11 Great Books for Unconventional Living

I love most of Murakami's work, but this is definitely my favorite. If you want to blend fantasy and reality and head off into the underworld of Japan, Murakami is the master.

Dr. Paul Farmer, the man who would cure the world. Read it and buy copies for your friends. Warning: you won't be the same after reading this book. (I’m just saying.)

Someone much wiser than me once said, "We are all artists, even if we don't know how to draw." This book will help you overcome the enemy of resistance and win the war of art — no matter which art form you work in.

This book will make you want to get up in the middle of the night and go for a long run. OK, you might not actually do that, but you'll definitely be inspired, even if you're not a runner.

This classic has reshaped the way thousands of us think about our relationship with money. The lessons on bond investing are largely irrelevant now, but the overall philosophy is timeless.

If you're ever stranded off the coast of Antarctica without a ship or means of communication, read this book. Even if that's not your exact situation, the lessons of Shackleton may help you anyway.

An excellent, short primer on not letting the bad guys get you down in advertising and in life.

One of the best "lifestyle design" books, published years before the industry was popular and still providing some great food for thought.

Rand's Atlas Shrugged is better known (and truth to told, better written), but this first full-length book by Ayn Rand provides a good introduction to her philosophy of objectivism through the model of a heroic young architect.

This easy (but stimulating) read is a classic parable of the quest for meaning.

As cool as unconventional living is, in the end it's not all about you. This collection of King's writings will help you keep that in mind.