The best 94 The Brain books

1
You Can Fix Your Brain

You Can Fix Your Brain

Dr. Tom O'Bryan
Just 1 Hour a Week to the Best Memory, Productivity, and Sleep You've Ever Had
3.8 (35 ratings)

What's You Can Fix Your Brain about?

You Can Fix Your Brain (2018) is a step-by-step guide to improving cognitive function and overall brain health. Through dietary choices, environmental adjustments, and other health practices, you can reduce brain fog, enhance your memory, and increase your mental clarity.

Who should read You Can Fix Your Brain?

  • People who are experiencing brain fog or are having trouble concentrating
  • Those who wish to reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia
  • Anyone who wants to feel sharper and improve their mental function

2
Smarter Not Harder

Smarter Not Harder

Dave Asprey
The Biohacker's Guide to Getting the Body and Mind You Want
3.5 (32 ratings)

What's Smarter Not Harder about?

Smarter Not Harder (2023) is a guide to biohacking your metabolic, neurological, and epigenetic systems. It will show you how to maximize your well-being by making your Meat Operating System, or MeatOS, do what you want it to do by doing less – by doing things smarter, not harder.

Who should read Smarter Not Harder?

  • Lazy people who want to make their laziness work for them
  • Anyone looking to improve their well-being
  • Tired people looking for more energy

3
Stop Self-Sabotage

Stop Self-Sabotage

Dr. Judy Ho
Six Steps to Unlock Your True Motivation, Harness Your Willpower, and Get Out of Your Own Way
4.4 (38 ratings)

What's Stop Self-Sabotage about?

Stop Self-Sabotage (2019) outlines a six-step guide to identifying and overcoming behaviors that counteract people’s ability to reach goals of all kinds. The clinically proven process includes exercises, practical advice, and real-life examples of how people have used the method to change their lives.

Who should read Stop Self-Sabotage?

  • Procrastinators
  • Anyone who struggles with motivation or willpower to achieve their goals
  • People looking to make positive changes quickly and efficiently

4
How to Be Your Own Therapist

How to Be Your Own Therapist

Owen O'Kane
Boost Your Mood and Reduce Your Anxiety in 10 Minutes a Day
4.6 (34 ratings)

What's How to Be Your Own Therapist about?

How to Be Your Own Therapist presents highly-effective techniques from evidence-based therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. Funny and humane, it outlines a simple self-therapy program to free you from unhelpful habits and tendencies, as well as daily check-in sessions that can be completed in as little as ten minutes.  

Who should read How to Be Your Own Therapist?

  • People wishing to learn essential therapeutic techniques to improve their lives
  • Anyone curious about initiating a daily self-therapy practice
  • Those eager to overcome negative thought patterns and adopt healthier perspectives

5
Exactly What to Say

Exactly What to Say

Phil M Jones
Your Personal Guide to the Mastery of Magic Words
4.7 (710 ratings)

What's Exactly What to Say about?

Exactly What to Say (2017) is designed to provide you with the key phrases and words to make your conversations count and bring you success. It contains magic words. Words that are heard and interpreted by the subconscious mind. Words which will help you get the results you want.

Who should read Exactly What to Say?

  • Anyone interested in how words can influence others at a subconscious level
  • Success-driven individuals who want to up their game
  • Entrepreneurs who want to get their prospects to say yes more often

6
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

Dr. Daniel G. Amen
The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness
4.2 (145 ratings)

What's Change Your Brain, Change Your Life about?

Unlock your brain's full potential with cutting-edge techniques and personalized brain health approaches detailed in this revised and updated version of the original Change Your Brain, Change Your Life (1999) by Dr. Daniel G. Amen.

Who should read Change Your Brain, Change Your Life?

  • All brain owners
  • Brainiacs seeking to enhance their mind powers
  • Health-conscious people wanting better knowledge of brain health

7
Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself

Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself

Joe Dispenza
How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One
4.6 (942 ratings)

What's Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself about?

Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself (2012) shows you how to tap into your mind's unlimited potential and transform your life from the inside out. Get ready to break free from limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns and become the master of your destiny.

Who should read Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself?

  • Aspiring mind benders
  • Change seekers
  • Wellness warriors

8
Flipnosis

Flipnosis

Kevin Dutton
The Art of Split-Second Persuasion
4.7 (12 ratings)

What's Flipnosis about?

Flipnosis (2010) looks at the role of persuasion in our lives, and the social and biological underpinnings that allow some people to quickly and successfully encourage and convince those around them. By examining the science and looking at real-world master persuaders – from magicians and advertisers to criminals and psychopaths – you too can tap into the art of persuasion.

Who should read Flipnosis?

  • Would-be social engineers, looking for a few tricks to improve their influence
  • Free-thinkers who want to make sure that their choices are, in fact, their own
  • Anyone who has been sold something they didn’t want, and were left wondering: What just happened?

9
DIRTY LAUNDRY

DIRTY LAUNDRY

Richard Pink & Roxanne Emery
Why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help
4.6 (12 ratings)

What's DIRTY LAUNDRY about?

Dirty Laundry (2023) is an honest and humorous glimpse into the daily chaos that is life with ADHD. Whether you’re diagnosed, undiagnosed, or just trying to better understand a loved one, these real-life stories and practical advice can help you learn from and live with the struggles of this chronic disorder.

Who should read DIRTY LAUNDRY?

  • Those living with ADHD who want their struggle to be seen.
  • Members of neurodivergent households looking for ways to best help the people they care about.
  • Anyone who needs to take the shame, judgment, or frustration out of living with ADHD.

10
Unwinding Anxiety

Unwinding Anxiety

Judson Brewer
New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind
4.7 (1,244 ratings)

What's Unwinding Anxiety about?

Unwinding Anxiety (2021) breaks down the brain science behind the bad habits that keep us stuck. Have you ever tried to reason yourself out of binge eating, or procrastinating? Then you’ll know that it just doesn’t work. That’s because addiction and obsessive thought patterns are controlled by our instinctive survival brains, not our rational brains. Learning how to retrain our brains using mindfulness techniques will allow us to free ourselves from chronic worry, anxiety, and other obsessive habits. 

Who should read Unwinding Anxiety?

  • Chronic worriers who want a way to calm their racing thoughts 
  • People who want to interrupt addictive behaviors
  • Health professionals looking for new tools to curb the anxiety epidemic

11
Your Brain on Art

Your Brain on Art

Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross
How the Arts Transform Us
4.6 (235 ratings)

What's Your Brain on Art about?

Your Brain on Art (2023) offers remarkable insights into how artistic endeavors and aesthetics – from music and dance to drawing and interior design – can rewire our brains and improve our lives.

Who should read Your Brain on Art?

  • Art and science enthusiasts
  • Anxious or stressed-out people looking for solutions
  • People curious about the benefits of art therapy

12
The Source

The Source

Dr. Tara Swart
The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain
3.9 (15 ratings)

What's The Source about?

