Fans pick 100 books like He's Just Not That Into You

By Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo,

Here are 100 books that He's Just Not That Into You fans have personally recommended if you like He's Just Not That Into You. 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 Yes Please

Cynthia Mance Author Of Dear Marcy... Ask Her Anything And Hope She Doesn't Answer!

From my list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the creator of an online magazine that features conversations between my gullible self and my moody, hissy, know-it-all cat, Marcy. Marcy the Cat even has her own snarky but popular advice column on the site. Obviously, I have a penchant for the absurd. I love the humor that skewers our utter ridiculousness as humans and even calls us out. Tough love, audacious advice, and brutal hilarity are my forte. With just a bit of inappropriateness. Basically, advice and stories that encourage us to shape up or ship out. But with giggles.

Cynthia's book list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives

Cynthia Mance Why did Cynthia love this book?

I love bad-ass women who take the world by storm. I love it when they’re funny. I love it when they share their journey. Amy Poehler, badass writer/comedian, wrote her memoir in the form of a self-help book. The self-help aspect is in disguise, though. You’re supposed to think it’s a memoir/fun celebrity tell-all, but it’s way more than that. It’s a bossy bitchy blueprint on how to get through life with humor and honesty and loads of funny stories. 

Some of her advice: Talk To Yourself Like You’re Ninety and Treat Your Career Like A Bad Boyfriend. Amy’s snarky, smart, and silly stories about her successes and failures inspire me to be a badass, too. Humor and snark and advice. Yes, please!

By Amy Poehler,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Yes Please as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

In Amy Poehler's highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much). Powered by Amy's charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.


Book cover of Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Cynthia Mance Author Of Dear Marcy... Ask Her Anything And Hope She Doesn't Answer!

From my list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the creator of an online magazine that features conversations between my gullible self and my moody, hissy, know-it-all cat, Marcy. Marcy the Cat even has her own snarky but popular advice column on the site. Obviously, I have a penchant for the absurd. I love the humor that skewers our utter ridiculousness as humans and even calls us out. Tough love, audacious advice, and brutal hilarity are my forte. With just a bit of inappropriateness. Basically, advice and stories that encourage us to shape up or ship out. But with giggles.

Cynthia's book list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives

Cynthia Mance Why did Cynthia love this book?

I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride that never stopped while reading this book. It was thrilling and scary and fun. I also couldn’t stop bursting into laughter that ranged from high-pitched shrieking to low-key chuckling, all while nervously looking around to see if anyone in my proximity would ask what was so funny. Because … I don’t know what was so funny.

Everything I was laughing at was inappropriate. Concerning. Completely not funny if I thought about it. But that is the genius of Jenny Lawson’s memoir. Her wild and disturbing journey through life and her ability to handle the insanity with absurd humor and sweetness makes devouring her book the most fun roller coaster in the world. 

By Jenny Lawson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Let's Pretend This Never Happened as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Even when I was funny, I wasn't this funny'
Augusten Burroughs, author of Running With Scissors

Have you ever embarrassed yourself so badly you thought you'd never get over it?

Have you ever wished your family could be just like everyone else's?

Have you ever been followed to school by your father's herd of turkeys, mistaken a marriage proposal for an attempted murder or got your arm stuck inside a cow? OK, maybe that's just Jenny Lawson . . .

The bestselling memoir from one of America's most outlandishly hilarious writers.


Book cover of Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar

Cynthia Mance Author Of Dear Marcy... Ask Her Anything And Hope She Doesn't Answer!

From my list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the creator of an online magazine that features conversations between my gullible self and my moody, hissy, know-it-all cat, Marcy. Marcy the Cat even has her own snarky but popular advice column on the site. Obviously, I have a penchant for the absurd. I love the humor that skewers our utter ridiculousness as humans and even calls us out. Tough love, audacious advice, and brutal hilarity are my forte. With just a bit of inappropriateness. Basically, advice and stories that encourage us to shape up or ship out. But with giggles.

Cynthia's book list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives

Cynthia Mance Why did Cynthia love this book?

This book took my breath away.

This is no pithy or glib advice column book bound by word counts and editorial edits. Her advice is lengthy and considered and beautifully interwoven with her poignant personal stories. Her advice is raw and poetic. Not flowery or pretty poetry, but punch you in your soul, pierce directly into your heart truth bombs.

It’s tough love to the extreme. Every single entry took my breath away with its unflinching rawness. And, at the same time, delivered with compassion and care that I felt somehow … loved. There’s humor in this book, but it’s subtle, and it captures the wonder and madness and beauty and crazy courageousness needed to live in our bizarre world. 

