You have been asking for updated book recommendations and I finally have a list that I think is incredibly useful, empowering, and perspective-shifting, and maybe even groundbreaking?
For those of you who are new here, I’m Olena, a book nerd since age 8. I used to read with a flashlight under the covers, because I just had to find out what would happen.
Since then, I have used my love of reading AND thinking to help me and thousands of people around the world get clear skin without diets, pills, and expensive treatments…
Reading has helped me make sense of the world, answer questions that I was pondering, and help me think and even behave in ways that aligned with my goals.
Books. Are. The. Best.
Below I’ll be sharing 9 of my recent favourite books in topics like psychology, self-improvement, biology, and even religion.
Then I’ll share the book I’m currently reading, as well as a list of upcoming books that are waiting to be read on my bookshelf.
“My father always told me “Never trust anyone whose TV is bigger than their BOOKSHELF.”
Emilia Clarke
Here’s a list of some recent favourite books:
1. Mistakes Were Made But Not By Me: Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts — Carol Tavris, Elliot Aronson
One of my favourite psychology books EVER.
Written by two social psychologists, Mistakes Were Made helps you understand our biases, why we have a hard time admitting our mistakes, and worse, why we double down on our mistakes.
This book is mind-blowing and insightful, and one of the authors literally worked with Leon Festinger, the father of the theory of cognitive dissonance.
Especially helpful in the current climate, you’ll understand why some people believe they were abducted by aliens, why good cops can make bad decisions, and why some people are staunchly anti-vaccine.
If human nature confuses but interests you, then this book is worth a read and then a reread.
2. Tricks of The Mind — Derren Brown
Have you ever wondered if mediums, channellers, magicians, etc are real?
Can humans really get into a trance or be hypnotized?
What makes us believe in magic, or magical ideas?
Top-notch magician Derren Brown reveals the tricks of your mind and how they can be used against you. And it’s absolutely fascinating!
This book made me laugh out loud as Derren Brown is extremely witty and hilarious, but the book is very thoughtful and reasonable.
I also highly recommend his three specials on Netflix, just search his name in the Netflix search bar to find them.
3. Outgrowing God — Richard Dawkins
After divorcing spirituality, I had a lot of questions, and so I went to the man himself, Richard Dawkins the evolutionary biologist.
This book challenges what you think you know about God, religion, and evolution, and I think it’s best to read the two previous books before starting this one if this topic interests you.
I recommend it if you are religious, spiritual, or atheist to expand your knowledge on a very important subject: our faith.
This book was well written, easy to understand, and enjoyable to read.
I also love watching Richard Dawkins debates on YouTube!
4. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst — Robert Sapolsky
Buy on amazon.ca, buy on amazon.com
Robert Sapolsky is a professor of biological sciences and of neurology and neurological sciences, so this book is densely packed with science.
However, it is written in a very entertaining way, and I especially love the footnotes where you get to experience the author’s sense of humour.
Prepare to unlearn everything you think you knew about hormones, aggression, and human behaviour.
5. Atomic Habits — James Clear
Finally, a well-written, easy to understand book on habits and how they can be stacked against or towards our goals.
This book is extremely practical, and you can start applying what you learn in it right away to improve your life in a practical sense.
How we spend our time is incredibly important, and Atomic Habits teaches you how to make little changes that accrue over time.
6. Anger The Misunderstood Emotion — Carol Tavris
This book is one of the most insightful books on human behaviour that I have ever read, and it goes totally against the coddling type of pseudo-psychobabble that you’ll find all over social media.
Anger turned what I thought I knew upside down, and busted SO many myths that are still everywhere. I feel freer as a result.
Read this if you want to understand yourself, your emotions, and your behaviours, and if you really want to change them.
7. Atlas Shrugged — Ayn Rand (rereading a second time)
This is my favourite work of fiction, ever.
Ayn Rand is a superb writer, with extremely big ideas, like Objectivism, a philosophical system she describes as “the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute”.
The characters in Atlas Shrugged embody this philosophy, and this novel has had a huge hand in changing how I view my purpose and my work.
Though not a self-development book, it can definitely shape you as a person.
It’s so good, that I’m reading it again, and will likely reread it again and again.
Oh, did I mention that it’s the longest book on planet earth? Just kidding, it’s the 22nd longest. Worth it! 😛
8. The Courage To Be Disliked: How to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness — Kishimi, Ichiro
This book was an important read, especially as a recovering people-pleaser.
We often stop ourselves from doing what is right, or what is in our best interests because a. We don’t understand ourselves, b. We care what people will think of us…
The title says a lot, The Courage To Be Disliked really helps you become free of outside noise and live a fulfilling, and meaningful life.
It is written in a dialogue style, a conversation between teacher and student.
The best part is that it explores concepts from Adlerian psychology, which are incredibly empowering, in my opinion.
9. The Courage to be Happy: True Contentment Is In Your Power — Kishimi, Ichiro
Happiness is something a lot of us chase, and this book may explain why it’s not something you can catch and how to really cultivate true happiness.
After reading their first book, I had to read the this second one and it was also fantastic, a continuation of the conversation between teacher and student.
This series will be one I will revisit throughout my life for sure.
Currently Reading:
Think Again: The Power Of Knowing What You Don’t Know — Adam Grant (amazon.com)
Argument Culture: Stopping America’s War of Words — Deborah Tannen (amazon.com)
“Don’t You Know Who I Am?”: How To Stay Sane In The Era Of Narcissism — Durvasula Ph.D, Ramani S (amazon.com)
On My Bookshelf:
These are books I’m excited to start reading!
Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari (amazon.com)
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark — Carl Sagan (amazon.com)
The Selfish Gene — Richard Dawkins (amazon.com)
The God Delusion — Richard Dawkins (amazon.com)
The WEIRDest People In The World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous — Joseph Henrich (amazon.com)
The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data — David Spiegelhalter (amazon.com)
And many more!
Final Thoughts
I love that if ever I have a question, or there’s something that I simply don’t understand, that there’s some genius thinkers out there who have already delved into the subject and have left a depth of knowledge for me to dive into and explore.
What I’ve learned from all the books I’ve read so far is that intuition is not knowledge.
In fact, what we intuitively think to be true about a subject is often super wrong.
I encourage reading books over scrolling social media, since you can learn about the nuances of a subject and begin to really understand it.
The more we know, the better.
With shortening attention spans, I know it’s harder and harder to sit down and read, but I find nothing as empowering.
Anyway, blah blah blah, I. LOVE. BOOKS.
DM me on Instagram if you end up reading any of these, I’d love to hear how you are enjoying them!
Love & Logic,
Olena
PS. If you want to delve deeper into the subject of skin care and discover how to properly care for your skin make sure to check out Skin Queen™ the ultimate skincare course! 🙂