The Source (2019) reveals the secret to mastering your mind. It draws on cognitive science and the author’s coaching experience to provide a four-step plan to fire up your brain and get what you want from life by becoming a new, confident you.

Who should read The Source?

  • Personal Development seekers
  • Stressed individuals looking to improve their mental health and well-being
  • Entrepreneurs and business leaders

13
Million Dollar Habits

Million Dollar Habits

Brian Tracy
Proven Power Practices to Double and Triple Your Income
4.4 (1,055 ratings)

What's Million Dollar Habits about?

Million Dollar Habits (2017) is the manual to your brain and your life that you never got in school. It explains the “secrets” of success and what you need to do to unlock your full potential.

Who should read Million Dollar Habits?

  • Millionaire wannabes
  • Couch potatoes looking to get fit and healthy 
  • People who want to develop great relationships

14
Scattered Minds

Scattered Minds

Gabor Maté
The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder
4.5 (299 ratings)

What's Scattered Minds about?

Scattered Minds (1999) takes aim at a well-established myth: that attention deficit disorder, or ADD for short, is an inherited illness. It doesn’t deny the biological foundations of the disorder – genes also play a role. But it urges us to widen our perspective and pay closer attention to psychological and social factors that may be contributing to the symptoms. ADD often develops within specific familial and societal contexts. Recognizing this isn’t just about correcting the scientific record – it offers a key to effective treatment.

Who should read Scattered Minds?

  • Science aficionados
  • People who have attention deficit disorder
  • Anyone interested in the connection between society and psychology

15
Building a Second Brain

Building a Second Brain

Tiago Forte
A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
4.5 (629 ratings)

What's Building a Second Brain about?

Building a Second Brain by productivity expert Tiago Forte offers simple, effective, and workable solutions to one of the biggest challenges we face today: information overload. Using four key organizational principles, Forte shows how you can leverage digital tools to create a knowledge storage system as intuitive and efficient as a second brain. 

Who should read Building a Second Brain?

  • Knowledge workers whose professional success hinges on information management;
  • Students struggling to synthesize vast amounts of new information;
  • Anyone who wants to boost their calm, creativity, and productivity.

16
Biohack Your Brain

Biohack Your Brain

Kristen Willeumier
How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance and Power
4.6 (928 ratings)

What's Biohack Your Brain about?

Biohack Your Brain (2020) is a guide to caring for your most essential organ – the brain. Drawing on the latest neuroscientific research, it’s packed with actionable advice on everything from optimizing your diet for brain health to stimulating your gray cells and beating stress. Along the way, it sheds light on how you can start protecting yourself against cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Who should read Biohack Your Brain?

  • Thinkers and tinkerers
  • The stressed and anxious 
  • Self-improvers

17
What Happened to You?

What Happened to You?

Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
4.4 (571 ratings)

What's What Happened to You? about?

What Happened to You? (2021) is an in-depth exploration of trauma and how it affects the brain. Long before we can make rational sense of traumatic experiences, they become etched into our neural circuits. They influence how we respond to stress, form relationships, and make meaning. Unfortunately, trauma is often misunderstood. By understanding trauma as both a brain issue and a societal issue, we can start to support trauma survivors with the tools they need to heal. 

Who should read What Happened to You??

  • Survivors of trauma 
  • Teachers, caregivers, and medical practitioners
  • Psychology buffs interested in trauma’s effects on the brain

18
Being You

Being You

Anil Seth
A New Science of Consciousness
4.2 (414 ratings)

What's Being You about?

Being You (2021) offers a new theory of consciousness. What does it mean to be you? Why do your experiences of the world, your selfhood, and your body feel the way they do? Combining neuroscience, philosophy, and a pinch of speculation, these blinks argue that consciousness is not as mysterious as it seems – it is deeply entwined with our living, breathing bodies.

Who should read Being You?

  • Science enthusiasts interested in the mystery of consciousness
  • The philosophically inclined
  • Fans and critics of Artificial Intelligence

19
Smarter Tomorrow

Smarter Tomorrow

Elizabeth R. Ricker
How 15 Minutes of Neurohacking a Day Can Help You Work Better, Think Faster, and Get More Done
4.1 (668 ratings)

What's Smarter Tomorrow about?

Smarter Tomorrow (2021) shows you how to upgrade your brain using a technique called neurohacking. You’ll learn how to improve your memory, creativity, emotional regulation, and what’s known as “executive functioning” through self-testing and experimentation – all backed up with insights from neuroscience.

Who should read Smarter Tomorrow?

  • Thinkers looking to improve their cognitive skills
  • Budding neuroscientists and brain nerds
  • Anyone looking to keep up with modern science

20
ADHD 2.0

ADHD 2.0

Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey
New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction – from Childhood through Adulthood
4.7 (763 ratings)

What's ADHD 2.0 about?

ADHD 2.0 (2021) provides updated science and guidance on living a successful and happy life with attention deficiency hyperactivity disorder – ADHD. It offers insights into how people with ADHD can tap into their strengths and unleash their full potential.

Who should read ADHD 2.0?

  • People with ADHD who want to reach their full potential
  • Teachers and parents supporting children with ADHD
  • Managers and leaders who value an inclusive work environment

21
How Emotions Are Made

How Emotions Are Made

Lisa Feldman Barrett
The Secret Life of the Brain
4.1 (329 ratings)

What's How Emotions Are Made about?

How Emotions Are Made (2017) challenges everything you think you know about emotions. From learning how our brain registers anger, fear and joy to how we think about these emotions culturally, you’ll come away with a new understanding of the ways in which emotions are created and how their scope is determined by society at large.

Who should read How Emotions Are Made?

  • People interested in psychology and neuroscience
  • Those who want to better understand and control their emotions
  • Students of cultural studies and languages

22
Anxious

Anxious

Joseph Ledoux
Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear and Anxiety
4.3 (229 ratings)

What's Anxious about?

Anxious (2015) is an in-depth study of anxiety disorders. It explores how anxiety is diagnosed and examines how our in-built survival mechanisms can sabotage us by making us perceive danger where none exists. Most importantly, it provides an overview of the most innovative treatment options available – from reprogramming our memories to practicing meditation.

Who should read Anxious?

  • Anyone living with anxiety who wants to understand more about it 
  • Teachers and caregivers who want to support the young people in their care
  • Psychology buffs who want to better understand this pervasive disorder

23
Dopamine Nation

Dopamine Nation

Anna Lembke
Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
4.5 (437 ratings)

What's Dopamine Nation about?

Dopamine Nation (2021) explores the connection between pleasure and pain. Our modern world is filled with more dopamine-inducing stimuli than ever – including everything from drugs and sex to smartphones and shopping. Citing years of clinical experience and patients’ stories, this book helps to understand addiction and explains how to achieve a healthy balance in our lives. 

Who should read Dopamine Nation?

