Love Dopamine Nation? Readers share 73 books like Dopamine Nation...

By Anna Lembke,

Here are 73 books that Dopamine Nation fans have personally recommended if you like Dopamine Nation. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Mariah Avery Author Of Now What?

From my list on brand new behavior analyst.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m Mariah Avery, a clinic owner, adjunct professor, and Board Certified Behavior AnalystĀ® (BCBAĀ®). When I was a new BCBA I felt like I had been thrown out of the frying pan into the fire. Even worse, the fire kept judging me for not knowing things and telling me I didnā€™t work quickly enough. These books are, in part, what got me through that time and helped me back on my feetā€”I hope they do the same for you. 

Mariah's book list on brand new behavior analyst

Mariah Avery Why did Mariah love this book?

Iā€™ll be honest; I was skeptical because of all the hype. I read it, and ultimately, small changes do add up to big wins. It clearly shows you exactly how to make that happen.

This is great for anyone who wants to master consistency without losing their mind. I found this helpful when I was overwhelmed and felt like I needed to overhaul my lifestyle (spoiler alert: I didnā€™t need to upend my life to make changes). 

By James Clear,

Why should I read it?

30 authors picked Atomic Habits as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 4 million copies sold!

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have theā€¦


Book cover of Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

Marcey Rader Author Of Reclaim Your Workday: Sustainable Productivity Strategies for the New World of Work

From my list on boost productivity declutter and reclaim your day.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m passionate about productivity that enhances life, not erodes it. After years of chasing moreā€”more certifications, more races, more promotionsā€”I faced a health crisis that forced me to redefine success. Now, Iā€™m on a mission to help people and companies find real productivity without sacrificing relationships or health. My background as a speaker, trainer, and coach drives me to show others how sustainable habits can declutter not just our workspaces but also our minds and bodies. True productivity isnā€™t about doing more; itā€™s about creating space for what truly matters. 

Marcey's book list on boost productivity declutter and reclaim your day

Marcey Rader Why did Marcey love this book?

As a Cal Newport fan, I find his work indispensable. Deep Work influenced my approach as a productivity coach, and I quickly incorporated his research into my business. With this one, Newport masterfully presents why we need to declutter our digital lives without demanding we go off-grid, which isn't achievable (nor would we want it to be).

The relatable stories of people experimenting with digital restraint brought the strategies to life, showing that anyone can find more solitude and less noise. His realistic, actionable insights make this a go-to for me to recommend to my clients.

By Cal Newport,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Digital Minimalism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn how to switch off and find calm - from the New York Times bestselling author of A World Without Email

'Digital Minimalism is the Marie Kondo of technology' Evening Standard

'An eloquent, powerful and enjoyably practical guide to cutting back on screen time' The Times

'An urgent call to action for anyone serious about being in command of their own life' Ryan Holiday

'What a timely and useful book' Naomi Alderman, author of The Power

Do you find yourself endlessly scrolling through social media or the news while your anxiety rises? Are you feeling frazzled after a long dayā€¦


Book cover of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Havard Mela Author Of Digital Discipline: Choosing Life in the Digital Age of Excess

From my list on how we get distracted and how to reclaim your attention.

Why am I passionate about this?

As someone who has felt the consequences of spending too much time online on distractions, I am compelled to share how much better life can be when we are conscious of the time we spend online. In my early twenties, I experienced digital addiction. I managed to turn things around by cultivating discipline and finding purpose in life. In the process, I developed a deep interest in neuroscience and psychology. My book explains how you can take conscious control of your life in a practical way based on my experience backed up by research.

Havard's book list on how we get distracted and how to reclaim your attention

Havard Mela Why did Havard love this book?

Deep Work is an excellent book for realizing how detrimental the typical employeeā€™s work habits of checking email every 5 minutes, constant meetings, and other distractions are to their ability to perform high-quality work. Newport also shares good suggestions for reclaiming your focus and doing what he calls ā€œdeep work.ā€ 

The book strongly advocates for the importance of having as much time as possible without distractions to achieve flow and perform optimally. This book helped me become much more conscious about how I work.

