I snuck in a few selections along with those I read for book club* and hoping to keep the streak going for 2026. And of course I do listen to a decent amount of nonfiction stuff whilst getting my steps in, usually a mix of coaching stuff, business stuff, and various skill stuff.

• The Last Nude by Ellis Avery* – A historical novel inspired by the real-life friendship between artist Tamara de Lempicka and her model. Art, obsession, ambition, and the complicated cost of being someone’s muse in pre-war Paris. There was a de Lempicka exhibit locally so fun to do that and discuss the book, enjoyed but had some issues with the balance of chunks of it.
• North Woods by Daniel Mason* – A novel that spans centuries, all anchored to a single piece of land. A meditation on place, time, memory, and the way human lives leave traces long after they are gone.
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar* – A debut that tackles grief, faith, addiction, identity, and meaning with humor and emotional depth. Big questions, sharp writing, and a narrator who feels vividly alive. Generally well liked with some quibbles.
• James by Percival Everett – A reimagining of Huckleberry Finn told from Jim’s perspective. Smart, biting, and deeply intentional, this novel interrogates power, language, freedom, and whose stories get centered. A few of the book clubbers got this book when seeing him speak after we had read Dr. No, and enjoyed this alt take on Huck Finn (which maybe I read in high school but maybe not).
• Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange* – An intergenerational novel exploring Native identity, trauma, resilience, and survival. It moves between past and present, carrying the weight of history while staying firmly rooted in the now. Probably enjoyed There There a bit more but still a good read.
• All Fours by Miranda July – Strange, funny, and intentionally uncomfortable. A novel about desire, reinvention, and what happens when you disrupt your own life in unexpected and deeply human ways. Another one where some book clubbers went to hear her speak after having read The First Bad Man, I feel like this one took off in the ethos, definitely interesting.
• Good Material by Dolly Alderton* – A breakup novel told from the man’s perspective, complete with self-justification, blind spots, and emotional messiness. A sharp look at modern relationships and storytelling. Others enjoyed this sad sack more than I did but a decent ‘beach read.’
• The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector* – Short, philosophical, and quietly devastating. A novel about invisibility, poverty, authorship, and what it means to be seen. This was weirdly quoted in our last two book club reads, we appreciated more than enjoyed but a short read.
• Deacon King Kong by James McBride – A community-centered story set in 1960s Brooklyn, full of humor, heart, and interconnected lives. A warm novel that still grapples with serious themes of faith, race, and redemption. We’ve done a couple of his in book club, so folks did as a side read, and a very good one.
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt* – A hopeful, emotionally grounded novel about grief, connection, and unexpected friendships, including one very perceptive octopus. This also felt like it was in the ethose, some quibbles but a charming ‘summer read.’
• The Serial Killer’s Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard – True crime meets travel guide, exploring San Francisco’s darker history and the unsettling stories tied to familiar places. I enjoy a quick little mystery and the local setting helped this otherwise average read.
• Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk* – A philosophical eco-mystery narrated by an eccentric, opinionated woman. Darkly funny, political, and delightfully strange. A friend had recco’d this again and again so we finally picked it, fun story and characters.
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – A novel about friendship, creativity, ambition, and the long arc of a relationship over decades. Video games are the backdrop, but human connection is the heart. Another that others had already read I really enjoyed the relationships and passage of time, minor quibbles.
• Colored Television by Danzy Senna* – A sharp, satirical look at race, class, ambition, and identity through the lens of Hollywood and creative success. Smart, uncomfortable, and very aware of its own commentary. I appreciated this but didn’t love the ambling toward trouble.
• Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips* – A quiet, haunting post–Civil War novel about trauma, memory, and the long process of recovery after violence. I picked this one because I like to do the Pulitzers but this story wasn’t a fave.
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett – A reflective, tender novel about love, youth, memory, and the stories parents tell their children about who they once were. I love me some Patchett, and others had already read this, a gem.
• You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue* – A surreal and inventive imagining of the meeting between Cortés and Moctezuma. Playful, political, and historically untethered in compelling ways. I just could not get into this, usually I can start to track but the language and characters but this felt like a chore (there were some good moments), not all agreed with me.
• Tuff by Paul Beatty* – A satirical, provocative novel skewering politics, race, power, and absurdity with Beatty’s signature sharpness. Not subtle and not trying to be. We’d read and liked The Sellout by Beatty, this one was well liked though discussion as to whether the following the character allowed for as strong of a story.

