I love books like "I never promised you a rose garden" "Three Faces of Eve" "The Interpretation of Dreams" and "Sybil"... any suggestions?
50 Psychology Classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon. It covers some of the best psychology theories and ideas, though some of them quite briefly. A great read.
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Stephen Pinker Probably one of the most influential books I've read.
The Secret Psychology of How We Fall In Love by Dr. Paul Dobransky M.D. is probably the best personal & dating psychology book i've found. Second to that would be The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck M.D.
Kudos to DroneLore. Pinker is up there on my list too. As good people we ought not forget the other side of things. Try Thomas Szasz's Ideology and Insanity : Essays on the Psychiatric Dehumanization of Man. Very enlightening read.
If you are really interested in psychoanalysis, I would recommend Slavoj Zizek's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lacan...But Were Afraid to Ask Hitchcock", "Looking Awry", or "The Sublime Object of Ideology". Zizek makes the very useful, but incredibly difficult, ideas of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan accessible, funny, and interesting. Instead of dealing with them in a dry manner, he explains Lacan's concepts through pop culture examples such as "The Matrix" and Hitchcock films. If you can find it, watch his documentary "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema" (clips available at http://www.thepervertsguide.com/clips.html).
I found reviving ophelia by mary pipher amazing. its about how the american culture is doing a number on many adolescent girls and talks about identity issues, eating disorders, and many other things. It was an interesting read, but an eyeopener. It is one of the reasons why I choose my first summer internship to be based in adolescent eating disorders.
