Reading List for June 2025
The only thing to fear is fear itself.
The best book recommendations don’t come from algorithms, but from a friend who grabs your arm in a bookstore and says, “You have to read this.” It was the case this past month as I toured with one of my best friends to a favourite bookshop in London, Waterstones at Gower Street. I get too excited when I bring someone new to this bookshop because there are over 200,000 titles under one roof. So, I take my time to walk them through the sections, share the books I'm enjoying, and ask what they're reading in return. You can find me randomly there any day of the week. These moments feel almost spiritual to me. I hope you like my list today!
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin - “The only thing to fear is fear itself”, said American president Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Great Depression in the early 30’s, words that proved prophetic. This book masterfully shows the evolution of the President's relationship with European powers during the Second World War, and the challenges rising in America: war production, racism, women entering the workforce, Japanese conditions, post-war plans, the case for the United Nations, among others. A highly recommended read to illustrate the creation of Modern America. I enjoy reading the behind-the-scenes stories of impactful people and gaining insight into their humanity. I also wrote about it here. It also struck me to find Eleanor say “to be nearly sixty and still rebel at uncertainty is ridiculous isn’t it,” to an insomniac Franklin as he secretly confessed the military plans the night before D-Day, the invasion of France to recover from the Nazis. I couldn’t stop myself after reading Leadership in Turbulent Times last month, also by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a perennial work on the ambitions, fears, challenges, and strategies of some great American presidents.
Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up by Patricia Ryan Madson - This book is so well made and easy to read that I finished it on the same day. Steven Pressfield recommended this in The War of Art, one of my favourite books on creativity and losing the fear in ambiguous endeavours. The structure dictates thirteen principles, not only for improvisation but also perspective in our own ideas, from “pay attention” and “make mistakes, please”, to “start anywhere” and “don’t prepare”. As I begin to write publicly, I find it hard to weigh the value I am adding through my writing, especially when only a handful of people are actually reading. But Madson's reference to Anne Frank shifted my perspective: “How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment; we can start now, start slowly changing the world! How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution toward introducing justice straightaway...And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!”.
The Forty Rules of Love: The magical tale of love and self-discovery by Elif Shafak - “You have to read The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, it’s a book about Rumi’s life,” said my friend while touring together in one of my favourite bookshops. I’ve been curious about the legendary poet Rumi and his writings for a while, so I immediately gave it a go; what a book! A masterpiece of metaphors and the meaningful encounter and life of Rumi meeting Shams Tabrizi in the 13th century. Although it fictionalises their historic encounter, the two poets embark together on a journey to discover pure spiritualism through Sufism, a branch of Islam. With it, Elif Shafak points out forty rules that break down feelings, virtues, and acts of goodness through Sufism. I think it's a spiritual and refreshing read to compass from time to time. One of the rules that I enjoyed the most is “If you want to change the ways others treat you, you should first change the way you treat yourself, fully and sincerely, there is no way you can be loved. Once you achieve that stage, however, be thankful for every thorn that others might throw at you. It is a sign that you will soon be showered in roses.” I really enjoyed this book, and it drove me to buy a collection of poems by Rumi that I will start reading slowly from time to time.
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant - A masterful whole-in-one non-fiction piece of book taking place in far-east Russia, a place where “neither political correctness nor eco-speak have penetrated, and patriotism is vigorous and impassioned.” The book tells the real story of the hunt of a tiger that is a man-eater, while the tiger is also hunting other people and causing havoc. An animal that “will see you a hundred times before you see him once.” A creature with astonishing memory, power, size, and survival capability and also in danger of extinction. Vaillant powerfully illustrates the connections between multiple realities, including Russian history within a geopolitical context, China, the black economy, and many of the challenges that people face and how they must adapt to nature’s conditions, or has nature adapted to them? Another book by the same author that I’d recommend is Fire Weather, also an incredible real story of the effects of climate change on a small town in Western Canada.
It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis - Having just explored WWII America, I jumped into this novel, written about the United States becoming a dictatorship in 1935 during the heyday of Fascism in Europe, coincidentally set during Roosevelt's presidency. I find it fascinating that there are patterns throughout history regarding how dictatorial governments behave and the reasoning behind their actions. A deep line of thinking in this book quotes, “Is it just possible that the most vigorous and boldest idealists have been the worst enemies of human progress instead of its greatest creators? Possible that plain men with the humble trait of minding their own business will rank higher in the heavenly hierarchy than all the plumed souls who have shoved their way in among the masses and insisted on saving them?” I think it is necessary to understand the actions, simply because they have been observed across different eras. It is rare to have an exactly similar scenario, but history shows us that rare events shape our world.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on these ideas. The best books you can read come to you through word of mouth, so if you know good titles that relate, please share them! If any of these resonate with you, pass them along.