  • People struggling to break bad habits
  • Family members of loved ones struggling with addiction
  • Anyone who can’t seem to put down their phone

24
Livewired

Livewired

David Eagleman
The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain
4.7 (249 ratings)

What's Livewired about?

Livewired (2020) is an exploration into how the brain is constantly reconfiguring itself. As it learns new information about the world around it, the brain changes shape. We’re always discovering more about its astonishing adaptability.

Who should read Livewired?

  • Fans of popular science 
  • Students of biology and human anatomy
  • People keen to expand their own brains

25
The Brain that Changes Itself

The Brain that Changes Itself

Norman Doidge
Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
4.6 (243 ratings)

What's The Brain that Changes Itself about?

How can stroke victims who become paralyzed start using a fork or buttoning their shirts again? Well, contrary to what was believed for so long, the brain is not hardwired. It can change, regenerate and grow. Drawing on real-life cases of scientists, doctors and patients, The Brain that Changes Itself (2007) shows us how, rather than relying on surgery and medicine, we can alter our brains through thought and behavior.

Who should read The Brain that Changes Itself?

  • Anyone who wants to change their habits
  • Psychology students
  • Anyone seeking inspiration while recovering from an injury

26
The Disordered Mind

The Disordered Mind

Eric R. Kandel
What Unusual Brains Tell Us About Ourselves
4.5 (258 ratings)

What's The Disordered Mind about?

The Disordered Mind (2018) explores what disorders and diseases of the brain can tell us about the inner workings of our minds. Acclaimed neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel draws on a lifetime of research to explain what depression, schizophrenia, addiction, and more reveal about how our brains affect our thoughts, feelings, and behavior – and explains how new scientific methods could help solve the big puzzle of consciousness.

Who should read The Disordered Mind?

  • Armchair philosophers, hobby psychologists, and aspiring neuroscientists
  • People affected by Alzheimer’s, depression, schizophrenia, or other neurological disorders
  • Anyone puzzled by the mystery of consciousness

27
Know Thyself

Know Thyself

Stephen M. Fleming
The Science of Self-Awareness
4.5 (322 ratings)

What's Know Thyself about?

In Know Thyself (2021) cognitive neuroscientist Stephen M. Fleming lays out the basic principles of metacognition – the way we think about what we think. This revealing book shows by understanding of our metacognitive processes, we can turn them to our advantage, to make accurate, informed judgments.

Who should read Know Thyself?

  • Psychology buffs 
  • People grappling with difficult decisions
  • Anyone who wants to know more about why they think what they think

28
How to Think More Effectively

How to Think More Effectively

The School of Life
A guide to greater productivity, insight and creativity
4.4 (920 ratings)

What's How to Think More Effectively about?

How to Think More Effectively (2020) is a simple guide to improving the way you think. Drawing lessons from sources as diverse as the feeling of envy and the prose of Proust, it lays out the characteristics of effective thoughts – and shows how you can start cultivating them.

Who should read How to Think More Effectively?

  • Reflective types who want to up their cognitive game
  • Creatives trying to release their inner potential
  • Anyone who’d like to feel a little bit smarter

29
Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon

Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon

Rahul Jandial
The New Science and Stories of the Brain
4.6 (343 ratings)

What's Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon about?

Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon (2019) takes a look into the human brain and the science of cognitive health. Debunking common myths about the brain, these blinks will bring you up-to-date insights on cognitive functions such as sleep, memory and creativity, as well as the best ways to harness your natural abilities.

Who should read Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon?

  • Neuroscience enthusiasts
  • Health nuts looking to improve their memory
  • Artists and entrepreneurs seeking to become more creative

30
Peak Mind

Peak Mind

Amishi Jha
Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, 12 Minutes a Day
4.6 (637 ratings)

What's Peak Mind about?

Peak Mind (2021) provides a cutting-edge overview of the science of attention – looking at the various ways your mind focuses and pays attention, as well as the factors that cause our mental vigilance to lapse and weaken over time. What’s more, it lays out a simple, easy-to-follow regimen to keep your mind in tip-top shape – even as you deal with the ups and downs of life.

Who should read Peak Mind?

  • Science enthusiasts interested in the frontiers of neuroscience
  • Distractible procrastinators trying to find their focus
  • Mindfulness skeptics interested in the science underpinning the practice

31
The Neuroscience of You

The Neuroscience of You

Chantel Prat
How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours
4.6 (639 ratings)

What's The Neuroscience of You about?

The Neuroscience of You (2022) is an accessible primer to the human brain that explores how our individual quirks arise. Packed with practical tests and cutting-edge insights into why you think differently from others, it invites you to take a closer look at your brain and discover what makes it unique– and how to understand others and their quirks better. 

Who should read The Neuroscience of You?

  • Fans of neuroscience
  • Those eager to learn about the specifics of brain functions
  • Anyone curious about where individuality comes from

32
Rewire Your Anxious Brain

Rewire Your Anxious Brain

Catherine M. Pittman & Elizabeth M. Karle
How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry
4.7 (488 ratings)

What's Rewire Your Anxious Brain about?

Rewire Your Anxious Brain (2015) is a powerful guide to overcoming anxiety. Based on the latest research in neuroscience, it explains how two separate regions of the brain are responsible for producing anxiety – and how each requires different strategies and approaches.

Who should read Rewire Your Anxious Brain?

  • Anxiety sufferers
  • Therapists looking for new strategies
  • Brain science enthusiasts

33
Frames of Mind

Frames of Mind

Howard Gardner
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
4.5 (348 ratings)

What's Frames of Mind about?

Frames of Mind (1983) is a landmark text that first proposed the psychological theory of multiple intelligences. Upending the long-held conception that intelligence is just one general, monolithic trait, it argues instead that there are several intelligences that everyone possesses in different quantities. By studying them, educators and policymakers can reshape the educational system to benefit a much greater number of students than the current programs do.

Who should read Frames of Mind?

  • Psychology fans interested in one of the field’s significant texts
  • Educators, teachers, and tutors who want to better understand their students
  • Anyone fascinated by the human mind

34
Remember

Remember

Lisa Genova
The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting
4.6 (244 ratings)

What's Remember about?

Remember (2021) is about our marvelous and flawed ability to create memories. It explores the different sorts of memories we create, how the brain makes them, why they often fail, and what we can do to get the best out of our astonishing and troubled capacity to remember.

Who should read Remember?

  • People curious about our brain functions
  • Anyone interested in the human capacity to remember and to forget
  • Folks concerned about what happens to memory as we get older

35
Super Brain

Super Brain

Deepak Chopra and Rudolph E. Tanzi
Unleash the Explosive Power of Your Mind
4.4 (300 ratings)

What's Super Brain about?

Super Brain (2012) offers a fascinating look at the amazing powers your brain has to change your life and even alter your perception of the world. “Mind over matter” is a rule; with the right set of tools, you can rise above the daily grind to live a healthier, longer life free from fear and disappointment.

