It’s time for Creative EDC’s Summer Reading Roundup!

It’s full-on June now and we are easing into summer with more sunlight in the evenings, more colleagues and clients out of the office, and a gentler vibe at work and home. Reading is a big part of the summer at Creative EDC, whether we are listening to audiobooks on public transit or a road trip or dragging a “real life” book through airports and beaches. We know from your comments you enjoy hearing what we are reading, or planning to read, so here is a roundup for Summer of ’24!

Communication is a core competency here at Creative EDC and reading Charles Duhigg’s Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection gave us a lot to think about. Case studies of tense and conflicted situations illustrate how ‘nonverbal’ aspects of a message will influence its outcomes. This is terrific for thinking about communicating with competitors, clients, stakeholders, and family!

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a very practical book explaining the science of habit formation and tips for reinforcing good habits and eliminating bad ones. If you order the book through his site, you can also receive some goodies like a habit tracker, companion reader, and materials on habit applications for business. If you don’t have time for his book – we recommend his weekly newsletter – sign up here: 3 – 2 – 1 Newsletter.

The Friction Project by Robert Sutton includes a lot of the ideas espoused by James Clear. Sutton shows how friction impacts our everyday lives as well as our dearest dreams and most audacious goals. He proposes managing friction to make goals more achievable and to make unwanted outcomes less likely – a very powerful read if you are looking at organizations or your own life and journey.

Each year we select one book as a memento for attendees of our Women’s Economic Development Network conference and this year featured a favorite author, Adam Grant and his newest book: Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things. Grant offers wisdom and practical advice for honing and leveraging your strengths and assets through continuous learning. He prefers designing and offering opportunities rather than just focusing on goals. His point of view may upend what you think about improvement and success.

Building personal relationships is at the heart of David Brooks’ How to Know a Person. He explores the “art of being seen” since being understood and validated is at the heart of connection. He draws on examples from theatre, history, and philosophy to look at how conversation, inquiry, and empathy move toward truly “seeing and being seen.”

Another Brooks (no relation), Arthur C. Brooks, impressed us with his approach to building on success in work and life with From Strength to Strength. His latest book focuses on accepting the gifts and changes of the “second half of your life” with an ever-deepening purpose. We enjoyed thinking not just about personal improvements, but how our skills and persona evolve as our relative position in society, work, and family advances with time.

We are fans of Cal Newport’s books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. He has a new one out, Slow Productivity, which advises looking at quality over multi-tasking quantity for productivity at work. We are also looking forward to next month’s publication date for The Imagination Muscle: Where Good Ideas Come From. We find these non-fiction books energizing and affirming – there is always a new way to look at things or a new skill to tackle.

Of note, the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for biography went to Beverely Gage’s G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century. This biography of a complicated and controversial man is also a study in the roots of the field of public administration and international and domestic policies at times of war and at peace. Hoover’s life is a fascinating lens to view American history, journalism, and government.

We have recommended author Tim Harford’s The Data Detective before and now we have found his new podcast, More or Less, which reviews statistics and data behind the headlines and economic reports. It is published by the BBC and provides an interesting perspective for Americans.

We certainly enjoy fiction and can recommend several high-profile novels from the last year or so – The Women, the latest from Kristin Hannah, is a coming-of-age story set during the turbulence of America in the 1960’s. Table for Two by Amor Towles is a collection of shorter fiction including short stories and a novella set during the golden age of Hollywood. This format shows off his beautiful writing and sharp storytelling style. The 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction was shared by Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead and Hernan Diaz’ Trust. We expect you are familiar with Kingsolver’s retelling of the Dickins story set in Appalachia, and we wish more people would read Trust which has been described as “linked narratives rendered in different styles and exploring love and power where capitalism is king” – Trust us! Read it!

For some fiction with a local flavor, try something by Martin Clark – The Plinko Bounce or The Substitution Order – or S. A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed. Both authors feature southern Virginia settings. We loved David Joy’s Those We Thought We Knew, a hard story in the beauty of the North Carolina Mountains. Travel to the low country of South Carolina with How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix which mixes humor and horror genres – don’t knock it til you tried it! Here are some more recommendations of and in the south: Best Southern Books of January 2024.

We hope these recommendations have sparked some interest and that you find a few reads to explore over the summer. Tell us what you are reading or what you recommend – we are always looking for the next great book!

Further Interesting Reading

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