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Recommendations based on The Living Mountainby Nan Shepherd
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
by Rebecca Solnit
Exploring being lost in the world, embracing the uncertainty of life, and finding new ways of being.
Whether she is contemplating the history of walking as a cultural and political experience over the past two hundred years ( Wanderlust ), or using the life of photographer Eadweard Muybridge as a ... (Goodreads)
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
by Jane Jacobs
Exposes the flaws of urban planning, advocating for a more organic approach.
A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century, The Death and Life of Great ... (Goodreads)
How Music Works
by David Byrne
A comprehensive look at the history and science of music, exploring its impact on culture.
Best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the iconic band Talking Heads, David Byrne has received Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll ... (Goodreads)
The Upanishads
by Anonymous
Exploration of ancient spiritual wisdom, seeking to answer the fundamental questions of human existence.
The Upanishads, the earliest of which were composed in Sanskrit between 800 and 400 bce by sages and poets, form part of the Vedas - the sacred and ancient scriptures that are the basis of the Hindu ... (Goodreads)
H is for Hawk
by Helen Macdonald
A journey of grief and healing, told through the eyes of a goshawk.
Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator. When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly ... (Goodreads)
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
by Jon Ronson
Exploration of the psychiatric industry, examining the definition and diagnosis of psychopathy.
In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey ... (Goodreads)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
by Dee Brown
An in-depth account of the displacement of Native American tribes by the US government.
Now a special 30th-anniversary edition in both hardcover and paperback, the classic bestselling history The New York Times called "Original, remarkable, and finally heartbreaking...Impossible to put ... (Goodreads)
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
by Tom Wolfe
A journey through the psychedelic 1960s and the lives of an eclectic group of people.
Tom Wolfe chronicles the adventures of Ken Kesey and his group of followers. Throughout the work, Kesey is portrayed as desiring the creation of a new religion. Kesey forms a group of followers based ... (Wikipedia)
The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion
by Elle Luna
A guide to finding one's true calling and pursuing it with passion and purpose, rather than settling for societal expectations.
There are two paths in life: Should & Must. We arrive at this crossroads over and over again, and every day. And we get to choose. Starting out or starting over, making a career change or making a ... (Barnes & Noble)
Schindler's List
by Thomas Keneally
Story of a German businessman who saved hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust.
This novel tells the story of Oskar Schindler , self-made entrepreneur and, bon viveur, who almost by default found himself saving Polish Jews from the Nazi death machine. Based on numerous ... (Wikipedia)
Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire
by Akala
A personal and political exploration of race, class, and identity in modern Britain, drawing on the author's own experiences and historical analysis.
From the first time he was stopped and searched as a child, to the day he realised his mum was white, to his first encounters with racist teachers - race and class have shaped Akala's life and ... (Goodreads)
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande
An exploration of the human experience of mortality and the importance of end-of-life care.
In, Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern ... (Goodreads)
On Ugliness
by Umberto Eco
A philosophical exploration of the concept of ugliness in art, culture, and society, challenging our perceptions and prejudices.
In the mold of his acclaimed "History of Beauty," renowned cultural critic Umberto Eco's "On Ugliness" is an exploration of the monstrous and the repellant in visual culture and the arts. What is the ... (Goodreads)
The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us
by Christopher Chabris
Our intuition can deceive us, leading to errors in perception, memory, and decision-making. This book explores the science behind these illusions.
Reading this book will make you less sure of yourself—and that’s a good thing. In The Invisible Gorilla, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, creators of one of psychology’s most famous ... (Barnes & Noble)
Notes on a Nervous Planet
by Matt Haig
A guide to navigating the overwhelming and anxiety-inducing aspects of modern life, offering practical advice and personal anecdotes.
A follow-up to Matt Haig's internationally bestselling memoir,, Reasons to Stay Alive, a broader look at how modern life feeds our anxiety, and how to live a better life. The societies we live in are ... (Goodreads)
Cider with Rosie
by Laurie Lee
A poetic account of an idyllic childhood in the English countryside.
