100 books like The World in Six Songs

By Daniel J. Levitin,

Here are 100 books that The World in Six Songs fans have personally recommended if you like The World in Six Songs. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Eureka Factor: Aha Moments, Creative Insight, and the Brain

Keith J. Holyoak Author Of The Spider's Thread: Metaphor in Mind, Brain, and Poetry

From my list on the creative mind.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a professor of cognitive psychology at UCLA, and also a poet. Growing up on a dairy farm in British Columbia, I immersed myself in the world of books. My mother showed me her well-worn copy of a poetry book written by her Scottish great-great-aunt, and I longed to create my own arrangements of words. Later, as a student at the University of British Columbia and then Stanford, my interest in creativity was channeled into research on how people think. I’ve studied how people use analogies and metaphors to create new ideas. In addition to books on the psychology of thinking and reasoning, I’ve written several volumes of poetry.

Keith's book list on the creative mind

Keith J. Holyoak Why did Keith love this book?

Did you ever have a sudden insight, a new idea—something that made you go, “Aha!”? It’s as if your brain had been doing unconscious work, then suddenly “reported up” to your conscious mind. This book by two prominent cognitive neuroscientists gives a clear picture of what scientists have learned about how brain networks connecting the two hemispheres give rise to creative insights. Their book helped me think about how new metaphors might be discovered—just one example of what the creative mind can do.

By John Kounios, Mark Beeman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Eureka Factor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Where do great ideas come from? What actually happens in your brain during a 'Eureka' moment? And how can we have more of them?

It has been two millenia since Archimedes supposedly first shouted 'Eureka!' as he sat in his bath. The word - Greek for 'I have found it' - captures the feeling we have all experienced during moments of sudden insight. Despite a century of scientific inquiry into the nature of these particular moments, their origin has remained a mystery.

Mark Beeman and John Kounios, leading experts on the neural bases of insight and creative thinking, have conducted…


Book cover of The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms

Keith J. Holyoak Author Of The Spider's Thread: Metaphor in Mind, Brain, and Poetry

From my list on the creative mind.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a professor of cognitive psychology at UCLA, and also a poet. Growing up on a dairy farm in British Columbia, I immersed myself in the world of books. My mother showed me her well-worn copy of a poetry book written by her Scottish great-great-aunt, and I longed to create my own arrangements of words. Later, as a student at the University of British Columbia and then Stanford, my interest in creativity was channeled into research on how people think. I’ve studied how people use analogies and metaphors to create new ideas. In addition to books on the psychology of thinking and reasoning, I’ve written several volumes of poetry.

Keith's book list on the creative mind

Keith J. Holyoak Why did Keith love this book?

What is creativity, and what makes it possible? If a new idea came from nothing, would it be magic? If a new idea were generated by recombining old ones, would it really be “creative”? In this book, Margaret Boden, a distinguished philosopher of science, thinks through what creativity really is, whether it takes the form of a world-altering advance in science or a novel jazz improvisation. To help understand human creativity, the book compares it to the workings of computer programs—ones capable of generating art or music that at least appears creative. Readers who have followed more recent developments in artificial intelligence will be able to consider for themselves whether machine creativity is, or could be, a reality. The book helped me think about what it means to create an “authentic” poem.

By Margaret A. Boden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Creative Mind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How is it possible to think new thoughts? What is creativity and can science explain it? And just how did Coleridge dream up the creatures of The Ancient Mariner?

When The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms was first published, Margaret A. Boden's bold and provocative exploration of creativity broke new ground. Boden uses examples such as jazz improvisation, chess, story writing, physics, and the music of Mozart, together with computing models from the field of artificial intelligence to uncover the nature of human creativity in the arts.

The second edition of The Creative Mind has been updated to include recent…


Book cover of Making Comics

George Wylesol Author Of 2120

From my list on graphic novels that reinvent the book (literally).

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an artist who likes to write, but I’ve never been interested in classic superhero or pulp graphic novels. Early in my career, the word “comics” felt like an insult—it's not “real art,” right? Too childish! While that instinct was definitely wrong, I found a (small) world of experimental, abstract, genre-breaking graphic novels that combine art and writing in a wholly unique way. This is a list of some of my recent favorites that have inspired my drawing and writing practice, and will hopefully inspire you. 

