Now that I am finished with grad school and live 5 minutes from the beach, I finally have time to catch up on my reading list, which had grown to over 100 books! Here are the best I have read in the last month.

Comedy Writing Secrets. This book was recommended by my favorite comedy podcast, Comedy Bang Bang. It was the first and still the best humor writing textbook. Helitzer covers why we laugh, joke formulas, plays on words, double entendre, and lots more.

The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance. I heard about Author of this book on Lewis Howes‘ Podcast, The School Of Greatness, and I knew I immediately need to read this book. After reading Flow at the end of college, 10 years ago, getting to flow states has been a a goal of mine. Not only are there great stories about extreme actiona and adventure athletes, but Kotler picks apart the science behind flow states.  While the action steps for getting more flow in your own life are hard to tease out, this book can serve as a great guide to setting up your life for more optimal experiences.

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. They say a lot of advice is really meant for your past self, and Kleon says this is the book he wished someone had written for him when he was younger. He gives you permission to take everyone else’s creative work and add you own tweaks – you don’t have to do art in a vacuum! Even if you imitate your heroes, you will end up as yourself. Create the work that you want for yourself (write the book you want to read, paint the painting you will look at, design the clothes you will wear).

The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence. Recommended by the Tim Ferriss book club, I read this book on the flight over to Vietnam. I got to the part where he wins the world Tai Chi championships in Taipei, just as I landed in Taipei. The storytelling will suck you in – I have never wanted to do try martial arts more! This is a great look into the mind of someone who has been the best in the world are more than one thing. Waitzkin shows a relents pursuit of improvement.

Pro Cycling on 0 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro. So many books by retired pro cyclists talk about their doping and how they had no choice. Well, this book is so much better because it is by a funny, non-doper, who tells all about how we made it to the top the hard way. You will be a huge fan of Phil the thrill  after reading this and have restored faith in pro bike racing.

To prep for traveling in Vietnam, I re-read How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter, along with Vietnam 2014: New Information and Cultural Insights Entrepreneurs Need to Start a Business in Vietnam just in case I needed some business background. I’m in the middle of a fascinating biography of a double agent spy during the Vietnam war: Perfect Spy, which also gives lots of geographic context as I travel through the country.

I hope you will get around to reading whichever of these books catch your eye. If you do read them and have questions or thoughts, feel free to comment or email me about them. If you know a good book on a related topic, please pass it along to me and I will check it out. And if you read one of these books and enjoy it, pass your recommendation along to someone else!