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Ryan Holiday books: every book Ryan Holiday wrote and recommended
Across 14 podcasts. Every show Ryan Holiday appears on, in one place — not just one.
Books by Ryan Holiday
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The Obstacle Is the Way
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Stillness Is the Key
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Ego Is the Enemy
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Trust Me, I'm Lying
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The Daily Stoic Journal
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Conspiracy
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Courage Is Calling
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Right Thing, Right Now
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The Daily Stoic
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Lives of the Stoics
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The Daily Dad
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Perennial Seller
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Discipline Is Destiny
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Growth Hacker Marketing
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Wisdom Takes Work
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The Girl Who Would Be Free
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The Boy Who Would Be King
Ryan Holiday’s most recommended books
- Meditations by Aurelius Marcus
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- The Odyssey by Homer
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion by Epictetus
- Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy
- Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
- Range by David J. Epstein
- Yes to Life by Viktor E. Frankl
Ryan Holiday is an American marketer and author who writes books and markets them with non-traditional methods. He became known for marketing Stoicism as a lifestyle and philosophy for modern people, specifically the philosophy advocated by Marcus Aurelius. During episodes of The Daily Stoic, Holiday discussed several books, beginning with Angela Duckworth's Situated to find the people and places that bring out your best, and Ray Oldenburg's The Great Good Place, which discusses third places like bookstores and coffee shops. He recommended Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, noting that a cheap copy transformed his personal and professional life, and Eric Schmidt, Alan Eagle, and Jonathan Rosenberg's Trillion-Dollar Coach as a book about a great leadership coach who mentored major Silicon Valley CEOs. Holiday also recommended Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan's What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars and Paul Carroll and Chunka Mui's Billion Dollar Lessons as works to learn from business failures, Guy Raz and Nils Parker's How I Built This as a collection of interviews with major CEOs, and Jim Collins's Good to Great as an important business book.
Books recommended by Ryan Holiday
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Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a profound collection of personal reflections and Stoic philosophy written by the Roman emperor.
Discussed“We cannot go on being the person we have always been, Marcus writes in meditations. We cannot remain as we are, Socrates said.”
Where to get it
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The 48 Laws of Power
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers is a provocative non-fiction guide that examines strategy, manipulation, and the dynamics of social power through historical examples.
Recommended“I would also add in the 48 Laws of Power. You don't have to be one of the people in the book, but you want to be able to protect against...”
Where to get it
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The Odyssey
The Odyssey by Homer is an epic ancient Greek poem that follows Odysseus on his long, perilous journey home after the Trojan War, remaining one of history's most influential foundational narratives.
Discussed“he was reading not just Epictetus and not just the Stoics, but he was reading the Odyssey and the Iliad because Epictetus had said that students needed to be familiar with those works, too.”
Where to get it
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The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by F.
Recommended“I mean, this is an obvious pick, but I think Gatsby is the greatest American novel, maybe the greatest one in English.”
Where to get it
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The Daily Stoic
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman is a popular daily devotional offering 365 days of ancient Stoic wisdom, practical reflections, and actionable insights.
Discussed“It wasn't until we were sitting down and looking at the completed first draft of The Daily Stoic that it hit me that Mark Stoic talks about the idea of the common good something like 80 times in meditations, right?”
Where to get it
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The War of Art
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a celebrated guide that identifies the internal creative blocks and psychological barriers every artist, writer, and creator faces.
Discussed“No, it’s actually a really great illustration of what Steven Pressfield calls the resistance, right?”
Where to get it
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The Obstacle Is the Way
The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday is a popular modern guide to applying ancient Stoic philosophy to overcome adversity, drawing inspiration from historical figures who turned trials into triumphs.
Discussed“Obviously, I wrote an entire book around this idea from the Stoics that every obstacle is an opportunity, but an opportunity to do what? I think when people hear that phrase, certainly when I heard that phrase for the first time, I interpreted it in how do you bounce back?”
Where to get it
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A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion
A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion collects the profound teachings of the former Greek slave and Stoic philosopher, focusing heavily on personal agency, resilience, and emotional self-control.
Discussed“Epictetus, discourses. Book 4, chapter 1, verses 62 to 64.”
Where to get it
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Good Inside
Good Inside by Dr.
Recommended“She's a founder of Good Inside, the host of the Good Inside podcast, the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Good Inside, one of my favorite parenting books.”
Where to get it
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Gates of Fire
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield is a historical novel detailing the heroic Spartan stand at the Battle of Thermopylae.
Discussed“and then I have on my wall I have the last page from the typ written manuscript of Gates of Fire signed by the author”
Where to get it
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Range
Range by David J.
Recommended“There's a book behind you. I was just thinking about when I think of you, one of my favorite books range. Have you read range?”
Where to get it
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Yes to Life
Yes to Life by Viktor E.
Discussed“It made me think of the Victor Franco essay collection that they did a couple of years ago, which is called Yes to Life. And the subtitle is in spite of everything.”
Where to get it
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Good to Great
Good to Great by Jim Collins is a prominent business and management book that investigates what makes companies transition from being merely good to achieving sustained greatness.
Recommended“Jim Collins, good to great. This one's very important.”
Where to get it
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Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E.
Discussed“Every time you look at someone's story, I think of Victor Frankle. Yeah. You look at all these stories and you go, it's the same.”
