Here are 100 books that On Our Best Behavior fans have personally recommended if you like
On Our Best Behavior.
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I am a curious, passionate, and introspective woman. My values have led me to a quest to have a profound impact on the world and leave a legacy of healing. Each book on my list has profoundly impacted me and led me to challenge my values, rethink my priorities, heal my inner turmoil, and use my lived experience to help others lead a more meaningful life.
I love this book and recommend it to people struggling with negative body image.
Sonya Renee Taylor teaches that we are all connected and that self-judgment in one person extends to the judgment of all people. I found myself digging deeply into the roots of any critical views that I might have held of my own body and then challenging them. Ultimately, it helped me embrace body neutrality and, ultimately, body liberation.
"To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves...'The body is not an apology' is the mantra we should all embrace." --Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and Executive Director, African American Policy Forum
"Taylor invites us to break up with shame, to deepen our literacy, and to liberate our practice of celebrating every body and never apologizing for this body that is mine and takes care of me so well." --Alicia Garza, cocreator of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and Strategy + Partnerships Director, National Domestic…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
Excluding every day since my birth, my Gen X studies started in earnest in 2016, when Fortune 100 companies aggressively laid off my Gen X peers across the board. I was an early entrepreneur in the crypto industry and saw firsthand how people in remote reaches of the world used Bitcoin to pull themselves out of poverty. Since 2021, I have been a podcast host, interviewing founders and entrepreneurs about the benefits of technology and how to bring the next billion people across the digital divide. Most of my nearly 600 podcasts discuss how to empower people, especially my age, to live better lives by embracing the new digital economy.
It is through Brené Brown’s words in this book that I began to make sense of my journey, which is marked by loss, resilience, and an unwavering search for belonging. As I navigated the often-turbulent waters of corporate life, I wrestled with a deep-seated issue, a trait so common among my fellow Gen Xers: the struggle with authority. Through this book, it is evident that attempting to fit in, to mold myself into the expectations of others, often leads me to more heartache than success.
My path has been riddled with tremendous trials designed to dampen my spirit. Yet, through them, I have found strength. I appreciate the depth of resilience that Brené Brown speaks about. In this digital age, I often reflect on my past before the existence of social media, the simplicity of outdoor moments when I was young, and face-to-face conversations that now seem increasingly rare. I…
In hardback for the first time, this tenth-anniversary edition of the game-changing #1 New York Times bestseller features a new foreword and brand-new tools to make the work your own.
For over a decade, Brene Brown has found a special place in our hearts as a gifted mapmaker and a fellow traveller. She is both a social scientist and a kitchen-table friend whom you can always count on to tell the truth, make you laugh and, on occasion, cry with you. And what's now become a movement all started with The Gifts of Imperfection, which has sold more than two…
I’ve been a professional feminist since I had a profession. I spent the first half of my career advocating for women's equality as a reproductive rights attorney and academic. I’ve spent the second half teaching women how to liberate themselves from the inside out as a feminist mindset coach, host of the UnF*ck Your Brain podcast, and founder of The School of New Feminist Thought. These books were all crucial in helping me create more confidence and more power to impact the course of my own life, and I know they will help you do the same.
This was one of the first books I ever read that showed me that there was an intelligent way to do self-help. I have always been interested in how to make it easier and more fulfilling to experience my human life, but I was always allergic to the watered-down or overly simplified takes of many self-help books out there.
But this book was well-reasoned, logical, rational, and smart, and it showed me that it was worthwhile to work on changing my perspective and my thinking without having to be delusional or in denial. It was the gateway book I needed at my most skeptical to start down the path of emotional and mental growth and self-improvement that transformed my life.
Self-help books don't seem to work. Few of the many advantages of modern life seem capable of lifting our collective mood. Wealth—even if you can get it—doesn't necessarily lead to happiness. Romance, family life, and work often bring as much stress as joy. We can't even agree on what "happiness" means. So are we engaged in a futile pursuit? Or are we just going about it the wrong way?
Looking both east and west, in bulletins from the past and from far afield, Oliver Burkeman introduces us to an unusual group of people who share a single, surprising way of…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I’ve finally realized that you can’t outwork yourself out of systemic problems and that so many of the messages we receive have got the problem wrong. Growing up, I was taught to respect my elders. To defer to those who know what they are talking about. But just because someone says something with conviction doesn’t mean they are right. What we’ve been told is imposter syndrome could actually be imposter treatment, and it messes deeply with our sense of self. So even if I’ve taught at brand name institutions, at corporate heavyweights, and on six continents, I’m always seeking to learn.
