Personal, Historical, and Business Development ​

1. Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia

2. Creating Super Fans by Brittany Hodak - How to Turn Your Customers into Lifelong Advocates

3. Get Your Tongue Out of My Mouth, I'm Kissing You Goodbye! by Cynthia Heimel, author of "If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?"

4. How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins

5. How to Write Compelling Content that Ranks Well in Search Engines by Sonia Simone

6. I Hate You- Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality, By Jerold J. Kreisman, MD, and Hal Straus

7. Internet Marketing for Smart People by Sonia Simone on how to get more traffic, better customers, and more profit using content marketing*

8. Marketing and Brand Management Study Guide published by Caluniversity to be used with Keller's 3rd edition of Strategic Brand Management* 

9. Marketing Management by Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller 

10. Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible by William N. Goetzmann

11. Principles of Marketing published by University of MInnesota*

12. Selected Readings in Consumer Neuroscience & Neuromarketing compiled by Thomas Zoega Ramsoy*

13. Strategic Brand Management by Kevin Lane Keller on building, measuring, and managing brand equity 

14. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook: Practical DBT exercises for learning mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, & distress tolerance by Matthew McKay (PH.D), Jeffrey C. Wood (Psy.D.), & Jeffrey Brantley (MD). 

15. The Heritage of World Civilizations by Albert M. Craig, William A. Graham, Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment, and Frank M. Turner 

16. The Legal Environment of Business Text and Cases by Cross and Miller on Ethical, Regulatory, Global, and E-Commerce Issues (also suggest the study guide by William Eric Hollowell and Roger Leroy Miller)

17. The Perfection of Yoga by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada*

18. The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman on mastering the art of business

19. The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth by Kristin Henning

20. The Science of Self Realization from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Sawmi Prabhupada, Founder-Arcaya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness*

21. The Secrets to Marketing & Automating Your Law Practice by David M. Bitton - A Lawyer's Guide to Creating Systems, Getting Clients, & Becoming a Legal Rainmaker

22. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

23. The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan S. Kennedy (don't agree with the Trump supporting shit in here, but it does have good sales shit)

24. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey (My Mom made me read this when I was about 14)

25. Think World Religions by Roy R. Robson 

26. What to do When Shit Hits the Fan by Dave Black

27. Your Body Speaks Your Mind: Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness by Deb Shapiro

​

Music Industry Studies

1. All you Need to Know about the Music Business by Donald S. Passman 

2. An Introduction to Music Technology  by Dan Hosken*

3. Artist Management for the Music Business by Paul Allen

4. Forever Words: the Unknown Poems by Johnny Cash, edited and introduced by Paul Muldoon, foreword by John Carter Cash

5. Getting Signed! An Insider's Guide to the Music Industry by George Howard 

6. Grateful Dead: The Ultimate Guide Rolling Stones Special Collector's Edition

7. How Music Works by David Byrne

8. It all Begins with the Music by Don Grierson and Dan Kimpel

9. Legal Issues Involved in the Music Industry by Lawyers for the Creative Arts*

10. Modern Recording Techniques by David Miles Huber and Robert E. Runstein 

11. Music Copyright Law by David J. Moser and Cheryl Slay

12. Music Industry Forms, Jonathan Feist's 75 most important documents for the modern musician

13. Music Law by Attorney Rich Stim on how to run your band's business

14. Music Marketing by Mike King

15. Music Marketing for the DIY Musician by Bobby Borg on creating and executing a plan of attack on a low budget

16. Music Publishing 101 by George Howard (A Berklee In the Pocket Handbook)

17. Song for my Fathers a New Orleans story in black and white by Tom Sancton

18. Spirit into Sound by Mickey Hart

19. Start & Run Your Own Record Label by Daylle Deanna Schwartz

20. The American Book of the Dead by Oliver Trager, the definitive Grateful Dead encyclopedia 

21. The Music Contract Library by Greg Forest

22. This Business of Music by Sidney Shemel

23. This is Your Brain on Music the science of a human obsession by Daniel J. Levitin

​

Music Theory

1. Alfred's Basic Adult All-In-One Course by Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco (I recommend all 3 levels)

2. Basic Blues for Piano by Ron Payne

3. Bastien Piano Basics by James and Jane Smisor Bastien (Three Primer Series, and 4 Levels of books on Piano, Theory, Performance, and Technique)

4. How to Read Music by Alan Charlton

5. Learn to Play the Piano: A Step-by-Step Guide by Nick Freeth

6. Master Scale & Chord Guide for Keyboard by Hal-Leonard 

7. Music Flashcards by Jane Smisor Bastien

8. The "First Stage" Guitar Chord Chart by Chris Lopez

​

Sign Language

1. American Sign Language Made Easy for Beginners by Travis Belmontes-Merrell - A Visual Guide with ASL Signs, Lessons, and Quizzes

2. Learn American Sign Language by James W. Guideo - Everything You Need to Start Signing, Complete Beginner's Guide, 800+ Signs

3. Talking with Hands by Mike Pahsetopah - Everything You Need To Start Signing Native American Hand Talk, A Complete Beginner's Guide with over 200 Words and Phrases

Suggested freelance underground music reading list last updated 8/3/2025; * means link to free eBook.