Inspiring Books Chris Keeney Read That Enlightened Him

Being an author, I now better understand how words can shape the way people think. When I was younger, I didn’t read much. My parents were always encouraging me to read more, but for some reason, that only made me want to read less. It wasn’t until high school, when I took a poetry class, that I began to appreciate the power and beauty of the written word.

In college, I minored in religion, so I read many books on Christianity, theology, Buddhism, and Judaism. That’s when I truly began to see how words can influence the way people think and act. During that time, I became fascinated by William Paley’s The Watch and the Watchmaker analogy.

One thing I didn’t like about organized religion was that so many wars were waged in the name of God. I thought, “Why would God want people to kill each other?” After reading books on Buddhism, I realized that I connected more with spirituality as a way of life rather than as a set of rules about how to live. That didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate the Bible, the Tanakh, or the Quran — I just felt more aligned with the Buddhist way of life.

Here’s a short list not in any particular order:
The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle (This book changed my life)
Ikigai – Héctor García
Let Them – Mel Robbins
Golden Spruce – John Vaillant
The Road Less Travelled – Scott Peck
Mans Search for Meaning – Victor E. Frankl
The Molecule of More – Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long
The Heart of the Sea – Nathaniel Philbrick
Happiness – Thich Nhat Hanh
A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
Breath – James Nestor
The First and Last Freedom – J. Krishnamurti
The Prophet – Kahlil Gibran
Being Peace – Thich Nhat Hanh
The Last Season – Eric Blehm
The Way of Life – Lao Tzu
Letting Go of the Camera – Brooks Jensen
Greenlights – Matthew McConaughey
Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand
Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse
The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
The essential teachings of Zen Master Hakuin – Hakuin Ekaku
Why Buddhism is True – Robert Wright
12-30-25 –> my new favorite book:
The Art of Mindful Living: How to Bring Love, Compassion, and Inner Peace into Your Daily Life – Thich Nhat Hanh