The Best Recommended Books by Podcast Guests

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Mindset » The Best Recommended Books by Podcast Guests

I’ve shared my favorite health and wellness books over the years, and now I want to share with you the best books recommended by podcast guests. Many of the books they shared became some of my personal favorites. It’s almost like I had my own exclusive book club. 

In fact, I ended up asking many of the authors of recommended books to come onto my podcast to learn more from them. 

Book Recommendations 

Here’s a list of books recommended by multiple podcast guests, with the top bullets being the books with the most recommendations in each category. I even share some of my favorite quotes. 

Most of them are nonfiction books, but there is some fiction at the end. Whatever you’re into, I am sure you will find some great reads. 

All of the links take you straight to Amazon, so it’s easy to add it to your cart or Audible account. 

Finance and Economics 

Interpersonal Relationships 

Personal Growth 

She gets her own category because so many guests recognized her work. I am so grateful for her bold yet gracious perspective rooted in social science. 

  • The Gifts of Imperfection – This self-help classic will help you live wholeheartedly by helping you recognize your self-limiting beliefs. 
  • Daring Greatly – looks at how to find the courage to be vulnerable despite a culture that labels it as weakness. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. 
  • The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting – This audiobook will change the way you view yourself as a parent and how you can form healthy adults. 

Philosophy 

  • Walden by Henry David Thoreau – A couple of guests recommended this book that dives into the author’s time in the woods and how living in his natural settings influenced him. 
  • The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry – He looks at how our disconnect from farming has hurt not only our culture but also our health, and he proposes how to reconnect with the land. 
  • Tao Te Ching: The Book of the Way- With Annotation by Lao Tzu – This book shares the Tao Chinese philosophy of finding harmony with yourself, your relationships, and your environment. It’s one of the best books I’ve read, and at only 81 passages long, it’s a very easy read. One of my favorite quotes from it is, 

“Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?”

I dove into his work a few years ago and can’t recommend his books more. Many podcast guests cited him as their favorite author. I find him both insightful and applicable. 

  • The Obstacle Is the Way  – Ryan applies ancient Greek stoic philosophy to the trials we face today and how to channel them into personal success.
  • Ego Is the Enemy – This book looks at examples of some of the world’s greatest leaders and how they put their personal desires aside for the better good of humanity. 
  • The Daily Stoic – I really like this one as it has 366 meditations and exercises translated from ancient stoic philosophers to help you grow self-awareness and resilience. 
  • Stillness Is the Key – His new book will help you learn how to slow down based on stoic and Buddhist principles. 

Psychology

  • Mindset by Carol Dweck – was one of the most cited favorite books. It looks at the psychology of success. 
  • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl – was recommended by several podcast guests. The author, a Holocaust survivor, argues that our motivations come from where we find and assign meaning in life. It’s one of my top five books. I reread it every year. My favorite quote from this book is,

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms, to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” 

  • Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. – A handful of guests recommended this, and it’s one of the best books I’ve read. A psychiatrist explores how to reduce human suffering. My favorite quote that Hawkins says is, 

“Letting it go involves being aware of a feeling, letting it come up, staying with it, and letting it run its course without wanting to make it different or do anything about it. It means simply to let the feeling be there and to focus on letting out the energy behind it. The first step is to allow yourself to have a feeling without resisting it, venting it, fearing it, condemning it, or moralizing about it. It means to drop judgment and see that this is just a feeling. The technique is to be with the feeling and surrender all efforts to modify it in any way. Let go of wanting to resist the feeling; it is resistance that keeps the feeling going.”

  • Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman – A couple of guests recommended this fascinating book about when to trust your intuition and when to stop and ponder. 
  • Power vs. Force by David Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. – This highly recommended book is about what determines our behavior. After reading it, I am adding it to my high school son’s reading list. 
  • The Altruistic Personality by Samuel Oliner, Ph.D. – A psychologist interviewed rescuers in World War II who risked their lives to keep strangers from going into death camps and why. 
  • You are a Badass by Jen Sincero – This was recommended from Megan Hansen when she was searching for a book on confidence and she said it introduced her to this idea of manifestation and the subconscious mind and is such a worthwhile read.

Productivity 

“As you do the work on subjects such as the body, disease, career, or God, when you come to the turnarounds, substitute the words ‘my thinking’ for the subject.”

Spirituality 

Mind-Body Connection 

  • The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. – Multiple guests recommended this book that has become one of my personal favorite books of all time. It was helpful to me and my own trauma healing, and I’ve heard from many of you who had the same experience. The best quote from it is, 

“Once you start approaching your body with curiosity rather than fear, everything shifts.” 

