Neuroscience and psychology aren’t easy subjects to wrap one’s mind around (sorry, couldn’t resist) but thanks to several recently published books it’s never been easier to understand generally than now. Authors like Steven Johnson and Daniel Levitin, for example, have taken sections of these very complex and specialized fields, explained them for the lay person, and summarized key recent developments – of which there are many – in ways that can inform and inspire other endeavours. We’re learning some remarkable things about how the brain functions – such things as how we understand music, what role the mind plays in relationships and sex, what makes us happy (or not), and simply how we navigate everyday life.

Here are a few overview titles from the past year that I can recommend to the curious:
–This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin
–The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker
–Sex on the Brain by Daniel Amen
–Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson
–Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar