Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to The Soul of an Octopus

National Book Award nomination for Nonfiction 2015

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. The Soul of an Octopus launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   The Thing About Jellyfish▲59

   National Book Award nomination for YA Literature 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs▲70

   National Book Award nomination for Nonfiction 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Fortune Smiles: Stories▲57

   National Book Award winner for Fiction 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Fates and Furies▲71

   National Book Award nomination for Fiction 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Ordinary Light▲5

   National Book Award nomination for Nonfiction 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   A Little Life: A Novel▲5

   National Book Award nomination for Fiction 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Refund: Stories▲55

   National Book Award nomination for Fiction 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

8. 8
   If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran▲4

   National Book Award nomination for Nonfiction 2015

   2015 · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Incognito▲70

   The secret lives of the brain

   2016 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    The Sellout▲55

    A NYT Book Review Best Book of 2015

    2016 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Nimona▲3

    National Book Award nomination for YA Literature 2015

    2015 · its alternatives →

12. 12
    The Goldfinch▲86

    Recent Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction

    2015 · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Deep▲64

    Freediving, renegade science, + the secrets of the ocean

    2016 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Death of a Naturalist▲63

    Nobel Prize Winning Poem about Childhood, Identity, and Work

    2015 · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Sapiens▲185

    A brief history of humankind

    2015 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Voyage of the Sable Venus▲1

    National Book Award nomination for Poetry 2015

    2015 · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Bone Gap▲4

    National Book Award nomination for YA Literature 2015

    2015 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    The Count of Monte Cristo▲69

    "On what slender threads do life and fortune hang"

    2015 · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude▲2

    National Book Award nomination for Poetry 2015

    2015 · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Man V. Nature▲148

    Stories that illuminate the complexity of human behavior

    2015 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    East of Eden▲61

    The intertwined destinies of two families

    2015 · its alternatives →

22. 22
    The Turner House▲5

    National Book Award nomination for Fiction 2015

    2015 · its alternatives →

23. 23
    A Night to Remember by Walter Lord▲99

    The classic account of the final of the Titanic

    2015 · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Black Swan▲80

    The impact of the highly improbable

    2015 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →