Full Disclosure: I really don’t read much of non-fiction. But that’s something I want to correct during this Non-Fiction November challenge (hosted HERE and HERE). Below are the top 10 Non-Fiction Books from my TBR pile. Wish me luck!
1] Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
I’ve been a huge fan of Gladwell since the Outliers days. So is definitely up: “Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don’t know. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world.“
2] Real Magic by Wayne Dwyer
I confess: I’m into self-help books. Self-help counts as non-fiction, right? Wayne Dwyer guides the way about: “… How to achieve a higher level of consciousness. He asks us to imagine what would make us happy, then offers specific strategies for attaining these goals. In every aspect of our individual lives – physical health, finances, intimate relationships, and personal identity – there is always room for a miracle or two.“
3] The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
A modern Machiavelli (not!), Greene talks about: “… How to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people’s masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose.“
4] Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Frankl’s book has often been quoted on dealing with existential angst by finding meaning in our lives. A survivor of the Holocaust, Frankl talks about how we cannot avoid suffering, but we can choose how to cope with it and overcome it.
5] How to be Everything by Emilie Wapnick
I first heard of Wapnick when I saw her TED Talk on “Multipotentialites”. Yes, that’s a word — for Jack-of-all-Trades people who like too many things to have one single grand passion. This book explains how to mix them all up into something enduring.
6] Quiet by Susan Cain
I know I’m rather late to this band wagon, but this time, I intend to finish off the whole book about: “Cain shows us how we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so.” Also, her TED Talk below.
7] Faking It by William Ian Miller
A quote from someone on MetaFilter led me to this book: “Why do we so often mistrust the motives of our own deeds, thinking them fake, though the beneficiary of them gives us full credit? Much of this book deals with that self-tormenting self-consciousness.“
8] Nobody’s Looking at You by Janet Malcolm
Once I learnt that Malcolm wrote one of Gladwell’s favorite books, I knew I had to try out her works. What better than this collection of eclectic essays about the curious psychology of consumers, artists and politicians.
9] Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
I was looking for funniest books ever, and I repeatedly came across this one. Lawson talks about how “the most mortifying moments of our lives—the ones we’d like to pretend never happened—are in fact the ones that define us. Pictures with captions (no one would believe these things without proof) accompany the text.”
10] How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
Also listed as a humorous account of happiness for women, so just had to pick this one up. Moran is a well-known British journalist and has been described as: “the profane, witty and wonky best friend I wish I had. She’s the feminist rock star we need right now. ~ Ayelet Waldman“