By Cheryl Strayed,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES •NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • An anniversary edition of the bestselling collection of "Dear Sugar" advice columns written by the author of #1 bestseller Wild—featuring a new preface and six additional columns.

For more than a decade, thousands of people have sought advice from Dear Sugar—the pseudonym of bestselling author Cheryl Strayed—first through her online column at The Rumpus, later through her hit podcast, Dear Sugars, and now through her popular Substack newsletter. Tiny Beautiful Things collects the best of Dear Sugar in one volume, bringing her wisdom to many…


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Book cover of Kanazawa

Kanazawa By David Joiner,

Emmitt’s plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of purchasing their dream home. Disappointed, he’s surprised to discover her subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo.

In his search for a meaningful life in Japan, and after quitting his job, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law…

Book cover of If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury

Cynthia Mance Author Of Dear Marcy... Ask Her Anything And Hope She Doesn't Answer!

From my list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the creator of an online magazine that features conversations between my gullible self and my moody, hissy, know-it-all cat, Marcy. Marcy the Cat even has her own snarky but popular advice column on the site. Obviously, I have a penchant for the absurd. I love the humor that skewers our utter ridiculousness as humans and even calls us out. Tough love, audacious advice, and brutal hilarity are my forte. With just a bit of inappropriateness. Basically, advice and stories that encourage us to shape up or ship out. But with giggles.

Cynthia's book list on audacious advice inspiring inappropriate lives

Cynthia Mance Why did Cynthia love this book?

Geraldine DeRuiter validates the outrage I feel at the absolute absurdity of being a woman in America. This is because she is just as outraged, but she conveys it with sarcastic, self-deprecating, and biting humor. 

Reading If You Can’t Take The Heat is like having margaritas with your BFF and tipsily yelling at the top of your voices about the injustices of everyday misogyny. Your hilarious, ferocious, fantastically brilliant BFF, that is. All while stuffing your face with chips and guacamole and simultaneously worrying about packing on the pounds. You’ll gossip about food, family, and feminism, and all will magically be linked together by DeRuiter. It’s absurd. It’s infuriating. It's cathartic. And I have never felt so seen.

By Geraldine DeRuiter,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked If You Can't Take the Heat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the James Beard Award–winning blogger behind The Everywhereist come hilarious, searing essays on how food and cooking stoke the flames of her feminism.

“With charm and humor, Geraldine DeRuiter welcomes us into her personal history and thus reconnects us with ourselves.”—Mikki Kendall, New York Times bestselling author of Hood Feminism

When celebrity chef Mario Batali sent out an apology letter for the sexual harassment allegations made against him, he had the gall to include a recipe—for cinnamon rolls, of all things. Geraldine DeRuiter decided to make the recipe, and she happened to make food journalism history…


Book cover of Coaching A to Z: The Extraordinary Use of Ordinary Words

Michael Bungay Stanier Author Of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

From my list on unexpectedly useful books about coaching.

Why am I passionate about this?

Coaching is a wonderful technology that can help people be a force for change… and is often wrapped up in mystic and woo-woo and privilege that makes it inaccessible and/or unattractive to too many. I want being more coach-like—by which I mean staying curious a little longer, and rushing to action and advice-giving—to be an everyday way of being with one another. Driven by this, I’ve written the best-selling book on coaching this century (The Coaching Habit) and have created training that’s been used around the world by more than a quarter of a million people. I’m on a mission to unweird coaching.

Michael's book list on unexpectedly useful books about coaching

Michael Bungay Stanier Why did Michael love this book?

Moon realizes that certain words are particularly helpful and powerful in making conversations better (all conversations, not just coaching ones). It’s one short word per letter (“Difference”, “Might”, and “Yet” are three of my favourites), and this feels like a collection of twenty-six precise tools that can help any type of discussion more elegant, more curious, more filled with potential and more useful.

By Haesun Moon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Coaching A to Z as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Your indispensable guide for coaching mastery.

Language is a powerful tool that can unite, engage, and move people to action. It's all in what you choose to say, and how you say it.

In this practical, accessible guide to having more powerful conversations, leading evidence-based coaching expert Haesun Moon offers a set of powerful words or phrases-one for every letter of the alphabet-to help you move others toward greater purpose and accomplishment. Based on her extensive research with the University of Toronto and Harvard Medical School, Moon shows you how to apply each of these concepts to transform the way…


Book cover of Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone

Kymberly Dakin-Neal Author Of Head, Heart, and Hands Listening in Coach Practice: The Listening Coach

From my list on our quietest superpower: listening.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been curious about people and the way they interact. When I was a small child, all our neighbors had their back doors wide open to catch the summertime breeze; they’d get the sense they were being watched… by my small face pressed against the screen door, listening and learning. My parents would get called..” She’s doing it again.” As an introvert, a performing artist, and a coach, I’ve learned to tune my ears to the messaging beneath the words—the unspoken truth in the interaction. And I truly believe that if we can learn to be more effective and compassionate listenersour world will change for the better.

