I mostly read fiction, but for nonfiction Goodreads says I read (for the first time because that’s all I track):
Elements of Choice - Eric Johnson
How to Decide - Annie Duke
Quit - Annie Duke
Determined - Robert Sapolsky
They’re all excellent. I kind of like Behave over Determined from Sapolsky, but that’s mostly because he never sells me on his lack of free will.
Annie Duke is a good blend of evidence backed but super accessible, with direct actionable advice. Quit in particular’s is probably my favorite, but if Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow is too intimidating for someone (it’s not that hard to read, but), Thinking in Bets does a decent job of providing an entry level presentation of the same ideas.
Elements of Choice is a good presentation of choice architecture. If you’ve read Richard Thaler’s Nudge it covers similar ground, but it’s more systematic and polished in the time since Thaler’s work IMO.
Nudge has been on my list for a while! Will add Elements of Choice for sure.
Nudge is solid. It would probably be on my bookshelf if I could bring myself to clear out some of the other psychology stuff that’s “fine” but not as good that I already own. Misbehaving is there though.
A couple things I read this year I can vouch for:
- The Decipherment of Linear B; A history of the decipherment of the Myceanean language; part linguistics, part code breaking.
- Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants; Fucking hilarious, full of insane stories about the early history of rocketry and the many characters involved.