By Cal Newport,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Deep Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Many modern knowledge workers now spend most of their brain power battling distraction and interruption, whether because of the incessant pinging of devices, noisy open-plan offices or the difficulty of deciding what deserves your attention the most. When Cal Newport coined the term 'deep work' on his popular blog, Study Hacks, in 2012, he found the concept quickly hit a nerve. Most of us, after all, are excruciatingly familiar with shallow work instead - distractedly skimming the surface of our workload and never getting to the important part. Newport began exploring the methods and mindset that foster a practice ofā€¦


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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorā€”and only womanā€”on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route upā€¦

Book cover of Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality

Srikumar Rao Author Of Modern Wisdom, Ancient Roots: The Movers and Shakers' Guide to Unstoppable Success

From my list on spiritual dynamite.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am Srikumar Rao ā€“ best selling author, TED speaker, and elite coach. I have spent more than five decades studying the teachings of the worldā€™s greatest masters and distilling them into exercises that enable successful individuals to reach entirely new orbits of accomplishment while remaining serene as a Zen monk. My course, Creativity and Personal Mastery, was among the highest-rated and most popular at many of the worldā€™s top business schools and is the only one to have its own alumni association. My work has been covered by major media worldwide and my talks have been viewed by tens of millions on all six continents.

Srikumar's book list on spiritual dynamite

Srikumar Rao Why did Srikumar love this book?

DeMello was a Jesuit priest and a psychologist.

His workshops were legendary and had a deep impact on thousands. His books have touched millions. He was eclectic and open-minded and readily acknowledged the power of spiritual practices from traditions outside the Church.

For this, his books were removed from Catholic bookstores and a warning issued that his writings could mislead young minds. He was passionate about truth and cavalier about dogma.

By Anthony De Mello,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Awareness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

De Mello's spiritual classic remains at the top of the Fount bestsellers more than five years after its original publication.


Book cover of The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles

Jo Dunbar Author Of Nature's Remedies for Stress and Fatigue: Recovering from Burnout

From my list on triumphing over stress and long term fatigue.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a medical herbalist for over 25 years, I have long been treating people for chronic fatigue, post-viral fatigue, and, more recently, Long Covid. These days, there is so much stress to consider too, and I have recognized that stress has a major effect on the health of our bodies and also our life experience. One of my great interests in life is the wisdom of Nature, spirituality, and metaphysics. I love to combine medical science with spirituality, metaphysics, and Nature to contribute to helping people to feel their best through the wisdom of nature.  

Jo's book list on triumphing over stress and long term fatigue

Jo Dunbar Why did Jo love this book?

Biologist Bruce Lipton is one of my favorite scientists. This book is built on a moment when he was in his laboratory growing stem cells in petri dishes, when one day, he made a fascinating discovery. It is not the genes that determine the outcome of the cells but the environment. 

Extrapolating that to the whole human being, the book clearly outlines that our thoughts create our health outcomes. The environment in which our cells are bathed, as explained by Dr Lipton, is our blood, the chemistry of which is determined by our emotional state, which, in turn, is controlled by our thoughts. 

His overriding message is that we can use our minds to change the environment of our bodies, our health, and thus our entire life experience. I love Bruce Lipton because of his cheerful and encouraging message that we are empowered to change our lives for the better. 

By Bruce H. Lipton,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Biology of Belief as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This 10th-anniversary edition of Bruce Lipton's best-selling book

The Biology of Belief has been updated to bolster the book's central premise with the latest scientific discoveries-and there have been a lot in the last decade.

The Biology of Belief is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology. Former medical school professor and research scientist Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D., presents his experiments, and those of other leading-edge scientists, which examine in great detail the mechanisms by which cells receive and process information.

The implications of this research radically change our understanding of life, showing that genes and DNA doā€¦


Book cover of Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours

Why am I passionate about this?

Fascinated with consciousness, spirituality, and the power of mind, I started reading books by Thich Nhat Hahn, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, and Alan Watts as early as 5th grade. But I was also infatuated with math and logic, which led to a degree in mathematics at UC Berkeley. Knowing there was more to understanding truth beyond logic, I balanced out my worldview with an M.A. in transpersonal psychology. For more than twenty years, I have passionately devoted myself to the study and practice of transformation. As a certified coach using expertise in interpersonal neurobiology, design thinking, and Conversational IntelligenceĀ®, I have provided thousands of transformative experiences for individuals, executives, teams, and organizations. 

