1. Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham
2. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

3. Tribes by Seth Godin

4. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

5. The Industries of the Future by Alex Ross

6. Bigger, Leaner, Stronger by Michael Matthews

7. The Science of Getting Rich: Financial Success Through Creative Thought by WALLACE D. WATTLES (The Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reads)

8. Money: Master the Game by Tony Robbins

9. Principles by Ray Dalio

10. Como Ganar Amigas e Influir Sobre las Personas by Dale Carnegie

11. Without Their Permission by Alexis Ohanian

12. Tribe by Sebastian Junger

13. Sapiens A Brief History of Humanity by Yuval Noah Harari

14. This is Water by David Foster Wallace

15. How Not to Be Wrong. The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg

16. Walt Disney By Neal Gabler

17. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley

18. Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

19. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

20. A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine

Out of all these, I would recommend only a few:

- Sapiens

- The Rational Optimist

- Walt Disney By Neal Gabler

- How Not to Be Wrong. The Power of Mathematical Thinking.

- A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

What gets lifting to stick and become a habit will be different for everyone.

But what worked for me was Bigger, Leaner, Stronger by Michael Matthews

https://www.amazon.com/Bigger-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultim...

It's an updated approach to Starting Strength. It builds a weekly routine around the core lifts of bench, incline bench, overhead press, squat, and deadlift.

And while he dives into some iffy science at times and the diet section is – while informative and eye opening to me in the beginning about how much I needed to change my diet – it's also extremely unrealistic, especially for a beginner.

But, if you keep those things in mind, it's a strong base to build a lifting habit around.

I've been lifting 5 times a week for a couple years now and, while I've since modified much of the book to fit my personal goals and approach, it helped me get somewhere from no previous lifting experience (other than aimlessly wandering around the Y in my teens and 20s).

When trying to cut, bulk up, or maintain weight, I have created a simple spreadsheet to calculate your TDEE and target calorie/protein/carb/fat consumption (you need to know your weight, body fat %, and how much you exercise per week):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YeAgLanxOgJRAxf20cet...

It works well for me as I create my meal plan in the white space (see example) looking up the values from calorieking.com

EDIT: Note that this math comes from a book "Bigger, Leaner, Stronger" - calculated for Men. There is a similar book for Women that may differ.