Top 7 Living Authors Who Can Add Tremendous Value to Your Life
Writing is one of the greatest inventions in human history.
Imagine those days when there was now writing.
How did people convey their ideas, insights, and information in those days?
Without writing, there could be no accumulation of knowledge, no record of historical events, no exchange of information which means no books, articles, or internet.
Today, all humans alive on this planet can share their ideas if they wish to. That means today you have access to all the insightful ideas.
Whoever you like and adore, today you could know about their philosophy, ideas, perspectives, etc.
I am assuming you admire Elon Musk a lot and get fascinated by the kind of work he does year after year.
It is possible at this age that you could know so much about Elon Musk and his worldview.
Maybe you often think ‘How does Elon Musk think?’ ‘Why does he think the way he thinks?’ ‘How was his childhood?’ ‘What are his principles and Values?’ ‘How does he approach a project?’
It is possible to get answers to all these questions today.
Go and read his biography, listen to his interviews, read some articles on him, you can even follow him on the internet if you really wish to know about him.
There was a time 30–40 years back when knowledge and time (age) were thought to be directly proportional.
That means, elder people should have more knowledge than younger ones. This was particularly thought to be true because the resources to get knowledge and insights were limited.
How did your parents get their worldview?
Initially from their parents, then neighbors, school, college, friends, etc.
In this way, the time (age) and accumulation of knowledge are somewhat linearly proportional. The graph below describes the situation perfectly.
Your parents hardly got any insights from someone sitting 5000 kilometers away.
But today you can ideas and insights from someone sitting in the other corner of the world.
We are fortunate to live in an era when we have access to the best ideas that can be utilized to live a worthwhile life.
Today the relation between time and knowledge is not linear but exponential.
Age is mostly irrelevant today when it comes to your knowledge. You can be the youngest in your family but could be the most knowledgeable person in the family.
Your parents, school, college, friends are no longer the only source for your knowledge. You can also learn from other insightful people who are a thousand kilometers away from you.
Therefore, the relation between time and knowledge can be made exponential today which has been described in the graph below.
Over the years, I have been fascinated by the writings of multiple authors. Through their writings, they have taken me into another dimension, from where I have seen the world from a different perspective.
Here I am sharing my top 10 authors who are alive and active in writing.
Making any list is always difficult, especially when it is about creative work, it is even more difficult.
My aim is not to make a list of the greatest authors ever lived rather a list that fulfills the following criteria-
- The author must be alive
- He/She must be active in terms of writing (books, blogs, newsletter, etc.)
- Has written multiple books
- There is a way to remain in touch with the author.
The goal is to list some authors’ names who can add value to your life not only through their books but through other forms of writings.
Here goes the list-
1. Yuval Noah Harari
Very few people can completely change your perspective about the world without ever meeting you.
Yuval Noah is one such author. If you like to read, I am sure you have heard about him. Born in 1976, in Israel, Harari received his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2002.
Currently, he is a lecturer at the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
His books have impacted millions of people worldwide. His books find a place in almost every bookworm’s favorite list.
Once you read his books, a lot of your outlook towards humankind will change. Books written by him are Sapiens, Home Deus, and 21st Lessons for 21st Century.
How to get in touch: You can visit his own website ynharari.com where all his books, articles, interviews are available. Moreover, you can follow him on social media to get updates about his writings.
2. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is one of those maverick writers alive today. His persona, writing style, ideas are delightfully different than others. He is an independent free-range thinker.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb born in Lebanon in 1960. He holds a Wharton MBA and a Ph.D. from the University of Paris.
His themes of writings are mainly the nature of uncertainty how we live in a world we don’t understand, how to avoid being a sucker, etc.
His books are extremely successful and loved by millions of people.
‘Fooled by Randomness’, ‘The Black Swan’, ‘Antifragile’ are some of his bestselling books.
How to get in touch: He has his own Youtube channel. He also writes frequently on Medium.
3. Cal Newport
One of the rarest authors of this age who doesn’t have any social media account. In fact, all his writings revolve around why and how people should reassess their relationship with social media and the internet.
At a time, when most people are getting overwhelmed by their busy schedules, Cal Newport has great suggestions to improve your overwhelmed life.
Cal specifically advises focusing on deep work rather than just shallow work. Deep work is possible when we don’t get distracted by continuous notifications. If you wish to increase your ability of deep work, you must read his writings.
His books influenced me a lot. Some of his bestselling books are ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’, ‘Deep Work’, ‘Digital Minimalism’.
Cal Newport lives in Washington. He is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. He got his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009.
How to get in touch: He has an active blog where he writes quite often. You can subscribe to his blog to get his writings. Interestingly, He also runs a podcast where he shares his ideas with others.
4. Haruki Murakami
His readers named a separate genre for his books. It’s called ‘magical realism’.
Haruki Murakami is a perfect example who can imagine beautiful things and express those beautiful things through his writings.
The best thing is that Murakami gives his readers a chance to interpret his stories in many and his/her own ways. The same story can be perceived in a different way, by the same reader too, if you re-read it.
If you are interested in fantasy and want to realize some great imagination, you must read Haruki Murakami’s books. In fact, I have written an entire article on him.
‘Norwegian Wood’, ‘Kafka On the Shore’, A Wild Sheep Chase’, ‘IQ84’ are some of his great books.
How to get in touch: Haruki Murakami has a wonderful website, you can visit it. To get updates about him and his writing you can join his email list. you can also follow him on Facebook or Pinterest.
5. Daniel Pink
Daniel Pink is one of the thought-provocative authors of this era. His writings are based on business, work, creativity, and human behavior. I truly find his books very insightful.
Pink’s TED Talk on the science of motivation is still one of the most-watched TED Talks of all time, with more than 19 million views.
His famous books are ‘To sell is Human’, ‘Drive’, When: The Surprising Truth of Perfect Timings’, A Whole New Mind: Why The Right-Brainers Will Rule The World’, etc.
How to get in touch: He has an amazing newsletter to which you can subscribe. You will find all his podcast interviews and articles on his website. He is active on Twitter as well.
6. Paulo Coelho
A renowned and well-known author who is known for his gripping and poetic style of writing.
I personally like the subjects on which he writes. All his novels carry some deeply ingrained message.
Paulo Coelho was born in 1947, Brazil. He is most famous for his book ‘The Alchemist’.
The Alchemist has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide and translated into 80 languages.
His simplicity, poetic style of writing, and hidden messages in his novels attract millions of readers all over the world.
Except for Alchemist, his other bestselling books are ‘Eleven Minutes’, ‘Brida’, The Winner Stands Alone’, etc.
How to get in touch: You can subscribe to his blog where he writes frequently. He is also active on Twitter.
7. Mark Manson
Mark Manson is a kind of writer who has his very own style of conveying knowledge or wisdom. Trust me even if he writes his articles or books anonymously, his readers would recognize him.
The best thing I have learned from him to develop my own style of writing. Mark Manson started his writing journey from a blog in 2008. As his blog got popular he published his book which has been sold 10 million copies worldwide.
His bestselling books are ‘The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a F*ck’ and ‘Everything is F*cked: A book About Hope’.
How to get in touch: Mark Manson has an active blog and a weekly newsletter. I read his newsletter and it’s filled with thoughtful ideas written in his own style. He also has a personal Youtube channel. Additionally, you will find him on almost every social media platform.
Of course, there are many other amazing authors. As I said, making a list of authors is very subjective. All in all, I think these are the people who can add true value to your life if you read their books, blogs, newsletters, etc.
Do you have any other authors in your mind whom I have missed?
Let me know in the comment section.
