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Jan 29, 20217 min read

TED Talk Reading List


List of books recommended by TED Talk speakers. For complete list, click on TED Talk.


by Lisa Feldman Barrett

"I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a TED event where we both spoke. Her book clarifies and, ultimately, debunks many myths about our emotions and how our brains creates them. It’s an interesting and thought-provoking read, and I found it to be engaging and fascinating. I strongly recommend it to anyone who thinks they can “read” people just by looking at them."

— Simone Bianco (TED Talk with Tom Zimmerman: The wonderful world of life in a drop of water)



by Richard Thaler

"This book really added another perspective for me. It explained why we all make — quite often — unwise choices due to a lack of information. Not to spoil the punchline, but I found it very interesting that the cause of making bad decisions can be found within ourselves."

— Matthias Müllenbeck (TED Talk: What if we paid doctors to keep people healthy?)



by James Baldwin

"At WITNESS.org, we collaborate closely with communities who are using video to tell the story of systemic racism. Baldwin’s novel is set in the fifties, but it compellingly describes what the videos we see today are showing us."

— Yvette Alberdingk Thijm (TED Talk: The power of citizen video to create undeniable truths)



by Jamel Brinkley

Rarely is a debut collection lauded as an instant classic and justifiably so. With heart and humanity, Man explores the emotional lives of black men and boys. Brinkley’s prose is poetic and lush, and each story is a rich world unto itself. Just as the Caribbean celebration J’ouvert heralds the breaking of a new dawn, this book signals the arrival of a unique and necessary voice in fiction. — Felice Belle (TED Talk with Jennifer Murphy: How we became sisters)

Stunning. Set in Brooklyn and the Bronx, these short stories feature black male protagonists trying to move through the world while being haunted by the past. It’s a gorgeous, heart-wrenching, shining collection. — Jennifer Murphy (TED Talk with Felice Belle: How we became sisters)



by Jennifer Egan

I was in the record business for many years, and I’ve tried writing about it but found it impossible to describe. Egan does it perfectly here, and this book is about so much, much more — deliciously, intriguingly, beguilingly so. — Daniel Levitin (TED Talk: How to stay calm when you know you’ll be stressed)



by Gabriel García Márquez

The incredibly fantastic magical realism that Márquez weaves throughout this book is so eerily and uncannily African in some ways. It made me rethink and see anew some aspects of African life. — Iké Udé (TED Talk: The radical beauty of Africa, in portraits)



by Liane Moriarty

I’m sure I’m not the only one to put this book on the top of a summer reading list, but I’d be remiss not to name it. It was a pure guilty pleasure and my definition of a great summer read. The characters, the storyline and mystery — even if you have seen the equally wonderful HBO adaptation — make this book nearly impossible to put down. It’s escapism at its best. — Wendy Troxel (TED Talk: Why school should start later for teens)



by Liane Moriarty

I’ve always loved Moriarty’s novels — you may have seen HBO’s Big Little Lies — and this one is no exception. I don’t always hold myself to deadlines when reading — I frequently join book clubs and end up reading the cliff notes at the last minute — but I was taken from the opening lines and couldn’t stop thinking about the page-turning storyline. — Mindy Scheier (TED Talk: How adaptive clothing empowers people with disabilities)



by Walter Mosley

This mystery, which is part of the Easy Rawlins series, focuses on art, friendship and storytelling. I love the mysteries explored here and what the book says about life and relationships. — Deborah Willis (TED Talk with Hank Willis Thomas: A mother and son united by love and art)



by Richard Powers

I never wanted this book to end. Trees, trees and more trees form the centerpiece of this breathlessly beautiful, evocative novel that swept me from character to character and limb to limb. Gorgeous. — Eve Abrams (TED Talk: The human stories behind mass incarceration)



by George Saunders

This is a hilarious and poignant telling of the story of the death of Abraham Lincoln’s son, narrated by the ghosts who haunt the graveyard where he was entombed. It was a fascinating read, and it really stayed with me — in a good way. — Karen Lloyd (TED Talk: This deep-sea mystery is changing our understanding of life)


by Angie Thomas The voice of the narrator is clear as a bell and persuasive to the hilt. The events in this young-adult novel could have been stolen right from the headlines, but it’s told from a perspective that I’m unaccustomed to find in a novel: a young African-American high schooler. This book is just as good as all the reviewers have said — believe the hype. — Eve Abrams (TED Talk: The human stories behind mass incarceration)



by Khalil Gibran The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by a Lebanese-American poet and writer. Originally published in 1923, it is Gibran’s best known work. It has been translated into most of the world’s languages, and I have read it cover to cover over one hundred times. It’s a must-read. — Azim Khamisa (TED Talk with Ples Felix: What comes after tragedy? Forgiveness)



by Nina Riggs

This is a story about the last year in the life of a 39-year-old mother of two young children. Despite that description, it’s a joyful book and at times really funny. It also enabled me to see my own life through clearer eyes.



by Daniel James Brown

I just finished this book. I’d never thought much about rowing, so I learned a great deal about this sport during a time of great change in the US. It’s an excellent read that will give you much to think about.

— Joan Blades (TED Talk with John Gable: Free yourself from your filter bubbles)



by Angela Duckworth (TED Talk: Grit — the power of passion and persistence)

In this compelling and interesting read, Duckworth explores the concept of grit. Through numerous real-life examples of high achievers, she examines the idea that they possess a combination of passion and perseverance — not just talent. This book really resonated with me, a person who sees herself as possessing grit. It made me recognize that much of my success in athletics, work and life has been due to my effort and unrelenting determination, despite my not being the fastest or most talented. I hope that I can teach my own daughter to have grit.



by Peter Wohlleben

Wohlleben describes many astonishing features about our calm neighbors, the trees. They can talk to each other over huge distances, help each other when they get sick, and display individual character. You’ll learn about the personalities of different trees and why isolated trees in cities feel like orphans.

— Hannah Bürckstümmer (TED Talk: A printable, flexible, organic solar cell)



by R. J. Palacio

I really liked Wonder, which is a book for all ages, because it talks about the power of inclusion, resilience and family. It also deals with a topic that is not normally discussed: facial deformity.



by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TED Talk: The danger of a single story)

At one point, I started calling myself a humanist instead of a feminist. I convinced myself by saying I cared about all humans, so why bother with those negative associations with the word “feminist”? I read this short book while I was on a plane, and who would have thought that after all these years, a book would make me call myself a feminist again with pride, genuineness and fearlessness? Adichie says she started calling herself “a happy African feminist who does not hate men and who likes to wear lip gloss and high heels for herself and not for men” to defend against the stereotypes associated with the f-word. Although I may not be African, do not wear lipstick often, and quickly get tired from high heels, I felt she was speaking about me. I felt she was in my (flat) shoes! To women and men, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, daughters and sons, I encourage you all to embrace being a feminist.

— Lana Mazareh (TED Talk: 3 thoughtful ways to conserve water)



by Elizabeth Kolbert Everyone knows we have a problem with the environment. But did you know there have been just five mass extinction events in the last half billion years — the most recent of which was 66 million years ago, when an asteroid hit the earth — and that we humans are causing the sixth? Every day, I think about what I learned from this book. Kolbert doesn’t offer solutions — she leaves that to us. — Vivek Maru (TED Talk: How to put the power of law in people’s hands)



by Bryan Stevenson (TED Talk: We need to talk about an injustice)

Besides being beautifully and poignantly written, this book opened my eyes to the depth of racial inequity in our criminal justice system, particularly for those facing the death penalty. Intellectually, I’ve known that such inequities exist, but this book — with its powerful stories of wrongfully accused inmates on death row and the valiant efforts to free them — showed me in a way that I never previously understood just how deep this injustice runs. — Wendy Troxel (TED Talk: Why school should start later for teens)



edited by Jesmyn Ward In this compelling collection, award-winning author Ward looks to James Baldwin’s seminal book The Fire Next Time for comfort and counsel. In response, she has compiled an anthology of work from thinkers of her generation that speaks about race in ways that are compelling, thought-provoking and extremely salient for our times. From essays to poems, these pieces will leave you thinking about them long after you’ve finished reading them. — Liz Ogbu (TED Talk: What if gentrification was about healing communities instead of replacing them?)


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