I gave an intro course on Positive Psychology a few days ago, and folks asked me for recommended Positive Psychology books. Here are my TOP TEN recs.
Recommendations for Books on Positive Psychology?
Number 1 - This is the definitive MUST READ:
Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman
Number 2 - This is where a lot of the original research came from:
Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman
Number 3 - This is like the non-textbook textbook on the field.
A Primer in Positive Psychology by Chris Peterson
Number 4 -
Flow by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi
Number 5 -
The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
Number 6 -
Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar
Number 7 -
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
Highly recommended:
What You Can Change and What You Can’t by Martin Seligman
The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky
Stumbling on Happiness by Dan Gilbert
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Positive Psychology Coaching by Robert Biswas-Diener and Ben Dean
Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley
The Resilience Factor by Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatte
Aging Well by George Vaillant
Handbook of Positive Psychology edited by C.R. Snyder and Shane J. Lopez
The Appreciative Inquiry Summit by James Ludema et al.

Senia,
Thanks for publishing this list! The books on your list that I have already read were outstanding and I look forward to reading the others.
Thanks again for passing them along !
Dave Wheeler
Comment by Dave Wheeler — Wednesday October 24, 2007 @ 8:49 am
Hi Senia,
This is a pretty good list. I’ve read books 1 - 4 as well as “What you can and can’t change” & “The optimistic child” by Martin Seligman.
Even though this titles aren’t directly related to positive psychology I have read and recommend the following titles:
“Self-directed behaviour” by Donald Watson & Roland Tharp,
“Between Parent and Child” by Haim Ginott and
“How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk” by Adele Farber & Elaine Mazlish.
Thanks,
Ben
Comment by Ben — Monday October 29, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Great list, though I would put Sonja’s book at number 1.
Comment by Mal — Tuesday April 1, 2008 @ 9:29 am