Kymberly's book list on our quietest superpower: listening

Kymberly Dakin-Neal Why did Kymberly love this book?

For anyone tempted to label good listening as “soft skills,” this book will prove you wrong! Even though the book was published in 2010, Goulston positions listening as a vital skill all the more needed in today’s fractious times.

Each chapter is structured with a high-stakes story, “Usable Insights,” and “Action Steps,” with excellent, researched info in between. From the chapter titled “Nine Core Rules for Getting Through to Anyone,” I personally learned so much from this book that I could apply to my daily interactions—particularly those with my very argumentative teenage daughter!

By Mark Goulston,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Just Listen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Getting through to someone is a critical, fine art. Whether you are dealing with a harried colleague, a stressed-out client, or an insecure spouse, things will go from bad to worse if you can't break through emotional barricades and get your message thoroughly communicated and registered.

Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist, business consultant, and coach, author Mark Goulston combines his background with the latest scientific research to help you turn the "impossible" and "unreachable" people in their lives into allies, devoted customers, loyal colleagues, and lifetime friends.

In Just Listen, Goulston provides simple yet powerful techniques you can…


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Book cover of All They Need to Know

All They Need to Know By Eileen Goudge,

On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown. With a dog she rescued in tow, she lands in the peaceful California mountain town of Gold Creek and is immediately befriended by an openhearted group of women who call themselves the Tattooed Ladies. They’re there…

Book cover of Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It

Norman Farb Author Of Better in Every Sense: How the New Science of Sensation Can Help You Reclaim Your Life

From my list on overcoming stress and getting unstuck in life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto who studies the social neuroscience of the self and human emotion, with a focus on how biases in self-representation shape emotional reactions that determine well-being. I am particularly interested in how cognitive training practices such as mindfulness meditation and yoga foster resilience against stress, reducing vulnerability to disorders such as depression. I’ve always wished we had better ways of communicating fascinating and important discoveries in neuroscience and mental health to a wider audience, so we combined our teaching experience in the fields of mindfulness, yoga, sports, and clinical psychology to write this book.

Norman's book list on overcoming stress and getting unstuck in life

Norman Farb Why did Norman love this book?

Prof. Ethan Kross already had a strong reputation in the world of academic psychology for his work on that little voice inside our head and how it both gives us a sense of purpose but also drives us to despair at times. This book is essential reading for those interested in how to better understand the connection between mental habits and one’s state of well-being.

We so often forget when the voice inside our head recites criticisms and worries; we can easily be in the driver’s seat and direct these conversations. The voice inside our head is part of us, even if it seems deeply informed by the collection of critics we have met in the past. Our challenge, then, is to be a bit more intentional about how we cultivate this inner voice, when do we give it our attention, and how do we respond to the inevitable negative…

By Ethan Kross,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An award-winning psychologist reveals the hidden power of our inner voice and shows how to harness it to combat anxiety, improve physical and mental health, and deepen our relationships with others.

LONGLISTED FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • “A masterpiece.”—Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit • Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel H. Pink’s Next Big Idea Club Winter 2021 Winning Selection

One of the best new books of the year—The Washington Post, BBC, USA Today, CNN Underscored, Shape, Behavioral Scientist, PopSugar • Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Shelf Awareness starred reviews

Tell a…


Book cover of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal: How the Words You Choose Shape Your Destiny

Bradford Hall Author Of Among Cultures: The Challenge of Communication

From my list on communicating across differences.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a Professor of Communication Studies for decades and I strongly believe that the quality of our communication is inescapably tied to the quality of our lives. For me, communication and intercultural experiences have always been marked by serendipity. Serendipities are unexpected finds or discoveries that eventually turn out to be insightful, pleasant, and stimulating even when they are difficult at the time. My time interacting with others in different regions of the U.S., Europe, and Asia has provided for surprising, scary, joyful, and frustrating experiences that have been full of serendipity. I hope that in reading these books you will also harvest serendipity. 

Bradford's book list on communicating across differences

Bradford Hall Why did Bradford love this book?

This book shares insights and short vignettes that really bring home the power of words and it always leaves me inspired to see and treat others with greater respect. I also appreciate that it goes beyond just pointing out the many problems that can exist in our communication with others, but provides some ideas for how to communicate in ways that can help us, and others, heal from words that have done damage to our sense of self. 

