Books Recommended by Maria Popova
The Republic
Plato
Source: "I’m actually gobsmacked that this isn’t required in order to be sworn into office, like the Constitution is required for us American immigrants when it comes time to gain American citizenship." - Maria Popova
Still Writing
The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life
Dani Shapiro
Source: "[The author's] magnificent memoir of the writing life, at once disarmingly personal and brimming with widely resonant wisdom on the most universal challenges and joys of writing." - Maria Popova
A Rap on Race
Margaret Mead
Source: "Spectacular and pause-giving in its entirety — the kind of perspective-normalizing read that reminds us both how far we’ve come and how much further we have yet to go." - Maria Popova
Stumbling on Happiness
Daniel Todd Gilbert
Source: "Explores the sometimes subtle, sometimes radical changes we can make in our everyday cognitive strategies in order to avoid ending up unhappy and disappointed." - Maria Popova
On science, necessity, and the love of God
Essays
Simone Weil
Source: "You will find yourself at once infinitely gladdened by [the author]'s enduring ideas and infinitely saddened by the self-fulfilling prophecy embedded in this particular one." - Maria Popova
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
Source: "A meditation on what the gruesome experience of Auschwitz taught [the author] about the primary purpose of life: the quest for meaning, which sustained those who survived." - Maria Popova
Aniela GregorekBryan JohnsonChelsea HandlerChip ConleyDaniel PinkDave ElitchDavid BlaineDustin MoskovitzEmma WatsonEsther PerelEv WilliamsFedor HolzJimmy FallonJocko WillinkJordan PetersonLex FridmanMaria PopovaMichael GervaisNaval RavikantRyan HolidaySam AltmanSimon SinekTerry CrewsTony RobbinsTuria PittPewDiePieShane ParrishMark MansonPhil JacksonTom BilyeuOn the Shortness of Life
Lucius Seneca
Source: "A poignant reminder of what we so deeply intuit yet so easily forget and so chronically fail to put into practice." - Maria Popova
The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert
Take a Whiff of That
Richard Betts
Source: "Lovely, and profound, and challenge our existing ideas about sensory experience." - Maria Popova
Gathering Moss
A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Source: "An extraordinary celebration of smallness and the grandeur of life." - Maria Popova
The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861
Henry David Thoreau
Source: "A book I continue to consider an existential Bible of secular scripture." - Maria Popova
Desert Solitaire
A Season in the Wilderness
Edward Abbey
Source: "So powerful, so enduring, so fiercely necessary today." - Maria Popova
On the Move
A Life
Oliver Sacks
Source: "An uncommonly moving autobiography." - Maria Popova
FAQ
Did Maria Popova recommend all these books?
Not necessarily. This book list has Maria Popova must-read recommendations, but it also has a mix of mentions and suggestions.
How do you know Maria Popova mentioned these books?
Every suggestion made by Maria Popova is validated by our editors. You can find the sources to the recommendations linked next to the books.
Did Maria Popova actually create this list?
No. This reading list was curated by our editors based on confirmed mentions from Maria Popova, the sources are made available under each recommendation.
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