Book cover of Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters

Book description

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'Radically new and engaging.' MATTHEW WALKER

'Not only will every reader remember better afterward, they'll also never forget this life-changing book.' SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE

'Ranganath turns much of what we think we know about memory on its head.' DANIEL J. LEVITIN

---

We talk about…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Why We Remember as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I loved this book because I remembered loving it. But why did I remember? What do I forget—and why? What is the function of memory? How do we unknowingly change our own narrative—and why?

I have always been fascinated by cognitive neuroscience. Thinking about how we think, what we think about, why we remember what we remember, and why we forget what we forget has always fascinated me. These are all things that we take for granted until something happens that changes our perception. We are constantly creating and editing our own narrative. From fond memories to trauma, memory is…

If you love Why We Remember...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancĆ©, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Why We Remember?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Why We Remember.

Browse books like Why We Remember

Book cover of The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds
Book cover of Connections
Book cover of God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

šŸ“š If you like Why We Remember, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!