Person
Johann Hari's book recommendations
Johann Hari is an engaged guest on interview programs such as How I Write, where he frequently discusses research methods, writing practices, and human psychology. Throughout his podcast appearances, Hari has recommended several impactful books that have shaped his own intellectual journey and creative process. He strongly recommended Robert A. Caro's Working, noting that he actively uses one of Caro's core interviewing questions in his own investigative work. Hari also recommended Annie Dillard's The Writing Life, praising an analogy the author uses regarding writing and research. Furthermore, Hari suggested Timothy D. Wilson's Strangers to Ourselves, a book on psychology that explores human self-awareness and why individuals frequently misunderstand their own internal motives. To help listeners reflect further on abstractions related to maps and territory, he recommended the French novel The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq. Across his discussions, Hari consistently highlights literature that provides methodological insight, deepens psychological understanding, or offers vivid allegories for the complex mechanics of writing and human thought, encouraging his audience to explore these texts for their own personal and creative enrichment.
Books Johann Hari recommends
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The Map and the Territory
Recommended“By the way, people who want to think about that analogy more, there's an amazing novel by Michelle Wbeck, the French novelist called the map and the territory.”
Where to get it
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Strangers to Ourselves
Recommended“There's a fantastic book I recommend everyone read called Strangers to Ourselves by Timothy Wilson, a guy I interviewed and you should definitely talk to him.”
Where to get it
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The Writing Life
Recommended“There's an analogy in an amazing book about writing that I really recommend called the writing life by Annie Dillard um where she uses analogy from from thorough.”
Where to get it
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Working
Recommended“I mean, I literally use that question because I've read Robert Car's brilliant book, Working, where he talks about his methods, but that I recommend to people.”
Where to get it
Books Johann Hari wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| This Research System Will Change How You Write — Johann Hari | How I Write | 2025-04-30 | 5 |
Other mentions (9: passing, ad reads, own books)
“So my first book, Chasing the Scream, yeah, we had a lot of addiction in my family.”
“um with stolen focus my book about attention I wanted to understand why our attention was getting so much worse.”
“um with my book loss connections you know I was about to turn 40 every year that I've been alive depression and anxiety had increased in the US and Britain”
“and and with the magic pill book about the new weight loss drugs, I like I was like, well, wait a minute.”
“So let's think about um my my book about um addiction and the war on drugs, chasing the scream.”
“I remember someone who's a key part of my book lost connections an amazing woman called Nuria Changis um who began a protest movement that transformed Berlin”
“So you can just get overwhelmed by, you know, I generally have like a a wardrobe full of transcripts like longer than War and Peace, right?”
“So you can just get overwhelmed by, you know, I generally have like a a wardrobe full of transcripts like longer than War and Peace, right?”
“So, for example, I open my book Lost Connections with this moment.”