Adam Savage's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Adam Savage recommends? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Adam Savage's favorite book recommendations of all time. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders book cover

1

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders

Joshua Foer

4.5

Inspiring equal parts wonder and wanderlust, Atlas Obscura celebrates over 600 of the strangest and most curious places in the world.

Here are natural wonders—the dazzling glowworm caves in New Zealand, or a baobob tree in South Africa that’s so large it has a pub inside where 15 people can drink comfortably. Architectural marvels, including the M.C. Escher-like stepwells in India. Mind-boggling ev

Recommended by Adam Savage and David Plotz.

Atlas Obscura. Go to the site. Buy the book. Seriously great content. My favorite way to travel (this endorsement based only in love) @atlasobscura https://t.co/zLMm126yXD [source]

David Plotz

I'm here to solve your holiday gift buying problems! Today we release the Second Edition of the No. 1 bestselling Atlas Obscura book, with 100 new wondrous places, 12 city guides, a foldout map. It's gorgeous and fun and an amazing gift. https://t.co/ids7kNjImW https://t.co/95ULoJOKJg [source]

Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc. book cover

2

Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc.

Jeff Tweedy

4.6

The singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known for this work with Wilco, opens up about his past, his songs, the music, and the people that have inspired him.

Few bands have inspired as much devotion as the Chicago rock band Wilco, and it's thanks, in large part, to the band's singer, songwriter, and guiding light: Jeff Tweedy. But while his songs and music have been endlessly discussed and anal

Recommended by Adam Savage and Silversun Pickups.

Have you heard @JeffTweedy ‘s book? Amazing reading. https://t.co/WxmIBQ0WDa [source]

Silversun Pickups

@JeffTweedy Love this book. It means a lot to me..._b [source]

Dune (Dune Chronicles, #1) book cover

3

Dune (Dune Chronicles, #1)

Frank Herbert

4.5

A deluxe hardcover edition of the best-selling science-fiction book of all time—part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Science fiction’s supreme masterpiece, "Dune" will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, it is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who will become t

Recommended by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Adam Savage, and 15 others.

If you haven't read it, just go read it. It is amazing! [source]

Founder/SpaceX

Brilliant. The author advocates placing limits on machine intelligence. [source]

Founder/Amazon

I’m a big science-fiction fan. I love this book. [source]

The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1) book cover

4

The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)

Cixin Liu, Ken Liu

4.1

The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.

Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plan

Recommended by Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Adam Savage, and 7 others.

I felt like I was getting a Chinese version of Chinese culture. And that frame felt unique. [source]

Former USA President

As a devoted reader, the president has been linked to a lengthy list of novels and poetry collections over the years — he admits he enjoys a thriller. [source]

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

It's a Chinese science fiction book that has gotten so popular there's now a Hollywood movie being made based on it. This will also be a fun break from all the economics and social science books I've read recently. [source]

Death's End (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #3) book cover

5

Death's End (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #3)

Cixin Liu

4.5

Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing daily and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations will soon be able to co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threa

Recommended by Adam Savage and Ash "Ivivvi" Furrow.

I felt like I was getting a Chinese version of Chinese culture. And that frame felt unique. [source]

Ash "Ivivvi" Furrow

I’m finally reading Death’s End, the conclusion of The Three Body Problem trilogy. It’s amazing! But I’m only 1/3 through the book and all hope for humanity already seems lost? This happened much later in the first two books 🤔 [source]

The Dark Forest book cover

6

The Dark Forest

Cixin Liu, Joel Martinsen

4.5

With the scope of Dune and the rousing action of Independence Day this near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multple-award-winning phenemonenon from Cixin Liu Chinas most beloved science fiction author In DarkForest Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasionin just four centuries time The aliens human collaborators may have bee

Recommended by Adam Savage, Ben Brode, and The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.

I felt like I was getting a Chinese version of Chinese culture. And that frame felt unique. [source]

Ben Brode

@noahmp @devonzuegel I thought book 2 and of the series that starts with “the three body problem” fulfilled this condition and was awesome [source]

The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk

It makes the point that humanity is fairly weak, and that if we’re ever faced by a really big threat, we most likely won’t survive it. [source]

Seveneves book cover

7

Seveneves

Neal Stephenson

4.0

What would happen if the world were ending?

