Person
Theo Von's book recommendations
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Theo Von appears on, in one place — not just one.
Theo Von’s most recommended books
- The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
- Bible by Bible
- Tribe by Sebastian Junger
- Grain Brain by David Perlmutter
- Hillbilly Elegy by J D Vance
- Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha
- Beyond Order by Jordan B. Peterson
- Breath by James Nestor
- Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam
Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III, known professionally as Theo Von, is an American stand-up comedian and podcaster who hosts the This Past Weekend podcast and has appeared on various television networks. Throughout his podcast episodes, Von has recommended several books and creative works to his audience. He highlighted 'Lost in Space: 5,000 Facts for Navigating the Universe' by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lindsey Nyx Walker as they wrapped up an interview, and he strongly promoted James Nestor's New York Times bestseller 'Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art'. Von also expressed a deep appreciation for Rick Rubin's book on artistic perspective, 'The Creative Act: A Way of Being'. Furthermore, he introduced Louis C.K.'s novel 'Ingram', praising it as an emotional Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer-style story. Discussing source material for film, he highlighted Elijah Wald's 'Dylan Goes Electric!' alongside guest Timothée Chalamet, and he recommended Trevor Wallace's Amazon Prime comedy special 'Pterodactyl'. Finally, Von brought up Matt Haig's novel 'The Midnight Library' to describe its creative premise regarding alternate life choices and how deeply it resonated with him.
Books recommended by Theo Von
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The Bridges of Madison County
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller is a poignant bestselling novel and subsequent film adaptation that explores a brief, intense extramarital affair in Iowa, touching on themes of deep longing, adult choice, and regular family life.
Discussed“you know I like that movie on Bridges of Madison County you know there's just a moment of choice in there”
Where to get it
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12 Rules for Life
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B.
Discussed“I've written these books 12 rules for life and then beyond order 12 more rules because you know you can't have enough rules and I asked it”
Where to get it
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Bible
Bible by Bible is the foundational canonical text of Judaism and Christianity, comprising ancient narratives, laws, poetry, and prophetic writings that have shaped Western civilization.
Discussed“Oh, it's a Bible. Is it? Hey. Yeah, it's got my name engraved on it and it it says Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God.”
Where to get it
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Tribe
Tribe by Sebastian Junger is a non-fiction book that explores the psychological need for community, human connection, and the challenges veterans face when reintegrating into modern society.
Discussed“I mean there's even that book by Sebastian younger I think it's called tribe maybe where yeah it was about that it was about when we were in smaller groups and stuff like that people used to”
Where to get it
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Grain Brain
Dr.
Discussed“so here today we have a beautiful man and he's the author of the book grain brain”
Where to get it
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Hillbilly Elegy
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D.
Discussed“he's an author uh he wrote with the book hillbilly elegy uh I've read about half of it and uh”
Where to get it
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Sex at Dawn
Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha is a popular book that challenges conventional assumptions about human sexuality and monogamy.
Recommended“is we have a guy named christopher ryan coming in who wrote a book called sex at dawn”
Where to get it
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Beyond Order
Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan B.
Discussed“I've written these books 12 rules for life and then beyond order 12 more rules because you know you can't have enough rules and I asked it this is what I asked it to do I said write me an essay that's a 13th rule for Beyond order”
Where to get it
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Breath
Breath by James Nestor is an eye-opening exploration of how modern humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly and how altering breathing habits can radically transform physical health, mental states, and overall well-being.
Recommended“You guys can all go grab his New York Times best seller. The revised edition is out now. It's out now. Yeah, just just released about last week. Breath, the new science of a lost art.”
Where to get it
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Bowling Alone
Bowling Alone by Robert D.
Discussed“There's a book a guy wrote about how there's no more bowling leagues. Um And can you look that up? It's like I'm trying to think of the title of it. But it's about how a lot of these have a lot of men's bowling leagues and men would get together and they would bowl. Uh Bowling Alone, The Collapse”
Where to get it
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Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a classic children's novel chronicling pioneer life on the American frontier.
Discussed“we loved him from Little House on the Prairie”
Where to get it
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The Real Anthony Fauci
Robert F.
