The most recommended books about the mind

This book was perhaps the strangest book I have ever read. It’s long and beautifully written with descriptive scenes that turn the cinema of the mind on full blast in sound and color, sometimes even evoking touch and smell. It’s bizarre and, honestly, made no sense to me at times with its churning of characters and unfathomable plot jumps, but it taught me that fiction doesn’t always have to make sense to make a lasting impact. Sometimes, it’s about how it feels, not how it reads.

This book, the start of a series of seven books, I think, made a difference in my life starting in my 20s. The main character, with her sentience and mind-powers that made her long red hair writhe when the power was rising, gave me a new sense of myself as a woman. She held 9 others’ souls within her, carried by the diadem that was sealed to her head. This gave me a new sense of how full spirits might be carried in others, expanding my perception of existence. I loved the dynamic quality of the story, the worlds she built, and the Thief who was her friend and sometimes lover. Through it all, the planet of her people and origin is missing, adding a compelling mystery.