The most recommended psyche books

Who picked these books? Meet our 19 experts.

19 authors created a book list connected to psyche, and here are their favorite psyche books.
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Book cover of A Primer for Forgetting: Getting Past the Past

Guy Beiner Author Of Forgetful Remembrance: Social Forgetting and Vernacular Historiography of a Rebellion in Ulster

From my list on forgetting.

Why am I passionate about this?

Guy Beiner specializes in the history of social remembering in the late modern era. An interest in Irish folklore and oral traditions as historical sources led him to explore folk memory, which in turn aroused an interest in forgetting. He examines the many ways in which communities recall their past, as well as how they struggle with the urge to supress troublesome memories of discomfiting episodes.

Guy's book list on forgetting

Guy Beiner Why did Guy love this book?

A fascinating collection of miscellanea, which constitute ‘a thought experiment seeking out places where forgetting is more useful than memory’. Thoroughly entertaining and full of eye-opening anecdotes.

By Lewis Hyde,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Primer for Forgetting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We live in a culture that prizes memory - how much we can store, the quality of what's preserved, how we might better document and retain the moments of our life while fighting off the nightmare of losing all that we have experienced. But what if forgetfulness were seen not as something to fear, but rather as a blessing, a balm, a path to peace and forgiveness?

A Primer for Forgetting is a remarkable experiment in scholarship, autobiography and social criticism. It forges a new vision of forgetfulness by assembling fragments of art and writing from the ancient world to…


Book cover of Hollywood Notebook

María Amparo Escandón Author Of L.A. Weather

From my list on changing your perception of Los Angeles.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a creature of habitat. I can’t help but connect with my environment in every possible way. It’s physical, emotional. I spent the first 23 years of my life in Mexico City. Leaving was heart-wrenching, but the promise to fulfill a dream drew me to Los Angeles. During the next four decades I became a student of Los Angeles and the Latino community that populates it. I agree with Randy Newman: I love L.A. 

María's book list on changing your perception of Los Angeles

María Amparo Escandón Why did María love this book?

Born in Los Angeles and with profound connection to this city’s psyche, Wendy Ortiz delivers a map of Los Angeles transformed into words, a fragmented memoir of hurt, love, loss, and reinvention. What does a young writer (one of thousands) living in this city and trying to make it worry about? Joblessness. Rent. Bills. Riding the metro. Alcohol. And yes, sex and publishing too, of course. This book proves that it’s not always 72 and sunny in Los Angeles.

By Wendy C. Ortiz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hollywood Notebook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hollywood Notebook is a prose poem-ish memoir of fragments. Ortiz takes us through the streets of Los Angeles and the internal maps she's charting as she moves from her twenties to her thirties in a studio apartment in Hollywood. A cartography of love, loss, and transformation, Hollywood Notebook is a portrait of the author's psyche overlaid on a map of the city she makes her home.


Book cover of To Be a Woman: The Birth of the Conscious Feminine

E.I. Parr Author Of Thistle in the Long Grass

From my list on candid insight into the human psyche.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a young woman I became fascinated by what contributes to our uniqueness as human beings. I was intrigued by historical influences, the development of personality, and how we frequently travel life’s lanes through a labyrinth of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Feminism, spirituality, psychology; I was absorbed by all three. Eventually I studied psychology. My working life was spent in a variety of roles, mainly supporting adults or young people to manage the challenges thrown at them by circumstance. Regarding my writing, I have always penned something i.e., poetry, songs, holiday journals. I progressed to short stories for adults, which were self-published under a pseudonym. ‘Thistle’ is my first novel.

E.I.'s book list on candid insight into the human psyche

E.I. Parr Why did E.I. love this book?

The female psyche presented in essays written by a plethora of excellent writers.

In addition to psychology, it also explores feminine spirituality, a favourite subject of contributory authors such as Jean Shinoda-Bolen and Sylvia Brinton Perera.

First published in 1990, this collection is truly insightful into ‘the birth of the conscious feminine.’ In places it describes very personal experiences.

I found it a book of healing, hence why I recommended it to some of my counselling clients. Being separate essays, if there is a particular writing style you do not like, it is simple to move on.

All the writers gave me something to contemplate and learn from. It is an incredibly nourishing read.

By Connie Zweig (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked To Be a Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

HP Newquist Author Of Behemoth

From my list on horror masterpieces from a horror writer.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by scary movies, creature features, and books that tell tales of the strange and supernatural. Years later, my own books explored those things that scare us, from monsters of the deep and the ways we die to the mythology of blood. Research for those books led me into realms that explained why we fear the things we do. Many of those fears are found in horror novels, which provide an endless source of fright, release, and entertainment within their haunting pages. I can’t think of any other genre of writing that takes its readers on such a joyously terrifying ride.

HP's book list on horror masterpieces from a horror writer

HP Newquist Why did HP love this book?

Sometimes, you have to get your horror in small bites. When I have a limited amount of time to read (like waiting in an airport), I go straight to the original horror master, Edgar Allan Poe. No one else compresses so many terrifying emotions into so few pages. Fear, dread, loathing, anxiety, unease, and panic are something I expect–and am rewarded with–every time I read Poe.

