John Powell

American Jesuit priest and professor at Loyola University Chicago, known for accessible books on psychology, faith, and relationships, including Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? and Fully Human, Fully Alive.

This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

  1. 1. Why You Love Music

    From Mozart to Metallica—The Emotional Power of Beautiful Sounds

    An accessible and witty exploration of the science behind our musical passions, explaining how the brain turns sound into emotion and pleasure. It unpacks how rhythm, melody, harmony, tempo, and key influence mood and behavior, why earworms happen, and why music can make us dance or cry. Along the way, it demystifies musical jargon, dispels common myths, and shows how culture, memory, and personality shape taste, offering practical insights for listening, learning, and performing.

    The 17010th Greatest Book of All Time
    Purchase from Bookshop.org