Personal Library
My best books by year
2025
Nella quiete del tempo
Olga Tokarczuk
A novel by the Nobel laureate weaving together multiple stories across different historical periods, exploring the relationship between humans and nature and the search for meaning in existence.
Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom
A touching memoir recounting the author's weekly meetings with his old, terminally ill professor, sharing profound lessons on life, love, forgiveness, and death.
So Good They Can't Ignore You
Cal Newport
An essay challenging the concept of 'following your passion', instead proposing to develop rare and valuable skills as a strategy to build a satisfying and meaningful career.
2024
Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
A dystopian novel following the lives of three friends raised in an English boarding school, gradually discovering their unique fate in an alternate world that raises deep ethical questions.
Uno, nessuno, centomila
Luigi Pirandello
A novel exploring the protagonist's identity crisis when he discovers that his self-image is different from how others see him, reflecting on themes of identity and perception.
Creative Dysregulation
Kelly Wilde Miller
An exploration of how creativity can emerge from emotional chaos and instability, offering perspectives on transforming dysfunctional experiences into creative opportunities.
The Anthropocene Reviewed
John Green
A collection of personal essays reviewing various aspects of contemporary human experience, from the existential to the mundane, in the era of the Anthropocene, on a 1 to 5 star scale.
The Will to Change
bell hooks
An analysis of how patriarchy harms men, limiting their emotional capacity and creating toxic masculinity models, offering a vision for healthier love and relationships.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin
A novel following the friendship and professional collaboration of two video game developers over thirty years, exploring themes of creativity, identity, and human connection.
Same as Ever
Morgan Housel
A collection of reflections on how, despite technological and social changes, certain aspects of human nature and psychology remain constant, influencing our decisions.
I pesci non esistono
Lulu Miller
A work intertwining biography, science, and personal memoir, telling the story of a 19th-century ichthyologist and reflecting on the concept of order and chaos in life and science.
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
A classic gothic novel exploring themes of creation, scientific responsibility, and alienation through the story of a scientist who brings a creature to life and then abandons it.
Piranesi
Susanna Clarke
A novel telling the story of a man living in an endless labyrinth of halls filled with statues, exploring themes of identity, memory, and reality through a dreamlike and mysterious atmosphere.
Astrofisica per ansiosi
Licia Troisi
A collection of short scientific reflections offering a cosmic perspective on human problems, presenting complex astrophysical concepts in an accessible and reassuring way.
Buchi bianchi
Carlo Rovelli
An essay exploring the theory of white holes as a possible answer to the mystery of black holes, combining theoretical physics and cosmology with philosophical reflections on time and the universe.
Klara e il sole
Kazuo Ishiguro
A novel narrated from the point of view of an Artificial Friend observing the human world, exploring themes of love, loyalty, and what it means to be human in a technologically advanced future.
Creative Doing
Herbert Lui
A practical guide offering exercises and strategies to overcome creative blocks and develop a regular, sustainable creative practice, regardless of the chosen expressive medium.
La morte della Pizia
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
An ironic and subversive reinterpretation of Greek myths and the Oracle of Delphi, exploring the theme of fate and human freedom through a narrative that mixes myth and modernity.
2023
Show Your Work!
Austin Kleon
A practical guide encouraging you to share your creative process and work in progress, offering strategies to get noticed in the digital age without aggressive self-promotion.
The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
A collection of essays exploring how people think about money and how our personal background, ego, pride, and odd ways of thinking influence financial decisions.
Il monte analogo
René Daumal
An unfinished allegorical novel about an expedition searching for an invisible mountain that connects heaven and earth, symbolizing spiritual quest and transcendence.
The Pathless Path
Paul Millerd
A book exploring alternatives to traditional career paths, encouraging you to build personal paths more aligned with your values instead of following already traced routes.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
A practical guide to building good habits and eliminating bad ones, based on scientific discoveries and case studies of Olympic athletes, artists, and successful leaders.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Eric Jorgenson
A collection of wisdom and advice from entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant on topics like creating wealth, finding happiness, developing judgment, and making better decisions.
2022
Tonio Kröger
Thomas Mann
A semi-autobiographical novella exploring the conflict between art and ordinary life through the story of a young writer torn between his bourgeois roots and artistic aspirations.
Le notti bianche
Fëdor Dostoevskij
A short sentimental novel set in St. Petersburg during the summer 'white nights', telling the story of a lonely dreamer and a young woman waiting for her beloved's return.
La macchina del vento
Wu Ming 1
A historical novel set during fascism, telling the story of an anti-fascist exiled on the island of Ventotene and his experiences of political and human resistance.
La settima croce
Anna Seghers
A novel narrating the escape of seven prisoners from a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, focusing on the manhunt and human solidarity in times of oppression.
Digital Minimalism
Cal Newport
An essay proposing a philosophy to reduce dependence on digital technology and regain a more intentional and meaningful use of tech tools in daily life.
2021
1984
George Orwell
A dystopian novel describing a totalitarian regime where surveillance is omnipresent and individual thought is controlled, introducing concepts like 'Big Brother' and 'Newspeak'.
2020
I dolori del giovane Werther
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
An epistolary novel telling the story of a sensitive young artist who falls in love with a woman already promised, exploring romantic themes such as unrequited love and emotional torment.
2019
Un anno sull'altipiano
Emilio Lussu
A World War I memoir recounting the author's experience on the Asiago Plateau front, offering a raw and realistic testimony of life in the trenches.
La banalità del male
Hannah Arendt
A philosophical analysis of the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem, introducing the concept of the 'banality of evil' to explain how ordinary people can commit atrocities in totalitarian systems.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
A novel exploring themes of aesthetics, morality, and corruption through the story of a young man whose portrait ages while he remains young.
2018
Se questo è un uomo
Primo Levi
A powerful autobiographical testimony of the author's experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp, exploring the human condition in the face of horror.
Niente di nuovo sul fronte occidentale
Erich Maria Remarque
A classic of anti-war literature recounting the experience of German soldiers during World War I, highlighting the brutality and senselessness of war.
Uno psicologo nei lager
Viktor E. Frankl
A work that combines personal memoir and psychology, in which the author develops his theory of logotherapy based on his experiences in Nazi concentration camps.
2016
We
Yevgeny Zamyatin
A dystopian novel considered a precursor to '1984' and 'Brave New World', depicting a totalitarian society where individuality is suppressed in favor of the collective.