Looking for something to read on the front stoop? Back deck? On the beach or on the commute?
Look no further than these 22 recommendations. We asked social impact leaders and the Future of Good team what all changemakers should add to their summer reading list, and why. Here’s what they told us:
As a person who loves people, I never thought of things like “disclude people thoughtfully” or “the more the not merrier” when it came to events and gatherings. Recommended to me by Anouk Bertner, managing director of Future of Good, this book provided eye-opening practices on how to provide people, not only the best experiences, but the most purposeful and productive as well — be it a national summit, a team meeting, a formal dinner party or your next backyard barbecue, we often don’t think of gathering people like an art of facilitation. This book shows that it’s more than just getting people together, it’s about putting your guests’ needs first and how to realize what they are before making the experience meaningful; for them and for you. It’s been a long time since I had ‘ah-hah’ moments, and it even offers cool tips on how to host your next unforgettable experience! — Thi Dao, Partnerships and Accounts Manager, Future of Good
If you’re leading a charity and finding yourself lost in the whirlwind of high workloads and scarce resources, the book “It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work” is your must-read this summer. This brilliant book, which has deeply resonated with me this year, provides transformative insights on fostering a #CALM workspace, balancing personal and professional lives, setting attainable goals, enhancing productivity, and guarding your team’s time and attention. Given the unique challenges we face in the non-profit sector, such lessons can be instrumental in attracting dedicated talent, optimizing performance, and cultivating a healthier work culture while impacting the community. Definitely a VERY alternative approach to how to organize a workplace – but transformative. – Dan Kershaw, Executive Director at Furniture Bank
The political class has let the American citizens down; the left and right parties do not work for the average Joe and Jane. The media, the health system, the education system, it’s all crumbling down because politicians serve the interests of the rich and corporate America, says Sanders. Here is how he sums it up “[unfettered capitalism] destroys anything that gets in its way in the pursuit of profits. It destroys the environment. It destroys our democracy. It discards human beings without a second thought. It will never provide workers with the fulfillment Americans have a right to expect from their careers. [And it is] propelled by uncontrollable greed and contempt for human decency.”
His book is both a dreadful recognition of what seems like a dead-end situation and propositions to rebuild an actual representative democracy. And Sanders is living proof of grassroots power; without corporate money or support, this politician got elected and almost grasped the democrat party presidency. And let’s not forget that many of his radical ideas are today part of mainstream conversations, like $15 minimum wage and health care for all. — Diane Bérard, Social Finance Reporter, Future of Good
Following her brilliant book on the attention economy, How to do Nothing, Jenny Odell is now taking on the momentous concept of time. Odell pairs academic and historical research with her own lived experience: both of living alongside the California coastline, and working indoors during the pandemic. In other words, she writes between two very different scales of “time” that are experienced simultaneously, but function and move at vastly different scales.
Odell breaks down how the colonial project and capitalism have informed our understanding of time to be regimented and ordered, making us feel as though we never have enough of it, or aren’t ever using it “well enough.” On the flip side, she demonstrates how Indigenous languages and cultures think more fluidly about time and space, and how that has influenced their relationships to land and ecology.
By writing about the concept of time while at the same time reflecting on her walks through nature, Odell takes the reader through two separate timelines: the mundane everyday, and the geological, spanning over thousands of years. — Sharlene Gandhi, Digital Transformation Reporter, Future of Good
Social change must include the people at the heart of its pursuit. Too often do people leave social change work because of how hard it can be – whether due to underfunding or simply due to the socially accepted narrative that this work should be gut-wrenching and soul-crushing. Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown intentionally, thoughtfully, and powerfully puts the pleasure back into activism – and reminds us that this work can be sustainable. Through meditations on iconic works from authors like Audre Lorde to actual interviews with leading change-makers around the world, I am recommending this read this summer because of its necessary and vulnerable take on the time old reminder that work in pursuit of social good doesn’t need to be devoid of pleasure, joy, and creativity. I hope this book nurtures the smile of the activist in you – and reminds you not only that we will win, but that we have already won so many times. – Tyler Boyce, Executive Director of the Enchanté Network
In this short, accessible book, economist Ha-Joon Chang deftly dismantles the fundamental assumption of contemporary orthodox economics: that capitalism is always beneficial and in no need of correction.
Drawing on his research in developmental economics, Chang highlights how economists have overlooked the structural harms of free market capitalism, particularly in the Global South. He draws repeated connections between extractive colonialism in Africa and Asia and the present-day economic troubles of countries in those continents, suggesting that the Global North has enriched itself at the expense of others.
You don’t need to be a socialist to appreciate this book – Chang himself concludes that capitalism needs to be reformed, not abolished entirely. The robust insights in this book can support a wide range of policy opinions, but ultimately serve a universal truth. There’s a lot we’re not told about capitalism, and not all of it is sunshine and roses. — Tahmeed Shafiq, Community Resilience and Transitions Reporter, Future of Good
I love the idea of sharing book recommendations with the Future of Good community and I will recommend a book that features stories of some of our seniors. We have a vibrant and active group and just before the pandemic we launched a book with 38 stories about seniors and their lives in Canada.
