Memorial Day is the unofficial kick-off of the summer season. As the temperatures heat up, it’s a great time to add a few new books to your reading list. Many independent consultants read voraciously but far too often our book bags are brimming with business related reads. Shaking up your reading routine can have a positive impact on your creativity and problem-solving. When reading the same genre, you may become accustomed to pacing, voice, language and more. A new genre can help expand your capacity to learn new information and can help broaden your perspective. To truly power read, opt for a hard copy. Research has shown that digital reading can slow you down by 20 to 30 percent.

To help you build your summer reading list, we asked a few readers from diverse professions to offer up their favorite picks. We hope you’ll find a book or two among the 14 recommended to add to your collection.

Maura Campbell

I read a great deal and here are four of my recent favorites:

• “The Chilbury Ladies' Choir,” by Jennifer Ryan. Well written fiction with a WWII setting. Loved listening to it on Audible, great characterization with music – for escape and perspective.
• “Hallelujah Anyway” by Anne Lamott. This book on the power of mercy was good for my soul.
• “Tools of Titans” by Tim Ferriss.
• “Smarter, Better, Faster,” by Charles Duhigg is a good read for self-improvement help and inspiration.

Karen Putz

I have three recommendations:

• “Aspire” by Kevin Hall,
• No More Dreaded Mondays by Dan Miller
• The Passion Test by Janet Attwoodand Chris Attwood.

You'll find amazing life wisdom in all three.

Paul Barsch 

“The Blackswan” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb'. Required reading for anyone that wants to understand the fragility behind the complex systems we interact with/use daily.

Michele Blood 

“Reality Isn't What It Used to Be” by Walter Truet Anderson. This book fundamentally changed the way I looked at the world. Even as a young adult, I was naive — embarrassingly naive. Among other points, Anderson's book drove home for me that the function of news (and other) media is not as a neutral reporter of events, but as a shaper and co-creator of those events.

Jeanne Male

I recommend these three non-fiction books:

• “A Deeper Perspective on Alzheimers” by Megan Carnarius. The author gleans pearls from her 25 years of experience on the field and battlefield of this challenging disease and provides practical tools and spiritual insights on the ‘fallout blessings' of the long goodbye.
• “The Secret Life of Trees” is a fascinating (save for a bit of dry science) must read for tree huggers everywhere.
• In my yogic and wellness work with trauma I've read all of the major works and study with the NICBM (Nat'l Institute of Clinical Behavioral Medicine) and have not found a resource that that so knowingly unravels the ways in which cPTSD (complex PTSD) or childhood trauma forms the developing brain and informs all aspects of adult life and why healing requires a body-mind approach. The book, “Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving” by Pete Walker is a gem for anyone with a history of trauma and clinicians alike.

Bob Male recently loved “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson who provides a highly compelling and compassionate insider's look at the injustice in the justice system.

Drew Kahn

“Dune” by Frank Herbert. A great story, filled with incredible philosophical statements about being at peace with the world and living in harmony with nature. Describes mindfulness before there was such a word, written in 1965. Quotes: ” “The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” “Hope clouds observation.” “There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors.” “There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” “Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.” I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

How about you? Any books that you would recommend? Share in the comments or on social media using the #solopr hashtag.

Photo credit: Robyn Budlender via Unsplash