Nonfiction

• Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman – The idea that we only have so much time so want to be thoughtful about where we’re spending our time.
• How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Kary Milkman – This overlaps a big with some of the habits books, but liked her take on our real goal, which is change, and the science-backed studies for us to get there.
• Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek – I so far always love his writing and use of concrete examples, which runs very much in line with the work I do around Clarity.
• The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance: What Women Should Know by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman – A great science-backed perspective on issues around confidence and how to get it.
• How to do the Work: Recognize Your Patters, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Dr. Nicole LePera – A more psychological approach focusing on holistic psychology, interesting perspectives, and experience.
• The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhou – I appreciated this insight from an early Facebook employee and her lessons a little more focused on a fast-growing company/role but still lots of great insights.
• The CHAOS Cure: Clean Your House and Calm Your Soul in 15 Minutes by Marla Cilley – I didn’t love this insight into cleaning things out, I wasn’t sure it got the issue and sort of did some hey buy my product though the overall approach of progress over perfection always lands.
• Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman – Definitely dug this approach to leaders can make all the difference in how productive (and engaged, happy, etc.) their team is.
• Nonviolent Communications: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values by Marshall Rosenberg – This is one of the communication cornerstone books (along with Crucial Conversations) and appreciated many of the merits of what’s a bit of a unique take on communication.
• Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust by Adam Kahane – Told by a true collaboration expert, although less instructional than maybe I would have thought the examples and insights were impactful.
• Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy: How to Be Creative, Show Your Work, and Keep Going by Austin Kleon – A helpful source for anyone who wants to lean more into their creativity, maybe better referenced in hard copy than audiobook.
• Let’s Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower by Therese Huston – A great resource not only for those difficult conversations but for the missed opportunities you might not be thinking about.
• The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – I got a lot more out of this book than I was expecting, and while the focus wasn’t completely on workplace situations there were enough direct examples of that to start to understand the possible impact.
• The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen – A classic on why successful companies fail by clinging to what made them successful. Still painfully relevant and a sharp reminder that doing everything “right” can still hold you back.
• Hyper-Efficient by Mithu Storoni – A neuroscience-based take on productivity and energy. Some interesting ideas, don’t let the title scare you, it’s mostly about understanding the way the brain works, what tasks are best for various levels and where we have some control.
• Empathy Works by Sophie Wade– A grounded look at empathy as a real leadership skill, not a personality trait. Strong alignment with the relationship gaps I see leaders struggle with most but to be honest while I love me some empathy the scenarios didn’t always hit, maybe it was too much pandemic focus for me.
• Transitions by William Bridges – This one is a classic, it focuses on the internal experience of some changes that make them transitions, not just the external event. A consistently useful lens for reorgs, new roles, and identity shifts at work.
• The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler – A nuanced, compassionate take on perfectionism that doesn’t default to “just let it go.” Especially relevant for high performers who are exhausted but still over functioning, I loved her perspective and lens of being an adaptive perfectionist vs maladaptive. I immediately recommended this to a few folks.
• Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon – Short, powerful, and thought-provoking. A personal perspective that translates into challenging assumptions as to how we treat gender.
• Stop Letting Everything Affect You by Daniel Chidiac – A blunt take on emotional boundaries and choosing what deserves your energy. There were a lot of science backed really specific takes to try here, I want to listen again or maybe buy a hard copy.
• The No Asshole Rule by Robert I. Sutton – A clear case for why tolerating bad behavior is bad for people and business. Still incredibly relevant if you’ve ever seen “brilliant but difficult” get a free pass.

Book club has again kept me pretty busy, those read through that noted with an*. And while I got some nonfiction listening during my walks this year’s goal is to get a little more between book club reading in. That would of course be easier if we keep our page count down. The fave books of book club were Father of the Rain, The Bee Sting, and Demon Copperhead. I’d love to hear any faves you have to add to our list. Stay tuned for best tv and movies which just needs a little catch-up time.