"Loved this book-in-blinks! I'm very interested in learning about the brain, endocrinology and the biochemical processes of the body. As a personal trainer, massage therapist and yoga teacher, I'm somewhat of a body nerd.” – Lisa, Blinkist user, USA

Who should read Super Brain?

  • Neurologists interested in the brain’s holistic powers
  • Spiritualists curious about how the brain perceives reality
  • Readers looking for the secret to happiness

36
Brain Food

Brain Food

Lisa Mosconi
How to Eat Smart and Sharpen Your Mind
4.6 (597 ratings)

What's Brain Food about?

Brain Food (2018) highlights the role nutrition plays in your brain’s health. It explores the incredible brain-gut connection and reveals exactly what to eat and drink to maximize your cognitive power and prevent stress, dementia, and memory loss.

Who should read Brain Food?

  • People who want to transform sluggish minds into sharpshooters
  • Health nuts seeking simple hacks to achieve long-term well-being
  • Those who feel their brains could use a little TLC

37
Emotional

Emotional

Leonard Mlodinow
How Feelings Shape Our Thinking
4.4 (217 ratings)

What's Emotional about?

Emotional (2022) explores a long-misunderstood part of the human psyche: emotions. It shows how neuroscience is shedding light on the role and importance of our emotions – and gives tips on how to control our emotions to lead better lives. 

Who should read Emotional?

  • Businesspeople who want to be more successful and effective in their roles
  • Individuals dealing with difficult-to-control emotions 
  • People struggling with motivation who want to form beneficial habits

38
Your Brain on Porn

Your Brain on Porn

Gary Wilson
Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction
4.2 (169 ratings)

What's Your Brain on Porn about?

Your Brain on Porn (2014) examines the explosion of internet pornography addiction. In the age of high-speed internet, porn is more widespread than ever. And although excessive porn consumption can negatively affect mental health and sexual function, the damage can be reversed. 

Who should read Your Brain on Porn?

  • Anyone who thinks they might be suffering from porn addiction
  • Students of psychology or medicine
  • Internet connoisseurs seeking to understand the effects of excessive porn consumption

39
Phantoms in the Brain

Phantoms in the Brain

V. S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee
Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind
4.5 (143 ratings)

What's Phantoms in the Brain about?

Phantoms in the Brain (1998) is an enduring classic of popular science that has transformed how we think about the brain and its relationship to the human experience. Drawing on the author’s clinical practice, it presents a series of patients with rare and astonishing neurological conditions. These case studies illuminate the architecture of our brains and, in the process, cast fresh light on timeless philosophical questions regarding the nature of consciousness, identity, and reality itself.

Who should read Phantoms in the Brain?

  • Aficionados of strange and extraordinary tales
  • Perennial learners looking for an accessible introduction to neurology
  • Anyone who wants insight into how the mind works

40
Your Brain Is Always Listening

Your Brain Is Always Listening

Daniel G. Amen
Tame the Hidden Dragons That Control Your Happiness, Habits, and Hang-Ups
4.2 (177 ratings)

What's Your Brain Is Always Listening about?

Your Brain Is Always Listening (2021) is a self-help guide for readers looking to lead happier, healthier lives. Drawing on Dr. Daniel Amen’s extensive experience as a psychiatrist, it shares science-backed tips for slaying the fire-breathing dragons that dwell inside your brain and spark destructive behaviors. 

Who should read Your Brain Is Always Listening?

  • Anyone struggling with mental health – or supporting someone who is 
  • People who want to understand how their brain impacts behavior
  • Those seeking new tools to add to their self-care routine

41
The Happiness Advantage

The Happiness Advantage

Shawn Achor
The Seven Principles that Fuel Success and Performance at Work
4.6 (243 ratings)

What's The Happiness Advantage about?

The Happiness Advantage looks into the origins of happiness and the positive effects that happiness has on our productivity. Based on extensive research in positive psychology, the book offers concrete tips on how to increase your own happiness and thus your chances for success.

Who should read The Happiness Advantage?

  • Anyone who thinks happiness is the reward for hard work
  • Anyone who feels too stressed to cope
  • Anyone who could use just a little more happiness in his or her life

42
The Body

The Body

Bill Bryson
A Guide for Occupants
4.4 (240 ratings)

What's The Body about?

The Body: A Guide for Occupants (2019) is an entertaining and fact-filled account of how we all work. With his trademark wit, Bill Bryson explains the astonishing ways in which our bodies are put together, and what goes on inside them.

Who should read The Body?

  • Popular science fans
  • Biology and medicine enthusiasts
  • Anyone keen to learn more about their own body

43
Incognito

Incognito

David Eagleman
The Secret Lives of the Brain
3.9 (159 ratings)

What's Incognito about?

Unbeknownst to you, a subconscious part of your brain is constantly whirring away and wielding a tremendous influence on your thoughts, feelings and behavior. Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain (2011) is your guide to the other side of your brain, and how it shapes your life.

Who should read Incognito?

  • Anyone interested in psychology, psychiatry or neuroscience
  • Anyone interested in what makes us see the world the way we see it, and the inner workings of our minds
  • Anyone who wonders whether there is such a thing as free will, and if criminals truly choose to commit their crimes

44
The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

Steven Laureys
A Scientist’s Guide to the Power of Meditation
4.7 (498 ratings)

What's The No-Nonsense Meditation Book about?

The No-Nonsense Meditation Book (2021) explores the science behind meditation. As the latest neuroscience research shows, you don’t have to be a monk in search of nirvana to reap the benefits of meditation. In fact, it’s a great solution to many distinctly modern problems like stress and chronic anxiety.

Who should read The No-Nonsense Meditation Book?

  • Natural worriers
  • Would-be meditators
  • Scientists

45
Brain Rules

Brain Rules

John Medina
12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School
4.3 (142 ratings)

What's Brain Rules about?

Brain Rules (2008) gives you insight into how our brains function and explains how you can take advantage of such knowledge to push your brain to work better. From gaining more productivity at work to absorbing more at school, mastering the “brain rules” will help make learning with all your senses become second nature.

Who should read Brain Rules?

  • Psychologists and neuroscientists researching how the brain works
  • Students looking for ways to learn more effectively
  • People wanting to improve their memory

46
Descartes' Error

Descartes' Error

Antonio Damasio
Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain
4.6 (190 ratings)

What's Descartes' Error about?

Descartes’ Error (1995) turns conventional wisdom about the human mind on its head. Combining sophisticated neuroscience with fascinating case studies about patients with brain damage, it shows how the traditional dualisms of Western thought do not stand up to scrutiny. Reason depends on emotion, and the brain is intimately connected with the body.

Who should read Descartes' Error?

  • Rationalists skeptical of emotions
  • Emotional people sick of being called irrational
  • Anyone interested in the intersections between neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy

47
Move!

Move!

Caroline Williams
The New Science of Body Movement and How it Can Set Your Mind Free
4.6 (420 ratings)

What's Move! about?