I started reading his work in grade school, and when I found this collection in college, it became one of my prized possessions. There’s a familiarity in Poe’s tales that I have with very few other authors. I still keep this on my bookshelf for short reads like Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Pit And The Pendulum.

By Edgar Allan Poe,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This single volume brings together all of Poe's stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history.


Book cover of A Criminal History of Mankind

E.I. Parr Author Of Thistle in the Long Grass

From my list on candid insight into the human psyche.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a young woman I became fascinated by what contributes to our uniqueness as human beings. I was intrigued by historical influences, the development of personality, and how we frequently travel life’s lanes through a labyrinth of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Feminism, spirituality, psychology; I was absorbed by all three. Eventually I studied psychology. My working life was spent in a variety of roles, mainly supporting adults or young people to manage the challenges thrown at them by circumstance. Regarding my writing, I have always penned something i.e., poetry, songs, holiday journals. I progressed to short stories for adults, which were self-published under a pseudonym. ‘Thistle’ is my first novel.

E.I.'s book list on candid insight into the human psyche

E.I. Parr Why did E.I. love this book?

A controversial author who I discovered in my twenties; I lapped up his non-fictional work.

This book is an in-depth investigation into the dark side of the human psyche. Wilson explores the psychology and history of criminality and violence, concluding with how that is manifested in what was then his ‘present day’.

Although first published in 1984, nearly forty years on his work is still pertinent. For me that stimulates many questions. Having just pulled it from my bookshelf, I think it is time I read it again.

Wilson covers his subject with focused attention and easy-to-understand detail. He encourages the reader to think about human existence from many perspectives. 

By Colin Wilson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Criminal History of Mankind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Colin Wilson tells the story of human violence from Peking Man to the Mafia - taking into account the calculated sadism of the Assyrians, the opportunism of the Greek pirates, the brutality that made Rome the ‘razor king of the Mediterranean’, the mindless destruction of the Vandals, the mass slaughter of Genghis Khan, Tamurlane, Ivan the Terrible, Vlad the Impaler and more. Each age has a unique characteristic pattern of crime. In the past three centuries crime has changed and evolved until the sex killer and the mass murderer have become symbols of all that is worst about our civilization.…


Book cover of I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs

Deborah Taylor-French Author Of Red Sky at Night: Dog Leader Mysteries

From my list on dogs and canine behavior.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I’m not out rescuing lost dogs or walking our dog, Beau, in the hills of Sonoma County, I’m reading, writing, blogging, or offering writers' support. Our family started when we took in a baby for foster care, then a year later, after great effort, prayer, and help, we completed her adoption. As for canines, we’ve adopted four dogs, all from dogs returned to their breeders or an animal shelter. Three of our dogs happened to be only one year old when we took them in. I continue to research and edit my Dog Leader Mysteries blog. Twelve years blogging about saving dogs.

Deborah's book list on dogs and canine behavior

Deborah Taylor-French Why did Deborah love this book?

Another book of wonders, one I enjoy giving as a gift. I Could Chew on This is full of fun and funny poems about dogs. I gifted it to my ninety-five-year-old friend. It helped her laugh and enjoy life through our shared love of dogs. 

By Francesco Marciuliano,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Could Chew on This as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dog lovers will laugh out loud at the quirkiness and unbridled enthusiasm of their canine pals in this hilarious collection of poems by lovable, if sometimes misguided, dogs. In these tongue-in-cheek poems, the author who successfully interpreted the musings of poetic felines in the bestseller I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats now turns his talent to our canine friends who yearn to share their creativity and explain some of their hidden motives. Featuring such titles as 'I Dropped a Ball,' 'I Lose My Mind When You Leave the House,' and 'Can You Smell That' and accompanied…


Book cover of Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature

Jon Marro Author Of The Keepers of Color: A Creative Hero's Journey Into the World Within

From my list on to help you become unafraid of the dark.

Why am I passionate about this?

From the time I could hold a crayon, I was drawing. I often don’t know how I truly feel about something until I make art about it. Led by imagination and curiosity, I'm a seasoned traveler in liminal spaces and love guiding people between the mystical and the mundane. With 20-plus years of experience as an Artist and Creative Director, I've discovered that solutions to any problem can be found through triumphs in imagination and a willingness to view the situation from a different perspective. By peeking into my own shadow, darkness, and hidden places, I've gained a profound reverence for the human soul and deeper compassion for what it is to be alive.

Jon's book list on to help you become unafraid of the dark

Jon Marro Why did Jon love this book?

I feel like this book was the best college course I never got to take. Meeting The Shadow is a collection of essays from psychologists, therapists, scholars, and artists who have scoured the depths of the psyche. I love the work of Carl Jung, but I’ve found it quite difficult to parse through entire books of his. This book however, by drawing from such a diverse group of thinkers makes shadow work incredibly accessible, captivating, and illuminating. It is also formatted into specific sections like Emotional Suppression, Sexuality, The Dark Side of Spirituality, The Psychology of Evil, The Shadow of Politics, Dream Analysis, Shadow in Gender, and Owning Your Dark Side Through Art & Creativity. There’s something for everyone in here, every chapter a dark and alluring cave inviting you to explore its harrowing and majestic landscape. I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone being called to look within…or…

By Connie Zweig, Jeremiah Abrams,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Meeting the Shadow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The author offers exploration of self and practical guidance dealing with the dark side of personality based on Jung's concept of "shadow," or the forbidden and unacceptable feelings and behaviors each of us experience.