• *Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam – Overall I enjoyed this limited POV description though still not totally onboard for topics focusing on kind of the destruction of the world (as we know it), also appreciated the movie’s slightly different but representative take.
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – A friend loaned me her copy when she heard I hadn’t done this when it was all the rage, I mean not all that deep but I get it, never did catch the movie which got meh reviews.
• *Afterlife by Julia Alvarez – I enjoyed this story of a woman’s love and loss in the immigration story.
• The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem – I always enjoy a Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn, The Fortress of Solitude, Brooklyn Crime Novel, Dissident Gardens) but this post-apocalyptic (again) take a little bit odd.
• *Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng – I also always enjoy an Ng (Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere) and thought this alt-reality and family story was really touching and engaging.
• *Dr No by Percival Everett – We all got on board after loving American Fiction (the movie based on a book by this author) and found this a fun ride but a super odd take on a kind of bond villain + math.
• *Father of the Rain by Lily King – Becoming an always love a Lily King (Writers & Loveer, Euphoria), and this one was definitely a pull-you-in story of a woman and her strained relationship with her father.
• *Silver Nitrate Sylvia by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I honestly didn’t finish this one, I had a hectic month but I just wasn’t that into it and book club didn’t persuade me to finish, didn’t feel like it held together.
• *Murder Your Employer: McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes – We liked the idea of this school for murder better than the execution (pun intended).
• *The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst – I was actually enjoying this but the month got away from me and while I intended to get back to it, book schedules have yet to allow, I did catch the BBC miniseries which was a fun, now dated take.
• *Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson – I have been enjoying the Kevin Wilson (Nothing to See Here, The Family Fang) and thought this was a fun take on a weird moment for a town and a girl.
• *The Bee Sting by Paul Murray – We all enjoyed Skippy Dies so we went back to the well and this one was really well done but honestly kind of a bummer which I think put some off.
• *Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver – We almost didn’t do this one due to Kingsolver baggage (The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, Prodigal Summer) but this turned out to be a fave though I could have done with a few edits.
• *The Fraud by Zadie Smith – Another repeat author (White Teeth, Swing Time, On Beauty, NW) and I didn’t love this take on a few lives through the lens of those related to famous authors of 1800s England.

