En Ready for People we love Sant Jordi. During 2020 and this beginning of 2021, books have been a very important company at many times and have helped us escape, travel when we couldn't, and continue growing. That's why, We want to celebrate this day in a special way!
To do this, we have asked different people in the community of Ready for People let them explain to us What book has impacted you or allowed you to grow at any level and why?. Thus, we have created an inspiring list of readings with which celebrate Sant Jordi.
Ready to Read? Below you will find many ideas!
momoby Michael Ende: reflection book for children and adults about what is really important: your time makes you who you are, don't let them steal it from you. Enjoy everything you can!
The 4 laws of opportunitiesby Manel Reyes: one of the books that made me think more about my daily actions and habits. A very quick and agile book to read, through which you will be able to identify with many of your daily actions and dare to think of another way of seeing and managing the opportunities that come your way.
Any book by Haruki Murakami: Murakami shows the complexity of the behaviors and personalities of human beings. Each of his books adventures you to discover something new from his unique way of seeing reality. I recommend you enjoy some of his works!
Our iceberg is melting, The John: I like it for many reasons. It is short and written like a story, so it is very easy to read and entertaining, not like certain management books where you die on page 50! I love the use of metaphor with the group of penguins: metaphors are very powerful in making us connect and understand the story.
The characters described through these animals may seem like caricatures, but they are always close to someone you know! You identify a lot with them. In addition, the suffering faced with change, lost or enthusiastic people, doubts or how to motivate the troops are discussed. Finally, there is a moral to this story, easy to understand and apply: the world is constantly changing, more and more and more and more rapidly. Understanding what is happening and thinking about formulas and tools that can help is always welcome.
The power of being vulnerable (Daring greatly), by Brené Brown: The change in perspective that the author exposes about how vulnerability, far from being a weakness, is a way of measuring our courage, was at the time a turning point and a radical change in me, both on a personal and professional level. Yeah, Brene Brown! Now it is very clear to me: there is no course or training in which it does not talk about vulnerability as an essential aspect to communicate, lead and live. His previous books, such as The Gifts of Imperfection, are also highly recommended!
Women who run with the wolvesby Clarissa Pinkola Estés: my bedside book par excellence no matter how much time passes. It helps me connect with the most authentic woman that lives in me.
This is a book that talks about women. All of them, in essence, nonconformist, brave, loyal, cyclical, intuitive. The wild woman says Clarissa, is like a wolf: with acute perception, playful spirit and a high capacity for affection. She is strong and resilient, extremely intuitive and always changing, she cares about her loved ones.
Clarissa It talks about that wild woman and the need to recover the feminine nature that exists in each of us as a way to achieve a healthy and meaningful life. And he explains all this through stories: "medicine stories" with extraordinary power. Just read them (or better listen to them) to connect with something you already know. For a long time.
Donut Economyby Kate Raworth: Kate Raworth is a British economist, professor at Oxford and Cambridge and collaborator with the United Nations. After spending 15 years working in Africa on cooperation and development projects, Raworth launches an interesting reflection: what if the economy, instead of growing, served to prosper?
The "Donut model" proposes a new game board where the healthy and sustainable economy is articulated through respect for people and the environment, the two key concepts to understand and evolve towards a new social and organizational design of which we are all part.
The long journey to an angry little planetby Becky Chambers: This is a novel. Surely, when asked the initial question, most would choose a thoughtful and profound work, but this science fiction novel is the best example of inclusive leadership that I have seen lately. A crew of beings from different planets, species and genders: from Sissix, the reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the ship's engineers, through Lovey, the ship's Artificial Intelligence, plus an alien with a parasite that gives him with strange faculties and another who acts as a cook-doctor-therapist for an endangered race. If you want to learn about teamwork, inclusion, and respect for differences, this novel is an excellent example. Plus, it's fun, surprising and cute.
The Holotropic Mind: the levels of human consciousnessby Stanislav Grof: This is a book where the world of science and spirituality come together. Stanislav Rough is a psychiatrist who decades ago began researching the newly discovered LSD and its potential therapeutic effects. Through his research, he discovers and describes the different states of the human mind, beyond the usual two (sleep and wakefulness).
It is a truly eye-opening book where science comes face to face with scientifically inexplicable mental phenomena. It changed and expanded my understanding of life and the mysteries of existence. It has helped me personally and professionally.
Lead committed teamsby Pep Mari: the key to teams that never stop growing. It talks about the need to put everything in to be able to move projects forward, and not just on paper or in words, but taking action, creating more appropriate external and internal environments. Short and quick reading book.
In watermelon sugarby Richard Brautigan: Richard Brautigan It is capable of transporting you to a more poetic world: dirty but dreamy, true and, at the same time, surreal. Watermelon Sugar has not only given me some of the most fun times of the last year: it has shown me that it is possible to write any type of text with short, simple and direct sentences. Something like this, for those of us who dedicate ourselves to writing, is constant learning and absolute enjoyment!
The disgustingby Santiago Lorenzo: This book explains how a boy from Madrid is forced, abruptly, to hide in a remote village. It is a total ode to the creativity and enjoyment that comes with a simple life and the lack of unnecessary stimuli, to the advantages of letting the mind flow and stopping for a moment to rediscover what the priorities of our life are. Ah! It also has a very cynical section dedicated to those people who are supposedly aware of the importance of "enjoying life" when, in reality, they preach with an example of superficial hedonism that they put into practice in a very poor way and that really borders on the pleasures of life that the protagonist tells us about.
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott: I read this book for the first time when I was about 12 years old and I remember thinking that when I grew up I wanted to be like Jo, the fearless, feisty, feminist sister. But when I reread it again, a few years later, it became increasingly clear to me that I wanted to be a woman with the dreams and qualities of the 4 sisters together and that awakened my feminist consciousness. As a woman, I can and should be anything I want: be a good daughter, sister and friend like Beth, enjoy motherhood like Meg, pursue my professional dreams wherever they take me like Jo, and have the ambition to achieve whatever I set my mind to. Amy.
Sapiensby Yuval Noah Harari: It is a story of the history of humanity and the future that awaits us, from a very different perspective and that made me reflect. What struck me the most is how he manages to make us see the difference between humans and the rest of the species. The author explains our ability to cooperate between individuals and, above all, our imagination and capacity for abstraction. This makes us the only species capable of believing in shared stories, which are what move humanity and make us move forward, for the good but also for the bad. The essence of the human being in its purest state.
Thank you very much for participating and sending us your recommendations: happy Sant Jordi's day to all!