Read by Orna Guralnik
What books does Orna Guralnik recommend?
Orna Guralnik brings a psychoanalyst's ear to her book recommendations, drawn to writing that sits at the intersection of memory, culture, and the mind. Best known for the Showtime series Couples Therapy and her faculty role at NYU's postdoctoral psychoanalysis program, she recommends texts that blur the line between literature and theory. These 9 titles come from a Reddit AMA, academic papers, and recorded dialogues, and they gravitate toward philosophy, fiction and literature, and psychology and human behavior. Her top literary pick is W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz, which she calls an "amazing meditation on memory, and collective trauma," while she recommends anything by Maggie Nelson and Elizabeth Strout's My Name is Lucy Barton, describing it as "a Carver-like beautiful novel." On the theoretical side she credits Jessica Benjamin's The Bonds of Love and Judith Butler's The Psychic Life of Power as bridges between political theory and psychoanalytic practice.
Last updated March 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
byW.G. Sebald
2001416 Pages“Sebald - Austerlitz. Amazing meditation on memory, and collective trauma.”
— Orna Guralnik
Source: Reddit AMA
Read by Orna Guralnik
My Name is Lucy Barton
A Novel
byElizabeth Strout
2016208 Pages“Just finish - Lucy Barton (Elizabeth Strout) - a Carver-like beautiful novel.”
— Orna Guralnik
Source: Reddit AMA
Read by Orna Guralnik
The Bonds of Love
Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and the Problem of Domination
byJessica Benjamin
1988304 Pages“I read Benjamin's text as a bridge between political theory and psychoanalytic practice. In so doing, I hope to recognize Benjamin's profound influence on my thinking about recognition and destruction.”
— Orna Guralnik
Source: Psychoanalytic Dialogues (Academic Paper)
Read by Orna Guralnik
The Psychic Life of Power
Theories in Subjection
byJudith Butler
1997228 Pages“That phrase became absolutely crucial in thinking about pretty much anything within the domain of psychology and politics for me.”
— Orna Guralnik
Source: Dialogues at the Edge of American Psychological Discourse
Read by Orna Guralnik
Like Love
Essays and Conversations
byMaggie Nelson
2024352 Pages“Maggie Nelson - anything she writes (latest is Like Love). Maggie Nelson is amazing.”
— Orna Guralnik
Source: Reddit AMA
Read by Orna Guralnik
byLouise Glück
199263 Pages“Poetry - Louis Gluck [sic].”
— Orna Guralnik
Source: Reddit AMA
Read by Orna Guralnik
byTerry Eagleton
2024272 Pages“Non-fiction - of course... Terry Eagleton.”
— Orna Guralnik
Source: Reddit AMA
Read by Orna Guralnik
Everything Everywhere All At Once: The Screenplay
Screenplay Collection 0012
byDaniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
2024220 PagesSource: A24 Screenplay Series (Contributor)
Read by Orna Guralnik
byMike Mills
2024212 PagesSource: A24 Screenplay Series (Contributor)
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Orna Guralnik recommend?
Her 9 recommendations include Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, The Bonds of Love by Jessica Benjamin, Judith Butler's The Psychic Life of Power, and Maggie Nelson's Like Love.
What is Orna Guralnik's favorite book?
She singles out Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, calling it an "amazing meditation on memory, and collective trauma," a theme central to her work on dissociation and psychoanalysis.
Where do Orna Guralnik's book recommendations come from?
They are drawn from a Reddit AMA, her academic writing in Psychoanalytic Dialogues, recorded dialogues on psychology and politics, and her contributions to the A24 screenplay series.
What kinds of books does Orna Guralnik favor?
She favors philosophy, literary fiction, and psychoanalytic theory, alongside poetry by Louise Glück and screenplays. Her taste runs toward works probing memory, recognition, and the relationship between the psyche and politics.
Which theorists does Orna Guralnik cite as influences?
She names Jessica Benjamin, whose Bonds of Love she reads "as a bridge between political theory and psychoanalytic practice," and Judith Butler's The Psychic Life of Power, a phrase she calls "absolutely crucial" to her thinking on psychology and politics.
All 9 Books Orna Guralnik Has Recommended
- Austerlitz · W.G. Sebald
- My Name is Lucy Barton · Elizabeth Strout
- The Bonds of Love · Jessica Benjamin
- The Psychic Life of Power · Judith Butler
- Like Love · Maggie Nelson
- The Wild Iris · Louise Glück
- Ideology: An Introduction · Terry Eagleton
- Everything Everywhere All At Once: The Screenplay · Daniel Kwan
- 20th Century Women: The Screenplay · Mike Mills