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Required Reading for

All Thinking Humans

In no particular order, an ever-changing & expanding list of books that impacted me when I first read them and (most importantly) which I keep referring back to and recommending to others.

(Limited to one title per author - although for many of these authors, I then went on to read much more of their work.)

Links will take you to Bookshop.org to support indie bookstores. If you can, though, I suggest you order from your local shop directly!

Non-Fiction

…that taught me about history

How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States - Daniel Immerwahr

These Truths - Jill Lepore

Salt: A World History - Mark Kurlansky

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - Doris Kearns Goodwin

…that taught me about myself, about human nature

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less - Barry Schwartz

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are - Brené Brown

Stumbling on Happiness - Daniel Gilbert

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness - Cass R. Sunstein and Richard H. Thaler

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business - Charles Duhigg

The Power of Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes - William Ury

The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive - Brian Christian

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success - Adam Grant

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions - Dan Ariely

The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness - Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn

…that taught me about culture (and how we’re destroying it)

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business - Neil Postman

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community - Robert D. Putnam

…that taught me about money

Debt: The First 5,000 Years - David Graeber

The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources - Lynne Twist

Women & Money: Be Strong, Be Smart, Be Secure - Suze Orman

…that taught me about writing (and more)

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles - Steven Pressfield

Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose - Constance Hale