Tsundoku (積ん読) is the Japanese word for the habit of acquiring and accumulating books with the intention of reading them. Combining tsunde-oku (to pile up) and dokusho (reading), tsundoku describes the act of physically piling up books, but it is a playful term that resonates strongly with book nerds worldwide.
One of my favorite things that happens this time of year is the release of the BOOK LISTS!! Individuals, news outlets, and celebrities… give me ALL the book recommendations!
In the spirit of tsundoku, here is my book recommendation contribution. It was hard to narrow it down. I finally landed on the books below because they either really stayed with me and kept popping up in my thoughts, and/or they were titles that I found myself repeatedly recommending. Some sharpened how I think about leadership and culture. Some made me laugh (and then immediately question the state of modern life). Some made me really question my reactions, assumptions, and behaviors. Some did all of the above.
Nonfiction & Memoirs: (Because most of you come here for professional learning nuggets)
Who can make a grammar lesson a lesson in empathy, humanity, and perspective shifting? Ann Curzan can. Using grammar as her tool, Anne Curzan asks us to challenge our reactions and assumptions, dig into the historical context, and ask ourselves the hard question, “WHY do I find this so offensive?!?!” This book made me a better communicator, calmed my inner grammar police, and possibly made me a better person….
Moonwalking with Einstein — Joshua Foer
What happens when a journalist becomes obsessed with the “mental athletics” of memory competition? This book. A delightfully fun and fascinating deep dive into memory, brains, and what happens when you go deep down a rabbit hole. Part memoir, part research project, part tactical tool kit, Moonwalking with Einstein drives home the fact that attention is a skill, and it’s absolutely trainable.
Who Is Government? — Michael Lewis
A series of short stories, What is Government, reads like a love letter to the unseen people doing essential work inside massive systems. These are stories that don’t generally make front-page headlines, but that will restore your faith in humanity. Given the current divisiveness of politics and government, this book serves as an important and not-so-subtle reminder that “government” isn’t a monolith — it’s systems, incentives, tradeoffs, consequences, and PEOPLE. Confession, two of the stories brought me to (happy, inspired) tears.
At The Human Solution, we talk a lot about human-centered leadership. Another Way is a call for human-centered organizations and growth strategy. A sane, steady alternative to the “grow at all costs, cash out, repeat” entrepreneurial playbook. Another Way is a quietly radical reminder: you can build something meaningful, profitable, and human without treating people like “resources” and time like an enemy.
The Second Mountain — David Brooks
Reading David Brooks is like hanging out with your nerdy academic uncle as he reflects on his life journey over a glass of scotch — a thoughtful reflection, reconsideration, and contemplation of life as a human. In the Second Mountain, Brooks contemplates the “second mountain” of mid to later life, as he considers the shift from “prove yourself” to “commit yourself.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks — Rebecca Skloot
I can’t believe that it took me this long to read this one. A gripping intersection of science, ethics, race, and consent, this book is the human story behind a medical technology that underpins a shocking amount of the medical advancement that we all take for granted. It is also the story of the author Rebecca Skloot’s tenacious pursuit of the story behind the story and the relationships she built on her journey.
Fiction: (Because we are multifaceted humans)
As a person in the professional development and leadership space, this book was a sharp, funny, semi-satirical, occasionally gut-punchy look at self-optimization and the stories we tell ourselves to feel in control of our own evolution. This book reads like a mirror held up to modern adulthood, its relationships, and its institutions. A reflection on love, ego, tech, parenting, wellness culture, and the quiet terror of time passing.
As an avid audiobook listener, I am telling you, LISTEN TO THIS BOOK. The narration (Ray Porter) is a brilliant performance. Beautifully researched and science-forward, this book is like the movie Cast Away if Tom Hanks were sent into space and tasked with saving the world.
Nerdily science-y and deeply human, this book checks all the boxes. Side Note: It is being made into a movie, so if you are a “read/listen to it first” kinda person, get on it.
A brilliant re-centering of a classic story, James retells Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the enslaved man, Jim, giving him agency and a voice. Razor-sharp, humane, darkly funny in places and devastating in others, this book is deeply focused on voice, power, and who gets to be fully human on the page.
XO,
Anna
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