Move! (2021) is a step-by-step guide to setting your body – and mind – in motion. Drawing on recent exercise science research, it shares actionable tips for boosting creativity, improving mental health, and future-proofing your brain against the many effects of aging.

Who should read Move!?

  • Aspiring exercisers who need some motivation to get moving
  • Workout junkies looking to make the most of their fitness routines
  • Anyone guilty of saying, “I’ll hit the gym . . . tomorrow

48
Stealing Fire

Stealing Fire

Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work
3.9 (154 ratings)

What's Stealing Fire about?

Stealing Fire (2017) explores the controversial and exciting pursuit of altered states of consciousness. From tech entrepreneurs to BASE jumpers, meditators to festival-goers, it takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the revolutionary nonconformists trying to change the way they experience the world.

Who should read Stealing Fire?

  • Burning Man enthusiasts
  • Entrepreneurs curious about performance hacks
  • Psychology buffs interested in alternative therapies

49
The Biological Mind

The Biological Mind

Alan Jasanoff
How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are
4.5 (139 ratings)

What's The Biological Mind about?

The Biological Mind (2018) debunks the “cerebral mystique,” the commonly held belief that our brains are somehow completely independent from our bodies and our surroundings. Using the latest insights from neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, this approachable primer demonstrates that what you see as yourself is much more complex than you thought.

Who should read The Biological Mind?

  • Science buffs looking to keep up with the latest research
  • Armchair philosophers curious about questions of consciousness
  • Psychonauts seeking to understand their own minds

50
The Sweet Spot

The Sweet Spot

Paul Bloom
The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search For Meaning
4.5 (724 ratings)

What's The Sweet Spot about?

The Sweet Spot (2021) is a refreshing antidote to all the books we read about being positive at all costs. It argues that negative experiences like pain, suffering, and discomfort are not something to be shied away from. In fact, they can add value to our lives. Instead of trying to avoid discomfort, we need to find the right discomfort. That is, the kind of challenge that makes our lives meaningful. 

Who should read The Sweet Spot ?

  • Self-help fans who are tired of all the toxic positivity
  • Psychology lovers looking for an original perspective on how pain and suffering affect our lives
  • Reflective seekers looking to understand what will give their lives a sense of purpose

51
The Molecule of More

The Molecule of More

Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long
How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity – and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race
4.8 (368 ratings)

What's The Molecule of More about?

The Molecule of More (2020) reveals how one brain chemical kindles our desires, fuels our creativity, and makes us fall in love. Using the latest insights from psychology, neuroscience, and social studies to investigate the role of this powerful brain chemical in our thoughts and behavior, it explains what science can teach us about drug addiction, mental illness, and political disagreements.

Who should read The Molecule of More?

  • Science enthusiasts interested in the mysteries of the human brain
  • Mind-wanderers, achievement addicts, and other restless souls 
  • Anyone looking for neurochemical balance in their lives

52
Habits of a Happy Brain

Habits of a Happy Brain

Loretta Graziano Breuning
Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin & Endorphin Levels
4.5 (67 ratings)

What's Habits of a Happy Brain about?

Habits of a Happy Brain (2012) provides a detailed introduction to the four chemicals responsible for our happiness: dopamine, serotonin, endorphin and oxytocin. The book explores the mechanics of what makes us happy and why, as well as why some bad things make us feel so good.

Who should read Habits of a Happy Brain?

  • Anyone interested in turning their bad habits into productive ones
  • Anyone who wants to become a happier person
  • Anyone who is interested in psychology and neurology

53
Learn Like a Pro

Learn Like a Pro

Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe
Science-based Tools to Become Better at Anything
4.4 (313 ratings)

What's Learn Like a Pro about?

Learn Like a Pro: Science-based Tools to Become Better at Anything (2021) looks at the most powerful strategies for staying focused and learning effectively. Both coauthors draw on their past struggles with learning, and use insights from experts and research to find out what works and what doesn’t. 

Who should read Learn Like a Pro?

  • Students looking to supercharge their learning
  • Anyone who has struggled to learn something new
  • Education gurus

54
No Bad Parts

No Bad Parts

Richard C. Schwartz
Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model
4.5 (320 ratings)

What's No Bad Parts about?

No Bad Parts (2021) argues that we’re all made up of many distinct parts, like inner voices, that add different things to our lives. By engaging these parts directly, we can heal past traumas and transform the way we relate to ourselves and the world.

Who should read No Bad Parts?

  • Deep thinkers who experience internal conflict
  • Psychology buffs interested in an original approach to the mind
  • People who feel numb and dissociated because of early traumatic experiences

55
The Wandering Mind

The Wandering Mind

Michael C. Corballis
What the Brain Does When You’re Not Looking
4.2 (95 ratings)

What's The Wandering Mind about?

The Wandering Mind (2015) reveals exactly what is going on in our brain when our mind starts to lose focus. We explore the areas of the brain that remain active as concentration drifts and uncover the connections between our memory, creativity and the rewards of daydreaming.

Who should read The Wandering Mind?

  • People who want to know more about the brain
  • Employees and students interested in productivity
  • Artists and business people searching for creativity

56
The Male Brain

The Male Brain

Louann Brizendine
A Breakthrough Understanding of How Men and Boys Think
4.5 (362 ratings)

What's The Male Brain about?

The Male Brain (2010) is a neuroscientist’s account of the interplay between hormones and brain development that shapes the formation and growth of male brains and behavior. Based on decades of research, it argues that the roots of many masculine stereotypes can be seen in neurobiology, and that hormones shape the male brain and outlook for a lifetime.

Who should read The Male Brain?

  • Anyone with a male brain wondering about how it works
  • Minds curious about biology’s effect on culture
  • Those who interact with male brains looking for insights

57
The Female Brain

The Female Brain

Louann Brizendine
A Comprehensive New Look at What Makes Us Women
4.5 (304 ratings)

What's The Female Brain about?

The Female Brain (2006) is a classic of popular neuroscience which argues that hormone-driven neural development shapes many of women’s drives and behaviors. Just a few hormones chart a course through the cycle of changes that mark life with a female brain.

Who should read The Female Brain?

  • Anyone with a female brain wondering how it all works
  • Biology buffs curious about the intersections of nature and behavior
  • Those who interact with female brains looking for insight

58
Future Tense

Future Tense

Tracy Dennis-Tiwary
Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad)
4.5 (393 ratings)

What's Future Tense about?

Future Tense (2022) puts to rest a huge and socially pervasive myth about anxiety: that it’s bad and should be avoided at all costs. Today, anxiety is considered an illness – something that should be treated with medicine or coped with in some other way. But that isn’t the case. Ultimately, anxiety is simply information, and it’s incredibly important for our survival. It’s up to us to make the best use of it.

Who should read Future Tense?

