book title], can you recommend me 3 books similar to it?”

3) Think back to what books your boss, mentor, or other people you respect recommend reading. If 3 of them all said great things about a book, buy it and give it a read.

I hope these tips were helpful, I’ll see you tomorrow!

-Alex W.