The Gift that keeps on giving - 10 books to read right now

Books have always been a constant in my life.

They have accompanied me as soon as I have learned how to read, opening worlds unknown, in the halls of old libraries, filled by dusty shelves and the vanilla smell of old pages, during summer holidays, under the countryside sun and forests, next to the Christmas trees or on long train rides and planes.

More years than I would like to admit later, they are still a daily habit, with which I start and end every day. What I love about them is the power to connect with knowledge and new journeys, but also to know people. Asking for what others are reading became over the years a way to know them better and also to spread my own horizons.

And because this is truly for me a gift that keeps on giving, I want to share this summer gift for your travel suitcase or the relaxed days to come.

You would find this list to be perhaps as an unusual mix of books, though this set in particular has given me a lot of valuable messages during this year, so here it goes (in no specific order):

1. Rising Strong, by Brené Brown

Brené Brown is by now an already widely known author and many of you might be familiar with her Ted Talks about vulnerability. In Rising Strong she writes about "being in the arena" and being brave with one's life.

"We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we cannot have both. Not at the same time"

This is a particularly important message for women, because being brave is not devoid of outcome, especially when the expectation is to be accommodating and always available. In Brené's words, courage means to be willing to ask for help, to respect our own personal boundaries and reckon with our emotions and stories we tell ourselves about own capabilities and the world around us. And once we do that, the world changes, because while it takes practice, courage is contagious.

2. Questo cuore non mente (this heart does not lie), by Levante

I really hope this book will be translated into English at some point, but for now this is a recommendation for all my Italian friends.

Levante is the stage name of Claudia Lagona, Italian pluri-artist, singer-song writer, model and novel writer. I came across her book thanks to Stefania Andreoli (Instagram:@lastefiandreoli), who is an Italian Psychotherapist I deeply admire and has supported Levante with the shaping of the therapist character in her book, bringing validity to the psychological themes and arguments tackled.

The book follows the dialogues between the female protagonist with her therapist, evaluating success, relationships, courage and self esteem in a beautifully narrated sequence and to be honest, could have the risk to be read in one go.

3. The Inner Game of Tennis, by Timothy Gallwey

You might find that, while it gives quite a few tips on how to improve your tennis game (if you're playing), this book, written by the former tennis player and instructor Timothy Gallwey, is far from being a sports tips manual.

It has been recommended to me within a coaching process and while I cannot say it convinced me to take on tennis, it opened up the window about the inner conversations one has with their own critical self. Author of a series of books with the title "the inner game", Gallwey uses the tennis example to illustrate the internal dialogues between Self 1 and Self 2, the critical observer and the doer. His key message is about letting things happen and get interested in the process, rather than yourself and the outcome.

"The key word is let. You trust in your competence of your body and its brain and you let it swing the racket. Self 1 stays out of it."

4. The Forty Rules of Love, by Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak is a well known Turkish-British author, who has written 19 books (out of which 12 novels). Her work on advocating for women's rights, LGBTQI+ rights and freedom of expression is inspiring. Moreover, The Forty Rules of Love was chosen by BBC as the top 100 novels that shaped our world.

This captivating narrative follows a parallel story that happens nowadays between a Ella, a displaced wife revising her sense of purpose and Aziz, a book author and the story he's written about the beautiful friendship between Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. Besides of the amazing 40 rules, that I warn you you would want to copy and post on your house walls, the whole story is so beautifully written that it feels like every paragraph is a key life message in itself.

"A life without love is of no account. Don't ask yourself what kind of love you should seek, spiritual or material, divine or mundane, Eastern or Western... divisions only lead to more divisions. Love has no labels, no definitions. It is what it is, pure and simple"

5. Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi

While I am not always aligned with some of Ferrazzi's views, I do believe the book has some important messages to offer. Firstly, I am really allergic to empty networking. I do not do it (don't even know how to) and immediately sense it when I am approached for the sole purpose of reaching a temporary goal for another person.