Book cover of Mummy's Little Soldier

Max China Author Of The Night of The Mosquito

From my list on serial killers to stay with you long after you’ve read them.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was fascinated by American True Crime magazines from an early age. I used to buy them with my pocket money from a second-hand bookstore near my home. I graduated to reading novels by the age of ten, sneaking my father’s book collection into my bedroom one at a time to read after lights out. His books covered everything from The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins to The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley. By seventeen, I promised myself I’d write a novel one day. Most of my books are crime themed with a supernatural flavour. My debut, The Sister was published in 2013 and since then I’ve completed three more novels and several short stories.

Max's book list on serial killers to stay with you long after you’ve read them

Max China Why did Max love this book?

In her first crime novel, Gaites portrays a psychopathic monster in Ivan Smallbone, and a relentless race against time by police to stop him. Populated by flawed characters, Gaites explores the human psyche to great effect in driving her novel to its inevitable and tragic conclusion. Not for the squeamish.

By Rikon Gaites,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mummy's Little Soldier as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mummy’s Little Soldier

1960 – Late in life Marjorie Smallbone gave birth to her only child. Relieved he was perfect, she named him Ivan. As the years went by, she discovered perfection is only skin-deep.

1983 – Sentenced to serve eight years in prison for the manslaughter of many young school children, upon her release in 1991 June Saunders’ appearance had changed. Shortly after, so did her name.

1994 – New Year’s Eve. DI Leo Thorne has identified similarities between two vicious rapes, but with no evidence to go on, his investigation’s stalled before it’s begun. Then, a sadistic rapist…


Book cover of Ain't Burned All the Bright

Sharon Skinner Author Of Blood From a Rose

From Sharon's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Voracious reader Word nerd SpecFic aficionado Eclectic Book coach

Sharon's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Sharon Skinner Why did Sharon love this book?

Ain’t Burned All the Bright is powerful and beautiful and, dare I say, breathtaking!

Reynolds taps into our collective psyche, reaches deep into our hearts, and gives us a story about who we are and who we can be, all contained within a few sentences that play out over the course of a 384-page book.

And Griffin’s powerful illustrations elevate the work to the next level. 

"In through the nose, out through the mouth..."

Each time I read it, it stuns me into breathlessness. 

By Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Ain't Burned All the Bright as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

A Caldecott Honor winner!

Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds.

Jason Reynolds and his best bud, Jason Griffin, had a mind-meld. And they decided to tackle it, in one fell swoop, in about ten sentences, and 300 pages of art, this piece, this contemplation-manifesto-fierce-vulnerable-gorgeous-terrifying-WhatIsWrongWithHumans-hope-filled-hopeful-searing-Eye-Poppingly-Illustrated-tender-heartbreaking-how-The-HECK-did-They-Come-UP-with-This project about oxygen. And all of the symbolism attached to that word, especially NOW.

And so for anyone who didn’t really know what…


Book cover of Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3

E.I. Parr Author Of Thistle in the Long Grass

From my list on candid insight into the human psyche.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a young woman I became fascinated by what contributes to our uniqueness as human beings. I was intrigued by historical influences, the development of personality, and how we frequently travel life’s lanes through a labyrinth of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Feminism, spirituality, psychology; I was absorbed by all three. Eventually I studied psychology. My working life was spent in a variety of roles, mainly supporting adults or young people to manage the challenges thrown at them by circumstance. Regarding my writing, I have always penned something i.e., poetry, songs, holiday journals. I progressed to short stories for adults, which were self-published under a pseudonym. ‘Thistle’ is my first novel.

E.I.'s book list on candid insight into the human psyche

E.I. Parr Why did E.I. love this book?

Eventually, I recommend a work of fiction.

Micro-psychology by a brilliant storyteller, this was the first of Proulx’s books that I ever read, even though it was the last of the Wyoming trilogy. I went on to read the rest – and then more of her work.

Proulx draws me into the characters, their lives, the plot, setting, and atmosphere, using cleverly interpretative, and uniquely descriptive language. Just a few of her words and I am inside the story. I have been to Wyoming, taking the trilogy for company, although I had read them previously.

Some of her stories remain firmly fixed in my head, and I can re-read them without ever becoming bored. 

By Annie Proulx,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fine Just the Way It Is as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The fantastic new collection of stories from the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain. Fine Just The Way It Is marks Annie Proulx's return to the Wyoming of Brokeback Mountain and the familiar cast of hardy, unsentimental prairie folk. The stories are cast over centuries, and capture the voices and lives of the settlers this sagebrushed and weatherworn country has known, from the native Indian tribes to the modern day ranch owners and politicians, and their cowboy forebears. In 'A Family Man', an old man nearing the end of his life unburdens himself of the…