Books for thinking and learning
These are books that were important to me at different points in my life, that I go back to read again often.
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. Probably the best book about the creative process in everyday life and in art, and also the most positive, optimistic book I’ve read.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Scientific and spiritual wisdom about living in harmony with the natural world.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Timeless advice about life and death from a ruler/philosopher who seemed to have been actually good and uncorrupted by power.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. Teaches you to draw and gives insight into how your brain works.
Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide by John Cleese. The book version of this talk by Monty Python’s best comedian, about making the time and space for your conscious and subconscious mind to work together.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. A book given to me by my dad, it taught me to care for and appreciate animals and nature, and it brings to mind the scents of the old garden in my uncle and aunt’s place in Norfolk.
Think on These Things by Jiddu Krishnamurti. The author was brought up to lead a religion but abolished it instead. Probably the book that had the greatest effect on my life so far.
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, author of the short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. Even the most idealistic societies have imperfect balances between freedom and equality.
I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter. A more concise discussion of the development of the sense of “I” and the nature of human consiousness discussed in his denser Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid.
Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt. Tips on knowledge and creativity and process. Written from a software developer’s perspective, but useful to anyone, I feel.
Art is Work and Graphic Design by Milton Glaser. These books were the spark of my professional life and I was lucky to later meet and work with Milton before he passed. See also his essay, Ten Things I Have Learned.
The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore. It took me a long time to notice that the word in the title is “massage”, and not “message”. An illuminating book about the manipulative nature of media.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. To see reality more clearly, travel through fictional lands and stories. A book about love, war, friendship, and humans’ relationship with nature. Tip for anyone who has trouble with fiction: Skip the prologue.
The Psychopath Code by Peter Hintjens. Most people are kind, but there are troublemakers out there. This book helped me learn to identify, avoid, and work around them.
Debugging Teams by Brian W. Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman. A guide on working well with other people and navigating the world of organizations with humility, respect, and trust.
Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse. A story about two friends who take different paths in life. The ending stays with me.
Cosmos by Carl Sagan. When the world seems too much I like to go somewhere dark and look at the stars at night, or read this book, a grounding guide to our place in the universe, also available as a television series. Also recommended, by the same author: The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence.
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Possibly Related:
- The Creative Act
- Enlightened Imagination For Citizens
- Learning in depth
- Feynman The Explainer
- Piano Chords
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