George's book list on graphic novels that reinvent the book (literally)

George Wylesol Why did George love this book?

This is an excellent textbook to get readers and comic makers of all experience levels to loosen up, think deeply and personally, and make better, more confident comics. It’s warm but practical, smart but approachable, deep but unpretentious. This is a comics veteran generously sharing both her knowledge of comics and teaching, as well as her own methods for drawing, brainstorming, and writing. It’s an incredible resource and one I often find myself quoting and recommending to my own students. 

By Lynda Barry,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Hello students, meet Professor Skeletor. Be on time, don t miss class, and turn off your phones. No time for introductions, we start drawing right away. The goal is more rock, less talk, and we communicate only through images. For more than five years the cartoonist Lynda Barry has been an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin Madison art department and at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, teaching students from all majors, both graduate and undergraduate, how to make comics, how to be creative, how to not think. There is no academic lecture in this classroom. Doodling is enthusiastically…


Book cover of This Craft of Verse

Keith J. Holyoak Author Of The Spider's Thread: Metaphor in Mind, Brain, and Poetry

From my list on the creative mind.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a professor of cognitive psychology at UCLA, and also a poet. Growing up on a dairy farm in British Columbia, I immersed myself in the world of books. My mother showed me her well-worn copy of a poetry book written by her Scottish great-great-aunt, and I longed to create my own arrangements of words. Later, as a student at the University of British Columbia and then Stanford, my interest in creativity was channeled into research on how people think. I’ve studied how people use analogies and metaphors to create new ideas. In addition to books on the psychology of thinking and reasoning, I’ve written several volumes of poetry.

Keith's book list on the creative mind

Keith J. Holyoak Why did Keith love this book?

If you love Borges, and thought you’d read everything he wrote, this is the book for you—a collection of his “lost lectures,” delivered at Harvard in 1967-68 and finally published in 2000. And if you want to hear the actual voice of a creative genius, as if risen from the dead, the recordings are also available. Best known for his intricate short stories and essays, Borges was also—perhaps foremost—a poet. As he puts it in the book, “The central fact of my life has been the existence of words and the possibility of weaving those words into poetry.” Starting from the creation of poems, Borges explores the creation of metaphors, meaning, and life’s irreducible mystery.

By Jorge Luis Borges,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Craft of Verse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Available in cloth, paper, or audio CD

Through a twist of fate that the author of Labyrinths himself would have relished, these lost lectures given in English at Harvard in 1967-1968 by Jorge Luis Borges return to us now, a recovered tale of a life-long love affair with literature and the English language. Transcribed from tapes only recently discovered, This Craft of Verse captures the cadences, candor, wit, and remarkable erudition of one of the most extraordinary and enduring literary voices of the twentieth century. In its wide-ranging commentary and exquisite insights, the book stands as a deeply personal yet…


Book cover of Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

William Hirstein Author Of Responsible Brains: Neuroscience, Law, and Human Culpability

From my list on bridging the gap between mind and brain.

Why am I passionate about this?

I like trying to solve problems about the mind: Is the mind just the brain? What is consciousness, and where is it in the brain? What happens in the brain during aesthetic experience? Why are we prone to self-deception? In approaching these questions, I don’t limit myself to one discipline or set of techniques. These mental phenomena, and the problems that surround them, do not hew to our disciplinary boundaries. In spite of this, someone needs to collect, analyze, and assess information relevant to the problems—which is in many different formats—and build theories designed to make sense of it. During that time, more data will become available, so back you go.

William's book list on bridging the gap between mind and brain

William Hirstein Why did William love this book?

Oliver Sacks was a person who really loved science and being a scientist. Instead of describing some neurological condition or syndrome then explaining why that condition matters to our humanity, he describes the condition and the people who have it in ways that make it clear why it matters. 

In Musicophilia, Sacks’ object of study is musical disorders, including cases of people who suddenly showed a great interest in music after having little prior interest, as well as people who suddenly lost all love for music. He also looks at people who have hallucinations of music, and struggle to find where the sound is coming from. 

By Oliver Sacks,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Oliver Sacks has been hailed by the New York Times as `one of the great clinical writers of the twentieth century'. In this eagerly awaited new book, the subject of his uniquely literate scrutiny is music: our relationship with it, our facility for it, and what this most universal of passions says about us.

