CHICAGO–You’ve likely watched plenty of TED presentations. But here’s what some of those TED speakers want you to read.
The titles below are organized according to various situations in which you might find yourself now or throughout the year. The book descriptions below are drawn from what the various TED speakers had to say about each book.
For the full list, visit: http://ideas.ted.com/what-should-you-read-this-summer-a-mega-reading-list/
When You’re On A Beach
What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe
“Our fishy ancestors emerged from the watery depths around 400 million years ago, and this beautiful book connects us back to that time. Balcombe fishes out an eclectic array of studies that show we’re much more similar to fish than meets the eye. Showing that fish share predilections to music types, have dysfunctional family interactions and can be finicky gourmands, this books channels the goldfish in each and every one of us.” — David Gruber
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
“This is the book I’ve read in the past 18 months that I’ve enjoyed the most, and it’s best summed up by saying that if you enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Matrix and you want to see one story that delivers on both of those kinds of fun at the same time, this is the summer read for you!” — Astro Teller
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
“The quintessential celebration of summer in Scandinavia — 22 vignettes of a girl and a grandmother on an island. Jansson is known as the creator of Moomin, but this book is my quiet, curious and simple favorite.” — Linda Liukas
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
“Pirsig takes you on a wonderful adventure, trying to define the one elusive thing impossible to quantify with numbers: quality.” — Riccardo Sabatini
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
“Scientists rarely write beautifully, but Dr. Jahren does exactly that in this memoir. She takes us through her childhood and reminds us how one can fall in love with science and nature and turn it into a successful and fulfilling career.” — Prosanta Chakrabarty
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
“A great adventure woven with fascinating details about running and the human ability to achieve far more than we can possibly imagine. You won’t be able to put it down.” — Jill Heinerth
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
“An amazing and very accessible story about a woman with cancer, her family, and the cells from her cancer that have revolutionized aspects of biological research and our understanding of cancer. This story also raises important issues about the importance of informed consent, research ethics and the ‘business’ of clinical medicine and medical research. Beautifully written, and a story that continues to play out.” — Russ Altman
“This wonderful book shows how EVERYONE is creative. Through examples from her own work, others in the design thinking field and history, Tina Seelig provides a wealth of tools and techniques to help everyone uncover their creative potential.” — Elise Roy
“This race against time, and winter weather, is an attempt to travel across the country in a relatively fragile 25-foot outboard-powered boat navigating almost entirely on America’s rivers. The bonus, beyond pure adventure tale, is a unique window into America’s diversity and extraordinary multiplicity of cultures.” — Stephen Petranek
When You’re On A Staycation
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
“Bill Bryson’s book is an eloquent refresher on humanity’s simultaneous significance and smallness. A Short History of Nearly Everything helps place humans in the context of both time and space in the universe, and Bryson compiles great evidence on the unpredictability of planetary events that leads to the demise of ‘successful’ species such as ours. To me, the book makes a compelling case for why we must continue to explore both on Earth and the space beyond.” — Lisa Nip
Dreams of a Final Theory by Steven Weinberg
“A concise, inspiring account of the most ambitious intellectual project in science — the search for an ultimate description of the laws of nature. Written by one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century, this brilliant (and at times controversial) book reveals the beauty found in a world governed by symmetry and physical law, and it argues that the long-sought final theory may be within our reach.” — Harry Cliff
Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen
“I don’t hesitate, even if it’s an old book. Belle du Seigneur is not only the story of an exalted passion but also a satiric analysis of humankind.” — Jocelyne Bloch
When You’re On A Long Haul Flight
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
“A perfect summer read. McCullough’s genius is in the way he brings history to life. The extraordinary story of the Wright brothers, their life, work ethic and relentless will to innovate makes this a powerful and inspiring read. It captures our world in a unique moment in history, where globally we’re more interested in innovation, not war.” — Stephen Wilkes
Good to Great by Jim Collins
“This book is full of extraordinary insights into how to manage an organization based on rigorous research. I also love the intercalated stories that help bring home points, like the Admiral Stockdale Paradox, a concept I have lived by both in my work and own life.” — Pardis Sabeti
The Vertical Farm by Dickson Despommier
“Dickson is a thought leader in the field of vertical farming. This book was a call to action and inspired many individuals like myself to dream about the future of food in a new and compelling way.” — Caleb Harper
The Big Idea by Donny Deutsch
“This book will always hold a very dear place in my heart because it was given to me in 2009 by my younger sister, who is now of blessed memory. The book was to encourage me in my entrepreneurial journey, as I switched from a corporate career in the US into the unknown world of starting and running an enterprise in Nigeria. It’s filled with stories of entrepreneurs saying ‘There’s got to be a better way of doing this,’ asking, ‘How can I provide an innovative solution to this problem?’ and forging ahead to change the world with their ideas. A must read for anyone who is thinking about taking the entrepreneurship route.” — Achenyo Idachaba
