History · Similar reads
Books like How Music Works
The best books like How Music Works are This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, The Creative Habit, and Steal Like an Artist. How Music Works by David Byrne is about music, creativity, culture. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
01
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
Daniel J. Levitin · Science
Daniel Levitin came to neuroscience from the music industry — he was a record producer who worked with Stevie Wonder, the Grateful Dead, and Blue Öyster Cult before getting a PhD in psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
Both dig into music.
Read the summary → - The Creative Habit
02
Twyla Tharp · Self-help
The Creative Habit is legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp's account of how creativity works in practice — not as inspiration but as habit, discipline, and preparation.
Both dig into creativity.
Read the summary → - Steal Like an Artist
03
Austin Kleon · Self-help
Steal Like an Artist is Austin Kleon's short, illustrated guide to the creative process, built around the premise that nothing is truly original — all creative work is built from and inspired by what came before.
Both dig into creativity.
Read the summary → - The War of Art
04
Steven Pressfield · Self-help
The War of Art is Steven Pressfield's short, blunt manual for anyone who creates — or wants to create — and finds themselves blocked, procrastinating, or unable to start.
Both dig into creativity.
Read the summary → - Art as Experience
05
John Dewey · Philosophy
Art as Experience, published in 1934, is John Dewey's attempt to rescue aesthetics from the museum pedestal and return it to ordinary life.
Shares creativity and culture with How Music Works.
Read the summary → - Chronicles: Volume One
06
Bob Dylan · Memoir
Chronicles: Volume One is the first installment of what Dylan announced as a multi-volume memoir, and it is one of the stranger and more rewarding books any major artist has written about their own formation.
Shares music and creativity with How Music Works.
Read the summary → - Life
07
Keith Richards · Memoir
Keith Richards's Life was written with journalist James Fox and published when Richards was 66, after more than fifty years with the Rolling Stones.
Shares music and creativity with How Music Works.
Read the summary → - Special Deluxe
08
Neil Young · Memoir
Special Deluxe is Neil Young's second memoir — a follow-up to Waging Heavy Peace (2012) — and it is organized around a peculiar structural conceit: Young uses each car he has owned over his lifetime as a chapter marker, and each vehicle serves as a portal to the memories of that period.
Shares music and creativity with How Music Works.
Read the summary → - The Listening Book
09
W.A. Mathieu · Philosophy
The Listening Book is W.A.
Shares music and creativity with How Music Works.
Read the summary → - Your Song Changed My Life
10
Bob Boilen · Memoir
Your Song Changed My Life is Bob Boilen's account of conversations he had with musicians about the single song that most shaped their artistic lives.
Shares music and creativity with How Music Works.
Read the summary → - 80/20 Running
11
Matt Fitzgerald · Health
80/20 Running is Matt Fitzgerald's evidence-based argument that the most common mistake recreational runners make is training too hard, too often.
Both dig into performance.
Read the summary → - Big Magic
12
Elizabeth Gilbert · Self-help
Big Magic is Elizabeth Gilbert's manifesto for living a creative life — not as a professional artistic career but as an orientation toward existence.
Both dig into creativity.
Read the summary →
Books like How Music Works: quick answers
What are the best books like How Music Works?
The best books like How Music Works by David Byrne are This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Art as Experience by John Dewey, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with How Music Works, such as music, creativity, culture.
What should I read after How Music Works?
A natural next read after How Music Works is This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin. Both dig into music. Other strong choices are The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
What books are similar to How Music Works by David Byrne?
How Music Works centers on music, creativity, culture. Books with a similar feel include This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Art as Experience by John Dewey, Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