In chapters examining savants and synaesthetics, depressives and musical dreamers, Sacks succeeds not only in articulating the musical experience but in locating it in the human brain. He shows that music is not simply about sound, but also movement, visualization, and silence. He follows the experiences…


Book cover of Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music

Adriana Barton Author Of Wired for Music: A Search for Health and Joy Through the Science of Sound

From my list on memoirs on music that explore the agony and the ecstasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Music has been a passion ever since I joined my mother’s hippie jam sessions as a toddler. During my 17 years as a professional cellist-in-training, I tried Yo-Yo Ma’s Stradivarius and played Pachelbel’s Canon at a gazillion weddings. I even made it to Carnegie Hall, performing in a university orchestra on the gilded stage. But injuries, both physical and psychological, put an end to my classical music career. Trying to forget my cello years, I entered journalism, eventually becoming a staff health reporter at Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. Later, when a percussion workshop triggered a dramatic shift in my perspective, I answered the call to explore music in a more expansive way.

Adriana's book list on memoirs on music that explore the agony and the ecstasy

Adriana Barton Why did Adriana love this book?

Like most readers, I like my science sandwiched between stories.

Tim Falconer delivers a winsome tale of a writer diagnosed with “amusia"—the clinical term for “tone deafness”—who nevertheless longs to sing. Bashful yet determined, he delves into the science of auditory deficits and musicality on a quest to uncover why he can’t sing in tune, and whether anything can be done about it.

I couldn’t help but cheer him on as he endures remedial singing lessons and a nail-biting buildup to a public performance. Will he pull it off? And is there hope for other bad singers out there? I loved how Falconer used himself as Exhibit A to prove that even extreme tone deficits needn’t keep us from the joys of making music. 

By Tim Falconer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bad Singer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the tradition of Daniel Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music and Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia, Bad Singer follows the delightful journey of Tim Falconer as he tries to overcome tone deafness - and along the way discovers what we're really hearing when we listen to music.

Tim Falconer, a self-confessed "bad singer," always wanted to make music, but soon after he starts singing lessons, he discovers that he's part of only 2.5 percent of the population afflicted with amusia - in other words, he is scientifically tone-deaf.

Bad Singer chronicles his quest to understand human evolution and music, the…


Book cover of Music and the Mind

Yiannis Gabriel Author Of Music and Story: A Two-Part Invention

From my list on falling in love with classical music.

Why am I passionate about this?

Classical music has been one of the great passions of my life, ever since at the age of 6 my father introduced me to the magic of Chopin’s Polonaise héroïque, by improvising the story that the music was telling, creating a magical mosaic of notes and words. I then realized that music tells stories and that musical stories do not only offer pleasure, excitement, and consolation, but also act as sources of insight into the world we inhabit, in all its complexity and drama. I have since made classical music a regular part of my life, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and Beethoven being intimate friends and acquaintances, not distant historical figures. 

Yiannis' book list on falling in love with classical music

Yiannis Gabriel Why did Yiannis love this book?

If you want to delve into how music functions in the human mind and how it helps support communities and groups, then Anthony Storr’s is the book for you. Eminent psychiatrist, Oxford professor, and proficient pianist and violist, Storr (author of Churchill's Black Dog) uses his deep knowledge of philosophy, psychology, and religion to address questions like “Where does music come from?”, “Is music a common language for all humanity?” “How does music trigger emotions?” “Are our encounters with music in any way comparable with encountering persons?” Drawing on the work of Jung, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer, Storr argues that music, like religion, is a feature of all human cultures. Like religion, it offers solace and comfort from the hardships of life.

However, music is not universal—different cultures develop their own musical traditions and conventions, just as they develop different political systems and different languages. What is universal, and this…

By Anthony Storr,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Examines the psychological, emotional, historical and philosophical roles of the musical experience in a person's life. This text looks at music as both a social and a solitary experience and supports the contention that music is the most significant experience in life.


Book cover of Science of Yoga: Understand the Anatomy and Physiology to Perfect Your Practice

Carol Krucoff Author Of Relax Into Yoga for Seniors: A Six-Week Program for Strength, Balance, Flexibility, and Pain Relief

From my list on for yoga teachers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a yoga therapist, health journalist, mother, and grandmother with a passion for helping people harness the powerful medicine of movement. Physical activity is essential to good health, and yoga can be particularly effective because it’s a holistic discipline that enhances all aspects of wellbeing—physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. I started taking a weekly yoga class in my early 20s to stretch tight muscles and relieve stress from my busy job as a Washington Post reporter. Nearly 50 years later, yoga is central to my life, with practices that have helped me through several major health challenges, and kept me balanced, fit, and centered in our unpredictable world.  