Where to get it
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The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy is an illustrated fable following an unlikely quartet of characters as they explore profound themes of kindness, friendship, vulnerability, and resilience.
Recommended“I love the book, The Boy, The Fox, The Horse and the Mole by Charlie Mackesey who I had on the Daily Stoic podcast. And he has a great line in that book. He says, asking for help isn't giving up. It's actually refusing to give up.”
Where to get it
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Mastery
Mastery by Robert Greene is a comprehensive exploration of the developmental paths required to achieve true expertise and eminence in a given field.
Recommended“It's one lesson a day from all of his books. 33 Strategy of War, Laws of Human Nature, 48 Laws of Power, Art of Seduction, Mastery.”
Where to get it
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The Laws of Human Nature
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene is an exhaustive examination of human psychology, social behavior, and the underlying motivations that drive people's actions.
Recommended“It's one lesson a day from all of his books. 33 Strategy of War, Laws of Human Nature, 48 Laws of Power, Art of Seduction, Mastery.”
Where to get it
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Zen in the Art of Archery
Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel is a philosophical reflection on Japanese archery and Zen Buddhism, exploring how practitioners achieve mental focus and flow by letting go of conscious effort and outcomes.
Discussed“when people talk about you know effort not the you know outcome or in Zen In The Art of archery they talk about ignoring the target”
Where to get it
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A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is a celebrated novel that chronicles a tragic wartime romance and the brutal realities of combat, known for its spare prose and poignant explorations of human resilience.
Discussed“well we talked about hemingway um in uh a farewell to arms he rewrote the ending like 35 times”
Where to get it
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The Brass Check
The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair is a searing early twentieth-century journalistic exposé examining media corruption, propaganda, and the profound commercial pressures influencing American news reporting.
Discussed“I'd been deeply influenced by this book that I read, we still carry on the painted porch today, called The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair”
Where to get it
- Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Enchiridion by Epictetus
- Dying Every Day by James Romm
- How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson
- Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday
- The Great Influenza by John M. Barry
- What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan
- The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen
- Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- The diary of a young girl by Cherry Gilchrist
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
- The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith
- Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
- Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone by Hunter S. Thompson
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
- Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
- Sailing True North by Admiral James Stavridis USN
- The choice by Edith Eger
- The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
- The 50th Law by 50 Cent, Robert Greene
- The inner citadel by Pierre Hadot
- Call Sign Chaos by James N. Mattis
- Papyrus by Irene Vallejo
- So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport
- The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
- The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan
- Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
- Painting as a Pastime by Winston S. Churchill
- The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro
Questions about Ryan Holiday’s book recommendations
What book does Ryan Holiday recommend most?
Meditations by Aurelius Marcus. Ryan Holiday recommended it in 132 episodes, with 18 explicit recommendations.
How many books has Ryan Holiday recommended on podcasts?
We have found 435 books Ryan Holiday recommended or discussed, across 302 episodes of 14 podcasts. Ad reads and passing mentions are not counted.
What books are on Ryan Holiday's reading list?
The books Ryan Holiday has recommended most on podcasts are Meditations by Aurelius Marcus, The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, The Odyssey by Homer, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. The year-by-year lists below have all 435.
What books has Ryan Holiday written?
Trust Me, I'm Lying (2012), The Obstacle Is the Way (2013), Growth Hacker Marketing (2013), Ego Is the Enemy (2016), The Daily Stoic (2016), The Daily Stoic Journal (2017), Perennial Seller (2017), Conspiracy (2018), Stillness Is the Key (2019) and Lives of the Stoics (2020), among 17 in all.
What did Ryan Holiday recommend on The Daily Stoic?
Meditations, The 48 Laws of Power and The Odyssey, among 409 books in all.
What is the latest book Ryan Holiday recommended?
A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion, discussed on The Daily Stoic (2026-10-23).
People who recommend the same books
Ryan Holiday’s latest episodes with books
Inside Ryan Holiday’s $250K Reading List
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Meditations
at 1:30 -
Trillion-dollar Coach
at 2:15 -
What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
at 2:33 -
Billion Dollar Lessons
at 2:52 -
How I Built this
at 3:00 -
Good to Great
at 3:19 -
Unreasonable Hospitality
at 3:23 -
Zero to One
at 3:31 -
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
at 3:44 -
The $100 startup
at 4:37 -
The Lean Startup
at 4:49 -
Thinking in Bets
at 4:53 -
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
at 5:00 -
Essentialism
at 5:07 -
The 33 Strategies of War
at 5:15 -
The 48 Laws of Power
at 5:27 -
The Laws of Human Nature
at 5:41 -
The Art of Seduction
at 5:41 -
Mastery
at 5:41 -
Sailing True North
at 6:10 -
To Risk It All
at 6:10 -
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
at 9:24 -
The Wealth of Nations
at 9:58 -
Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot
at 10:26 -
Titan
at 11:06 -
Steve Jobs
at 11:43 -
Benjamin Franklin
at 11:46 -
Team of Rivals
at 12:21 -
The Fish That Ate the Whale
at 13:01 -
Shoe Dog
at 13:43 -
Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me)
at 14:29
Ryan Holiday’s book recommendations by year
All 435 books Ryan Holiday recommended or discussed across 302 episodes, filed by the year each episode came out. Each year goes episode by episode, with the minute every book came up.