This is a living ordering of the ten books that doubled the size of my universe. I’ve read these books again and again and again. I’ve read them so often that their binders have broken. I’ve dog-ear them into accordions. And, I have freely filled their margins with thoughts and doodles. As I read more books, this list will evolve. However, I’m a slow reader (thanks dyslexia!). So, I live for book recommendations. If you have any please send them my way via email (shumphre@umw.edu).
The Ten Books the Doubled the Size of My Universe
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Iron John: A Book about Men by Robert Bly
The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius and Gregory Hays
Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance by Douglass C. North
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way (Ursula K. Le Guin’s interpretation)
In serious contention to break into the Top Ten
Centering: In Pottery, Poetry, and Person by M. C. Richards
Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meanings of Everyday Words by David Whyte
Books by Various Categories
Here’s are some more of my favorite books by various categories (this is a work in progress).
Get Sh*t Done
- Linchpin by Seth Godin
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris
MASCULINITY
- The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis
- Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
NATURE
- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
SELF-REALIZATION
- Letters to a Young Poet by Ragner Maria Rilke
- Self Reliance by Ralf Waldo Emerson
- The Courage to be Disliked by Kishimi and Koga
- The Book by Alan Watts
SOCIAL JUSTICE
- A Rap on Race by Margaret Mead and Joseph Baldwin
- The Colonizer and the Colonized by Albert Memmi
- Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky
SPIRITUALITY
- Anam Cara by John O’Donohe
- Man’s Search for Meaning Victor Frankl
STOICISM
- A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
TEACHING
- A Pedagogy for Liberation by Short and Freire
- Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
- Centering: In Pottery, Poetry, and Person by M. C. Richards
WORKING WITH YOUR HANDS
- Shop Class for Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford
WRITING
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont
+++++
If you enjoyed this list, here are some others:
- 50 Bits of Unsolicited Advice
- Top 10 Star Trek Episodes
- Top 11 Quotes
- Top 20 Traveling in the Truck Country Songs
- The 16 Best Pump You Up Songs (1980 – 1993)
- Generous Adjectives from A to Z
- Physical Fitness Test Database
Thanks. – shawn
