Are these "Purposeful" books? I mean, are they books where you are supposed to learn something, improve yourself in some way, or achieve one thing or another? If they are, I would suggest trying something else. Read literature. It does not have to be one of the snooty "great books," but consider something substantive.
That is a wonderful suggestion.
I listen to 20+ podcasts and as they continue to evolve several of them are turning into book recommendation machines. There are many folks out there following the "Tim Ferris" model [sell stuff online, start a podcast, write and sell books, attempt to influence the purchase choices of others, link everything in attempt to earn from affiliate links etc.]. Tim may not have started this (he probably didn't, he simply refined it for a new audience and put it into words that would resonate with them) but he's created an easy to follow roadmap for many. When you stand back and see the forest from the trees, and the business model/cookie cutter stamp many are following, it reduces the impact of their message when you see the "business" behind what they are doing (not judging them, simply giving my POV).
All of that out of the way, since many are following this model, they are constantly churning out books that lose quality over time since they repeat their key/core message many times, often due to the fact that they have ran out of new ideas but still crave the income stream/advances (Gretchin Rubin anyone?).
With that in mind, I think ignoring the "new stuff" and focusing on the classics (which is the suggestion of several other successful folks) is important. We can spin ourselves in circles reading everything "new" and recent, and we simply don't have that much time anyway (to read the good books AND keep up with the new stuff etc. etc. etc.) just like we don't have time to watch all the available TV, listen to all the podcasts (which become more and more like TV over time, except for a few of them like Ughhh Yeah Dude, the Comedy button, Hard-core history etc.) we don't have time to read all the new books being hawked by the industry (book industry/influencer industry/self-help industry etc.) nor should we try.
Sooooo, I think I'll start another thread where we can ID the books that are KEY to concepts and point the way where one might go to seek knowledge and understanding about a particular topic. Then, once one has read the "core" books, they might add in the "new hotness" (I've got to say, I was disappointed in atomic habits, thank goodness I waited and got it from the library rather than paying for that, I was NOT impressed but was ALMOST swayed by the marketing around that book, soooooo much hype for a re-packaging of ideas, which I get, because you might have to re-state things so the current culture will listen/get it but damn... so much hype, so little substance...).
Example:
Foundational Book Key Idea Author Alternatives?
Your money or your life Be mindful of trading life for cash Robbins/Dominguez ???
Travels with Charlie We are all alike, be fine with YOU Steinbeck ???
Any interest in this list/discussion, trying to "drill down" to the key/core books that others could reference easily?
My thinking is we keep it in this part of the forums since the concept comes up fairly regularly and we (FIRED, close to FIRE, "what it look like after FIRE") might have a slightly different view that may not add value to others.
The great thing about the boards is that if I do start a new discussion around this, the vote of the crowd will tell us if it was a good idea or not.
Ok, sorry for the long post/rant, I love books and talking about them. Going to check out Phillip Roth now!