The Storytelling Animal
How Stories Make Us Human
by Jonathan Gottschall
Recommended by Bill Gurley and Harini Calamur
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Should I read this?
Recommended by 4 sources and appears in Storytelling, Most Recommended Books, and Philosophy.
A NYTimes.com Editor's Choice A Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Finalist ?A jaunty, insightful new book . . . [that] draws from disparate corners of history and science to celebrate our compulsion to storify everything around us.??New York TimesHumans live in landscapes of makebelieve. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even spor...
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Why recommended
Recommended by 4 sources and appears in Storytelling, Most Recommended Books, and Philosophy.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Bill Gurley
“If you are looking for a cool book to read, I high recommend "The Story Telling Animal" by Jonathan Gottschall | The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human fantastic book on how we are wired to crave for stories. i am both reading and listening to it.”
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Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. Recommended by 8 sources.
“Soft-spoken, heavily illustrated fable built from short dialogues and watercolor sketches. Each spread pairs a spare line of text with a loose drawing, so the pleasure is visual and aphoristic rather than narrative; readers collect felt-true sentences more than plot. Most useful when you want quick consolations, a prompt for conversation with a child, or a pause during a rough day. Limiting if you want sustained argument, concrete advice, or tightly plotted storytelling: the repetition of gentleness can feel sentimental or thin after a while.”
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Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
The Storytelling Animal
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