Lenny Rachitsky · 5 min read · Product Strategy
Essential books for product builders—part 1
Read the original on lennysnewsletter.com →
An author-curated primer of essential books for product builders, organized by jobs-to-be-done (communication, execution, strategy). He shares strict selection rules (three books per category, only completed reads) and a bias toward timeless, older titles, plus a teaser for a Part 2.
Key Takeaways
- Three books per category and only completed reads ensure high signal-to-noise in the recommendations.
- Books are grouped by specific jobs-to-be-done (communication, execution, strategy) to target practical product-building skills.
- There is a deliberate bias toward timeless, older titles (over 10 years old) as advocated by industry voices like Marc Andreessen.
- Practical motivation tips (e.g., reading 10 minutes before bed) are shared to help busy readers integrate reading into their routine.
Excerpt
👋 Hey there, I’m Lenny. Each week, I write about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career. For more: Lenny’s Podcast | Lennybot | How I AI | My favorite AI/PM courses , public speaking course , and interview prep copilot Subscribe now P.S. Get a full free year of Cursor, Google AI, Lovable, Replit, Notion, Manus, Gamma, n8n, Canva, ElevenLabs, Factory, Wispr Flow, Fin, Supabase, Bolt, Linear, PostHog, Framer, Railway, Granola, Warp, Gumloop, Magic Patterns, Mobbin, Stripe Atlas, and ChatPRD, by becoming an Insider subscriber . Yes, this is for real. I was a shy kid growing up,…