Best Books to Read for the New Year

The best books to read for the new year are Atomic Habits by James Clear and Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg for building habits, Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins and The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter for getting fit and disciplined, The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel for money, Deep Work by Cal Newport for your career, The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown and my own You Are Capable of More for confidence, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie for relationships, and Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman for slowing down.

Why January is a good time to open a book

There is something hopeful about the first weeks of a new year, when the calendar is clean and most of us are willing, at least for a little while, to believe we can become a bit more of the person we want to be. The trouble is that hope fades quickly without a plan, and when I surveyed more than 200 working adults for my book, 71 percent said they fall short of their own expectations every week, while 78 percent said they delay action they know they should take. Good intentions are rarely the missing piece.

A book will not keep a resolution for you, but the right one can give a vague wish a clear shape, a few practical steps and a voice in your ear on the days when the motivation of January has quietly worn off. That is why I have sorted this list by the resolution rather than by the author. Find your goal, pick one book, and start there.

If your resolution is to build better habits

One

Atomic Habits by James Clear (2018)

Best first book of the year for most people

Clear’s argument is that small improvements, repeated daily, compound into large results, and he gives a simple framework for making good habits easier and bad ones harder. If you only read one book this January, this is the one most people will find useful.

Two

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg (2019)

Best if you have given up on resolutions before

Fogg, a behavior scientist at Stanford, argues that lasting change comes from making a new habit so small it is almost impossible to skip, then attaching it to something you already do every day. It is the gentlest book on this list, and a kind one for anyone who has quietly stopped believing resolutions work.

If your resolution is to get fit and disciplined

Three

Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins (2018)

Best if you want a hard push

Goggins tells how he went from an abusive childhood and a dead-end job to becoming a Navy SEAL and an ultramarathon runner, and his message about mental toughness is blunt and intense. It is not for everyone, but for someone who wants a shove rather than a nudge, few books hit harder.

Four

The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter (2021)

Best if your fitness goal is about feeling alive

Easter, a journalist, makes the case that modern life has become so comfortable that we have lost some of our resilience, and he follows a month-long hunting trip in the Alaskan Arctic to explore what discomfort can teach us. It is thoughtful and readable, and it reframes exercise as something closer to adventure than punishment.

If your resolution is about money

Five

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel (2020)

Best for anyone, whatever their bank balance

Housel’s short chapters explain that doing well with money has less to do with how smart you are and more to do with how you behave, especially around patience, envy and knowing when you have enough. It is calm, clear and unusually kind for a money book, which makes it easy to recommend to almost anyone.

If your resolution is about your career

Six

Deep Work by Cal Newport (2016)

Best if you want to do better work, not just more

Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown, argues that the ability to focus without distraction on demanding work is becoming both rare and valuable, and he lays out practical rules for building it. It is a strong fit for anyone whose career goal is really about doing work they are proud of.

If your resolution is to feel more confident

Seven

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown (2010)

Best if perfectionism wears you down

Brown, a research professor who studies courage, shame and vulnerability, writes about letting go of who you think you are supposed to be and accepting who you are. It is a short, warm book for anyone whose confidence has been worn thin by trying to get everything right.

Eight

You Are Capable of More by Chris Sund (2026)

Best if you keep getting in your own way

This is my book, so weigh this accordingly. I wrote it for people who know there is more in them but keep holding themselves back, and in the survey behind the book, 92 percent of working adults said they are capable of more than they are doing, while 85 percent said they second-guess themselves because of their inner voice. Each chapter is one principle with a short exercise, which makes it easy to read one chapter a week through the first months of the year.

It won the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival. If confidence is your goal this year, pair it with my guide on how to set goals you will actually keep.

If your resolution is about your relationships

Nine

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936)

Best for being better with people

First published in 1936, Carnegie’s book remains one of the most practical guides ever written on treating people well, built on simple ideas like remembering names, listening more than you speak and showing honest appreciation. Some of the examples feel dated, but the heart of the advice has aged remarkably well.

If your resolution is to slow down

Ten

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (2021)

Best if you are tired of rushing

Burkeman begins with the fact that an average human life is only about four thousand weeks long, and rather than offering another productivity system, he argues for accepting our limits and spending our time on what truly matters. It is a wise, freeing book for anyone whose real resolution is simply to stop hurrying through their life.

Match the book to your resolution

How to actually finish a book in January

Most books started on New Year’s Day are abandoned somewhere in the middle, and it is rarely because the reader lost interest, but because reading never found a regular place in a busy day and slowly slipped out of it. Finishing a book is a small exercise in the same consistency your resolution needs. Three simple choices make it far more likely.

At twenty minutes a day, most of the books on this list can be finished in three or four weeks, which means you can close the last page before January ends. If you miss a day, simply pick it back up the next one without making it mean anything about you, because a missed day only becomes a habit when we let it. My guide on how to be consistent goes deeper on exactly that.

If you are looking for something newer, my list of the best new self-help books of 2026 covers this year’s releases, and if the new year feels less like a fresh start and more like a heavy one, my lists of books for someone who feels stuck and books for someone starting over may suit you better. Leading a team into the new year? Try books to give your employees or books to give a new manager.

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