Throughout 2025, we asked our community and social media following to recommend non-fiction books that helped shape their view on values. Here is the list of books that informed, challenged, and shaped worldviews regarding values.
This list wasn’t shaped by votes or rankings. Each book has been chosen on its own merits, so don’t read too much into the order — every title here is worth your time.
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
- Values: Building a Better World – Mark Carney
- Humankind: A Hopeful History – Rutger Bregman
- Everything I Have Learned About Values – Richard Barrett
- The Values Factor – Dr. John Demartini
- The Four-Fold Way – Angeles Arrien
- Activate Your Life – Jo Oliver and Jon Hill
- The Road to Character – David Brooks
- Dare to Lead – Brené Brown
- Meditations – Marcus Aurelius
- Love for Imperfect Things – Haemin Sunim
- The Values Economy – Alan Williams and Samuel Williams
- Humankind – Brad Aronson
- The Art of Connection: Abundance Quotes – Robert. W. Jones and John Verrico
- Walden – Henry David Thoreau
- The Light We Carry – Michelle Obama
- Four Thousand Weeks – Oliver Burkeman
- The Persuaders – Anand Giridharadas
- Bittersweet – Susan Cain
Biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs:
- The Pursuit of Happyness – Chris Gardner
- Touching the Void – Joe Simpson
- The Happiest Man on Earth – Eddie Jaku
- Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
- When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi
- Riding The Bus with My Sister – Rachel Simon
- The Gift – Edith Eger
- Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl
- The Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
- Educated – Tara Westover
- The Story of My Experiments with Truth – Mahatma Gandhi
- Tattoos on the Heart – Gregory Boyle
- Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy – Eric Metaxas
- Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
- The Road to Character – David Brooks (Biographical essays)
- Catherine Booth: A Biography of the Cofounder of The Salvation Army – Roger Green
- Dorothy Day: Dissenting Voice of the American Century – John Loughery & Blythe Randolph
- The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers – Maxwell King
Our list of fiction books can be viewed here. Our list of children’s books is also available here.