Some were part of a small wave of Caribbean immigrants who arrived in Canada in the late 50s and 60s under the West Indian Domestic Scheme. Others were able to immigrate to Canada when a family member sponsored them. Some came as visitors, stayed, and faced a life in the shadows until they became legal immigrants. Yet no matter how they arrived, all chose to stay in Canada. Here, they survived, thrived, and helped to build the communities they joined.
There are short snippets of why they came here, what they did and how they feel about their adopted home Canada. — Angela Carter, executive director, Roots Community Services Inc.
In this book, Angela Garbes reflects on her own experience of motherhood – and her partner’s of fatherhood – while at the same time contextualizing it in a wider lens of the challenges of childcare today. She makes an argument that mothering and parenthood is essential work, and yet has been some of most historically overlooked and underappreciated work under capitalism.
Care is a central theme in Essential Labour: not only the care that she gives to her two children, but also the care she receives from a community of parents; who is entitled to give and receive care; and whether mothers are cared for and supported enough by the state. Under capitalism, care has been constantly squashed and mangled, and Garbes’ stories of giving and receiving care in these circumstances are joyful to read. — Sharlene Gandhi, Digital Transformation Reporter, Future of Good
Over the past year I’ve been through a lot in my role as a leader. I’ve been wrestling with overwhelm, self-doubt, desire to belong, and wondering if I’m making a difference for all the effort. There have been ups and downs and personal transformation. If there’s one thing I believe in, it’s the power of reflection and relationships.
I was gifted this book last December and it’s taken me until now (on vacation) to read it. The timing was good- although the ideas generally aren’t new to me, put together they were what I needed to learn again now.
A few thoughts that resonated: we can’t change systems without changing the people in them; flow occurs not in the absence of obstacles but because of them (and, it’s a practice); we need to ask what we’re working on that won’t be completed in our lifetime to know we’re actually working on something.
If this intrigues you, I recommend reading! — Annika Voltan, Executive Director of Impact Organizations of Nova Scotia
Strange and Difficult Times written by Nanjala Nyabola is a book that I recently finished this summer that I would suggest. This is a book that I also shared with my eldest son. The book center’s the importance of equity and reminds me of the premise of Dr. Cornell West’s statement many years ago that “justice is love in public.” — Victor Beausoleil, Executive Director of Social Economy Through Social Inclusion
A collection of beautiful short stories that widens your perspective on cultural integration. As a second-generation Vietnamese-Canadian whose parents escaped their country in the mid 1970’s, these stories really hit home for me because they focus on the experiences and inner workings of refugees and immigrants navigating the loss of their home and the difficulties of creating a new one – for themselves and their families. The stories touch on feeling invisible to society and being misunderstood not only by the west but sometimes by your own children (second-generation and beyond), showing beautifully that all they did was their absolute best. They are heartbreakingly beautiful because they show the inner workings of how many are just trying to retain their strength and dignity – something a lot of us don’t see day to day – and the struggles of retaining their cultures, identity and stories through colonial systems, racism, and more.
Reading these experiences was a reminder that everyone has a legacy that they are trying to build or preserve and that a lot of work needs to be done for refugees and immigrants here in Canada. If you are a person of privilege, you should absolutely read these stories to understand the depths of what many BIPOC families go through when coming to Canada – not only trying to make a living but surviving. — Thi Dao, Partnerships and Accounts Manager, Future of Good
The book that has stuck with me the most this year so far is Kate Beaton’s graphic memoir, Ducks, about her time working in the oil sands. The oil sands are such a huge part of our economic life – especially here in Newfoundland and Labrador – but not nearly as much a part of our cultural narratives. If you haven’t spent time in the oil sands, this book helps you grasp not just how it looks, but how it feels. It has a ton of complex things to say about gender and work and this country’s relationship to resource extraction. It’s also just a beautifully drawn piece of work. Images and ideas from it will keep floating to the surface in your mind long after you put the book down. — Joshua Smee, CEO, Food First NL
A lot of people like the idea of wealth taxes. A 2021 poll found a whopping 89 per cent of Canadians support the idea. But we haven’t got one yet, in part, perhaps, because critics have successfully argued they’re unfeasible — too tough to implement, too easy to evade. In this book, Tom Malleson takes on those ideas one at a time, showing how other countries have reduced inequality through taxing wealth, and we could do it too.
