We're told our attention spans are shot. But what if we've got it all wrong? Dr. Jordan Peterson, for one, has a different take.
Dr. Jordan Peterson, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, a psychologist, and the author of 3 great books, 'Maps of Meaning,' '12 Rules for Life,' and 'Beyond Order.' argues the opposite.
In his podcast episode with Vivek Ramaswami, he claims that the popularity of audiobooks and long-form podcasts proves that our attention spans are, in fact, not shrinking.
He says, “You can go deeper in a book than in any other medium” - and audiobooks are no exception.
While the world panics about TikTok, Jordan Peterson is seeing something else entirely.
And it leads him to a list of books he believes everyone should read.
The significance of reading in personal development
Reading is essential for growth in terms of erudition and emotional maturity. There’s no other medium that is as effective at presenting complex ideas as a good old hard-cover.
As Dr. Peterson said himself in his appearance on the H3 podcast:
“A book is like a portrait, as opposed to a photograph. With a photograph, it’s click, and there’s that. A portrait you layer on and layer on and work over on for weeks. You still have the same single image, but there’s this depth to it.”
He doesn’t deny the educational value of other media formats, but in the end, we can all agree that there’s nothing quite like a hardcover. Reading isn’t just entertainment — the best books teach you more about our world.
Even if a book’s story is fictional, it’s almost always based on real-world problems and relatable characters.
All of the books on this list teach you something, from how to find peace in your life or the hidden meanings behind your dreams to the brutality of classism and capitalist reality.
Dr. Jordan Peterson’s book recommendations
Dr. Peterson dives deep into societal issues, faith, and psychology. If you like engaging in deep thought and provocative topics, this list is for you.
1. ‘12 Rules For Life’ by Jordan B. Peterson
Kicking off our list is ‘12 Rules for Life’ by Dr. Jordan Peterson himself. In it, he challenges the modern idea of happiness and how we strive to eliminate anything that’s even remotely negative.
It’s a self-help book comprising 12 chapters, each titled with one of his rules for life. The chapters take the form of essays, and their titles sum up the book quite well:
"Stand up straight with your shoulders back."
"Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping."
"Make friends with people who want the best for you."
"Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today."
"Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them."
"Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world."
"Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)."
"Tell the truth – or, at least, don't lie."
"Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don't."
"Be precise in your speech."
"Do not bother children when they are skateboarding."
"Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street."
This book is a must-read for anyone struggling to find purpose and fulfillment in life and dealing with its day-to-day chaos. It is heavily inspired by ‘A History of Religious Ideas’ by Mircea Eliade and ‘Affective Neuroscience’ by Jaak Panksepp.
2. ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Viktor E. Frankl
‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ is a challenging read. Its author, Viktor Frankl, dives into his and other inmates’ experiences in Nazi concentration camps.
More specifically, it details how these experiences have shaped the inmates’ psyches and their integration into society after liberation. The center point of the book is Victor’s idea of Logotherapy, a form of psychotherapy in which the main driving force of any human is the desire to find the meaning of life.
Frankl states: “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how.”
While the book’s setting may seem a bit dated, the universal truth is that suffering is an inevitable part of life, and we all must learn to find the strength to overcome it. It is a must-read if you’re depressed or find yourself pondering the point of all this all too often.
3. ‘1984’ by George Orwell
You’ve most likely heard of Orwell’s ‘1984.’ Some might argue we’re living it now, especially if you’re from places like China, Russia, or Turkmenistan.
The book is about totalitarianism and how the government controls what we do, say, and even think. It’s personified by the fictional “Big Brother” figure and how he’s always watching you.
Sound familiar?
George Orwell also tackles the topic of classism and how modern society is designed to keep one group in power - and the poor at the bottom forever.
“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”
This quote by the author sums up how a totalitarian regime works: you are what they decide you are. You own nothing, have no free will, and are powerless to oppose — a similar thesis to ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley, which we also recommend.
4. ‘Factfulness’ by Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, and Ola Rosling
‘Factfulness’ asks a simple but important question: are things really as bad as we think they are? How do we determine whether the world is getting better or worse? The truth is that we, as humans, love drama, especially when it pertains to ourselves.
The author, Hans Rosling, says: “There’s no room for facts when our minds are occupied by fear.”
He challenges the thought patterns we tend to follow and encourages us to observe rationally rather than interpret emotionally. It’s okay to be afraid and feel inadequate, but giving in to fear makes our lives much more difficult.
This book teaches you to think critically, recognize overdramatic stories, and perceive the world more rationally. Adopting such a worldview will help you get rid of tons of stress and, of course, deal with life in a healthier, calmer way.
We’re not saying the book will completely change your entire world, but it just might help you regain control over your emotions.
5. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a thought-provoking book about innocence, inequality, and the eternal
struggle between good and evil. Its title has a very symbolic connection to the story, with the mockingbird representing innocence.
The book’s main character is a lawyer who believes that good will always prevail and teaches his children the same. However, his belief gets crushed when Atticus (the main character) must represent an innocent black man in a rape charge of a white woman.
Lee set the story in the middle of the Depression era in Alabama when racism was still in full force. So, despite the man’s innocence and the lawyer doing their best to appeal to the “good” in the judge and the whole court, the verdict was “guilty.”
The main character is faced with a dilemma and has a wrench thrown in his belief system - good will not, in fact, prevail every time. Harper Lee also questions what it means to be good and how it always requires courage and perseverance:
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
This sentiment is familiar if you’ve read ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ or ‘The Old Man and The Sea’ by Ernest Hemingway. This book is a must-read for students interested in social justice, civil rights, and thought-provoking discussions.
6. ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ by George Orwell
‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ is George Orwell’s critique of capitalist society, a common thread in his works like Animal Farm. More specifically, it highlights capitalism's consequences on the life conditions of the working class and how ordinary men never get out of poverty despite working their lives away.
In Orwell’s opinion, poverty is a direct result of an unfair economic system and the not-free "free market.” Established companies dominate the market, and it's practically impossible for the average Joe to start a business and survive. And so, they’re stuck in a job that barely covers their and their family’s essentials.
“We are living in a world in which nobody is free, in which hardly anybody is secure, in which it is almost impossible to be honest and to remain alive.” Says Orwell.
While this may not resonate with everyone, the author suggests a solution to “level the playing field” for all citizens — socialism. While we do not favor any specific economic philosophy, as George Orwell himself said:
"It is only when you meet someone of a different culture from yourself that you begin to realize what your own beliefs really are.”
‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ is for history lovers, social activists, and political commentary enjoyers.
7. ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ by Friedrich Nietzsche
‘Beyond Good and Evil’ is a classic philosophical work that questions every aspect of morality, societal norms, and human nature. As the name suggests, Nietzsche challenges the traditional definitions of “good,” “evil,” and everything in between.
He even goes as far as to state that there isn’t an objective truth since all knowledge is based on perspective. He says:
“Madness is something rare in individuals — but in groups, parties, peoples, and ages, it is the rule.”
This idea ties into Nietzsche’s criticism of Judeo-Christian beliefs and how they encourage “master-slave” morality. He also talks about something he calls “will to power” and believes it to be the main driving force of a human.
Nietzsche personalizes the concept of the “Übermensch,” a man who creates and follows his own values and ultimately transcends traditional morality. The book itself is a difficult read because of the profound topics it discusses, but if you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit into mainstream society and have scoffed at the absurdity of what we’ve become, it’s for you.
Just be ready - Friedrich Nietzsche can be quite provocative, and if you’re easily offended, you might want to skip it.
8. ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’ by Sigmund Freud
As the title implies, ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’ focuses on our dreams and their hidden meanings. Sigmund Freud argued that dreams aren’t merely bedtime stories your mind comes up with but manifestations of your repressed desires.
Freud splits the mind into the conscious and unconscious, suggesting that dreams are a way for the latter to surface, similar to his successor, Carl Jung, in ‘Modern Man in Search of a Soul.’ But dreams are not literal, and Freud further splits dreams into manifest and latent content.
The manifest content of a dream is how it appears to you, and the latent content is its hidden, true meaning. He believed dreams are highly symbolic, and their content is “censored” and distorted by your mind.
Sigmund Freud said: “Properly speaking, the unconscious is the real psychic; its inner nature is just as unknown to us as the reality of the external world, and it is just as imperfectly reported to us through the data of consciousness as is the external world through the indications of our sensory organs.”
9. ‘Enlightenment Now’ by Steven Pinker
It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking the world is burning more and more every year. Steven Pinker’s ‘Enlightenment Now’ aims to prove you wrong with extensive data, graphs, and statistics.
Despite how you may be feeling, this data is evidence that humanity is not, in fact, on fire and has made significant progress in science, health, safety, and learning. Pinker does not deny issues such as climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons — but he doesn’t view them as the end of the world.
Instead, he maintains the position that everything is solvable through science. Pinker is also a big believer in humanism — a philosophical idea that prioritizes human well-being and self-improvement.
He defends progress and encourages you to adopt a data-driven mindset:
“The standard explanation of the madness of crowds is ignorance: a mediocre education system has left the populace scientifically illiterate, at the mercy of their cognitive biases, and thus defenseless against airhead celebrities, cable-news gladiators, and other corruptions from popular culture.”
10. ‘The Selfish Gene’ by Richard Dawkins
‘The Selfish Gene’ expands upon Darwin’s theory of evolution. Dawkins argues that rather than the individual organism, the genes it carries are the fundamental unit of selection.
This is a fancy way of saying that the body is only a vessel for the gene and has one purpose: to pass the gene along and ensure its survival. Richard Dawkins posits that this extends to our behaviors, from aggression to altruism, as a strategy employed by the gene to survive.
He later explains how seemingly altruistic behaviors, such as helping your family or having children, can be seen as selfish. But what we may interpret as “selfish” has no difference to our genes — for them, all that matters is that we pass them along.
This book is best for biology students learning evolutionary theory and individuals curious about gene-centered evolution and its impact on our behavior.
Applying the Lessons
Things aren’t always as they seem. Life is full of injustice and inequality.
However, it’s not the end of the world, and you have to protect yourself from going insane in these trying times. This list of books covers very dark and difficult topics but dives deep into various ways of interpreting the world.
By tapping into the knowledge within these books, you will adopt a more holistic worldview and better understand your emotions, desires, and the world around you.
Before we wrap things up, here are a few extra recommendations by Dr. Peterson:
‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘Notes from Underground’ and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ by Fedor Dostoevsky
‘The Painted Bird’ by Jerzy Kosiński
‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ by Robert M. Pirsig
‘War and Peace’ by Leo Tolstoy
‘The Rape of Nanking’ by Iris Chang
‘The Charterhouse of Parma’ by Stendhal
‘Our Culture, What’s Left of It’ by Theodore Dalrymple
‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding
Explore the Jordan Peterson reading list with Headway
These books can be challenging to finish, but not just in terms of length. The works of Nietzsche and Freud present very complex ideas that can be hard to take in.
Our busy modern life leaves little time to sit down and read, so you may consider going for a quicker 15-minute summary.
All the books we presented in this article are available in 15-minute summaries in our Headway app that you can read or listen to on the go.
Download Headway now from the Apple Store or Google Play.