Amy's book list on personal growth books that use more logic and science than New Age thinking to overcome self-imposed limitations and flourish

Amy Wong Why did Amy love this book?

I love frameworks. Especially ones that make simple and clarifying distinctions about our complex inner life. Thatā€™s exactly what Chamine has done with this book. When I read this book in 2012 and completed the accompanying free online assessment to identify my saboteurs, I was greatly humbled by the sobering accuracy of how I self-sabotage.

While reading the book, I was engrossed in the combination of logic, science, and stories helping to illuminate how and why we all have a unique mix of these universal saboteurs: Controller, Stickler, Hyper-Achiever, Restless, Hyper-Rational, Victim, Avoider, Pleaser, Hyper-Vigilant. I learned how to identify when I was coming from a place of self-sabotage and what to do to overcome unhelpful habits, (i.e., strengthen my PQ muscles).

It was fun, engaging, and motivating to read, and the practical tips made this book incredibly useful. I use his framework in conjunction with my own to makeā€¦

By Shirzad Chamine,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Positive Intelligence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER In his popular Stanford University lectures, Shirzad Chamine reveals how to achieve one's true potential for both professional success and personal fulfillment. His groundbreaking research exposes


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Book cover of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

Traumatization and Its Aftermath by Antonieta Contreras,

A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.

The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a clusterā€¦

Book cover of Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health

Rose Ann Forte Author Of The Plans He Has For Me: A 12-Week Daily Devotional for Freedom from Alcohol

From my list on helping you quit drinking.

Why am I passionate about this?

I participated in a coaching program where I put alcohol to the side for 90 consecutive days and I was so completely transformed that I couldnā€™t even consider going back to the way things were. I attribute my success in staying alcohol free to the fact that I recognized Godā€™s instruction embedded in all of the things I learned in that coaching program. For me, it was the collision of modern science, personal suffering, and Biblical Wisdom. I am a Certified Positive Intelligence and Alcohol-Free Coach and I so enjoy witnessing the transformation people experience when following this program. It gives me such joy.

Rose's book list on helping you quit drinking

Rose Ann Forte Why did Rose love this book?

This book talks about the science of the brain and a methodology for changing brain patterns, habits, and neural pathways. The uniqueness of this book lies in her connection with Godā€™s Word. The author provides much evidence through biblical scripture for the rewiring of the brain. This resonated with me personally because I have also taken the science of the brain and matched it up with biblical wisdom.

By Caroline Leaf,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Switch On Your Brain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Over 900,000 copies sold!

According to researchers, the vast majority--a whopping 75-98 percent--of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about truly affects us both physically and emotionally. In fact, fear alone triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses in our bodies, activating more than thirty different hormones! Today our culture is undergoing an epidemic of toxic thoughts that, left unchecked, create ideal conditions for illnesses.

Supported by current scientific and medical research, Dr. Caroline Leaf gives readers a prescription for better health and wholeness through correct thinkingā€¦


Book cover of Stillness is the Key

Havard Mela Author Of Digital Discipline: Choosing Life in the Digital Age of Excess

From my list on how we get distracted and how to reclaim your attention.

Why am I passionate about this?

As someone who has felt the consequences of spending too much time online on distractions, I am compelled to share how much better life can be when we are conscious of the time we spend online. In my early twenties, I experienced digital addiction. I managed to turn things around by cultivating discipline and finding purpose in life. In the process, I developed a deep interest in neuroscience and psychology. My book explains how you can take conscious control of your life in a practical way based on my experience backed up by research.

Havard's book list on how we get distracted and how to reclaim your attention

Havard Mela Why did Havard love this book?

Holiday explains how finding time for quiet or stillness, as he calls it, is the key to conquering your temper, avoiding distractions, and discovering great insights. Slowing down is the balancing mechanism everybody needs when living a busy life.

