The Reading List
This season’s books are a balm to anxious minds, offering reflective guidance and a spiritual awakening for those looking for a new path
Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
Thich Nhat Hanh
This new book from the Buddhist monk and spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh is a balm in these unsettled times. In a world where many of us feel powerless and uncertain about how to live our lives – or how to make a difference – this book provides understanding and guidance. Filled with powerful examples of action, inspiring Buddhist parables and daily meditations, this powerful spiritual guide opens us to the possibilities of change and collective awakening.
Finding the Heart Sutra: Guided by a Magician, an Art Collector and Buddhist Sages from Tibet to Japan
Alex Kerr
Powerful, mystical and concise, the Heart Sutra is believed to contain the essence of all Buddhist wisdom. Travelling from Japan, Korea, and China, to India, Mongolia, Tibet and Vietnam, author Alex Kerr has been on a quest for the secrets of the Heart Sutra. In this short but intense philosophical work he brings together Buddhist teaching, talks with friends and mentors, and acute cultural insights. An eye-opening read.
Matrix
Lauren Groff
A paean to feminism, this intriguing, multi-layered book is set in the Middle Ages and follows the story of French noblewoman Marie. Described as ‘large, ungainly and difficult’ Marie is considered too wild for the French court and is subsequently banished and sent to an impoverished abbey in England where her talent and ambition see Marie transform the abbey and the fate of its nuns, turning it into one of the great religious houses in England. A provocative piece of historical fiction that serves to remind us of how far women have come.
The Man who Mistook his Job for his Life
Naomi Shragai
A thought-provoking work by business psychotherapist Naomi Shragai, who suggests that our work relationships are often a reenactment of our childhood ones. Whether it’s confusing an authority figure with a parent, avoiding conflict because of past squabbles with siblings, or suffering from imposter syndrome because of the way your family responded to success, we are all trapped in the patterns of behaviour we learned while growing up. Based on thirty years of expertise, Shragai will show you that what is holding you back is within your gift to change.
How to Live Your Best Life
Maria Hatzistefanis
Having spent 20 years building her own company (described by the press as ‘an overnight success’), CEO of Rodial Maria Hatzistefanis shares her hard-won advice on how to motivate yourself and harness your drive and energy in order to achieve your goals. With clear guidance, tips and celebrity stories throughout, Maria sums up her business secrets with three golden rules: set your goals; plot your trajectory; make it happen! Wise words from someone who’s been there.
Fierce Love
Jacqui Lewis
Another healing book for divisive times, this beautiful volume is full of spiritual wisdom, storytelling and essential daily practices written by the first female, black senior minister at the Collegiate Churches of New York. Looking at all of the many spaces where there is now an ‘us’ and a ‘them’ – from race and ethnicity to religion and political party – Dr Lewis argues that we have been placed into unhelpful and simplistic categories that are eroding our capacity for empathy, and shows us how we can mend our innate human connection.
Woman Made
Phaidon
A glorious visual celebration of the most incredible and impactful design ever produced by female designers. Featuring more than 200 designers from more than 50 countries, this comprehensive tome records and illuminates the fascinating and overlooked history of women preeminent in the field. From Ray Eames to Nathalie du Pasquier, these pages offer a spotlight to some of the most extraordinary objects and highlight the creative talent of women all over the world.
