Philosophy · Similar reads
Books like The Language of Things
The best books like The Language of Things are The Design of Everyday Things, Experiencing Architecture, and The Shape of Content. The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic is about design, objects and meaning, consumer 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.
- The Design of Everyday Things
01
Donald Norman · Psychology
The Design of Everyday Things began as The Psychology of Everyday Things when first published in 1988, and Donald Norman revised it substantially for a 2013 edition that updated the examples for a digital age.
Both dig into design.
Read the summary → - Experiencing Architecture
02
Steen Eiler Rasmussen · Philosophy
Experiencing Architecture is the Danish architect and town planner Steen Eiler Rasmussen's attempt to teach non-architects how to see and feel buildings.
A kindred philosophy read.
Read the summary → - The Shape of Content
03
Ben Shahn · Philosophy
The Shape of Content collects six lectures Ben Shahn delivered at Harvard in 1956 as part of the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures series.
A kindred philosophy read.
Read the summary → - The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
04
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
Shoshana Zuboff · History
Shoshana Zuboff spent years researching what she calls surveillance capitalism — a new economic logic in which human experience is turned into raw material for prediction products that are sold to businesses wanting to influence behavior.
A kindred philosophy read.
Read the summary → - Shop Class as Soulcraft
05
Matthew B. Crawford · Philosophy
Shop Class as Soulcraft grew out of a paradox in its author's life: Matthew Crawford earned a PhD in political philosophy, briefly ran a Washington think tank he found soul-deadening, and then opened a motorcycle repair shop — and found the shop more intellectually alive than the office.
Both dig into consumer culture.
Read the summary → - The Timeless Way of Building
06
Christopher Alexander · Philosophy
Christopher Alexander's The Timeless Way of Building is a strange and ambitious book.
Both dig into design.
Read the summary → - Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
07
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
William McDonough & Michael Braungart · Science
Cradle to Cradle is William McDonough and Michael Braungart's argument that the conventional approach to environmentalism — reducing, reusing, recycling, being "less bad" — is insufficient and in some ways misleading.
Both dig into design.
Read the summary → - Creative Selection
08
Ken Kocienda · Business
Creative Selection is Ken Kocienda's first-hand account of how software gets made at Apple during the period when the iPhone and iPad were born.
Both dig into design.
Read the summary → - Design Is Storytelling
09
Ellen Lupton · Self-help
Design Is Storytelling is Ellen Lupton's compact guide to narrative thinking as a design skill.
Both dig into design.
Read the summary → - How Buildings Learn
10
Stewart Brand · Science
How Buildings Learn is Stewart Brand's argument that buildings are not finished products but ongoing processes — and that the buildings most valued over time are those designed to change gracefully rather than resist change defensively.
Both dig into design.
Read the summary → - The Elements of Typographic Style
11
The Elements of Typographic Style
Robert Bringhurst · Science
The Elements of Typographic Style is Robert Bringhurst's comprehensive treatment of typography as both craft and art.
Both dig into design.
Read the summary → - White Noise
12
Don DeLillo · Literary fiction
Don DeLillo's 1985 National Book Award winner follows Jack Gladney, professor of Hitler Studies at the fictional College-on-the-Hill, through domestic life with his fourth wife Babette and their assembled blended family of children.
Both dig into consumer culture.
Read the summary →
Books like The Language of Things: quick answers
What are the best books like The Language of Things?
The best books like The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic are The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, Experiencing Architecture by Steen Eiler Rasmussen, The Shape of Content by Ben Shahn, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff, Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Language of Things, such as design, objects and meaning, consumer culture.
What should I read after The Language of Things?
A natural next read after The Language of Things is The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman. Both dig into design. Other strong choices are Experiencing Architecture by Steen Eiler Rasmussen, The Shape of Content by Ben Shahn, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff.
What books are similar to The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic?
The Language of Things centers on design, objects and meaning, consumer culture. Books with a similar feel include The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, Experiencing Architecture by Steen Eiler Rasmussen, The Shape of Content by Ben Shahn, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff, Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford, The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