The book shows how historical people such as Churchill needed stillness through activities like bricklaying to balance his busy life. The book is very engaging and offers an inspirational and practical way for us to recharge and find self-mastery and discipline in our busy lives filled with distractions.

By Ryan Holiday,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stillness is the Key as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times Bestseller that shows why slowing down is the key to getting ahead

'Choose the focused inner stillness that Ryan champions' - Mark Manson #1 Bestselling author The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

'Some authors give advice. Ryan Holiday distills wisdom. This book is a must read.' Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author, Digital Minimalism

'A life-changing idea: that in order to move forward, we must learn to be still.' - Sophia Amoruso, cofounder and CEO, Girlboss

Throughout history, there has been one quality that great leaders, makers, artists and fighters have shared.ā€¦


Book cover of Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attentionā€”and How to Think Deeply Again

Havard Mela Author Of Digital Discipline: Choosing Life in the Digital Age of Excess

From my list on how we get distracted and how to reclaim your attention.

Why am I passionate about this?

As someone who has felt the consequences of spending too much time online on distractions, I am compelled to share how much better life can be when we are conscious of the time we spend online. In my early twenties, I experienced digital addiction. I managed to turn things around by cultivating discipline and finding purpose in life. In the process, I developed a deep interest in neuroscience and psychology. My book explains how you can take conscious control of your life in a practical way based on my experience backed up by research.

Havard's book list on how we get distracted and how to reclaim your attention

Havard Mela Why did Havard love this book?

This book is a page-turner and very well-written.

It brilliantly weaves together the author's experience with protecting his attention and research about the topic. He covers how our phones have lulled us into thinking about what to do online, such as taking selfies and posting on Instagram, rather than going out there in the world.

The book enlightens the reader about the damaging effects multitasking and interruptions have on our lives. Although this is not a self-help book, the personal experiences Hari shares are very helpful in managing your attention.

By Johann Hari,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Stolen Focus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A SPECTATOR AND FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 'If you read just one book about how the modern world is driving us crazy, read this one' TELEGRAPH 'This book is exactly what the world needs right now' OPRAH WINFREY 'A beautifully researched and argued exploration of the breakdown of humankind's ability to pay attention' STEPHEN FRY 'A really important book . . . Everyone should read it' PHILIPPA PERRY Why have we lost our ability to focus? What are the causes? And, most importantly, how do we get it back? Forā€¦


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Book cover of Locked In Locked Out: Surviving a Brainstem Stroke

Locked In Locked Out by Shawn Jennings,

Can there be life after a brainstem stroke?

After Dr. Shawn Jennings, a busy family physician, suffered a brainstem stroke on May 13, 1999, he woke from a coma locked inside his body, aware and alert but unable to communicate or move. Once he regained limited movement in his leftā€¦

Book cover of Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction

Havard Mela Author Of How to Thrive in the 21st Century: By Avoiding Porn and Other Distractions

From my list on porn addiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

As someone who has felt the consequences of spending too much time online on distractions, I am compelled to share how much better life can be when we are conscious of the time we spend online. In my early twenties, I experienced digital addiction. I managed to turn things around by cultivating discipline and finding purpose in life. In the process, I developed a deep interest in neuroscience and psychology. My book explains how you can take conscious control of your life in a practical way based on my experience backed up by research.

Havard's book list on porn addiction

Havard Mela Why did Havard love this book?

This book is kind of like the bible of porn addiction. It clearly shows the negative effects you can experience by showing both science and anecdotes.

This book was eye-opening for me as I saw many reports of similar side effects as I had experienced myself grappling with this problem. This book is a must-read book about this topic.

By Gary Wilson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Your Brain on Porn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Over 100,000 copies sold!

When Your Brain on Porn was first published the porn industry and its lobbyists reacted with outrage. How could a commodity so popular - and so profitable - be a problem? But evidence of porn's addictiveness has been accumulating ever since. In February 2022 the peer-reviewed journal Psychological Medicine published a large-scale, longitudinal study that confirmed what many users and former users of digital pornography had figured out for themselves: 'porn - a male-dominated industry that targets a male-dominated audience - is associated with the erosion of the quality of men's sex lives.'


In the sameā€¦


Book cover of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Book cover of Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
Book cover of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

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