A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threa

Recommended by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Adam Savage, and 1 others.

A better book than 'Snow Crash'. [source]

Former USA President

Just like us, the president enjoys a good beach read while relaxing in the sun. In 2016, he released his list of summer vacation books: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, William Finnegan H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins Seveneves, Neal Stephenson The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead [source]

CEO/Microsoft

Seveneves reminded me of all the things I love about science fiction. It is a great novel to get lost in, learn from, and think about. More than anything else, it has me thinking I should get back to reading sci-fi again. [source]

Snow Crash book cover

8

Snow Crash

Neal Stephenson

4.1

In the near future, Americans excel at only two things: writing software and delivering pizza in less than 30 minutes.

Franchises line the Los Angeles freeway as far as the eye can see: Reverend Wayne's Pearly Gates, Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong, Uncle Enzo's CosaNostra Pizza, Incorporated. The only relief from the sea of logos is within the well-guarded borders of the autonomous city-states that la

Recommended by Larry Page, Reid Hoffman, Sergey Brin, and 9 others.

It's a tough call because I prefer other books of this author. But this book is so important within the history of science fiction. [source]

Co-Founder/Google

Brin said he is a big sci-fi fan, and Stephenson's acclaimed 1992 novel "Snow Crash" is one of his favorites. The book "was really 10 years ahead of its time," Brin said. "It kind of anticipated what's going to happen, and I find that really interesting." [source]

Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). [source]

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life book cover

9

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

Steve Martin

4.1

In the midseventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. This book is, in his own words, the story of "why I did stand-up and why I walked away."

Emmy and Grammy Award winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to T

Recommended by Adam Savage, James Altucher, Bill Nye, and 2 others.

On a big road trip, I read it out loud to my wife, she read it out loud to me. Then we got the audio book and we listened to Steve Martin read it. [source]

Founder/StockPickr

And while you are at it, throw in “Bounce” by Mathew Syed, who was the UK Ping Pong champion when he was younger. I love any book where someone took their passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That’s when you can see the subleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion. Heck, throw in, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Earth” by Commander Chris Hadfield. [source]

Bill Nye

This is the story of my hero. The guy who inspired me to do what I do now. [source]

Neuromancer book cover

10

Neuromancer

William Gibson, Neil Gaiman

4.0

A deluxe hardcover edition of the pioneering cyberpunk novel that predicted our obsession with the Internet—part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Before the Internet was commonplace, William Gibson showed us the Matrix—a world within the world, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace. Henry Dorsett

Recommended by Adam Savage, Aleks Krotoski, Burly Vinson, and 3 others.

This series changed my life. [source]

Aleks Krotoski

This is the seminal cyberpunk book: it’s the thing that the web is based on. [source]

Burly Vinson

As I said, I’m a SciFi nerd, so right now I’m reading Neuromancer by William Gibson. As for what I expect to get from it? Probably not a lot from an entrepreneur point of view, but that’s fine by me. [source]

The Liars' Club book cover

11

The Liars' Club

Mary Karr

4.1

When it was published in 1995, Mary Karr's The Liars Club took the world by storm and raised the art of the memoir to an entirely new level, as well as bringing about a dramatic revival of the form. Karr's comic childhood in an east Texas oil town brings us characters as darkly hilarious as any of J. D. Salinger's—a hard-drinking daddy, a sister who can talk down the sheriff at twelve, and an oft-

Recommended by Adam Savage, Attica Locke, and Calvin Trillin.

The author's first memoir. [source]

The book starts with Mary Karr’s recollection of her mother, this tall striking woman who seemed out of place in this small, stinky, chemical-waste town. Her husband worked in a refinery. She was an artist who dreamed of a different life but was locked down by whatever was expected of her at that time in our nation’s history and in this region. There’s a lot of rage, alcohol and guns in this book. I cannot say enough about the power of Mary Carr’s voice. It’s the kind of book you almost want to read out loud. And it’s just so Texas, so specific East Texas. It’s like I grew up down the street and went to high school with her. Liars’ Club makes the reader feel like they’re sitting at a bar with somebody who is telling them about their crazy fucking life over cocktails. It’s fantastic. [source]

Calvin Trillin

It’s one of my favourite memoirs. [source]

The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle #4) book cover

12

The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle #4)

Ursula K. Le Guin and Brian Attebery

4.4

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encount

Recommended by Adam Savage, Adam Roberts, Adam Roberts, and 2 others.

