A friend asks "What book do you wish you'd read as a teenager that would have positively impacted your life? Or...What book(s) positively influenced your younger self?"
Here are some of my answers. Note that I don't necessarily endorse everything each author says, and in many cases there may be a more recent/better book that make similar points.
Also, I tried to pick books that would be interesting/inspiring to a teen, not necessarily books that offer the best coverage of the topic. I also emphasize books that make points they're not likely to hear from authority figures (quit school, do drugs, hire sex workers).
What books would you recommend to your teenage self?
Money
Investment Biker (Jim Rogers) -- Rogers philosophy of investing as he makes a two year motorcycle trip around the world
Your Money or Your Life (Vicki Robin) -- how to think about money
Maverick (Ricardo Semler) -- why/how to share power in business
Basic Economics (Thomas Sowell) -- how to allocate resources in the face of scarcity
Philosophy
The Virtue of Selfishness (Ayn Rand) -- the case for long-term self-interest as the basis of ethics
A Guide to the Good Life (William Irvine) -- how to maximize contentment in the face of inevitable suffering.
Education
Teenage Liberation Handbook (Grace Llewellyn) -- what do instead of government schools
How Children Fail (John Holt) -- the problems with government schools
Skills
Influence (Richard Cialdini) -- how to persuade others / resist persuasion
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Betty Edwards) -- how to draw realistic pictures
Impro (Keith Johnstone) -- how to improvise
One Small Step Can Change Your Life (Robert Maurer)- how to take small steps to make big changes
Health
Take Charge (Clarence Bass) -- how to stay fit into old age
How to Change Your Mind (Michael Pollan) -- the case for taking psychedelics.
Preserving Minds, Saving Lives (various) -- case for cryonics
Starting Strength (Mark Rippletoe) -- how to build muscle safely
Science
The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins) -- intro to evolution
Sex and Relationships
The Rational Male (Rollo Tomassi) -- romance and sex from the male perspective
Paying For It (Chester Brown) -- why hire sex workers
Here are some of my answers. Note that I don't necessarily endorse everything each author says, and in many cases there may be a more recent/better book that make similar points.
Also, I tried to pick books that would be interesting/inspiring to a teen, not necessarily books that offer the best coverage of the topic. I also emphasize books that make points they're not likely to hear from authority figures (quit school, do drugs, hire sex workers).
What books would you recommend to your teenage self?
Money
Investment Biker (Jim Rogers) -- Rogers philosophy of investing as he makes a two year motorcycle trip around the world
Your Money or Your Life (Vicki Robin) -- how to think about money
Maverick (Ricardo Semler) -- why/how to share power in business
Basic Economics (Thomas Sowell) -- how to allocate resources in the face of scarcity
Philosophy
The Virtue of Selfishness (Ayn Rand) -- the case for long-term self-interest as the basis of ethics
A Guide to the Good Life (William Irvine) -- how to maximize contentment in the face of inevitable suffering.
Education
Teenage Liberation Handbook (Grace Llewellyn) -- what do instead of government schools
How Children Fail (John Holt) -- the problems with government schools
Skills
Influence (Richard Cialdini) -- how to persuade others / resist persuasion
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Betty Edwards) -- how to draw realistic pictures
Impro (Keith Johnstone) -- how to improvise
One Small Step Can Change Your Life (Robert Maurer)- how to take small steps to make big changes
Health
Take Charge (Clarence Bass) -- how to stay fit into old age
How to Change Your Mind (Michael Pollan) -- the case for taking psychedelics.
Preserving Minds, Saving Lives (various) -- case for cryonics
Starting Strength (Mark Rippletoe) -- how to build muscle safely
Science
The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins) -- intro to evolution
Sex and Relationships
The Rational Male (Rollo Tomassi) -- romance and sex from the male perspective
Paying For It (Chester Brown) -- why hire sex workers