At all times wonderfully evocative and poignant, Cider With Rosie is a charming memoir of Laurie Lee's childhood in a remote Cotswold village, a world that is tangibly real and yet reminiscent of a ... (Goodreads)
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border
by Francisco Cantú
A memoir of a former border patrol agent's experiences on the US-Mexico border and the moral dilemmas he faced.
For Francisco Cantú, the border is in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Haunted by the landscape of his youth, ... (Goodreads)
Mud, Sweat and Tears
by Bear Grylls
Autobiography of Bear Grylls, detailing his adventures and survival skills in extreme environments.
Bear Grylls is a man who has always loved adventure. After leaving school, he spent months hiking in the Himalayas as he considered joining the Indian Army. Upon his return to England after a change ... (Goodreads)
The Americans
by Robert Frank
A photographic journey through America in the 1950s, capturing the essence of American culture and society.
Introduction by Jack Kerouac. There is no question that Robert Frank's The Americans is the most famous and influential photography book ever published. It was 1959 when the book first came out: a ... (Goodreads)
Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment
by Surya Das
Guide to understanding and embracing the Buddhist path to enlightenment.
Lama Surya Das, the most highly trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition, presents the definitive book on Western Buddhism for the modern-day spiritual seeker. The radical and compelling ... (Goodreads)
Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics
by Gary Zukav
An exploration of the emergent theories of quantum physics, and their implications for our understanding of reality.
Gary Zukav has written "the Bible" for those who are curious about the mind-expanding discoveries of advanced physics, but who have no scientific background. Like a Wu Li Master who would teach us ... (Goodreads)
The Complete Maus
by Art Spiegelman
A graphic novel depicting a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust and his son's journey to understand the past.
On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its first publication, here is the definitive edition of the book acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the ... (Goodreads)
Underland: A Deep Time Journey
by Robert Macfarlane
Descend into the depths of the earth, exploring the hidden worlds beneath our feet and the connections between humans and the natural world.
National Bestseller • New York Times "100 Notable Books of the Year" • NPR "Favorite Books of 2019" • Guardian "100 Best Books of the 21st Century" • Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award ... (Barnes & Noble)
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
by Frans de Waal
Examining the intelligence of animals and their potential for morality and culture.
Hailed as a classic, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition―in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and ... (Goodreads)
The Songlines
by Bruce Chatwin
A mix of travelogue, memoir, and fiction exploring the Aboriginal concept of songlines and their connection to the land.
In this extraordinary book, Bruce Chatwin has adapted a literary form common until the eighteenth century though rare in ours; a story of ideas in which two companions, traveling and talking ... (Goodreads)
Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
by Donnie Eichar
Investigative account of the mysterious deaths of nine hikers in the Ural Mountains in 1959.
A New York Times and Wall Street Journal Nonfiction Bestseller! — What happened that night on Dead Mountain? The mystery of Dead Mountain: In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the ... (Barnes & Noble)
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
by Jia Tolentino
A collection of essays exploring the complexities of self-delusion in modern society, from social media to religion.
Trick Mirror is an enlightening, unforgettable trip through the river of self-delusion that surges just beneath the surface of our lives. This is a book about the incentives that shape us, and about ... (Goodreads)
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by Aron Ralston
A harrowing true story of one man's fight for survival after being trapped in a canyon.
A brilliantly written, funny, honest, inspiring, and downright astonishing report from the line where death meets life which will surely take its place in the annals of classic adventure stories. One ... (Goodreads)
The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
by Shane Claiborne
A call to action to live a life of radical love and compassion, challenging the status quo.
Many of us find ourselves caught somewhere between unbelieving activists and inactive believers. We can write a check to feed starving children or hold signs in the streets and feel like we’ve made a ... (Goodreads)
The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media
by Walter Benjamin
Reflection on the impact of technology on art, culture and society.
Benjamin’s famous 'Work of Art' essay sets out his boldest thoughts–on media and on culture in general--in their most realized form, while retaining an edge that gets under the skin of everyone who ... (Goodreads)
