This holiday season and to kickstart this new year, we have a special series of blog posts, all showcasing the favourite books of some of the Faircado team members and what exactly it is they love about them. So, if you’re looking for a book to put on your reading list, this is the perfect one for you.
“Humankind: A Hopeful History” – Rutger Bregman
Bregman goes through the hundreds of thousands of years of human history – only to prove one point: Humans are kind. He does so by debunking studies of the past or telling lesser-known stories of everyday kindness that sometimes even had historical effects.
Rutger Bregman manages to explain ideas in a way that makes them tangible. Something that most scientists don’t manage because he breaks down the most complex systems into simple, understandable ideas. I can’t imagine a single person who has talked to me over the past year that hasn’t received this book as a recommendation. Or at least an anecdote or learning I took from it. As a co-founder of a Startup that works for the Circular Economy, I inherently believe that people want to do the right thing, and this book was a welcomed change to the all-too-common narrative that people are bad and evil is everywhere. It shows that there is kindness in us, these are just the stories that often don’t get told. Really empowering!
“Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” – Georg McKeown
Being self-employed isn’t always easy; co-founding a company is even less. Sometimes, you just need an external reminder that it’s okay not to do it all and refocus on what really matters – and this book was exactly that. It’s not one of those books that tells you how you can achieve more by packing even more tasks into your already cramped to-do list and calendar but instead makes you reflect on what is essential to get done and what is okay to remain undone. This recommendation is for anyone who feels overwhelmed with their work or simply wants to gain more control over their agendas and to-do lists.
“Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” – Chip & Dan Heath
Behavioural change is complex. You rationally know that going for a run is going to help you improve your overall health and make you feel better, but when the time comes, and you have to face the cold, dark Berlin in January, change is hard. At least I’m the person who then contemplates turning around in bed to get another 30 minutes of sleep instead. This is exactly the conflict that all too often hinders change in our lives. Despite behavioural change being an utterly complex scientific topic, Chip and Dan Heath manage to break it down into small, digestible pieces. They show easily trackable steps and a pathway to incorporating them into your personal life. The analogies they include are not just easy to understand but, way more importantly, when it comes to changing behaviour in the long run, easy to remember.
“The Century Trilogy” – Ken Follett
If you like historical fiction, this one will be right up your alley. Set in the first decades of the 20th century, you follow along the daily lives of 5 different families. All are somehow connected and still living in their realities. By showing the historical events through the eyes of the families we follow, it’s easy to empathise with different sides, and the characters are so well-written that one wants to follow them along their journey. I can imagine that for some people, the length of this book might be offputting at first, but let me tell you, this was one of the quickest reads this year. Mainly because the plot moves so fast, you don’t even realise how much you’re reading because you’re so entrenched in the book.
“Changer l’eau des fleurs” – Valérie Perrin
The main character of this story is a cemetery guard in a small French town. She encounters many strangers and invites them in for coffee and to listen to their stories while serving them coffee. This book is great at diving into the complexity of feelings, full of sensitivity and I promise you won’t be able to put it down once you start reading it. Plus, there’s always something special about reading a book in your mother tongue.
Our team members get their books through Faircado because it is the easiest, cheapest, and most sustainable way to shop for secondhand books.
