My ten most influential books of 2019
Not everything I read — the books from 2019 that left the deepest mark, counted down from the honorable mentions to number one.
Honorable mentions
Click a cover to turn it over. After the first one, hovering another turns it too.
Plaidoyer pour la vie (“A Plea for Life”)
Denis Mukwege
One sentence on what this one was — to be written.
Die Kunst des guten Lebens (The Art of the Good Life)
Rolf Dobelli
One sentence on what this one was — to be written.
The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty
Dan Ariely
One sentence on what this one was — to be written.
The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home
Dan Ariely
One sentence on what this one was — to be written.
Salomé
Oscar Wilde
One sentence on what this one was — to be written.
Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
Rutger Bregman
One sentence on what this one was — to be written.
Nos. 15–11
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
Adam Grant
The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It
Kelly McGonigal
Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment
Francis Fukuyama
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Dan Ariely
The Brain: The Story of You
David Eagleman
The ten
No.10
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics
Richard H. Thaler
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.9
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Carlo Rovelli
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.8
Der Ernährungskompass (The Diet Compass)
Bas Kast
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.7
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Matthew Walker
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.6
Stumbling on Happiness
Daniel Gilbert
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.5
The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures
Antonio Damasio
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.4
When Breath Becomes Air
Paul Kalanithi
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.3
The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples
John M. Gottman
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.2
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.
No.1
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
What this one changed — to be written. One or two sentences on the idea that moved something, not a summary of the book.