Nonfiction

• Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty – I’d been familiar with Shetty through various touchpoints but hadn’t sat down to read this, it does a nice job of tying the principals together with actionable tips on how to apply, it’s not unfamiliar to Buddhist and other principles.
• Deep Work by Cal Newport – He also wrote Digital Minimalism which I liked, extolling the virtues of deep work with some tips on how to relearn how to have focus, one of the keys to being more effective with your time, would read again.
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg – This had been on my shelf for ages, as a big fan of habits I really liked this, a very different structure than Atomic Habits but appreciated the case study approach to individual, organization, and society, would read again.
• Brag Better by Meredith Fineman – A great story of why it’s so important to learn to brag better and some very specific examples of how to do it, would read again.
• We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers – I’d been familiar with her but picked this up as a recco from my biz coach, a great moral and tactical agenda, a little more skewed to entrepreneurial options but still relevant to all.
• How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis – This was definitely targeted to people who are in fact drowning, I think permission to know that your worth is not your tidiness and systems for supporting you to ease in, I appreciate a system.
• Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger – This was a really good look at the science of influence, things that influence you to do something or not to do something, there’s a lot of interesting nuance but a helpful awareness, would read it again.
• Self Compassion by Kristin Neff – This was one of those books that kept getting recommended in other books, she did a lovely job of talking about merits and how to do it as well as differences compared to self-esteem, would read it again.
• Insecure in Love by Leslie Becker Phelps – A recommendation that wasn’t totally my jam, lots of info on romantic relationships, and the attachment styles may have been a little challenging to follow in the audio versions, though some strategies to deal with regardless of style.
• The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy – I generally appreciated this framing of shifting perspective to what you’ve accomplished instead of where you have yet to go, interesting strategy regarding goals.
• Give and Take by Adam Grant – I loved this science-backed perspective on giving with some amazing case studies about how giving is so a great takeaway in every chapter.
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stake are High by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, and Switzler—I almost finished this years ago but finally went back to read this in full and then discussed it again in my coaches’ book club and loved the techniques, I’ll reread this and continue to share with clients for communication.
• The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein—This was recommended by someone in a book or otherwise. It was a little more on the woo side, and while I liked some of the principles, I didn’t love it.
• Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself by Mike Michalowcz—This had some interesting ideas more focused on running your own business and overlaps with some of the ideas I discuss with my clients about really finding what is most important for you to be doing.
• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein—I have always considered myself a generalist and so I took some special appreciation about how valuable those skills are with examples and a little science to back it up, enjoyable read.
• 10x is greater than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan—I’ve read The Gap and the Gain by these authors and this along with Who Not How are often recommended, in fact my business incubator group has a weekly book club discussing these theories in our business, what I most appreciate is the idea to step away from fine-tuning and look at what totally different (and perhaps greater) approaches could be.
• Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs by John Doerr—I’ve worked in a lot of organizations that use a variety of metrics for success and finally reading this detail on OKRs was helpful to ground through this approach, the anecdotal chapters show why and the appendix gives a little more detail on how – are you clear on what you’re measuring and how?
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande—Someone mentioned this, I think, in relation to Range, and so I added it to the list. I use checklists as a great example of how to easily “Digitize” in my 6Ds framework, but these examples really drive the approach home.
• Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg—I didn’t read this when it was first all the rage and then avoided it when all the backlash hit, and there were definitely some valuable insights within this while also being flawed in its approach from a place of privilege among other things.
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-ass Boss without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott—Communication is one of the key areas I work with clients and teams on so this approach was really illuminating, I might take a few of the techniques with a grain of salt but appreciate the take.
• Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace and More by Joe Vitale and Ihaleakala Hew Len—A friend said they found this approach really impactful and I was intrigued but felt like the approach of the book was limiting in that I felt like it set up the need to attend a workshop to really try out that might have shifted some of the ideas that didn’t totally resonate.
• The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michae D. Watkins—This was another book I started ages ago and have read parts of, I found it much more insightful than I initially thought dealing with some great questions and approaches, particularly for those entering at leadership roles, it would be impactful throughout your career and at any transition.
• Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by Susan Bridges and William Bridges—This was another book club book pick except they picked Transitions by the same author which was apparently more specifically about the qualities of transitions while Managing was for me a great pick in that it focused more on how to manage more organizational transitions, a great evaluation of phases with lots of great criteria to evaluate how to make the most successful.

I usually read at least a book a month with book club (*picks) so my goal with books is always to read more than what I’m reading there. This year I also started doing more targeted walking which brought out audio books. It turns out that works better for me with nonfiction than fiction so I jammed through a few more than normal. It’s fun to read stuff that applies to my work world and might recommend to clients. And it’s inspiring me to get back out to my walking. Since the books I read are rarely current (paperbacks for the win) this is my current fave list of what was really out in 2023.

• The Final Girl Support Group* by Grady Hendrix – A fun start to 2023, a look at ‘80s horror through survivors that was a page-turner with some flaws.
• Matrix* by Lauren Groff – A weird but engaging one, I could have used a little more plot but intrigued to watch this woman throughout the life she made herself at an abbey.
• Cloud Cuckoo Land* by Anthony Doerr – A tale told from disparate stories was initially a little hard to connect with but thought it pulled it off quite well.
• The Overstory by Richard Powers – This was a solo read (others in book club had read it) and also a connection of disparate stories from multiple points of trees, I thought the writing and characters were great and again pulled it off.
• The Memory Police* by Yoko Ogawa – A lot of small quibbles but overall I was kind of caught up in this surreal look at a small village and what happens when most people lose kinds of memories and their relation to those who didn’t.
• Luster by Raven Leilani – While I enjoyed the characters and their entanglements as a single woman starts seeing a man in an open marriage I was never totally feeling it.
• Children’s Bible* by Lydia Millet – A group of families vacation together and we follow along with the children as things take an apocalyptic turn and they must find their way, surprisingly very fun and allegorical.
• Down the River Unto the Sea* by Walter Mosley – We were looking for a good mystery by a person of color after hating All Her Little Secrets last year, and read a positive review about the second in this relatively new series, while some of the elements are a little tropeish for a detective novel it was engaging and had good potential for development.
• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – This was a book club pick from last year that I missed, they probably liked it more than I did, a decent fun fantasy but also raised my disdain for the first in a trilogy that doesn’t feel like it wraps things up, I won’t do the next.
• Trust* by Hernan Diaz – The structure of this with different perspectives to the same people/period was really interesting but the book itself didn’t necessarily draw me in so much.
• Our Country Friends* by Gary Shteyngart – I haven’t loved Shteyngart and this was similar in that it focused on really annoying people who could at times be amusing, and I’m still not totally vibing with pandemic-setting focused books.
• The Committed* by Viet Thanh Nguyen – Book club loved The Sympathizer and thought this follow-up really worked, it’s a little dense at times but following this narrator is quite the ride.
• Sea of Tranquility* by Emily St John Madel – Big fan of Emily, really enjoyed this time travel tale and appreciated the nods to previous works without a dependency.
• The Marriage Portrait* by Maggie O’Farrell – A fictionalized take on a historical story, I appreciated it but was a little bored with this.
• Buddha in the Attic* by Julie Otsuka – A really interesting stylistic and somewhat poetic choice to tell the story of the time between US arrival and Japanese internment, intrigued but glad it was a little short.

