The Greatest Books of All Time on Emotions

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
282 The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 German German
320 Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak 1963 American English
846 A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy Laurence Sterne 1768 British English
1061 First Love Ivan Turgenev 1860 Russian Russian
1189 A Writer's Diary Virginia Woolf 1953 British English
1581 The Civilizing Process Norbert Elias 1939 German German
1807 Beware Of Pity Stefan Zweig 1939 Austrian German
1922 Tropisms Nathalie Sarraute 1939 French French
2186 On Love Alain de Botton 1993 British English
2572 Childhood Nathalie Sarraute 1983 French French
2997 Childhood Leo Tolstoy 1852 Russian Russian
4228 Each Day Catches Fire Imants Ziedonis 1978 Latvian Latvian
4310 Invitation To The Waltz Rosamond Lehmann 1932 British English
4461 The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake Aimee Bender 2010 American English
4544 Ingenious Pain Andrew Miller 1997 British English
4900 The Theory Of Moral Sentiments Adam Smith 1759 Scottish English
5635 A Life's Work Rachel Cusk 2001 British English
5775 Χαιρε Ποτε Kiki Dimoula 1988 Greek Greek
5863 The Grasmere Journal Dorothy Wordsworth 1897 British English
6137 Iron John Robert Bly 1990 American English
6362 Во сне ты горько плакал Yuri Kazakov 1995 Russian Russian
6623 A General Theory Of Love Thomas Lewis 2000 American English
6633 Reveries Of The Wild Woman Hélène Cixous 2000 French French
6746 A Matter Of Feeling Janine Boissard 1985 French French
6841 Rapture Carol Ann Duffy 2005 British English
7179 A Book of Luminous Things Czesław Miłosz 1996 Polish English
7216 Retreat From Love Colette 1936 French French
7753 Another Marvelous Thing Laurie Colwin 1986 American English
8203 Insomnia Drawings Louise Bourgeois 2000 Unknown English
9276 Invisible Reality Juan Ramón Jiménez 1983 Spanish Unknown
9537 Love's End Pascal Rambert 2011 French French
9974 Care of the Soul Thomas Moore 1992 American English
10309 Character Analysis Wilhelm Reich 1945 German German
10502 The Fragility Of Goodness Martha C. Nussbaum 1986 American English
10524 The Suitcase Kid Jacqueline Wilson 1992 British English
10745 Why Is There Salt In The Sea? Brigitte Schwaiger 1977 Austrian German
11278 Seasons On Earth Kenneth Koch 1987 American English
11393 Collected Poems James Schuyler 1988 American English
12027 Girls In Tears Jacqueline Wilson 2002 British English
12515 Mute Phone Calls And Other Stories Ruth Aleksandrovna Zernova 1991 Russian Unknown
12515 The Other Mother Carol Schaefer 1991 American English
12657 Poems Of Nathan Zach Nathan Zach 2020 Israeli Hebrew
12834 Incantations And Other Stories Anjana Appachana 1992 Indian English
13360 Burnout Emily Nagoski, Amelia Nagoski 2019 American English
13362 The Diary of Fanny Burney Fanny Burney 1768 British English
13791 The Lovers Alice Ferney 1993 French French
13818 Solitudes Goffredo Parise 1984 Italian Italian
13986 Parenting With Love And Logic Foster Cline 1990 American English
14138 Haiku Mary Dawson Hughes 1970 Unknown English
14520 Awakening Joy James Baraz 2010 American English
14890 What Is Metaphysics? Martin Heidegger 1929 German German
14985 The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down Haemin Sunim 2012 Korean Korean
15865 Days With Frog And Toad Arnold Lobel 1979 American English
15916 The Origin and Development of Psycho-Analysis Sigmund Freud 1910 Austrian German
15916 Function of the Orgasm Wilhelm Reich 1927 Austrian German
15916 The Expression Of The Emotions In Man And Animals Charles Darwin 1872 British English
17163 F*Ck Feelings Sarah Bennett, Michael Bennett 2015 American English
17163 I Hope This Reaches Her In Time r.h. Sin 2017 American English
17163 She Fits Inside These Words r.h. Sin, Robert M. Drake, Samantha King Holmes 2021 American English
17163 She Felt Like Feeling Nothing r.h. Sin 2018 American English
17163 Empty Bottles Full Of Stories r.h. Sin, Robert M. Drake 2019 American English
17163 Be Here To Love Me At The End Of The World Sasha Fletcher 2021 American English
17163 Ramona And Her Father Beverly Cleary 1977 American English
17163 The Upside Of Irrationality Dan Ariely 2010 Israeli English
17163 Talking Like The Rain X. J. Kennedy 1992 American English
17163 Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Travis Bradberry 2009 American English
17163 American Primitive Mary Oliver 1983 American English
17163 An Unquiet Mind Kay Redfield Jamison 1995 American English
17163 Love's Executioner Irvin D. Yalom 1989 American English
17163 The Course Of Love Alain de Botton 2016 British English
17163 Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman 1995 American English
17163 Healing Back Pain John E. Sarno 1982 American English
17163 Getting Through Grief Christine McArthur Unknown Unknown
17163 An Intimate History Of Humanity Theodore Zeldin 1994 British English
17163 Judy Moody Megan McDonald 2000 American English
17163 Your Brain On Art Susan Magsamen 2023 Unknown English
16795 Schoolgirl Osamu Dazai 1939 Japanese Japanese
17163 Good Reasons For Bad Feelings Randolph M. Nesse 2019 American English
17163 Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse Kevin Henkes 1996 American English
17163 Mapping The Darkness Kenneth Miller 2023 Unknown English
17163 Trading In The Zone Mark Douglas 2000 American English
17163 Love, Mom Iliana Xander Unknown Unknown
17163 The Female Brain Louann Brizendine 2006 American English
17163 Matrescence Lucy Jones 2023 Unknown English
17163 Love’s Knowledge Martha Nussbaum 1990 American English