  • Anyone intimately familiar with anxiety
  • Parents worried about their children’s emotional lives
  • Psychology fans

59
Rationality

Rationality

Steven Pinker
What It Is, Why It's Scarce, and How to Get More
4.2 (381 ratings)

What's Rationality about?

Rationality (2021) explores the faculty that sets us apart from other species: reason. The ability to think rationally drives individual and social progress. It allows us to attain our goals and create a fairer world. But rationality isn’t just something we do as individuals – it also sustains our best institutions.

Who should read Rationality?

  • Would-be rationalists
  • Philosophical thinkers
  • Anyone who loves big ideas

60
Wired for Love

Wired for Love

Stephanie Cacioppo
A Neuroscientist's Journey Through Romance, Loss, and the Essence of Human Connection
4.6 (502 ratings)

What's Wired for Love about?

Wired for Love (2022) combines fascinating neuroscientific research with a captivating personal story to reveal some of the secrets behind that great human mystery: love. Love is often thought of as a topic best left to poets and musicians –⁠ but it can and should be studied as a legitimate scientific question. In a world that is constantly throwing up new challenges to romance, from online dating to global pandemics, an understanding of and respect for love is more important than ever before.

Who should read Wired for Love?

  • Hopeless romantics
  • Neuroscience and psychology fanatics
  • Anyone who is, has been, or wants to be in love

61
This Is Your Mind on Plants

This Is Your Mind on Plants

Michael Pollan
Examining the Human Attraction to Consciousness Altering Plants
4.3 (279 ratings)

What's This Is Your Mind on Plants about?

This Is Your Mind on Plants (2021) is a vivid, intricate probe into the history, chemistry, and effects of three plant-derived drugs: opium, caffeine, and mescaline. These substances – a sedative, a stimulant, and a hallucinogen – represent a large part of the human experience with drugs. It’s time to shed new light on how they’ve shaped our histories, cultures, and minds.

Who should read This Is Your Mind on Plants?

  • Psychonauts and introspective thinkers
  • Botanists, plant lovers, and science geeks
  • Anyone interested in the history of the US war on drugs and its effects

62
The Awakened Brain

The Awakened Brain

Lisa Miller
The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life
4.5 (512 ratings)

What's The Awakened Brain about?

The Awakened Brain (2021) reveals the science of spirituality. Drawing on Dr. Lisa Miller’s decades of research and her own personal journey, it locates an innate capacity for spirituality in human biology. When engaged, this spiritual awareness can protect against depression, support health, and reveal the deep interconnection between all life.

Who should read The Awakened Brain?

  • Seekers of science and spirituality
  • People coping with depression or anxiety
  • Anyone contemplating life’s big questions

63
Lateral Thinking

Lateral Thinking

Edward de Bono
Creativity Step by Step
4.3 (350 ratings)

What's Lateral Thinking about?

Lateral Thinking (1970) explains the important differences between vertical and lateral thinking. It offers techniques on how to strengthen your ability to think creatively – and spark important changes and innovations along the way. It also provides lessons that teachers can use to help young students develop a talent for lateral thinking.

Who should read Lateral Thinking?

  • People who want to improve at thinking outside the box
  • Teachers looking for lessons to inspire creative thinking
  • Executives eager for more productive brainstorming sessions

64
The XX Brain

The XX Brain

Lisa Mosconi
The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer's Disease
4.6 (342 ratings)

What's The XX Brain about?

The XX Brain (2020) is a practical guide to improving women’s brain health and preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Women are suffering from an Alzheimer’s epidemic, but so far the medical industry isn’t doing much about it. The XX Brain shows you how to take your health into your own hands, demand the medical treatment you deserve, and take concrete steps to help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s. 

Who should read The XX Brain?

  • Women looking to proactively protect their brains from disease
  • Women who are forgetful and would like more mental clarity
  • Health professionals wanting to improve their approach to women’s healthcare

65
The Runaway Species

The Runaway Species

Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman
How Human Creativity Remakes the World
4.3 (49 ratings)

What's The Runaway Species about?

The Runaway Species (2017) is a gripping account of human creativity. Examining the principles that underlie our inventiveness, as well as real-world examples of creative breakthroughs, it offers a novel account of the abilities that make our species unique.

Who should read The Runaway Species?

  • Artistic types wondering how creativity works
  • Entrepreneurs trying to develop the next big thing
  • Anyone who wants to become a bit more inventive

66
How Minds Change

How Minds Change

David McRaney
The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion
4.6 (460 ratings)

What's How Minds Change about?

How Minds Change (2022) is a deep dive into why we believe, why we keep believing, and why, sometimes, we stop believing. More than that, it’s a guide to changing minds –⁠ not through manipulation or coercion, but through empathy and open-mindedness.

Who should read How Minds Change?

  • Psychology and neuroscience geeks
  • Friends and family members of conspiracy theorists or dogmatic political activists
  • Anyone who knows a person whose mind they’d like to change

67
The Future of the Mind

The Future of the Mind

Michio Kaku
The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind
4.4 (113 ratings)

What's The Future of the Mind about?

The Future of the Mind looks at our current understanding of the human brain, as well as the varied research that is currently being conducted to expand the potential of the mind to areas which sound like science fiction, but could soon be reality.

Who should read The Future of the Mind?

  • Anyone interested in the human brain and how we’ve gained our current understanding of it
  • Anyone interested in future applications of the brain, like sharing memories and emotions with each other telepathically

68
No Self, No Problem

No Self, No Problem

Chris Niebauer
How Neuropsychology is Catching Up to Buddhism
4.7 (337 ratings)

What's No Self, No Problem about?

No Self, No Problem (2019) offers an array of neuroscientific evidence that supports an age-old Buddhist thesis: that there’s no such thing as a stable, continuous self. Recent research indicates that the self is an illusion, a nonexistent pattern created by the language center of the human brain. 

Who should read No Self, No Problem?

  • Scientifically minded spiritual seekers
  • Skeptics of meditation, yoga and tai chi
  • People who’ve been called “left-brained”

69
Subtract

Subtract

Leidy Klotz
The Untapped Science of Less
4.2 (1,239 ratings)

What's Subtract about?

Subtract (2021) explores subtraction as a way to make positive change. It examines the human love affair with adding and having “more” – and it explains how our brains and environments work against subtraction. 

Who should read Subtract?

  • Design professionals looking for a fresh perspective
  • Psychology buffs wanting new insights
  • Anthropology enthusiasts

70
The Psychology of Intelligence

The Psychology of Intelligence

Jean Piaget
A theory of intelligence and cognitive development between birth and adolescence
4.4 (106 ratings)

What's The Psychology of Intelligence about?

The Psychology of Intelligence (1947) outlines the pioneering psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of intelligence and cognitive development between birth and adolescence. Originally delivered as a series of lectures in Paris, Piaget’s text provides a key to his highly influential research agenda and, by extension, to one of the twentieth century’s most important bodies of work on children’s psychology.

