Books People Should Read to Become Emotionally Intelligent

Provided by Bianca Sylvester

Books surrounding a library waiting to be picked up and read.

Zayna Jamil, Staff Writer

Many students at Freedom High School occupy their time by reading books in their free time, during school and on break. Reading is a healthy way to spend time and helps young children understand the world around them and their own emotions.

Here is a list of books that students can read to become more emotionally intelligent and gain a critical understanding of the world around them:

1. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

This book explains the harmful effects of colonization on human psychology in a nation and its individuals.

2. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

This book explains the life of a young Vietnamese American boy living in a Western society who wrote letters to his mother about his struggles and his understanding of his family experiences during childhood.

3. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This book explains how a young prince navigates his life in various areas of the universe to combat his struggles in themes such as friendship, love and loneliness.

4. Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault

This book explains Western prison systems and social/systemic mechanisms that occurred due to their overall creation and how they affect society.

5. The Stranger by Albert Camus

This book explains how a man named Meursault in Algiers commits a murder and faces harsh repercussions for his actions. He faces societal pressure and finds ways to exist without feeling burdened.

6. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

This book explains the friendships and lives of adult boys in New York and their underlying trauma they’ve faced that affects their everyday lives and relationships they have with others.

7. Educated by Tara Westover

This book explains how a young girl grows up in a Mormon household and faces pressure while trying to recieve an education for herself.

8. Dead Poets Society by Nancy Kleinbaum

This book explains the life of a young teenage boy who finds his true passion in theatre at boarding school and how his professor mentors him and his friends throughout high school.