11 great lockdown reads
Alongside indulging in our favourite podcasts, we’re loving the extra time lockdown is giving us to get stuck into some great reads. From adventure and survival to entrepreneurship and self-development, we hope this compilation provides a handful to add to your list
We read as much as we can - often not as much as we’d like - and this list is certainly not exhaustive. Each member of the 33Fuel team was asked to contribute two or three of their favourite titles to make this list. So, in no particular order, here’s 11 great lockdown reads:
Touching the void – Joe Simpson
Chronicling that infamous event when, upon descending a mountain, Joe breaks his leg and finds himself dangling above an abyss at the end of a rope. His climbing partner must make the, now famous, terrible decision to cut the rop to ensure his own survival.
Start with why – Simon Sinek
Self-described eternal optimist Simon Sinek brings together patterns the world’s greatest thinkers and organisations act, communicate and think. This is a marvellous read for any entrepreneur or self-help shelf.
To shake the sleeping self – Jedidiah Jenkins
Documenting his 1,000 mile cycle from Oregon to Patagonia, Jedidiah quits his successful career to embark on this epic journey…having barely ridden since childhood. His writing style is wonderful and the questions he ponders en route – like ‘What is a life worth living?’ – make this so much more than simply a great adventure book.
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Tools of titans – Tim Ferriss
Tim has met and learnt from an exceptional number of impressive individuals and this book, which compiles the habits, tactics and lessons of all those people is simply brilliant. It’s a huge tome at well over 600 pages, but it’s readable and designed that you can ‘dive in’ anywhere and take meaning from every page.
Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
A memoir of the founder of Nike, Phil provides brilliant insight to the meandering journey the company took from inception to becoming one of the world’s most famous brands. He sheds light on the ‘real’ side of creating a business – the messy, chaotic route people rarely talk about – thereby providing motivation for anyone with ambition that persistence and determination can achieve dreams.
438 days by Jonathan Franklin
Described by Outside Magazine as “The best survival book of the decade”, 438 days tells the utterly remarkable story of history’s longest survival at sea. The story of the fisherman’s grit, determination and positive mindset is as inspiring as it is gripping.
Gut: the inside story of our body’s most underrated organ – Giulia Enders
Anyone who follows this blog knows how fundamental gut health is to the creation of our products. Overall health is impossible without gut health. And your athletic potential is impossible to reach without overall health. Gut: the inside story is a fascinating dive into the systems that keep us healthy and, often light-heartedly, shares how to keep yours in tip top shape.
Gut health - 6 great foods and 5 to avoid
Racing through the dark – David Millar
Like him or loath him, David Millar has one hell of a story to tell. Reaching his professional cycling prime in the years when doping was commonplace, he caved to peer pressure and joined the hoards. His honest account makes for a gripping read and, despite the cheating, it’s hard not to sympathise with his life’s course.
Sapiens: A Brief history of humankind – Yuval Noah Harari
We absolutely loved this book. Chronicling the history of humankind, Yuval Noah Harari’s writing is fascinating and immensely engaging. The book is dividing into four chapters: the cognitive revolution, agricultural revolution, the unification of humankind and the scientific revolution. This is a simply must-read. For everyone!
Into thin air – Jon Krakauer
The 1996 Mount Everest climbing season will forever be remembered for the fatalities at the hands of a sudden, brutal storm. Into Thin Air is Jon Krakauer’s (of Into The Wild fame) personal account of the events that unfolded for he was on the mountain that year too, as a journalist for Outside Magazine.
The obstacle is the way – Ryan Holiday
Making the Top 5 list of three of the 33Fuel teams reading lists, The Obstacle Is the Way expounds upon the idea that it’s how we react to adversity – ‘obstacles’ – that really matters. Holiday explains how the number or severity of obstacles isn’t what matters, it’s we overcome them that counts.
While you’re flexing all that grey matter with a great read, flood your body with the nutrients it needs to fire on all cylinders and ward off viruses this winter. Get award-winning Ultimate Daily Greens today
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