Books. They are loyal companions and the truest of friends. They’re the only objects you can buy that make you richer, and your investment of time in them is often returned to you tenfold.
I love books, not just because of the kaleidoscope of colourful perspectives they provide, but also because they open up many doors in our lives. These doors allow us to access opportunities for greater insight and understanding about other people and the world, as well as allowing us to teach, guide and improve ourselves.
Books are perhaps the single most valuable and inspiring tools we can welcome into our lives, and it’s precisely because of this reason that I have compiled this list of unique and captivating books for easy reference.
If you’re looking for a variety of new and intriguing books to read, make sure you bookmark this page.
30+ Books For Introverts
Many of the books below I have read, but most of them are on my own personal “to read” list. I have organized these books according to subject, and I have provided direct links to Amazon for easy access.
If you do decide to purchase one of these books, you will be helping to support the work of Sol and I at LonerWolf.
I hope you find this list helpful, both now, and in the future!
Man and Solitude
- Desolation Angels, by Jack Kerouac
- Stillness: Daily Gifts of Solitude, by Richard Mahler
- Alone, by Richard E. Byrd
- Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, by Edward Abbey
- Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes – A Year Alone in the Patagonia Wilderness, by Robert Kull
Woman and Solitude
- Drinking the Rain, by Alix Kates Shulman
- Fifty Days of Solitude, by Doris Grumbach
- Listening Below the Noise, by Anne D. LeClaire
- Journal of a Solitude, by May Sarton
- Where God Begins to Be, by Karen Karper
Solitude (General)
- Quiet Strength: Embracing, Empowering and Honoring Yourself as an Introvert, by Aletheia Luna (yes!)
- Celebrating Time Alone: Stories of Splendid Solitude, by Lionel Fisher
- The Call of Solitude: Alonetime in a World of Attachment, by Ester Schaler Buchholz
- Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, by John T. Cacioppo & William Patrick
- Migrations to Solitude, by Sue Halpern
- Going Solo: the Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, by Eric Klinenberg
- Aloneness in America: the Stories that Matter, by Robert A. Ferguson
- Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude, and Prayer, by Catherine de Hueck Doherty
- Solitude: A Return to the Self, by Anthony Storr
- The Labyrinth of Solitude, by Octavio Paz
- The Greatest Escape: Adventures in the History of Solitude, by David Balcom
- Party of One: The Loners’ Manifesto, by Anneli Rufus
Solitude (Fiction)
- Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse
- Notes From the Underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
- Savage Solitude, by Máighréad Medbh
Silence
- The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want: A Book About Noise, by Garret Keizer
- In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise, by George Prochnik
- A Book of Silence, by Sara Maitland
- Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute Silence, by George Michelsen Foy
Simplicity
- The Man Who Quit Money, by Mark Sundeen
- Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich, by Duane Elgin
- Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
- The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living, by Mark Boyle
- Graceful Simplicity: Toward a Philosophy and Politics of Simple Living, by Jerome M. Segal
- Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, by E. F. Schumacher
If you have any book suggestions, please feel free to add to this list below!
Hello everyone. I always do introspection of my life and through all the experiences I came across I have learned finally that I am an empath. Intuitively I feel eveyones’ emotional energies even strangers and animals. It doesnt matter where I live and other person is in front of me or somewhere across the globe and I get emtionally involved in his pain if he is explaining me about his sufferings. When I get so much involve I get overwhelmed. I became introvert and I need solitude to regain my energy to positive and relax state. Thanks Luna and Sol for Lonar Wolf Website where I can learn all about spiritual and empath life. I also love to share my thoughts and writings to support other people struggling with their empath life.
thanks, great list to start read
I am really surprised Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Walden’ is not on the list. One of the finest books on solitude and a Bible of the Sixties’ counterculture movement.
It does seem to be a good addition to the list. I personally enjoyed the ideas behind the words of Thoreau, but found the read quite dry and hard to get through which is perhaps why I didn’t include it in this list.
Thanks for the suggestion though.
Hi, if anyone out there..
Thank you for this list! As a lonely man who’ve finally embraced introversion and accepted loneliness and darkness as my only surroundings, this list should help me out. Thank you!
My absolute pleasure Invisible! Also, if you discover any great books, feel free to add to this list! Happy reading :).