By Joseph Telushkin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Words That Hurt, Words That Heal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rebbe comes this newly revised edition of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal—an invaluable guide in how choosing the right words can enrich our relationships and give us insight to improve every facet of our lives.

“I don’t know anyone whose life would not be blessed by this book.”—Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Nine Essential Things I’ve Learned About Life

Joseph Telushkin is renowned for his warmth, his erudition, and his richly anecdotal insights, and in Words That Hurt, Words That Heal he…


Book cover of The Power of Emotions at Work: Accessing the Vital Intelligence in Your Workplace

Debbie Sorensen Author Of ACT for Burnout: Recharge, Reconnect, and Transform Burnout with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

From my list on books for lasting recovery from burnout.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a clinical psychologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard. My personal experience of burnout, when I was a psychologist on a medical team in a hospital setting, led me to specialize in burnout in my private therapy practice. I’ve been doing therapy with adults experiencing chronic stress and burnout for many years since. I’ve also interviewed thought leaders in mental health on my podcast, Psychologists Off the Clock. I understand the complexity of burnout and the reason “quick fixes,” like individual wellness interventions, are often not enough to help with burnout. To really solve the problem, we must “dig deeper” and find both personal and cultural solutions.

Debbie's book list on books for lasting recovery from burnout

Debbie Sorensen Why did Debbie love this book?

I’ve worked in a variety of settings over the years and have seen firsthand the difference that workplace culture makes for wellbeing. Karla McLaren is a workplace culture expert, and this book is about how inhumane workplaces can be when workers aren’t allowed to express the full range of their emotional experience.

McLaren offers concrete strategies for ways workplaces can improve the quality of life for workers, an absolutely essential element of burnout prevention. Thanks to this book, I have a better understanding of what makes a healthy and humane work environment. 

By Karla McLaren,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Power of Emotions at Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An in-depth guide for all workers-employees, managers, and CEOs-on how to engage our emotions in the workplace to create a productive, creative, and truly workable environment.

We've all been taught that we must suppress or avoid emotions at work, but this inevitably leads to a loss in productivity, diminished creativity, and crushing job dissatisfaction. Research shows 85 percent of us avoid communicating crucial workplace problems upward, and many of us who are employed are actively looking for a different job. What's going on?

"The foundational problem is that we threw emotions out of the workplace, when in fact, emotions contain…


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Book cover of Rooted in Sunrise

Rooted in Sunrise By Beth Dotson Brown,

Ava Winston likes her life of routine in Lexington, Kentucky. Then a tornado blows it away. Ava is safe in the basement, but when she emerges, only one corner of her home stands. Rather than crumbling under the loss, she feels a load lifted. Maybe something beyond the familiar is…

Book cover of Energize Your Workplace: How to Create and Sustain High-Quality Connections at Work

Shannon Karels and Kathy Miller Author Of Steel Toes and Stilettos: A True Story of Women Manufacturing Leaders and Lean Transformation Success

From my list on real talk by women authors.

Why are we passionate about this?

We are relatable women who have successful careers in a predominately male industry.  We have run businesses, built teams based on trust and inclusion, become authors, speakers, and advisors, while simultaneously raising children with our also working husbands.  This is not done with ease or without making trade-offs, but we will share our stories and hope to inspire other women.  We believe in supporting women in all areas of our lives and we love to lift up the ones who have impacted us.

Shannon's book list on real talk by women authors

Shannon Karels and Kathy Miller Why did Shannon love this book?

Kathy loved this book by Jane Dutton, and found herself exclaiming, “Yes!” as she read through this book that validated the energy she did receive abundantly through small moments of connection at work!

As a senior executive, Kathy could have thousands of people in her organization. Wanting to know each and every one of them was a luxury she could not afford, so she did her best to make those opportunities she did have for meaningful connections, no matter how brief, to count for her and the other person with whom she was interacting.

Jane systematically provides the science of how and why this works, along with so many useful tools for those to whom this does not come naturally!

By Jane E. Dutton,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Corrosive work relationships are like black holes that swallow up energy that people need to do their jobs. In contrast, high-quality relationships generate and sustain energy, equipping people to do work and do it well. Grounded in solid research, this book uses energy as a measurement to describe the power of positive and negative connections in people's experience at work. Author Jane Dutton provides three pathways for turning negative connections into positive ones that create and sustain employee resilience and flexibility, facilitate the speed and quality of learning, and build individual commitment and cooperation. Through compelling and illustrative stories, Energize…


Book cover of Yes Please
Book cover of Let's Pretend This Never Happened
Book cover of Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar

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