Discussed“Uh the book, man, I've I've read as much as I can and listened to as much as I can so far, just because it's a lot of information, you know, especially um information probably isn't probably my top strong suit, but I think it's getting better.”
Where to get it
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Evidence of the Afterlife
Discussed“he has done the largest case study over 5,000 cases of uh near-death experiences and he wrote the book evidence of the afterlife”
Where to get it
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Soul Boom
Soul Boom by Rainn Wilson is an insightful and timely book that explores the urgent need for a spiritual revolution, advocating for the integration of deep spiritual principles into modern culture to solve society's greatest challenges.
Discussed“That’s what I kind of derived from the beginning of your book. I think I read like 23 pages of it maybe.”
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 guide examining historical strategies for acquiring and navigating power.
Discussed“that's a wonderful gift to have 48 Laws of Power right there”
Where to get it
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Ingram
Ingram by Louis C.K.
Recommended“This is his new book, Ingram. And I've read it. And it's uh it's great.”
Where to get it
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Lost in Space
Lost in Space by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lindsey Nyx Walker is an engaging and comprehensive compendium packed with thousands of fascinating facts designed to help readers navigate the wonders of the universe.
Discussed“Um, you have a new book, uh, Lost in Space: 5,000 Facts for Navigating the Universe.”
Where to get it
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The culture code
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle investigates the underlying dynamics of successful groups, arguing that effective organizational culture is built through psychological safety, vulnerability, and shared purpose.
Discussed“Have you ever read that book? Uh, culture code. Ah, culture code.”
Where to get it
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Can't Hurt Me
Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins is a powerful memoir detailing the author's harrowing journey from a brutal, abusive childhood and severe obstacles to becoming a Navy SEAL, ultra-marathon runner, and symbol of extreme mental toughness.
Recommended“and I've been reading this david Goggins book that's pretty cool so i'm excited about that”
Where to get it
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Charles Dickens' Complete Works
Charles Dickens' Complete Works gathers the enduring novels, short stories, and social commentaries of the celebrated Victorian author Charles Dickens.
Recommended“or some Chucky Dickens you know get back to your roots”
Where to get it
The other 69 books Theo Von recommended or discussed, ranked
- Dylan goes electric! by Elijah Wald
- Fear of Intimacy by Robert Firestone, Joyce Catlett
- Fear of Intimacy and the Tango Cure by perri iezzoni
- Flowers for Algernon by David Rogers, Daniel Keyes
- Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
- My Name Is Bill by Susan Cheever
- Plain Language Big Book by Anonymous
- Pterodactyl by Aaron Carr
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
- Amistad: The Story of a Slave Ship by Patricia C. McKissack
- Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
- Awakenings by Oliver Sacks
- Breaking Bad by Lara C. Stache
- Code Name: Pale Horse by Scott Payne
- Covid-19: The Great Reset by Thierry Malleret, Klaus Schwab
- Dictionary of The English Language by Samuel Johnson
- Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink
- Discontent in the Field of Dreams by Marvin Lazerson
- Dr. Mary's Monkey by Edward T. Haslam
- Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
- Greed by Chris Ryan
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- Hebrews by Paul Ellingworth
- Idiocracy by Nicole mcelroy
- If I Did It by O. J. Simpson
- Indecent Proposal by Marc Lee
- John by Merrill C. Tenney
- Kingpin by Burt Hirschfeld
- Lost Connections by Johann Hari
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
- Mastery by Robert Greene
- Meditations by Aurelius Marcus
- Men in black by Steve Perry
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE by Herman Melville
- Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie
- Notes for the Journey Within by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
- Out of the Shadows by Patrick Carnes
- Poems and Prayers by Matthew McConaughey
- Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
- Sandy Hook by Elizabeth Williamson
- Starry Messenger by Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman
- Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
- Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fiction, Classics, Action & Adventure by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- The Bhagavad Gita by Jack Hawley
- The Care and Feeding of Children by L. Emmett Holt
- The Dirt by Tommy Lee
- The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
- The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté, MD
- The Price We Pay by Marty Makary
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
- The Ultimate Guide to CIA Skills, Tactics, and Techniques by John Kiriakou
- The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort
- Truly Tasteless Jokes by Blanche Knott
- Unique by David Linden
- Unshrunk by Laura Delano
- Voluntarism, Community Life, and the American Ethic by Robert S. Ogilvie
- We Who Wrestle with God by Jordan B. Peterson
- Why Faith Matters by David J. Wolpe
- Your Favorite Seuss by Dr. Seuss
Questions about Theo Von’s book recommendations
What book does Theo Von recommend most?
