Maria Popova

Maria Popova

Curator of Ideas and Cultural Commentator

Maria Popova is a writer and curator known for exploring the intersections of science, art, philosophy, and human experience through carefully curated reading lists.

Journalists

Maria Popova is a Bulgarian-American writer and curator best known for Brain Pickings, a website that explores the intersection of science, art, philosophy, and literature. Her work emphasizes the importance of synthesizing knowledge across disciplines and finding meaning through close reading and contemplation.

12 Books Recommended by Maria Popova

Ranked by popularity across all reading lists on this site

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#1

by

36 people recommendedrecommended 2x

A meditation on what the gruesome experience of Auschwitz taught [the author] about the primary purpose of life: the quest for meaning, which sustained those who survived.

A meditation on what the gruesome experience of Auschwitz taught [the author] about the primary purpose of life: the quest for meaning, which sustained those who survived.

Also recommended by: Dustin Moskovitz, Ev Williams, Sam Altman, Aniela Gregorek, Bryan Johnson, Chelsea Handler, Chip Conley, Alastair Humphreys, Daniel Pink, Dave Elitch, David Blaine, Patrick Bet David, Emma Watson, Esther Perel, Fedor Holz, Jim Kwik, Jimmy Fallon, Jocko Willink, Jordan Peterson, Lex Fridman, Mark Manson, Michael Gervais, Michael Hyatt, Pewdiepie, Phil Jackson, Robin Black, Ryan Holiday, Shane Parrish, Simon Sinek, Steve Kerr, Terry Crews, Tom Bilyeu, Tony Robbins, Turia Pitt, Derek Sivers

On the Shortness of Life book cover
#2

On the Shortness of Life

by Seneca

6 people recommendedrecommended 3x

A poignant reminder of what we so deeply intuit yet so easily forget and so chronically fail to put into practice.

A poignant reminder of what we so deeply intuit yet so easily forget and so chronically fail to put into practice.

A poignant reminder of what we so deeply intuit yet so easily forget and so chronically fail to put into practice.

Also recommended by: Eric Jorgenson, Patrick Collison, Chip Conley, Jim Collins, Neil Strauss

πŸ“–
#3

by

6 people recommendedrecommended 2x

Explores the sometimes subtle, sometimes radical changes we can make in our everyday cognitive strategies in order to avoid ending up unhappy and disappointed.

Explores the sometimes subtle, sometimes radical changes we can make in our everyday cognitive strategies in order to avoid ending up unhappy and disappointed.

Also recommended by: Ev Williams, Andrew Wilkinson, Derek Sivers, Mark Manson, Sam Harris

The Republic book cover
#4

The Republic

by Plato

6 people recommendedrecommended 2x

I’m actually gobsmacked that this isn’t required in order to be sworn into office, like the Constitution is required for us American immigrants when it comes time to gain American citizenship.

I’m actually gobsmacked that this isn’t required in order to be sworn into office, like the Constitution is required for us American immigrants when it comes time to gain American citizenship.

Buy on Amazon β†’

Also recommended by: Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Vlad Tenev, Mark Manson, Nolan Bushnell

πŸ“–
#5

by

2 people recommendedrecommended 2x

Lovely, and profound, and challenge our existing ideas about sensory experience.

Lovely, and profound, and challenge our existing ideas about sensory experience.

Also recommended by: Chris Sacca

πŸ“–
#6

Desert Solitaire

by Edward Abbey

recommended 2x

So powerful, so enduring, so fiercely necessary today.

So powerful, so enduring, so fiercely necessary today.

Buy on Amazon β†’
πŸ“–
#7

Gathering Moss

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

recommended 2x

An extraordinary celebration of smallness and the grandeur of life.

An extraordinary celebration of smallness and the grandeur of life.

Buy on Amazon β†’
πŸ“–
#8

The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861

by Henry David Thoreau

recommended 2x

A book I continue to consider an existential Bible of secular scripture.

A book I continue to consider an existential Bible of secular scripture.

Buy on Amazon β†’
πŸ“–
#9

On the Move

by Oliver Sacks

recommended 2x

An uncommonly moving autobiography.

An uncommonly moving autobiography.

Buy on Amazon β†’
πŸ“–
#10

On science, necessity, and the love of God

by Simone Weil

You will find yourself at once infinitely gladdened by [the author]'s enduring ideas and infinitely saddened by the self-fulfilling prophecy embedded in this particular one.

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πŸ“–
#11

Still Writing

by Dani Shapiro

recommended 2x

[The author's] magnificent memoir of the writing life, at once disarmingly personal and brimming with widely resonant wisdom on the most universal challenges and joys of writing.

[The author's] magnificent memoir of the writing life, at once disarmingly personal and brimming with widely resonant wisdom on the most universal challenges and joys of writing.

Buy on Amazon β†’
πŸ“–
#12

A Rap on Race

by Margaret Mead

recommended 2x

Spectacular and pause-giving in its entirety β€” the kind of perspective-normalizing read that reminds us both how far we’ve come and how much further we have yet to go.

Spectacular and pause-giving in its entirety β€” the kind of perspective-normalizing read that reminds us both how far we’ve come and how much further we have yet to go.

Buy on Amazon β†’