Everyone has that one book that they’re thrilled to find out a friend or acquaintance has also read. The experts behind TED talks are no exception. And when the folks at TED asked them to name the books that they’re always thrilled to find out someone else has also read, the result was an incredible reading list. The whole list is 58 books long!
As you might expect, the list of recommendations is incredibly diverse. Since experts on all sorts of different topics were polled, the results include everything from science fiction and fantasy to books on architecture and social justice.
While some of the books are pretty familiar to most readers, a lot of them are more obscure. Because of the nature of the question, experts chose books that they don’t necessarily assume are widely read. Here are a few of the highlights from the list. To view the full list, head over to TED’s website!
Literature
Tech
Science
Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem
Business and Politics
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein
Graphic Novels and Picture Books
Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
Justice
My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
Arts and Architecture
Art as Experience by John Dewey
Biographies and Memoirs
The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
Self-Help
Willpower: Why Self-Control Is the Secret to Success by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney
Poetry
The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks
Main Image: Ann Morgan’s TED talk, via TED