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Amy Suto
Hello! 👋 I’m Amy Suto, a bestselling author and San Francisco content creator. Find your next job on my job board, 🛋️ CozyJobs!
Man’s Search for Meaning Review: 5/5 Stars
My review of Man’s Search for Meaning: Viktor Frankl’s memoir and meditation on meaning is one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read. A book everyone should read.
Deep Work by Cal Newport Review: An Honest 3/5
My honest Deep Work review: real gems about focus and social media, wrapped in corporate prose. Why the ideas earned my respect and the writing kept my score at 3 stars.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown Review: 5/5 Stars
My Essentialism review: one of the two best career books I’ve ever read. Doing less to accomplish more sounds counterintuitive right up until it rebuilds your calendar.
Burnout by Emily Nagoski Review: 5/5 Stars
My Burnout review: Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s research on completing the stress cycle is stress advice I’ve found nowhere else. A 5-star must-read, especially for women.
The Untethered Soul Review: 5/5 Stars
My Goodreads review of The Untethered Soul was one sentence long. Here’s the longer version — why Michael Singer’s simple advice is the mindfulness book I recommend first.
The Mountain Is You Review: 5 Stars, One Warning
If you want to change your life, read this book. My review of Brianna Wiest’s The Mountain Is You — some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten, and the one thing it asks of you first.
Atomic Habits by James Clear Review: 5/5 Stars
My Atomic Habits review: the habit book that beat every other habit book I’ve read. Fresh advice, a simple system, zero 5am worship — 5 out of 5 stars.
Building a StoryBrand Review: 4/5 Stars
My review of Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller: a screenwriter’s verdict on the SB7 framework, the guide-not-hero move, and one honest gripe.
The Dip by Seth Godin Review: 3/5 Stars
My review of The Dip by Seth Godin: strategic quitting in about an hour, the dip-versus-dead-end question the book leaves open, and my own 2020 answer to it.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel Review: 3/5 Stars
My review of Zero to One by Peter Thiel: read critically, argued with in the margins, and mined for the handful of ideas writers can actually use.
Good to Great by Jim Collins Review: 4/5 Stars
My review of Good to Great by Jim Collins: where my freelancing flywheel came from, radical honesty as a business tool, and what to do with the corporate case studies.
The Millionaire Next Door Review: 4/5 Stars
My review of The Millionaire Next Door: the data-heavy classic on why income and wealth are different things, what freelancers should take from it, and the parts that aged.
The Million-Dollar One-Person Business Review: 5/5
My review of The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business by Elaine Pofeldt: the book that told me a company of one could get big, read weeks after my writers’ room closed.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant Review: 5/5 Stars
My review of The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: permissionless leverage, happiness as a trainable skill, and the ideas that became the spine of my writing business.
The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd Review: 5/5 Stars
My review of The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd: the best book I’ve read for anyone afraid to leave the default path, from a former digital nomad who made the leap in 2020.
$100M Money Models Review: 5/5 Stars (Hormozi)
My review of $100M Money Models: Alex Hormozi’s most technical book, explained simply. What it says about why I priced my own book at $0.99, and who should read the trilogy in order.
$100M Leads Review: 5/5 Stars (Alex Hormozi)
My review of $100M Leads by Alex Hormozi: the lead-generation manual I checked against 42,000+ subscribers’ worth of receipts, and how to read it without drowning.
$100M Offers Review: 5/5 Stars (Alex Hormozi)
Reading Alex Hormozi at midnight took my freelance rate from $350 to $750 an hour. My spoiler-free review of $100M Offers: the value equation, what it changed about my pricing, and the one translation writers have to do.
House of Leaves Review: Is It Worth the Effort? 3/5
House of Leaves is the only book I've read that required rotating the physical object like a steering wheel. My honest review: what the famous labyrinth delivers, and whether the story repays the effort.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Review: 4/5 Stars
I finally read The Alchemist roughly three decades after everyone else, and I get the hype — mostly. My review: the fable that talks people into leaping, and the one thing I wish it did differently.
Little Weirds by Jenny Slate Review: 3/5 Stars
I wanted to love Little Weirds. My honest review of Jenny Slate's dreamlike essay collection: the ten pages that earn the whole book, and why the rest floated just out of reach.
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull Review: 5/5 Stars
My Creativity, Inc. review: Ed Catmull's Pixar playbook explains the machinery behind every great creative room I've worked in. The Braintrust chapter alone is worth the cover price.
Orbiting the Giant Hairball Review: 5/5 Stars
Some books you recommend. Orbiting the Giant Hairball you press into people's hands. My review of Gordon MacKenzie's strange, hand-lettered guide to staying creative inside institutions.
Create Dangerously by Camus Review: 5/5 Stars
My review of Create Dangerously: Camus's 1957 lecture on the artist's job in an ugly century, the backlash pep talk I keep rereading, and why I've borrowed his title twice on this blog.
A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver Review: 5/5 Stars
I don't write poetry, and A Poetry Handbook is still one of the most useful craft books I own. My review: what Mary Oliver taught me about sound and rhythm, and why prose writers should steal this book.
Old Friend from Far Away Review: A Ghostwriter's Take
A memoir ghostwriter reviews Old Friend from Far Away: why Natalie Goldberg's timed writing prompts pry memories loose better than anything else, and the one thing this book won't teach you.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Review: 5/5 Stars
I picked up Big Magic certain Elizabeth Gilbert had nothing new to tell me about creativity. I was wrong. My review: the suffering-artist takedown, the money chapter people think argues with my career, and 5 stars.
The War of Art Review: 4/5 Stars From a Working Writer
I read The War of Art at seventeen and I still hear it every time I don't feel like doing the work. My review: the Resistance concept, the turning-pro chapter that shaped my career, and the section you can skim.
After Dark by Haruki Murakami: An Honest Review
After Dark follows Tokyo’s night people from last train to first light. My review of Haruki Murakami’s one-night novel — pretty prose, good dialog, zero interest in being a page-turner.
This Is How You Lose the Time War: My Review
This Is How You Lose the Time War is the prettiest aperitif in sci-fi — love letters between rival time agents. My honest review: gorgeous prose, blurred voices, and a story that needed more runway.