If you are anything like me, you’ve got a passion for reading. Whether it’s a physical book (my favourite), on a Kindle or an audio listen, you’re keen to keep learning in all its forms.
If this sounds like you, then I’d love to share seven titles that I’ve either read or which have been recommended by folk I really trust and are on my list to read over the summer.
Two other suggestions before we get to the books themselves:
If you can, use bookshop.org if you’re buying physical books – they support local bookshops rather than the Goliath of Amazon, who doesn’t
If you have access to a local library in the UK and you’re not in a rush to read, see if you can order books from them. Libraries are magical places and if we keep using them, it will help their survival
So, onto the reads. I’m starting with books I’ve read in the last 18 months that have made a real impact on me – many of which have made it to a review in the Twist monthly newsletter, Change for the Better. I’ve included the reviews here too…
A read from April 2020 – ‘From What is to what if’ by Rob Hopkins.
If you want to explore ways to improve and flex your imagination muscles to create change then this is a cracking read. It’s focused around improving the world we live in and building a better future.
If you’ve ever wondered what the heck Finland has done to top the charts of the happiest countries in the world, then this book will help. A quick review of Finnish history through to recent times, shows how they’re achieving it. A fascinating read.
A glorious read from February 2021 – ‘Elastic – the power of flexible thinking’
A book I’m in the middle of reading now (Mary Portas, Rebuild) quotes from this book. If you listen to any of the podcasts where Mary Portas speaks about the topics in this book, you’ll hear her mention elastic thinking and this is what it’s all about. It’s a brilliant read, absolutely packed with factoids.
Books I’ll be reading over the summer…
Rebuild - Mary Portas
I’ve heard Mary talk about this book in several podcasts so I’m familiar with the premise of it and it feels like she’s got her timing just right. Her shift to a focus on kindness and looking after the planet is a welcome change from other influencers who firing themselves into space. I’m looking forward to hearing some different perspectives as Mary’s last book, ‘Work like a woman’ was a fab read.
A re-read… Body and Soul – Anita Roddick
I bought this book in 1991 and I’ve re-read at least 10 times. I continue to be inspired by Anita Roddick for many reasons – mostly because she bought humility, courage and compassion to the work she did and the businesses she ran. Much of what she talked about 30 years ago is even more relevant today.
Difficult Women – Helen Lewis
The sub-heading of this book is ‘A history of feminism in 11 Fights’. Under 11 different headings, Lewis explores different fights, including the obvious feminist fight for ‘The Vote’ but there are others like ‘The Right to be Difficult’ and ‘Safety’ which look equally interesting. I feel like the world needs more difficult women to drive change, so I’m looking forward to reading more about how our predecessors have done it.
Why we do what we do - Dr Helena Boschi
Flicking through this book, it looks like a great read. It’s badged as a straight-talking book about neuroscience and the brain for laypeople. Neuroscience and how the brain works is one of those topics that has transformed the world of organisation change for me over the last few years, so this looks promising.
Let me know how you get on with these and if you’ve got some interesting books on your summer reading list, I’d love to hear more about them. Or, if you’d like to share a book review for the Twist website, please get in touch.