4 Books We Loved (And Think You Will Too)

Rounded up 4 new and old favorites on our bookshelf to put on your reading list.  

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (Fiction)

Nuanced and thought-provoking book about motherhood, identity, conformity and privilege.

“To a parent, your child wasn’t just a person: your child was a place, a kind of Narnia, a vast eternal place where the present you were living and the past you remembered and the future you longed for all existed at once. You could see it every time you looked at her: layered in her face was the baby she’d been and the child she’d become and the adult she would grow up to be, and you saw them all simultaneously, like a 3-D image. It made your head spin. It was a place you could take refuge, if you knew how to get in. And each time you left it, each time your child passed out of your sight, you feared you might never be able to return to that place again.”

2. The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sumin (Philosophy)

Filled with soothing, simple yet powerful truths that we need to be gently reminded of every now and then. An accessible and practical way to incorporate philosophy in one’s daily routine. Best consumed slowly.

“My dear young friend,
please don’t feel discouraged
just because you are slightly behind.
Life isn’t a hundred-meter race against your friends, but a lifelong marathon against yourself... We long for deep connection and unconditional acceptance. We have the same insecurities and need for approval. There is no reason to feel inferior.”

3. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Personal Transformation)

Provides clear and actionable insights on how to develop productive habits and break negative patterns by focusing on making incremental improvements that ultimately make a big difference.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

4. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (Non-fiction)

What it means to live and die well, and to have some agency in the last of life’s moments. Explores valuable points about growing old and gives new insights about caring for our elderly loved ones. Encourages us to initiate the uncomfortable but hugely important conversations that surround our mortality.

“Medical professionals concentrate on repair of health, not sustenance of the soul. Yet—and this is the painful paradox—we have decided that they should be the ones who largely define how we live in our waning days... But whatever happens, we want to retain the freedom to shape our lives in ways consistent with our character and loyalties... The battle of being mortal is the battle to maintain the integrity of one’s life—to avoid becoming so diminished or dissipated or subjugated that who you are becomes disconnected from who you were or who you want to be.”

Have you read any of the books on this list? What other books have you been reading lately? 

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