Nonfiction

• Promotions Made Easy by Stacy Mayer – Knowing that you want to take control over the steps toward a promotion she lays out steps to take, most of which resonated.
• Smile When They Call You Sleazy by Mary Cravets – I took a course with Mary and appreciate her approach to creating a successful business, this really felt like a collection of short lessons, very quick.
• The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Imposter Syndrom and How to Thrive in Spite of It by Valerie Young – I thought she was very thorough in her analysis of imposter syndrome and very relatable, some tips as well though I think I’ll need to reread this again.
• The Science of Stuck by Britt Frank – Lots of reasons why we’re stuck and some examples and exercises of how to break that pattern, probably also worth a reread.
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patric Lencioni – A good relatively short scenario where a new CEO works through dysfunctions with the team she inherits, it was nice to see the very specific examples and applications.
• The Power of Regret by Daniel Pink – A pretty engaging look at regret with lots of science behind it and the ways that we can use it positively to understand and change moving forward.
• The Joy Diet by Marth Beck – This was a little challenging to read/listen to without kind of practicing each step and while each of the elements make sense I think it might need a little more focused attention to put into practice.
• Hyper Focus by Chris Bailey – I have enjoyed one of his other books, The Productivity Project, and this was a great insight into really how bad our multitasking and distracted attention is and some tips on both getting into the zone, as well as scatter focusing.
• Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport – A good complement to the above, I appreciated all the science and realistic look at what tools are working for us and when they aren’t how to scale back, and how to focus on conversations and doing things.
• Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin – I follow Rubin more around her habits and things but a brief but good reminder about some tips and things to keep in mind for clearing of things.
• 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam – I’ve followed Vanderkam for some time with her time tracking, the book talked about time tracking but also the real work about deciding what’s important to you to decide where to spend your time.
• Boundaries by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend – I actually only started this but it was a little too over the top with Christian biblical content.
• Your Brain at Work by Dr David Rock – This was a fun scenario-based book where we go through the science of the thing and what might be a natural inclination and what is a better approach.
• Your Brain is Always Listening by Daniel G Amen, MD – This wasn’t my fave, a lot of talk about ‘dragons’ similar to gremlins and saboteurs but then felt like a more abstract concept and then dips into brain science and addiction which felt like a couple different books.
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – I had never read this and always kind of meant to, you get a look more into what a character she is, and while I appreciate the gist of things sparking joy and finding a place for everything, maybe a little too particular for me.
• Set Boundaries Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab – A less religious slant on boundaries, she went through various kinds of boundaries with exercises though I’m still searching for perhaps another slant or layer more applicable to professional and personal boundaries.
• Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy – This is one of the concepts that I espouse but another book I’d never actually read, the frog is actually only one of many productivity techniques, a nice collection.
• The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi – I really liked the perspective here about what is the right amount of time and energy to put into things, a little more focused on home/personal but the principles apply regardless.

Would love to hear any books you loved from the last year in the comments.