An impressive and powerful experience. [source]

Adam Roberts

Ursula Le Guin may be the writer I most admire. The Left Hand of Darkness, published in 1969, may be her best novel….The Left Hand of Darkness is often discussed, and indeed taught, as a machine for thinking about gender, and it performs that function admirably. But there is much more to it than that. There is a rather dangerous gender-essentialism in the assumption that Le Guin, being female, must have subordinated her aesthetic project to feminist proselytising. Le Guin’s writing is always much more balanced than that. Indeed, that balance as such forms one of her major concerns. [source]

Ursula Le Guin may be the writer I most admire. The Left Hand of Darkness, published in 1969, may be her best novel….The Left Hand of Darkness is often discussed, and indeed taught, as a machine for thinking about gender, and it performs that function admirably. But there is much more to it than that. There is a rather dangerous gender-essentialism in the assumption that Le Guin, being female, must have subordinated her aesthetic project to feminist proselytising. Le Guin’s writing is always much more balanced than that. Indeed, that balance as such forms one of her major concerns. [source]

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home book cover

13

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home

Julia Child, Jacques Pepin

4.5

In Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, two legendary cooks invite us into their kitchen and show us the basics of good home cooking. Julia Child and Jacques P�pin are synonymous with good food, and in these pages they demonstrate techniques (on which they don't always agree), discuss ingredients, improvise, balance flavors to round out a meal, and conjure up new dishes from leftovers. Center stage

Recommended by Adam Savage.

A great cookbook. [source]

Count Zero book cover

14

Count Zero

William Gibson

4.3

Turner, corporate mercenary, wakes in a reconstructed body, a beautiful woman by his side. Then Hosaka Corporation reactivates him for a mission more dangerous than the one he's recovering from: Maas-Neotek's chief of R&D is defecting. Turner is the one assigned to get him out intact, along with the biochip he's perfected. But this proves to be of supreme interest to certain other parties--some of

Recommended by Adam Savage.

This series changed my life. [source]

Mona Lisa Overdrive (Bantam Spectra Book) book cover

15

Mona Lisa Overdrive (Bantam Spectra Book)

William Gibson

4.2

William Gibson, author of the extraordinary multiaward-winning novel "Neuromancer," has written his most brilliant and thrilling work to date . . ."The Mona Lisa Overdrive," Enter Gibson's unique world--lyric and mechanical, erotic and violent, sobering and exciting--where multinational corporations and high tech outlaws vie for power, traveling into the computer-generated universe known as cybers

Recommended by Adam Savage.

This series changed my life. [source]

Cover unavailable

16

1Q84 (1Q84 #1-3)

Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin, Philip Gabriel

4.0

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He

Recommended by Adam Savage.

Seriously, one of my favorite books of all time. [source]

Cover unavailable

17

Gun, with Occasional Music

Jonathan Lethem

3.7

While shadowing the wife of an affluent urologist, a hapless private eye falls in love with her. When the doctor turns up dead, the P.I. finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the Inquisitor's Office and gangsters who operate out of the back room of the Fickle Muse.

Recommended by Adam Savage.

A great science fiction novel. [source]

Cover unavailable

18

Girl in Landscape

Jonathan Lethem

3.6

Lethem's latest genre-bending exploration of science, landscape and the metaphysics of love and loss. A coming of age story about a teenage girl on the frontiers of space.

Pella's father, Clement, has just been swept out of elective office in New York and has set his sights on the next political frontier: joining the first human settlers on the Planet of the Archbuilders. Once the domain of a super

Recommended by Adam Savage.

The that I love of this author. [source]

Cover unavailable

19

Shikasta Re: Colonized Planet 5

Doris Lessing

3.8

This is the first volume in the series of novels Doris Lessing calls collectively Canopus in Argos: Archives. Presented as a compilation of documents, reports, letters, speeches and journal entries, this purports to be a general study of the planet Shikasta–clearly the planet Earth–to be used by history students of the higher planet Canopus and to be stored in the Canopian archives. For eons, gala

Recommended by Adam Savage.

A field report on Earth. [source]