Carol's book list on for yoga teachers

Carol Krucoff Why did Carol love this book?

As a mind-body science educator, Ann Swanson specializes in making complex scientific concepts simple and easy to understand. And in this dazzlingly-illustrated, comprehensive guide to how and why yoga works, she masterfully deconstructs more than two dozen basic yoga poses with detailed information on the physical and energetic components. A section on human anatomy explains various systemsincluding cardiovascular, digestive, and endocrineand a Q & A section explores common concerns such as chronic pain, stress, and mental well-being. Full disclosureAnn is a friend and colleaguewith extraordinary energy, deep compassion, and a generous heart.  

By Ann Swanson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Explore the biomechanics of 30 key yoga poses, in-depth and from every angle, and master each asana with confidence and control.

Take your knowledge of yoga to the next level with this ground-breaking 360 degree visual resource - made for serious practitioners and teachers.

Recent scientific research now backs up what were once anecdotal claims about the benefits of yoga to every system in the body. Science of Yoga reveals the facts, with annotated artworks that show the mechanics, the angles, how blood flow and respiration are affected, the key muscle and joint actions working below the surface of each…


Book cover of Born to Walk: Myofascial Efficiency and the Body in Movement

Owen Lewis Author Of Core: A Science-Backed Approach to Exercising and Understanding Our Central Anatomy

From my list on anatomy and movement at books core.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love to move and help others move. Movement is at the core of everything I do. In my clinic, I improve the movement of elite athletes and people in pain. I was determined that writing, usually a sedentary occupation, would further my movement exploration. My book reflects my physical and cognitive journey towards a flexible, fluid, and adaptable core can deal with the day-to-day requirements of life. It outlines principles for tailored, individualistic training to improve core function and enhance the movement of everyone. 

Owen's book list on anatomy and movement at books core

Owen Lewis Why did Owen love this book?

If Lao Tzu had written a book on anatomy in movement, this would be it. This book took me on a journey of a thousand steps from the first step.

I found the insights into the complexity of movement simple but not simplistic. Utilizing comparative anatomy gave me a new perspective and color to my understanding. Evolutionary anatomy allows a depth of comprehension of why humans have become such efficient walkers.

The construction of this book allowed me to see the four-dimensional puzzle of gait with clarity and curiosity I did not think possible. Using this book directly for my work as a bodyworker, going for a walk becomes ever more fascinating.

By James Earls,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Born to Walk is designed to help movement therapists, physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, massage therapists, and bodyworkers understand gait and its mechanics, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in evolution and movement. It offers a concise model for understanding the complexity of movement while gaining a deeper insight into the physiology and mechanics of the walking process.

This second and revised edition provides new research on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment approaches to enhance gait efficiency. Changes include:

* Updated information and research on myofascial continuities
* More clearly arranged according to planes of movement
* New informative illustrations based…


Book cover of How Your Body Works

Steven Clark Cunningham Author Of Your Body Sick and Well: How Do You Know?

From my list on the body for children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a doctor, perhaps because there were no doctors in my family, and I did not even realize that I wanted to (or could) go to medical school until I was almost done with college. Once I did realize this, however, it became immediately obvious to me that being a physician (a surgeon) was what I wanted to dedicate my life’s work to, and I have been passionate about it ever since. Probably the topics I am most passionate about after surgery are education, books, reading, poetry, etc., so this book lets both these passions dovetail beautifully!

Steven's book list on the body for children

Steven Clark Cunningham Why did Steven love this book?

I love the way this book so clearly explains the structure and function of the body (anatomy and physiology) functions with conceptually perspicuous illustrations. It’s remarkable how the clear and intuitive the schematic illustrations teach about the body. At first, I thought that I would not like it, since the organs are not shown in their natural appearances but instead as machines, but after reading it, I loved it.

By Judy Hindley,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

1984 Edition - New Never Sold - Some Shelf Wear - Excellent


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Interested in physiology, music, and the brain?

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