8 Favorite Books on Bestselling Author Lisa Genova’s Bookshelf

Editor’s Note: One of our favorite authors, Lisa Genova is not only a renowned neuroscientist, but also the New York Times bestselling author of STILL ALICE, LEFT NEGLECTED, LOVE ANTHONY, and INSIDE THE O’BRIENS. Her new book, EVERY NOTE PLAYED, is out in bookstores now.

I read a little of everything and always two or three books at once. I read contemporary fiction to keep refining my craft and because I love a great story. Historical fiction tends to captivate me the most. I enjoy being immersed in characters and places from another time, and, when done well, to marvel at the extensive research the author did to build such seamless believability. I read nonfiction texts on neuroscience, psychology, and medicine to keep learning and because these subjects will forever fascinate me. And I read self-help because I’m committed to continually growing, and the tools and reminders offered in these books inspire me to live and love bigger. Here are a few of my favorites.

Happy Reading!

—Lisa Genova

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

by Jean-Dominique Bauby

Jean-Dominque Bauby wrote this memoir one painstaking wink at a time after a massive brainstem stroke left him completely paralyzed but for his left eye. His body a prison, his mind nonetheless remained sharply intact. Stunning and eloquent, Bauby’s words still haunt me.

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All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr

This book blew me away. It’s a master class in page-turning narrative: nuanced, unique, three-dimensional characters; gorgeous sentences that made me weep; exquisite sensory details. I savored every breathtaking page.

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The Untethered Soul

by Michael A. Singer

This gem of a book was transformational for me. It offers insights for developing an awareness of negative, limiting thoughts and energy, and for realizing that we don’t have to absorb or cling to them. We can let them go; they are not who we are. This is the book I most often give to others.

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The Dovekeepers

by Alice Hoffman

My favorite of Alice Hoffman’s many brilliant books. The research she must’ve done to write this mesmerizing story, to create these unforgettable fictional women with such vivid authenticity is astounding. Set nearly 2,000 years ago during the siege at Masada, I feel like I lived and breathed every page.

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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

by Oliver Sacks

A collection of case studies describing real patients with extraordinary neurological impairments, told with compassion and an infectious curiosity about how the mind works. This is the book that ignited my passion for neuroscience.

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Incognito

by David Eagleman

A thrilling tour through the conscious and subconscious mind, left and right brain, the perceptual versus the real world. Mind-bendingly fun and fascinating.

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The Tell-Tale Brain

by V. S. Ramachandran

Phantom limbs, synesthesia, the evolution of language, the underpinnings of empathy, art appreciation, a sense of self: How do our brains allow us to perceive, understand, interact with, and enjoy the world around us? The questions are as intriguing as the theories and answers.

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On Pluto

by Greg O'Brien

Told with extraordinary vulnerability, grace, humor, and profound insight, ON PLUTO is a journey inside the mind of Greg O’Brien, a journalist living with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease. O’Brien is the poet laureate of Alzheimer’s, my personal hero. If you’re trying to understand what it feels like to live with Alzheimer’s, you need to read this book.

Imprisoned by His Body, a Man’s Soul Takes Flight in This Incredible Memoir