Any remarkable books?

[Burriloom]

 Well, the name might be broad, but it'd be helpful to hear from other nerdfighters on books that have an interesting subject or two in relation to psychology. Honestly, when I go to a library, it's always very hard to pick out the books that try to analyze people's actions and the multiple self help books that always seem to be there. Well, I can give some suggestions myself...

 

"Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert -- On what makes people happy. Well, more about the theories on why quadriplegics are as happy as lottery winners after a year or so.. really funny book.

"Moonwalking with Einstein" by Joshua Foer-- It's about memories, how they work, and how a journalist became a mnemonic U.S, champion (which is, actually, him)

"The Unthinkable" by Amanda Ripley-- some shocking facts on how people have and will act in disasters.

"My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor-- written by a brain scientist that got a stroke. I don't know if that's good or bad.

Oh, and I've heard Malcolm Gladwell has some good books, although I've never read any of his yet. Edit: Now that I've read his books, I'd recommend Outliers, but Blink is overestimating a phenomenon WAY too much. Tipping Point is...well...Tipping Point.)

 

I look forward for any feedback :D

Edit # 2: HA. Snoop. I love that book. And Opening Skinner's Box. And Robert Provine's "Laughter".

I'm actually still going through the rest on the list. 

 

[RiskingAbsurdity]

"Obediance to Authority", by Stanley Milgram is about his obedience experiments and is really fascinating. He did a lot of variations on his most famous experiment and it's fascinating to see how they turned out.

"As Nature Made Him" by John Calopinto is about a boy who was raised as a girl.  Really interesting, especially from a nature/nurture perspective

"Opening Skinner's Box" by Lauren Slater---about 10  famous psychological experiments in the 20th century.  It has a really interesting writing style and is a good starting point if you're interested in psychology and some of its history.

 

That's all I can think of right now, yours sound really good; I'll have to check them out.

[Burriloom]

Yours sound awesome too; I'll look them up. :D

[Gabriel Lemay Lemay]

i stumble upon this The Betrayal of the Self. Fear of Autonomy in Men and Women,

by Arno Gruen 

 

really good stuff about the modern self 

[smurfrise]

I have a whole bookshelf of psych books and have just finished four years of coursework for my doctorate in clinical psych, so there are a lot of things I could put here. The two that spring most readily to mind are Psychoanalytic Diagnosis by Nancy McWilliams- she discusses different personality types and their presentation in a very accessible way- and The Saturated Self by Kenneth Gergen, which is about how modern society is fragmenting identity. Gergen suggests that a social constructionist worldview might resolve the conflicts stemming from our modernist roots that lead us toward anxiety and depression.

[Debbie Lindsay]

Just saw Jon Ronson talk at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney and have just started 'The Psychopath Test' - very very good.

I also love Susan Linn - Consuming Kids and Case for Make Believe

also - Freakonomics by Steve Levitt and Steven Dubner (also a great Podcast)

Can I also recommend the RadioLab podcast for awesome psych conversations and tip offs to great reads

[Burriloom]

How could I forget Freakonomics?

[Emilie La Géniale]

I just bought a book called The Freud Reader yesterday. It's all of Sigmund Freud's essays in one book! I love it XD

[Burriloom]

...And now I have a 'to read' list for the summer! and spring! A thanks addressed to the people who posted!

Gack, can't respond to everyone forever...

[Remyskiis]

A book recently came out called "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain. She talks about the extrovert ideal in our current society (it in fact wasn't always like this!) where people are encouraged to be "show-y" and "presentable" on the outside, like salesman. The thoughtful internalizing introverts gradually slip away from the cultural ideal, and quiet children are all being told to "open up" and "grow out of their shyness". She argues through scientific research that quiet people are significant contributors to the world, in innovation, in leadership style, and many more. A world where everyone tries to be extroverts can in fact fail.

But most importantly, introverts, quiet people often grew up hearing negative comments about their temperament. Teachers tell parents that their kids need to participate more. Classmates deem the quiet kid as weird because he stumbles on his words trying to respond as fast as the other kids can. As adults they are seen as unmotivated and not proactive enough in the workplace. The book is written to dispels these prejudice and let introverts know that they're perfectly fine the way they are. She talks about ways to use the introverted personality to one's advantage in order to succeed, a notion that many quiet people have a hard time believing when they can't talk loud enough to captivate an audience. Overall I felt the book was fantastic.

[Adam Bamforth]

Might I suggest Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Its an excellent introduction to the concept of biases, and basic concepts of cognitive science in general.

[Stephanie Casey-Stevens]

Depends really what you're into. I really loved the book, "Snoop" by Sam Gosling. It's a really interesting pop. psychology book that analyzes people's living spaces.