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller. Theo Von recommended it in 4 episodes.
How many books has Theo Von recommended on podcasts?
We have found 89 books Theo Von recommended or discussed, across 90 episodes of 2 podcasts. Ad reads and passing mentions are not counted.
What books are on Theo Von's reading list?
The books Theo Von has recommended most on podcasts are The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller, 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson, Bible by Bible, Tribe by Sebastian Junger and Grain Brain by David Perlmutter. The full book list below has all 89.
What did Theo Von recommend on This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von?
The Bridges of Madison County, 12 Rules for Life and Bible, among 88 books in all.
What is the latest book Theo Von recommended?
Red Sparrow, discussed on This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von (2026-10-05).
People who recommend the same books
Appearances
Other mentions (241: passing, ad reads, own books), the 30 most recent
“He has a new book, Lost in Space: 5,000 Facts for Navigating the Universe.”
“I'm in here in the damn Jungle Book.”
“She wrote Unshrunk, a story of psychiatric treatment resistance.”
“In fact, if he had a memoir, I'd call it 40 yards away from everything.”
“He has a book out called Code Name Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis.”
“Pain, Code name Pale Horse. That's his book. Um, how I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis. Uh, I was going to say, and the paperback's out now. Sorry. Oh, nice. And the paperback is out now.”
“Have you ever seen Under the Tuskin Sun? No.”
“He's got a book out called how to test negative for stupid and why Washington never will.”
“Like I'm not reading Harry Potter books. I'm not doing it.”
“I Tom Sawyer. I'd get someone that could do it. Help me.”
“He just published a new edition of his book breath, the new science of a lost art.”
“This is your book right here, Tales from the Tiller. Yes. I didn't even know you had written this. Yeah, I wrote this. Uh, it just came out in Sep last September. Yeah. Great book, dude. Congratulations.”
“It's like All's Quiet on the Western Front or something.”
“Uh thank you for Greenlights. Thank you for this uh new book. It's out now. Poems and prayers.”
“You know, be like, "Oh, catch her in the rye." You know, and you'll see a guy look up.”
“Like that guy from Christmas Story. Bring that up. But look like it's tongue. That's what happened to the poor guys.”
“And she's like, and she kind of snuggled up her grandmother and made her like a Silver Linings Playbook like knitted quilt or whatever.”
“He had earned a spot in the Guinness book for not eating anything for 411 days straight in 2001.”
“I was like, God, this dude's on 40 days. Put this dude back in the Bible.”
“Is that Robert Green's face on the 48 Laws of Power? Oh my god. That is one of the most terrifying things I keep looking at like over your over your shoulder.”
“did you watch Oppenheimer yeah yeah so the so all the New Mexico shots in Oppenheimer that's exactly where I grew up”
“I don't if you saw Mr Robot I didn't but I dm'd with Magnus Magnus Carlson... so but no Mr Robot is it good uh it's it just it it shows like all this hacking stuff in like you know cool it it makes it seem really cool”
“we had the book in a day [ __ ] was always weird like I don't even know if I want to talk to a guy who just read Where the Red Fern Grows”
“He, he's a [__] tremendous! He's one of a kind and his book is great too if you haven't read his book! But, um, he's sitting there; he'd been eating mushrooms, you know!”
“he has a new book called The Myth of normal trauma illness and healing in a toxic culture”
“did you ever read Pinocchio as a kid oh yeah japeta dude yeah yeah”
“did you ever read um John Irving any of his books like the world according a gar remember that book”
“he has a new standup comedy special out on YouTube called messing with people as well as a new children's book called we's Berry”
“you have your new children's book Barry where Barry where's Barry”
“you should talk to Billy Bob thoron really yeah I mean think what he did was Sling Blade oh yes blade”