With the amount of books available, it can get overwhelming to decide which book to pick up. Often we end up in analysis-paralysis. Time has never been this precious — while information, on the other hand, is becoming ever-so abundant & cheap. How do we choose? Where do we start?

As many of you may know, I decided to Skip the MBA and embark on a self-learning journey. Over the past 5 months I’ve read over 35 books. Some were great, some were alright and some were — plain awful. Furthermore, many of the books become redundant.

During my journey, I maintained a list of books that my readers at SkipMBA can use to eliminate redundancy & save time. The list is categorized and updated as I continue to read more books. New books enter the list, and some books leave the list. C’est la vie.

Hope this helps you guys. Oh — and I’ve done book reviews to many of these (links underneath each book) So don’t forget to check that out as well! Also, there’s a special bonus goody at the bottom the list!

The Lean Startup — Eric Reiss

The Lean Startup

Eric Reis talks about why most startups fail — and how many of these failures are avoidable. A reader friendly and entertaining read, Eric provides a framework to work within the chaos of entrepreneurship.

Running Lean — Ash Maurya

Running Lean

Based on his own experience in building a wide array of products from high-tech to no-tech, Ash Maurya walks you through an exacting strategy for achieving a “product/market fit” for your fledgling venture.

Will It Fly — Pat Flyn

Will It Fly

Pat has a refreshing & approachable take on how to go about building a product with the correct mindset. The anectodes he uses throughout the book had me smiling fondly as I flipped page after page.

The Four Steps to Epiphany — Steven Blank

The Four Steps to Epiphany

The Four Steps offers the practical and proven four-step Customer Development process for search and offers insight into what makes some startups successful and leaves others selling off their furniture.

Zero to One — Peter Thiel

Zero to One

Peter Thiel shows how progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.

Ready Fire Aim — Michael Masterson

Ready, Fire, Aim

In Ready, Fire, Aim, self-made multimillionaire and bestselling author Masterson shares the knowledge he has gained from creating and expanding numerous businesses and outlines a focused strategy for guiding a small business through the four stages of entrepreneurial growth.

E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber

E-Myth Revisited

The title refers to the author’s belief that business owners–typically brimming with good but distracting ideas–make poor entrepreneurs. Gerber takes time to explain what it is to learn true Entrepreneurship and work on your business rather than working in your business.

Traction — Gabriel Weinberg, Justin Mares

Traction

Traction will teach you the nineteen channels you can use to build a customer base, and how to pick the right ones for your business.This book provides startup founders with the framework successful companies have used to get traction.

Permission Marketing — Seth Godin

Permission Marketing

This Internet pioneer introduces a fundamentally different way of thinking about advertising products and services. Permission Marketing enables companies to develop long-term relationships with customers, create trust, build brand awareness — and greatly improve the chances of making a sale.

The Tipping Point — Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate.

The Long Tail — Chris Andersen

The Long Tail

Chris Anderson shows how the future of commerce and culture isn’t the high-volume head of a traditional demand curve, but in what used to be regarded as misses — the endlessly long tail of that same curve.

Free — The Future Of A Radical Price — Chris Andersen

Free

In Free, Chris Anderson explores this radical idea for the new global economy and demonstrates how it can be harnessed for the benefit of consumers and businesses alike.

Venture Deals — Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson

Venture Deals

Engaging and informative, this book outlines the essential elements of the venture capital term sheet — from terms related to economics to terms related to control. It strives to give a balanced view of the particular terms along with the strategies to getting to a fair deal.

Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs — Karen Berman

Financial Intelligence

Drawing on their work training tens of thousands of people at leading organizations worldwide, the authors provide a deep understanding of the basics of financial management and measurement, along with hands-on activities to practice what you are reading.

How to Read a Financial Report — John A Tracy

How To Read A Financial Report

Investors will find everything they need to fully understand the profit, cash flow, and financial condition of any business.

Naked Statistics — Charles Wheelan

Naked Statistics

Charles Wheelan brings entertainment and statistics into one package! Pick up this book and you’ll be bragging about the Central Limit Theorem and how awesome it suddenly all is!

How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Learn the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.

Spin Selling- Neil Rackham

Spin Selling

By following the simple, practical, and easy-to-apply techniques of SPIN Selling, readers will be able to dramatically increase their sales volume from major accounts.

​The Psychology of Influence — Robert B. Cialdini

​The Psychology of Influence

Cialdini goes over the techniques of Reciprocation, Commitment, Social Proof, Liking, Authority and Scarcity — all of which are used to bring about compliance with another human being. An enjoyable read filled with anecdotes!

Pitch Anything — Oren Klaff

Pitch Anything

Whether you re selling ideas to investors, pitching a client for new business, or even negotiating for a higher salary, Pitch Anything will transform the way you position your ideas.

The Psychology of Selling — Brian Tracy

The Psychology of Selling

This book gives readers a series of ideas, methods, strategies, and techniques that you can use immediately to make more sales, faster and easier than ever before.

About the Author: Shawn Dexter is an Entrepreneur, Product Manager, and former Software Developer. After completing his MSc in Computer Science and accumulating years of work experience, Shawn was ready to pursue his MBA in a top business school. But after extensive research Shawn decided to self-study an MBA. You can join Shawn on his journey to a self-directed MBA athttp://SkipMBA.com