Books like Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence

01

Nonviolent Communication

Marshall B. Rosenberg · Self-help

Nonviolent Communication is Marshall Rosenberg's framework for communicating in ways that preserve connection and address needs rather than triggering defensiveness.

A kindred psychology read.

02

Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman · Psychology

Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, published in 1995, made a widely influential argument: that the cluster of abilities involved in managing emotions — self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skill — predicts life outcomes at least as well as IQ, and possibly better in many domains.

A kindred psychology read.

03

Daring Greatly

Brené Brown · Health

Daring Greatly is Brené Brown's argument, drawn from twelve years of qualitative research on shame and vulnerability, that the willingness to show up without guarantees — to be seen, to risk failure, to remain open in the presence of uncertainty — is not weakness but the foundation of courage, connection, and meaningful achievement.

A kindred psychology read.

04

The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves

Stephen Grosz · Psychology

The Examined Life is a collection of short psychoanalytic case studies drawn from Stephen Grosz's 25 years of practice as a psychoanalyst in London.

A kindred psychology read.

05

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

Susan Weinschenk · Psychology

Susan Weinschenk is a behavioral scientist and UX consultant, and this book is her translation of cognitive science research into practical guidance for designers.

A kindred psychology read.

06

A General Theory of Love

Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon · Psychology

A General Theory of Love is a 2000 book by three psychiatrists at the University of California, San Francisco — Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon — who set out to explain love scientifically without stripping it of its significance.

A kindred psychology read.

07

Adult Children of Alcoholics

Janet G. Woititz · Psychology

Adult Children of Alcoholics is Janet Woititz's clinical guide to the lasting psychological patterns that develop in children raised in alcoholic families.

A kindred psychology read.

08

Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion

Paul Bloom · Psychology

Paul Bloom's argument is not that we should care less about others.

A kindred psychology read.

09

Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion

Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson · Psychology

Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson's central concern is that modern media, advertising, and politics have optimized for propaganda techniques that bypass critical reasoning and exploit psychological vulnerabilities.

A kindred psychology read.

10

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths · Psychology

Brian Christian is a writer and Tom Griffiths is a cognitive scientist, and together they argue that computer science has worked out rigorous solutions to many of the problems humans face every day — when to stop searching for a better option, how to manage your schedule, how to sort your memory — and that these solutions are both interesting and useful.

A kindred psychology read.

11

An Unquiet Mind

Kay Redfield Jamison · Psychology

Kay Redfield Jamison is a psychiatrist and professor who has manic-depressive illness.

A kindred psychology read.

12

Atlas of the Heart

Brené Brown · Psychology

Atlas of the Heart is Brené Brown's attempt to map eighty-seven distinct human emotions and experiences — not as a clinical taxonomy but as a practical vocabulary for people who want to communicate more precisely about what they feel.

A kindred psychology read.