When You Want to Challenge Yourself
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
“My all-time favorite book. It may seem like a strange choice for a conservationist, but life is not simple, clean-cut or straightforward — something I think Moby Dick does an exceptional job illustrating. Vivid descriptions make it a detailed, 165-year-old time machine, transporting me to a different world, curiously full of familiar issues and themes that are just as relevant today, such as idealism vs. reality, human nature, spirituality, God’s existence, racism, bigotry and even conservation, to name a few. It’s a journey about finding ourselves internally as we face external struggles, and that is something I deeply relate to.” — Andrés Ruzo
The Vital Question by Nick Lane
“A brilliant exposition of very recent science (including the author’s own) on the origins of life, especially multicellular life and how universal eukaryotic properties like sex and death arise from this origin story. Like Richard Dawkins’s The Selfish Gene or Jared Diamond’s books, The Vital Question takes a fresh and insight-generating perspective on old and profound questions. Instead of focusing on genetics, reproduction and information transfer, Lane focuses on the fundamental problem of how life harnesses energy sources, and he argues convincingly that energetics are life’s key limiting factor.” — Blaise Agüera y Arcas
Spiral by Mark Danner
“This compelling, critical and powerful book looks at the ways in which terror groups have goaded America and other Western nations into a state of perpetual war, and why our military responses further strengthen their hand. Spiral is a searing exposé of the ‘war on terror,’ backed by rigorous research and laid out in page-turning prose. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in why, despite our advanced arsenals and record-breaking military spending since September 11th, we aren’t any safer.” — Samantha Nutt
Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann (translation by John Woods)
“The book is as epic in its scope as its size. And it is huge — a big and beautiful meditation on time and the interchangeability of human lives. In the great biblical story of Joseph, Mann sees us all.” — Joshua Prager
When You Need Help Ignoring Everyone
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
“Learning to be ‘present’ in your life and to appreciate every single moment is certainly a wonderful skill to have. Being mindful has made such a difference in my life — most significantly in adapting and accepting the acute discomfort that I live with as a double amputee. Practicing mindfulness has enabled me to include pain into my positive idea of what it means to ‘feel’ life — the full spectrum of what it means to be alive!” — Gill Hicks
Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson
“It’s an owner’s manual for the ego. And it’s evidence-based.” — Adam Grant
The Most Human Human by Brian Christian
“This is the story of Brian Christian’s participation in an annual Turing Test competition, where computers chat to humans, vying for the title of ‘Most Human Computer.’ Christian was one of the human chat partners, eager to win the title of Most Human Human and defend the honor of humanity against the seemingly unstoppable progress of the computers. Along the way, we learn how computers imitate humans, what challenges them and how they’re improving. But more important, we learn that computers can often imitate humans simply because so much human conversation is formulaic and lazy. The book challenges us — and helps to teach us — to have real, meaningful conversations with our fellow humans. A wonderful, warm and wise book.” — Tim Harford (
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
“Station Eleven is post-apocalyptic genre meets high-minded literary fiction, and I really couldn’t put it down. I love the feeling you get with some books — that feeling like I have to devour this book instead of sleep! Can I take this book into the shower? It’s not often that I feel that way, and this book had it.” — Negin Farsad
When You Don’t Have Time for a 500-Page Book
An Orchard Invisible by Jonathan Silvertown
“An Orchard Invisible has rave reviews and not so subtly points out the importance of sex in plants to provide seeds for our food and other needs. As one of the comments in Times Higher Education states: ‘Read it as a gardener, scientist, food aficionado, historian, botanist or naturalist and you will not be disappointed.’” — Jill Farrant
The End of Power by Moisés Naím
“This book pushed me to think about how quickly and dramatically the traditional sources of power are changing and what this means about leading today. In very persuasive ways, Naím makes the case for the decay of traditional power and proposes potential opportunities. Reading this book pushed me to consider how I can best tap into new sources of power to accelerate our equity agenda most effectively.” — Sue Desmond-Hellmann
Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich
“This book set off a cultural firestorm when it was published 50 years ago. It has largely been forgotten or only selectively absorbed. The prose is polemical and spare, the considerable learning is worn lightly, and though written about compulsory schooling, it will illuminate the state of higher education in America today. I recommend it highly for those who still read books with pencil in hand.” — Sajay Samuel
The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson
“This short, beautiful memoir by the famous author of Silent Spring (a groundbreaking warning about the costs of chemical pollution) came out half a century ago. It chronicles Carson’s beach walks with her nephew and her unfolding understanding of the power of a child’s wonder and surprise at nature. An inspiring read for those who would like to share nature’s pleasures with a child — and rediscover their own sense of wonder.” — Emma Marris