Who should read The Psychology of Intelligence?

  • Parents fascinated by how their kids’ minds work
  • Teachers and educators 
  • Theorists and thinkers

71
The Emperor's New Mind

The Emperor's New Mind

Roger Penrose
Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics
4.6 (214 ratings)

What's The Emperor's New Mind about?

The Emperor’s New Mind (1989) is a timeless argument against the computability of the human mind. Taking you on a fascinating journey through math, computer science, philosophy, and physics, famous mathematician Roger Penrose explains what makes the human mind so special – and what quantum mechanics has to do with consciousness.

Who should read The Emperor's New Mind?

  • Math freaks and science geeks 
  • Hobby psychologists and armchair philosophers
  • Anyone concerned about a robot uprising

72
Mind Hacking

Mind Hacking

Sir John Hargrave
How to Change Your Mind for Good in 21 Days
4.5 (264 ratings)

What's Mind Hacking about?

Mind Hacking (2016) is a guide to reprogramming – or hacking – your mind. By following its 21-day program, you’ll find out how to improve your mental habits, eliminate negative thought loops, and take control of your own mind.

Who should read Mind Hacking?

  • Happiness seekers
  • People stuck in a thought loop
  • Anyone who wants to master their mind

73
Conscious

Conscious

Annaka Harris
A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind
4.3 (190 ratings)

What's Conscious about?

Conscious (2019) offers a contemplative and probing look at one of life's central mysteries: consciousness. Author Annaka Harris explores two fundamental questions: How do we define consciousness? And how widespread is its existence in the universe?

Who should read Conscious?

  • Curious people interested in life’s mysteries
  • Students of philosophy and biology
  • Anyone curious about the human brain

74
Head Strong

Head Strong

Dave Asprey
The Bulletproof Plan to Boost Brainpower, Increase Focus, and Maximize Performance – in Just Two Weeks
4.3 (134 ratings)

What's Head Strong about?

What’s it about?

Head Strong (2017) is a cutting-edge guide to strengthening and fine-tuning your cognitive powers. From what toxic foods to avoid to the importance of healthy lighting, it leaves no stone unturned in its advice on reaching optimal mental performance.

Who should read Head Strong?

Who’s it for?

  • High-flying businesspeople looking for an edge in the boardroom
  • Health nuts interested in optimizing their brainpower
  • Anyone who struggles with brain fog, procrastination, and lethargy

75
Fear Less

Fear Less

Pippa Grange
Face Not-Good-Enough to Replace Your Doubts, Achieve Your Goals, and Unlock Your Success
4.3 (342 ratings)

What's Fear Less about?

Fear Less (2021) highlights the countless ways that fear infiltrates our lives, negatively impacting our work, relationships, and personal satisfaction. We may not even realize that we’re afraid, but identifying our underlying anxieties and insecurities is the first step to leading a more fulfilling, fearless life.

Who should read Fear Less?

  • Perfectionists who feel they’re never quite good enough
  • Private people who struggle with honesty and intimacy
  • Nervous fliers, anxious parents, commitment-phobes, and anyone else who’s afraid

76
The Expectation Effect

The Expectation Effect

David Robson
How Your Mindset Can Change Your World
4.7 (956 ratings)

What's The Expectation Effect about?

The Expectation Effect (2022) explores the connection between our minds, our bodies, and our outcomes. It explores how our expectations can form our realities, and reveals the extent to which self-fulfilling prophecies shape our lives.

Who should read The Expectation Effect?

  • Anyone struggling with a negative mindset
  • Psychology buffs looking for a fresh perspective
  • Health and wellness fans wanting new insights

77
The Marshmallow Test

The Marshmallow Test

Walter Mischel
Mastering Self-Control
4.6 (55 ratings)

What's The Marshmallow Test about?

The Marshmallow Test explains why being able to delay gratification and exercise our self-control is essential for living a successful life. Using insights gained from several psychological studies, it explains how exactly our self-control skills function, and what we can do to improve them.

Who should read The Marshmallow Test?

  • Anyone who wants to improve his or her self-control
  • Anyone interested in psychology
  • Anyone hoping to help children develop good self-control skills, especially parents

78
Love Yourself Well

Love Yourself Well

Lo Bosworth
An Empowering Wellness Guide to Supporting Your Gut, Brain, and Vagina
3.0 (15 ratings)

What's Love Yourself Well about?

As a guide to optimizing female wellness, Love Yourself Well (2022) empowers women to take their health into their own hands. The book presents honest insights into the connection between the gut, brain, and vagina and promotes natural remedies for intimate problems.

Who should read Love Yourself Well?

  • Female health advocates
  • Women experiencing health problems they find difficult to talk about
  • Anyone curious about the connection between the gut, brain, and vagina

79
Collective Illusions

Collective Illusions

Todd Rose
Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions
4.6 (53 ratings)

What's Collective Illusions about?

Collective Illusions (2022) explores the idea of conformity bias: how it shapes our decisions for better or worse, and how we can overcome this behavior and even use it for good.

Who should read Collective Illusions?

  • Amateur brain scientists
  • People who want to be the change
  • Dissenters and activists

80
Deep Creativity

Deep Creativity

Deborah Anne Quibell
Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit
3.6 (248 ratings)

What's Deep Creativity about?

Deep Creativity (2019) encourages you to celebrate your inner creative impulses as a means of self-expression. The three authors tell personal stories about their creative practice and offer sage advice for how to live a creatively satisfying life.

Who should read Deep Creativity?

  • Creative souls
  • Dabblers in depth psychology
  • Searchers for inner peace and fulfillment

81
The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary

The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary

Catherine Gray
The benefits of mediocrity and the beauty of the everyday
4.4 (83 ratings)

What's The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary about?

What’s it about?

The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary (2019) explores the surprising benefits of being an average Joe. From money to intelligence to relationships, it reveals the pleasures of being perfectly ordinary.

Who should read The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary?

Who’s it for?

  • Anxious souls looking for reassurance
  • Lovers of popular science books
  • Anyone interested in evolutionary psychology

82
Imaginable

Imaginable

Jane McGonigal
How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything – Even Things That Seem Impossible Today
4.5 (395 ratings)

What's Imaginable about?

Imaginable (2022) lays out a simple but powerful premise: you have more control over the future than you may think. Through psychology-backed games, it explores how to train your imagination in order to transform your outlook on life and, ultimately, change the world. Its big-picture thinking and actionable exercises will help you prepare for – and get excited about – what’s to come.

Who should read Imaginable?

  • People stuck in a spiral of doomsday thinking
  • Action-oriented folks seeking an antidote to the world’s afflictions
  • Anyone who thinks the future is just something that happens

83
The Extended Mind

The Extended Mind

Annie Murphy Paul
The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain
4.8 (979 ratings)

What's The Extended Mind about?

The Extended Mind (2021) is an exploration of the power of thinking outside the confines of your brain. It shows that the path to greater intelligence is not locked within your skull. Rather, it's a path through your body, your environment and your relationships with others. 

