In my spare time, I teach mindfulness meditation. I tell groups of high-performing humans to just stop... and breathe. There's probably more to it than that, but you get the gist. Earlier this summer, Moment asked me to curate a list of "100 Books of Summer." Well, here you go...
Non-fiction favourites (human collaboration happened to make this list real) :
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the 14th Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less and Achieve More Than You’ve Ever Imagined by Scott Sonenshein
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
Make Your Bed: Little Things that Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World by William H. McRaven
The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen
The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream by Courtney E. Martin
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality without Religion by Sam Harris
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr
The Religion of Tomorrow: A Vision for the Future of the Great Traditions - More Inclusive, More Comprehensive, More Complete by Ken Wilber
The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984 by Riad Sattouf
Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Livingby Krista Tippett
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
Originals by Adam Grant
Give and Take by Adam Grant
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life by Susan David
Habit Stacking: 127 Small Changes to Improve Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness by S.J. Scott
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age by Archie Brown
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success is (Mostly) Wrongby Eric Barker
The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South by John T. Edge
How Not To Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger and Gene Stone
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Young
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts
How to Live: Life of Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell
The Divine Within by Aldous Huxley
Letters to His Neighbor Marcel Proust translated by Lydia Davis
Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by E.F. Schumacher
How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi and Abraham Berghese
October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Mieville
Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff
Hidden Figures:The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knewby Alan Lightman
Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Soinit
Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver
A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Reality is Not What it Seems: A Journey into Quantum Physicsby Carlo Rovelli
A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design by Frank Wilcez
A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger
Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Brene Brown
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
The Little Book of Gratitude by Robert A. Emmons
The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life that Matters by Emily Esfahani Smith
String Theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis by David Foster Wallace
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Fiction favourites (also, many of these crowdsourced! TY crowd):
Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis
Essays in Love by Alain de Botton
The Course of Love: A Novel by Alain de Botton
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
Homegoing by Yaa Giyasi
The Girls: A Novel by Emma Cline
Dark Matter: A Novel by Blake Crouch
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel by Bryn Greenwood
Bobcat & Other Stories by Rebecca Lee
The Virgin Suicides: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Norwood by Charles Portis
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Trimalchio by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
The Goldfinch: A Novel by Donna Tartt
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Station Eleven: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel
One Plus One: A Novel by Jojo Moyes
The Sneetches and Other Stories :) by Dr. Seuss
The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker
Fever Dream: A Novel by Samanta Schweblin and Megan McDowell
Human Acts: A Novel by Han Kang
Bear Town: A Novel by Fredrik Backman
A Man Called Ove: A Novel by Fredrik Backman
Any Day Now: A Novel by Robin Carr
The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
Happy summer reading. Xo.