Meditation 

Exercise 

  • Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins – Many guests recommended this guide to teach you to tap into your brainpower to help you push your body and reach your full potential. 
  • The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss – looks at how to hack your body into shape based on tiny changes for significant results. I found his ideas on strength training helpful. 
  • The Primal Connection by Mark Sisson – examines the destructive patterns of modern life on our physical health and what you can do to be healthy despite them. I find his work to be actionable. 
  • Boundless by Ben Greenfield – will help you optimize not only your physical appearance but also your brain and gut.

Specialty Diets 

Food and Nutrition 

Remedies 

Scientific Research 

Thyroid 

Our Environment 

For Women 

Childbirth and Early Motherhood 

For Men 

  • The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida – A couple of male guests suggested this spiritual guide just for men that helps them navigate careers, love, and the rest of life. 

Cookbooks 

  • Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon – Many guests recommended this cookbook that looks at how we can best prepare food for our health. I still reference it after over a decade. 
  • The Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther – was recommended by my dear friend Heather and is now included in my favorite meal planning service. 
  • Chef Junior by my son and his friends – is a cookbook to help teens learn how to cook, birthed out of my son sharing recipes with friends in the neighborhood. 

Parenting 

Education & Homeschooling 

  • Teaching From Rest by Sarah Mackenzie – Multiple moms recommended this homeschooler’s guide to cultivate a warm learning environment without worry or anxiety.
  • Any book by John Taylor Gatto – A New York City school teacher shares his perspective on the shortcomings of our education system. 
  • The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer & Jessie Wise – guides you on homeschooling using a classical education model. 

Organization 

Biography & Memoir

  • Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda – was recommended by multiple guests for its perspectives on life. 
  • Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom – A couple recommended this piece in which the author shares his college professor and mentor’s life lessons when he rekindles their relationship. 
  • Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – Travel around the world with the author as she seeks to find herself in this #1 New York Times bestselling work. 
  • In Search of Memory by Eric Kandel – This book is his autobiography as a Holocaust survivor during World War II combined with the psychology of memory. 
  • Good Woman by Lucille Clifton – is a memoir collection of the author, an African American who expounds on femaleness, motherhood, birthing, and blackness. 

Fiction 

  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – This was the most recommended piece of fiction by podcast guests, and I’m so glad I put it on my reading list. This Brazilian book will inspire you to follow your dreams.
  • Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse – A number of guests recommended this novel that combines Eastern and Western philosophy when a young Indian man meets Buddha.
  • Ishmael by Daniel Quinn – Multiple guests cited this as one of their favorite books. Read it and find out what a talking gorilla knows about life. 
  • The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand – Many recommended this book about a hero and those who try to stop him. Her other books are fascinating as well! 
  • The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – A handful of guests recommended this series that is even better than the movies! You won’t regret reading this science fiction (or listening to it on audiobook on a long trip!) 
  • On the Road by Jack Kerouac – This book follows two friends on a cross-country road trip who learn about life along the way. 
  • The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham – A handful of guests recommended this piece about the choices between love and work. 
  • Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott – I was actually Jo in our high school’s play Little Women so this recommendation made me smile.
  • Catch-22 by Joseph Heller – shares the story of a World War II pilot who is caught between forces. 
  • The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley – This historical fiction invents the women who influenced Camelot and King Arthur’s rise and fall. 
  • Love in The Time of Cholera by Gabrielle García Márquez – a Nobel Prize-winning author writes a powerful love story that will captivate you.
  • The Torrents of Spring by Ernest Hemingway – a Nobel Prize winner for literature, parodies the writing of his time in this entertaining work.
  • Exhalation by Ted Chiang – This great read contains nine sci-fi short stories that grapple with the important questions in life.
  • Old Yeller by Fred Gipson – This popular book is a coming-of-age story about a boy and his dog. 
  • 1984 by George Orwell – His book is a thought-provoking novel about government control. 

Business

I am always looking for more books to read! What books do you recommend? 

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

7 responses to “The Best Recommended Books by Podcast Guests”

  1. Joy Avatar

    You should have Jake Steiner from Endmyopia on the podcast. We are just starting his program.

  2. Ester Perez Avatar
    Ester Perez

    Great list for books! Many of my favorites are on here. I am bookmarking this page. Already put some on hold through the Libby App. Thank you!

  3. Carol Avatar

    Wow….so much here. It should be a printable. I love some of these~ The Four Agreements, Deep Nutrition, etc.

    I would definitely add Changing Our Minds by Naomi Fischer.

  4. Kelly Avatar

    Regenerate-Sayer Ji
    Rules of Civility and A Gentleman In Moscow both by Amor Towles -flawlessly written!!!
    The Energy Paradox-Robert Gundry
    Metabolical-Robert Lustig

  5. Kate Slack Avatar
    Kate Slack

    If you like The Body Keeps the Score, you’ll love The Deepest Well by Nadine Burke Harris. Emotional trauma can lead to physiological issues, especially in children. She discusses the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and other fascinating emotional/medical connections.

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