This is not a list of the “greatest books ever written,” nor is it meant to be exhaustive. It is a working canon: books that have shaped how I think, read, and engage with the world.

The aim here is formation, not consumption. These are books worth slowing down for, rereading, and returning to at different stages of life. Some are demanding, some are entertaining, and a few are simply here because they remind us that joy and humor belong alongside seriousness.

I’ve selected works across literature, philosophy, theology, and science, not to check boxes, but to build a foundation. If you follow this path, you won’t just read more, you’ll read better.

Take your time. Read widely, but also deeply. And when a book proves itself, keep it.

— Trevor, Iron Gall Media

Literature

Bradbury, Ray – Fahrenheit 451

Bronte, Charlotte – Jane Eyre

Carroll, Lewis – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Chandler, Raymond – Farewell, My Lovely

Coelho, Paolo – The Alchemist

Hemingway, Ernest – The Sun Also Rises

Huxley, Aldous – Brave New World

Murakami, Haruki – Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Murakami, Haruki – Kafka on the Shore

Orwell, George – 1984

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine De – The Little Prince

Shelley, Mary – Frankenstein

Stoker, Bram – Dracula

Vonnegut, Kurt – Deadeye Dick

Vonnegut, Kurt – Slaughterhouse Five

Zafon, Carlos Ruiz – The Shadow of the Wind

Philosophy / Other Nonfiction

Adler, Mortimer – How to Read a Book

Aurelius, Marcus – Meditations

Clear, James – Atomic Habits

Dweck, Carol – Mindset

Emerson, Ralph Waldo – Self Reliance and Other Essays

Feld, Brad – Venture Deals

Frankl, Victor – Man’s Search for Meaning

Franklin, Benjamin – The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Hayak, F.A. – The Road to Serfdom

Hoff, Benjamin – The Tao of Pooh

McConaughey, Matthew – Greenlights

Plato – The Trial and Death of Socrates

Sanchez, Codie – Main Street Millionaire

Sowell, Thomas – Basic Economics

Sowell, Thomas – Intellectuals and Society

Theology

Horn, Trent – Why We’re Catholic

Lewis, C.S. – The Abolition of Man and The Great Divorce

Lewis, C.S. – Mere Christianity

Lewis, C.S. – The Screwtape Letters

Longenecker, Dwight – Immortal Combat

Peterson, Jordan B. – We Who Wrestle With God

Science Fiction/Fantasy

Adams, Douglas – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Asimov, Isaac – The Foundation Series

Asimov, Isaac – The Robot Series

Cline, Ernest – Ready Player One

Dick, Philip K. – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Dick, Philip K. – Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said

Gaiman, Neil – Neverwhere

Gaiman, Neil – Stardust

Heinlein, Robert – The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Heinlein, Robert – Starship Troopers

Sanderson, Brandon – Mistborn: The Final Empire

Tolkien, J.R.R. – The Hobbit

Tolkien, J.R.R. – The Lord of the Rings

Weir, Andy – The Martian

Weir, Andy – Project Hail Mary