Self-care always seemed so fluffy and out of reach for me. There’s no way that going to the spa or having bubble baths solves the real challenges real people face. I love Pooja’s book because it looks at the systemic issues while making self-care real and practical.
I know I need to take care of myself. I’ve heard all the stuff about putting on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else, and my response has always been “yeahhhh, but.” My biggest takeaway from the book? Boundaries are not co-created.
National Bestseller featured by Good Morning America, NPR's Code Switch, The New York Times, and The Guardian
NPR's "Books We Love for 2023"
Forbes' "Greatest Self-Help Books of All Time"
"Realistic and trustworthy" -- InStyle
"This isn't just another self-help book. It gives us a clear-eyed look at the way social systems drain our energy, and a concrete set of principles to rely on as we declare independence from these systems." -Martha Beck, New York Times bestselling author of The Way of Integrity
"This book is for anyone who's ever removed a 'relaxing' sheet mask only to realize it hasn't…
Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein have been thinking deep thoughts and writing jokes for decades, and now they are here to help us understand philosophy through jokes, and jokes through philosophy. They like philosophy and they like jokes, not necessarily in that order. Best of all, they like combining them.
First published in 1844, Soren Kierkegaard's concise treatise identified-long before Freud-anxiety as a profound human condition, portraying human existence largely as a constant struggle with our own spiritual identities.
Conformism, religiosity, and tribalism pose an increasingly serious threat to democracy, equality, liberty, and the world order. Many public intellectuals, therefore, argue that we should try to tamp down or eliminate these tendencies. I argue the opposite. Based on decades of collaborative research with psychologists, evolutionary scientists, historians, and archaeologists, I show that the human propensities to copy, believe, and belong are here to stay, and our best hope for the future is to draw on our rich inheritance of biological and cultural evolution to harness and manage these core features of human nature more sustainably, peacefully, and consensually.
Why do humans everywhere imagine themselves to share the world with supernatural agents of various kinds? Many scholars have pointed out the usefulness of supernatural agent concepts in providing reassurance, political legitimacy, a rationale for suffering, or a theory of our collective origins or destinies. But this does not explain why we come up with those specific types of constructs in the first place.
Pascal Boyer proposes a surprising and compelling solution. The reason we entertain particular kinds of ideas about supernatural agents, he argues, is because of the way our cognitive systems evolved.
Many of our questions about religion, says renowned anthropologist Pascal Boyer, are no longer mysteries. We are beginning to know how to answer questions such as "Why do people have religion?" Using findings from anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology, Religion Explained shows how this aspect of human consciousness is increasingly admissible to coherent, naturalistic explanation. This brilliant and controversial book gives readers the first scientific explanation for what religious feeling is really about, what it consists of, and where it comes from.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
“And what do you do?” someone asked at a crowded reception at the NY Academy of Science. “Write—comparative religion.” Startled, he backed away, asking suspiciously, “Why religion? Are you religious?” Yes, incorrigibly—although I grew up among people who regarded religion as obsolete as an outgrown bicycle stashed in a back closet. While many of us leave institutions behind, identifying as “spiritual, not religious,” I’ve done both—had faith, lost it; then began exploring recent discoveries from Israel and Egypt—Dead Sea Scrolls, Christian “secret gospels,” Buddhist practices, asking, Why is religion still around in the twenty-first century? What I love is how such stories, art, music, and rituals engage our imagination and illuminate our experience.
This book is full of stories, using case studies that include the lives of Walt Whitman, Saint Augustine, and Russian writer Leo Tolstoy—that I found fascinating. Here psychologist William James challenges what he—and I—were both taught: namely, that religions are primarily childish fantasies (the view of Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, in The Future of an Illusion). But after James, as a young man, experienced a terrifying depression, he describes his surprise at what felt to him like a spiritual breakthrough that enabled him to recover. James skips questions about dogma and belief, instead identifies a range of different “varieties of religious experience” that, far more than “belief,” can give rise to spiritual insight.
