100 books like Introverts in Love

It was my research on creativity that led me to study workplace abuse.

Surprisingly, there are remarkable similarities among targets of bullying; most salient, they tend to shake the status quo at work while exploring and offering novel solutions to institutionalized problems. Unfortunately, as Grant details in his research, instead of embracing these innovators as forecasters of the future, organizations attempt to silence and minimize their contributions.

However, creatives are not in it for the money or accolades, but for the love of the game and dedication to the mission, thus when they are forced to bow to tradition and play smaller than who they were born to be, they exit the stifling work environment, thus further stagnating an already lagging work culture.

In this book, Grant brilliantly hails the power of the creative to both change our minds and change the world, urging institutions to give them space to… show more.

Ann Patchett is a successful American novelist, and Truth and Beauty is her memoir about her friendship with the poet, Lucy Grealy. She writes beautifully about Grealy, her talent and her warm, engaging personality, but also about her struggles and eventual death. Patchett conveys the depth of a passionate friendship by letting the reader see all her thoughts and feelings, courageously looking at how we can love someone, but how they can also try us to our limits. It is a book for those who love literature and are fascinated by the depth and intricacy of a creative connection between humans.

I loved this book for its humanity and the language she used to pithily emphasize characters and situations. There was not an excess word employed. She compassionately realized every character and gave them wisdom, angst, and a tragic sense of loss. I found it utterly absorbing and have reread it several times.

The author is well versed in the Myers-Briggs and uses her knowledge of that instrument and years of consulting in this practical and funny book. 

The author focuses on thinking types and feeling types and describes how they can clash and achieve sweet harmony. Thinkers lead with their heads and Feelers lead with their hearts.

This is helpful for me as a “feeler.” I have a roadmap to guide me in the land of thinkers. The “CakFlake” instrument (this gives you a sense of the author’s sense of humor) is a great way to determine when I might fall into a trap like expecting everyone to process information like I do. It is a quick and fun read and you will leave with some actions to take right away.

Set in small-town Alabama, Sophie is working at the local florist while dreaming all the big city dreams but slowly falling for love interest, Andrew. I’m a sucker for slow-burn romances told in unconventional ways while enjoying a good Southern setting, and this book has it! Enemies-to-lovers over the course of a year’s events and with a heavy dose of family dynamics bubbling to the surface? Yes, please!

I read this book in grad school while I was working on an essay for the Los Angeles Review of Books about choosing to be child-free.

Sometimes, you just need some real talk and a reminder that the deck really is stacked against you when it comes to dating. This book helped provide some much-needed perspective so that I could understand that there’s only so much control I have over my own singleness and that there are cultural factors at play. 

This speculative dystopia about drought-ruined California is equal parts lyrical gut-punch and surrealist adventure story. Main characters Luz and Ray set up residence in an abandoned celebrity mansion, subsisting on whatever they can scavenge. Their precarious existence is upended when they cross paths with a toddler, and the trio sets off into the Dune Sea in search of a life that offers more than mere survival. A warning: this is not a cool breeze of a read. But if you’re curious about the psychic impact of prolonged heat, thirst, and desperation, Watkins offers a masterclass on the grimy reality of human resilience in a hostile world of our own making.

"Reader, I murdered him." Yes, those are among the opening lines of this reimagining of Jane Eyre’s story. I was immediately hooked! Jane Steele is a sensitive orphan who suffers at the hands of a spiteful aunt. I have a weakness for orphans and misfits, and at first Jane put me in mind of Cinderella. But the story quickly turns dark. After fleeing her grim life and making her way by penning criminals’ last confessions, she learns her aunt has died and she may be the heir to the home left behind. But there’s a complication—her childhood home has a new master, Mr. Thornfield, who happens to be seeking a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate's true heir, Jane takes the position and falls in love with the mysterious Charles Thornfield. Thus begins a dangerous dance between her and her master. I loved this book!

Dr. Alexandra Solomon's compassionate and insightful exploration of love and attachment offers a roadmap for individuals seeking to deepen their connections.

What sets this book apart is Solomon's emphasis on relational self-awareness and personal growth as foundational elements of healthy relationships. Through relatable anecdotes, personal stories, and practical exercises, she guides readers on a journey of self-discovery, empowering them to break free from old patterns and embrace vulnerability in love.

Loving Bravely is a valuable resource for anyone committed to building lasting, meaningful connections in their romantic relationships.

This love story is hugely successful but on the off chance you haven’t met the Miles family yet, you’re going to want to go get this book now.

This story will hook you hard in the first chapter with the magic of fate and that feeling we’ve all had, when you meet a stranger and you’re insanely attracted to them, and then Kismet offers you time together. I loved how these two are from different worlds and have to maneuver a workplace, power struggle situation.

As an added bonus the hero’s brothers are introduced in book one, and they each get their own book.