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and stephen baxter
Thanks John ;)
Thank you so much for this list. :-)
A book that my mom gave me is Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She spent 2 weeks by herself every year on a solitary beach using seashells to describe areas of life. She was married to Charles Lindbergh, the famous pilot. She was the inspiration for me to spend a week alone on the Oregon coast the past 2 years.
Sounds like a beautifully evocative book Elizabeth. Thank you for the recommendation! I’m excited to see this list grow. :)
-Luna
So many of your tweets struck a chord with me.
Will also be reading some of your recommendations of books for #introverts
Thank you so much for sharing, I am truly grateful. :)
That means a lot to me Tracey – thank you!
-Luna
Sophia Dembling – The Introvert’s Way
This book gives an example, how an introvert should act, and what’s the advantage of being an introvert, rather than extrovert.
Istvan – thank you for the recommendation!
-Luna
Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman. He is not completely in solitude the entire book but for parts of it. Very inspirational and the words paint a beautiful picture.
Paul had often dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail. Hiking through the beauty of nature had always brought him solace; so, after a year of trying to continue his life and work through his grief, he made the decision to quit his job, strap on a backpack, and walk the legendary trail through wilderness from Georgia to Maine.
http://paulstutzman.com/books/hiking-through/
This sounds very interesting. Thank you for sharing Lisa, I’ll check it out!
This list sounds great. I haven’t read any of these and I’m excited to start. Rilke also talks a lot about solitude in Letters to a Young Poet.
Delphine, if you have any favourites, feel free to recommend them here after you read them! Also, thanks for the Rilke suggestion. ;)
Pollard by Laura Beatty
Julius Winsome by Gerard Donovan
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
Thanks for the suggestions Richard!
No problem,Luna!
I can barely move for all the loner/survivalist fiction and non-fiction I have around me.
Thank you for this list Luna. I need some soul food and will be ordering the May Sarton for starters (I’d never heard of her). Sara Maitland’s and Anthony Storr’s books are ones I return to often.
Apart from family and co-workers, I’ve hardly seen anyone over Christmas and am feeling a little strange because of the mad socialising that everyone else seems to do. I need to remind myself that there’s nothing wrong with being solitary and that others expect you to be social and not worry about it.
Hello Monica :). I’m glad that you’ve found this list somewhat useful. Also, feel free to suggest any good books you have read on the subjects above (I’m a voracious reader as well, and I’m sure others will appreciate it!) That’s precisely right. At first it’s very difficult to confront and question society’s values (i.e. being sociable all the time means that you’re a normal person). But with a healthy balance of social time/alone time, coupled with self-acceptance (or self-love), it’s easier to accept our socially deviant natures through time. As with anything, embracing ones solitude takes time and practice. Many thanks for leaving a comment! -L
Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Thanks for the suggestion Nureen. As many introverted people have already read Quiet (and have been introduced to their introversion thanks to the book), I thought that the book wasn’t necessary to include in the list. For those who haven’t read the book, I’m sure they will appreciate your comment. -L
I read (ehem, heard it – audiobook :P) it as well – wonderful =] Turning introversion into something beyond the mundane. Whereas Cain does try to maintain balance, the facts are – we are slightly more superior.
Not necessarily Matt. Personality types aren’t a case of who is superior or inferior, but more to do with discovering more about yourself, and honoring the person you are in relation to others. :)
-L
Objectively speaking, you are right Luna… Reflectiveness is what introverts may have developed more than extroverts XD Yet let’s not forget that people are a mixture of intro- and extra- version. I would have been described by some people as extroverted =P But deep down I know I am more of a loner, a reflective person. Astrology, being the greatest of science, and the toughest ones =P, allows its users to delve into themselves. I’ve once read a statement that it is people who want more (knowledge, of nature, of human) delve into the arcane. Can’t agree more =] Basically, your LonerWolf is what I sought – apart from astro websites =]
Very true Matt. People are very rarely 100% extroverted or introverted (such a person would be submitted to a mental asylum!) But I can see where you’re coming from: introverts definitely have their strengths, and due to their tendencies to read books, they do appear to be much more interesting people (at least in my own eyes).
Also, thank you for the complement! I’m delighted to hear that LonerWolf inspires you in some way :)
-L