11 Books to Help You Live Better in 2022
My annual list includes titles by George Saunders, Kate Bowler, Cal Newport, and more.
Welcome to the annual reading list. If you are familiar with my work, you’ll know that it integrates ideas, research, and practices from diverse domains. (See my latest book for a great example.) People always ask me how I do this. The answer is simple: I do my best to live in the world with my eyes open. And I read lots, and lots of books, from a variety of disciplines and authors. And then I discuss them with other readers and curious people at length.
I am a huge enthusiast and supporter of deep reading, or full engagement in a book. Deep reading is an absolute joy. It is good for mind and spirit, and it is also an advantage in today’s knowledge-based economy. Increasingly, people struggle to pay attention to just about anything, let alone a book. Yet deep reading confers many benefits above and beyond watching a YouTube video or skimming an article. These benefits include developing a richer understanding of a topic, increasing your ability to pay attention itself, more empathy, and enhanced creative thinking. (For more on deep reading, check out this guide on the topic.)
With that, here are the 11 non-fiction books I loved most in 2021. These books were not necessarily…