Who should read The Extended Mind?

  • People interested in the interaction of the body, brain and environment
  • Anyone interested in designing better spaces for creativity and teamwork
  • Anyone who’d like to optimize their working and learning relationships

84
The Quick Fix

The Quick Fix

Jesse Singal
Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills
4.2 (76 ratings)

What's The Quick Fix about?

The Quick Fix (2021) is a skeptical study of recent trends in behavioral psychology. Academic studies and TED talks may appear to make a convincing case for the power of positive thinking or the impact of implicit bias, but sometimes the evidence just isn’t there. In a complex world, the explanations for human behavior are often more nuanced than some modern psychologists would have you believe.

Who should read The Quick Fix?

  • Psychology skeptics
  • Those interested in societal problems and human behavior
  • Anyone who has ever viewed a TED talk

85
On Intelligence

On Intelligence

Jeff Hawkins and Sandra Blakeslee
How a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines
4.0 (60 ratings)

What's On Intelligence about?

These blinks provide an overview of the human brain’s capacity for thinking and for comparing new experiences to old memories. They also explain why today’s machines still aren’t able to emulate this capability, but why we may soon be able to build ones that can.

Who should read On Intelligence?

  • Anyone interested in how the brain works or what makes us intelligent and conscious beings
  • Anyone who wants to know whether we’ll ever build machines that are truly intelligent
  • Anyone wondering whether such intelligent machines would be good or bad for humanity

86
The Loudest Guest

The Loudest Guest

Amy Silver
How to Change and Control Your Relationship with Fear
4.2 (169 ratings)

What's The Loudest Guest about?

The Loudest Guest (2020) is a six-step guide to controlling your fear and taking back control of your life. It offers practical advice on how to recognize your fear, evaluate how it affects you, and choose when and how you listen to it. Fear may be at the party, but he doesn’t have to be your loudest guest.

Who should read The Loudest Guest?

  • Courage seekers
  • People who experience anxiety
  • Worriers, doubters, and perfectionists

87
Black-and-White Thinking

Black-and-White Thinking

Kevin Dutton
The Burden of a Binary Brain in a Complex World
4.5 (277 ratings)

What's Black-and-White Thinking about?

Black and White Thinking (2020) examines the human brain’s irresistible impulse to sort things into binary categories: black and white, good and evil, right and wrong. The instinct to categorize is strong –⁠ and we have evolution to thank for it. But while categorization helped us survive in ancient times – when every trip into the forest was life or death – it’s become an obstacle in the modern world. Today, life’s rarely black-and-white, but often shades of gray.

Who should read Black-and-White Thinking?

  • Anyone fascinated by the human brain
  • People who love to pick apart the intricacies of language
  • Those who want to think more clearly in their daily lives

88
If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal

If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal

Justin Gregg
What Animal Intelligence Reveals about Human Stupidity
4.3 (182 ratings)

What's If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal about?

If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal (2022) takes a playful yet profoundly meaningful look at what makes humans so different from the other animals on the planet. In doing so, it makes a strong case for why the human mind may be dangerously unsuccessful from an evolutionary standpoint.

Who should read If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal?

  • Animal lovers and pet owners
  • Science geeks
  • People worried about the fate of humanity

89
Wanting

Wanting

Luke Burgis
The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
4.5 (110 ratings)

What's Wanting about?

Wanting (2021) provides a riveting, philosophical answer to the question Why do we want the things we want? Drawing on theories originally developed by the celebrated polymath René Girard, it reveals an uncomfortable truth: that our desires are all ultimately a product of other people’s desires. The point isn’t to eliminate them,⁠ but rather to choose, carefully and consciously, which ones we should actually strive for. 

Who should read Wanting?

  • Lovers of philosophy, psychology, and literature
  • Dedicated self-improvers
  • Young entrepreneurs and business leaders

90
The Human Instinct

The Human Instinct

Kenneth R. Miller
How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will
4.0 (227 ratings)

What's The Human Instinct about?

The Human Instinct (2018) is a celebration of humanity’s development of reason, consciousness, and free will through the process of evolution. It shows that our remarkable capacities are all the more unique for having arising from natural origins.

Who should read The Human Instinct?

  • Theologians, philosophers, scientists, and anyone else interested in the condition of our peculiar species
  • Anyone curious about evolution and what it means for humanity
  • Humans who enjoy contemplating our place in creation

91
Adventures in Human Being

Adventures in Human Being

Gavin Francis
A Grand Tour from the Cranium to the Calcaneum
4.3 (73 ratings)

What's Adventures in Human Being about?

Adventures in Human Being (2015) is a sort of anatomical travel guide. A series of philosophical reflections on each of the body’s major organs, the book combines a clinical perspective on the body with select stories from our cultural history. The result is a series of striking ruminations on the human condition from the unusual angle of human anatomy.

Who should read Adventures in Human Being?

  • Students of medicine open to a more philosophical approach to the body 
  • Philosophers curious to hear a doctor’s perspective on the human condition
  • Anyone who wants to learn about the inner workings of their body

92
Framers

Framers

Kenneth Cukier
Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil
4.1 (60 ratings)

What's Framers about?

Framers (2021) takes a bird’s eye view of the issues facing our world today, from pandemics to political polarization, and presents a visionary solution. That solution lies with framing –⁠ the conscious or unconscious act of viewing the world through a particular lens. By recognizing and rethinking the frames we use, we can optimize our attitudes toward the world and give ourselves a leg up in the face of major social, economic, and scientific challenges.

Who should read Framers?

  • Abstract thinkers concerned about global issues
  • Decision-makers who tend to over-rely on their gut instincts
  • Innovators struggling to bring their vision into reality

93
The Man Who Wasn't There

The Man Who Wasn't There

Anil Ananthaswamy
Investigations into the Strange New Science of the Self
4.2 (21 ratings)

What's The Man Who Wasn't There about?

The Man Who Wasn’t There (2015) explores the mechanisms that form our fundamental sense of self, and shows what happens when things go awry. By examining the surprising effects of disorders like schizophrenia, depersonalization and autism, the book shows just how flimsy the human sense of self can be.

Who should read The Man Who Wasn't There?

  • People intrigued by the human sense of self
  • Students of neurology, psychology and philosophy
  • Anyone interested in learning about bizarre neurological disorders

94
Who's in Charge

Who's in Charge

Michael S. Gazzaniga
Free Will and the Science of the Brain
4.0 (16 ratings)

What's Who's in Charge about?

Who’s in Charge (2011) explains science’s latest discoveries in how the human brain works and what such insight means for civil society at large. These blinks examine the concept of “free will” and how advances in neuroscience are also changing how we approach law and order.

Who should read Who's in Charge?

  • Anyone interested in how the brain works
  • Lawyers, philosophers or students examining the justice system
  • People curious about the concept of “free will”

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