What the book offers is a set of tools on how to create meaningful and long lasting connections that are based on shared values and might result in mutual help, but the purpose is not that to begin with. It is written in the typical confident style of "just push and you can do it" books, so you might need to adjust the approach to what is comfortable and courageous for your style, but nevertheless it can be useful in nowadays times, business or personal environment.

6. The Dance of Anger, by Harriet Lerner, Phd

Do you feel that you tend to accommodate other's needs at work or home, saying yes to many times but then being angry that you lost your stand again? Or maybe you want to voice your needs but it comes out as irrational, resentful and not structured, outcome being worse? Then this book is for you.

With a very skillful approach that almost seems so easy to understand by the simplicity of the examples and case studies, Harriet Lerner really manages to transmit what it means to deal with anger, especially for women and how to turn this into positive interactions that are focused on own needs and growth, rather than changing others.

" Anger is a tool for change when it challenges us to become more an expert on the self and less of an expert on others"

7. Liberati della brava bambina (free yourself from the good girl), by Maura Gancitano and Andrea Colamedici

Another book I hope will be translated into English. Maura and Andrea are the founders of Tlon , philosophy school, publishing house and book store, organizing various events, very active on social in driving forward topics that are so necessary today.

Liberati della brava bambina uses 8 stories that go from myth to current day film, which follow Hera, Medea, Daenerys, Morgana, Maleficent, Offred, Helen and Dinah in their experiences as women, while asking the key questions which can help the reader understand their form of "rebellion" and how to turn they key of compliance into a key to unlock the door of freedom and progress.

8. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Literary activist for inclusion, Bernardine is an Anglo-Nigerian author of 7 books of fiction. By the weavings of the stories of 12 different women, whose lives are deeply intricated, the writer shares her powerful messages about identity and displacement, about African diaspora, being LGBTQI+ and succeeding in worlds built for different models.

The stories of Amma, Yaz, Dominique, Carole, Bummi, LaTisha, Shirley, Winsome, Penelope, Megan/Morgan, Hattie and Grace unfold one after one each with unique and vibrant details, that are both beautiful as narrative, but also deeply educational. I truly hope this will become mandatory literature soon enough.

9. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

Since a while now I started to be actively focused on inclusion and women progress. It's been a road filled with meaning and growth, but also it had caused me troubles and alienation from connections, being called a radical, not radical enough and so on, but that really does not matter.

The point I wanted to make is that a recurrent theme in many conversation I have had about inclusion and equity was regarding the validity of opinions and facts. I felt like for any argument at play I had to be prepared with a suitcase full of studies and data, while my intention was not to convince anyone in the first place. However, in many cases, having these inputs can make a difference in the life of people, be those employees, citizens, community members, family and friends.

What Caroline Criado Perez has put together is a true Bible of statistics and ultra-relevant information, exposing data bias and in some cases exclusion by design, which I find can serve anyone to have a better grasp about the world in general. For any DEI professional, is a key read.

10. How to do Nothing, by Jenny Odell

Since COVID-19 hit, working from home was both a blessing and a curse for me. I noticed I enjoy being out of planes for a change, not having to wake up at 3 am for early morning meetings in another country and I had time to enjoy my morning coffee and yoga practice undisturbed for a change. In the same time, the days become very compacted. What was an event for which we would dedicate a specific day, now turned to back to back sessions that spread throughout the days. Always on, always active. Things have changed, but not changed in the same time. Before each larger break, I had this internal question "should I leave all this and move to Bali?" which the holiday mostly helped to solve, hence I am still here :)

Thanks to Barack Obama (ps: his 2021 summer reading list is out on Instagram), whose book recommendations I follow sometimes, I came across this book about resisting the attention economy. Jenny Odell in her unique and research focused style, puts into balance a various set of concepts that have been previously tested, such as for instance the communes, building a sustainable living or escaping from society altogether.

"To pay attention to one thing is to resist paying attention to other things; it means constantly denying and thwarting provocations outside the sphere of one's attention"

I hope you will find inspiration in any of the books shared, please feel free to share yours and enjoy the summer!

And again, if you're interested in people, inclusion, technology and how to build differentiating value propositions, let's connect.