Standing at the crossroads of psychology and religion, this catalyzing work applied the scientific method to a field abounding in abstract theory. William James believed that individual religious experiences, rather than the precepts of organized religions, were the backbone of the world's religious life. His discussions of conversion, repentance, mysticism and saintliness, and his observations on actual, personal religious experiences - all support this thesis. In his introduction, Martin E. Marty discusses how James's pluralistic view of religion led to his remarkable tolerance of extreme forms of religious behaviour, his challenging, highly original theories, and his welcome lack of pretension…
I’ve been a reader since childhood and books have simply become a part of my life’s tapestry. They have comforted me in times of stress. They have provided me with ripples of joy. And simply kept me up almost all night. The books that I have recommended underscore the changing cultures of the human condition all centered around three universal themes, faith, mental illness, and family. When drafting my first novel I dived into simply capturing aspects of the human condition. As a mental health clinician I see the many tides of life and how the human condition has many times been couched within family dynamics.
This book is all about relationships. It is about a relationship with God and his people and that we are certainly more alike than different. Woman Evolve takes the reader through the story of Eve and shows the reader just how she is relatable to each and every one of us. Eve was human and we are human. She had flaws and we have flaws. Her vulnerabilities are also ours and before we point the blame at her, or anyone else for that matter we can look right back at ourselves and understand how each and every one of us doesn’t necessarily deserve redemption, but God gave it anyway. Want a good read, this book will keep you turning page after page as the reader and author explores just how fallible, alike, and loved we all are.
A New York Times bestseller! With life lessons she's learned and new insights from the story of Eve, Sarah Jakes Roberts shows you how past disappointments, struggles, and even mistakes can be used today to help you become the woman God intended.
Who would imagine being friends with Eve-the woman who's been held responsible for the fall of humanity (and cramps) for thousands of years? Certainly not Sarah Jakes Roberts. That is, not until Sarah discovered she is more like Eve than she cares to admit.
Everyone faces trials, and everyone will mess up. But failure should not be the…
My life was turned upside down because of a devastating divorce, becoming an empty nester, and my job as a theology professor ending. The identity crisis was real because the doing that gave me purpose was gone, yet God had a lesson and a purpose. I realized that what was left was more than what left me, and I understand that the key to resilience is your spiritual foundation. I believe the crown you wear is the treasure; elevation begins head first. Today, I empower women to live life confidently, on their terms, with peace and financial security. I help women reframe their stories, reinvent themselves, and reimagine their future.
I love how Beth Moore invites you to get comfortable yet uncomfortable in her book. She challenges whether you believe big and act on it. This is so important for changing your thoughts and elevating them for more.
The entire book keeps you engaged, reflecting, and dreaming of more. It’s like having a tall glass of lemonade on the porch with a friend who knows you deeply and expects more from you, so she allows you to want it without you realizing you’ve been up-leveled.
This book puts your faith on steroids, and you will believe bigger and actually want to do something about it.
Thirty years in the making, Audacious is a deep dive into the message that has compelled Beth Moore to serve women around the globe. Glancing over the years of ministry behind her and strengthening her resolve to the call before her, she came to the realization that her vision for women was incomplete. It lacked something they were aching for. Something Jesus was longing for. Beth identifies that missing link by digging through Scripture, unearthing life experiences, and spotlighting a turning point with the capacity to infuse any life with holy passion and purpose. What was missing? Well, let's just…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I have always been curious, but it wasn’t until university that I discovered my fascination with brain science. Here was a real challenge. An incredibly complex system, full of mysteries and unknowns, that needed breaking down, and understanding at the most fundamental level. And not only that, but it was something that affected us all, every day. I was hooked. Since graduating, I have worked as a science communicator, sharing my love of the brain with anyone who will listen- via podcasts, books, blogs, and on stage. I also founded Braintastic Science! which provides spectacular shows, workshops, and resources to help young people understand and get the best out of their amazing brains.
Humans are inherently superstitious. Even those of us who think of ourselves as scientists will ‘touch wood’ after saying something, or avoid walking under ladders. But why? In this book, Hood argues that these behaviors, and more complex beliefs like religion, develop as a byproduct of something our brains do that is vital for human survival—finding patterns. This is one of the first pop-sci books on psychology I read, and I clearly remember seeing Hood deliver a talk about it while I was at University. It helped stoke my curiosity about the topic, and how our incredible brains can drive such complex and nuanced behaviours. It is still one of my favourites over 10 years later.
Why is it that Tony Blair always wore the same pair of shoes when answering Prime Minister's Questions? That John McEnroe notoriously refused to step on the white lines of a tennis court between points? And that President-elect Barack Obama played a game of basketball the morning of his victory in the Iowa primary, and continued the tradition the day of every following primary?
Superstitious habits are common. Do you ever cross your fingers, knock on wood, avoid walking under ladders, or step around black cats? Sentimental value often supersedes material worth. If someone offered to replace your childhood teddy…