Titan of inequality research Thomas Piketty called Malleson’s book a “must read.” I agree! Though social sector folks don’t often talk tax, how we design policy in this realm shapes just about every problem philanthropy tries to solve. Be the geeky star of your summer cocktail party, read this book! — Gabe Oatley, Transforming Funding Models Reporter, Future of Good
This isn’t a new book. It did come to me recently and has shifted my head and heart in a way few books do. bell hooks offers how we can practice love as a verb rather than a noun. hooks explores the meaning of love in this way and shares practices for us to live this with ourselves and with others, including justice, commitment, community and mutuality. hooks wrote the book over two decades ago in response to lovelessness becoming the order of the day. With increasing polarization, loneliness and our current culture being dominated by individualism, this book is as important today as it was then. Working in the social good sector, there are few more wonderful gifts we can gift to ourselves, our team and our community than embracing practicing love in this way. — Nicole Dawe, Executive Director, Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
In this thoughtful novel about Europe’s migrant crisis, Jenny Erpenbeck exposes the many failures of Germany to care for the vulnerable migrants who cross the Mediterranean. We see the crisis through the eyes of a retired academic encountering life beyond the ivory tower for the first time, an analogy for the blindness of the privileged and powerful.
Even as policy gaps and the failure of basic empathy compound, Erpenbeck refuses to infantilize the migrant characters. They are optimistic, jaded, talented, resilient, artistic – fully human subjects.
The daughter of an academic herself, Erpenbeck interjects her observations with a heavy dose of philosophizing. While the novel does stray into navel gazing at times, it’s also a powerful reminder of the abstract ideas that are tied up in our thinking about the migrant crisis. — Tahmeed Shafiq, Community Resilience and Transitions Reporter, Future of Good
I personally love a good essay. So when I saw that there were 16 of them packaged into one book, I knew I had to give it a read. Best Canadian Essays consists of essays selected by editor Mireille Silcoff herself. It has been around for several years but I found this year’s anthology especially compelling. It features a wide variety of writers in Canada whose essays were published in 2021. From family and racial identity, to war, and the Filet-O-Fish sandwich (bet you’re intrigued now, aren’t you?) – each essay offers a personal, vulnerable and courageous insight to these themes. I especially recommend reading Genetic Mapping by Emma Gilchrist and The Sun Is Always In Your Eyes by Kunal Chaudhary. — Ramona Leitao, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Reporter, Future of Good
This is one of my favorite reads and one that aligns with my work. Why? It shows the market potential of untapped geographies, communities, and markets and how there is a strong business case to create products and services for them. It also talks about treating these communities and markets as consumers not beneficiaries, including designing for the customer’s experience and creating a product that resonates. — Mritunjay (MJ) Sinha, self-employed impact investment and responsible investment consultant
My summer reading list includes this book from Jody Carrington, a clinical psychologist from Alberta with a great sense of humour about life and its challenges, and an ability to make people feel good and feel seen. The book talks about the events of the world that have led to a society that is more connected than ever before through technology, yet less connected than ever before when it comes to relationships. The author provides some concrete tips to rebuild the connections we have lost. – Karen Milligan, Executive Director at 211 Ontario
I finished reading this book a few weeks ago and it was rad. For anyone working towards equity or systems change, this book weaves embodiment with activism in a way that makes so much sense. It illuminates the invisible inner turmoil that leads to burnout and costs us all. It is a refreshing integration of our whole selves, in connection with our bodies and each other, towards authentic healing and joyful sustained change required to navigate the turbulent transition we are all facing. — Kim Hardy, Co-Lead Right Relations Collaborative and Pacific Partnerships Lead at MakeWay
Set in the near future, this novel tells the story of a handful of characters grappling with a worsening climate crisis and trying in their own ways to stop it. Mary Murphy, head of the multilateral Ministry for the Future, tries to convince central bankers to make currency changes to account for climate-related market instability. A group of people, dubbed the “Children of Kali” engage in eco terrorism, crashing planes to try to curb passenger travel. Frank May, an American aid worker struggles with his mental health after witnessing scores of people die during a heatwave in India.
Bill McKibben approved, calling it “anti-dystopian.” Former President Barack Obama named it one of his favourite books of 2020. I liked it too. The climate crisis is terrifying and Kim Stanley Robinson gives a sense of how things could play out — the good, the bad, and lots in between. — Gabe Oatley, Transforming Funding Models Reporter, Future of Good
Dr. Maté has been supportive of the international work of the Humanitarian Coalition, which is part of why I was drawn to his work. His own experience and research underscores the importance of providing psycho-social care to families traumatized by human or natural disasters. But it’s also a reminder that the “normalized” treadmill pace of humanitarian response in a context of increasing climate extremes and growing conflict must also be carefully examined. — Richard Morgan, Executive Director, Humanitarian Coalition
Following multiple academic field trips to occupied Palestine, Kelly writes an expert narrative of a tourism industry functioning under colonialism. She doesn’t rush to state whether tourists coming to witness the atrocities in occupied Palestine is objectively a good or bad thing – in doing so, she encourages the reader to consider taking a more nuanced approach.
Through the book, and Kelly’s accounts of engaging with “tourism” in Palestine, we see how tourism has become a means by which Palestinians are able to communicate and raise awareness of the situation they are subjected to. We also see how simple it is for tourists – particularly from the West – to “witness”, without consequence. We see a deep relationship between land grabbing, history, agriculture and tourism as well. — Sharlene Gandhi, Digital Transformation Reporter, Future of Good
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