A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science, Barbara Oakley: Oakley's guide to learning effectively in math and science.
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr: Carr's exploration of how the internet and digital technologies are affecting our cognition, attention, and memory.
The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli: Machiavelli's classic treatise on political power and statecraft.
In Praise of Shadows, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki: Tanizaki's essay on Japanese aesthetics and the beauty of darkness and shadow.
Why Don't We Learn From History?, B. H. Liddell Hart: Liddell Hart's examination of why nations and leaders repeatedly fail to learn from past mistakes.
The Book of Tea, Kakuzō Okakura: Okakura's meditation on the Japanese tea ceremony and its connection to art and philosophy.