Talking to people, especially after two years of limited interaction, scares most of us. That’s normal! Naturally, there are helpful books to help remind us how to interact with others after we’ve practically become feral.

As the saying goes, Spring has sprung in the northern hemisphere. It’s time to grow, adapt, and step into the next part of our journey. To do this, we often need to let items go that hold us back. Don’t worry, there’s a book for that.

The premise of Four Thousand Weeks is that an average person lives for only four thousand weeks. What will you do with that time? All of human history has taken approximately 310,000 weeks. We are but a blip, and knowing this, Burkeman asks the reader, how will you get everything done?

What struck me in reading this book is the argument Desmond makes for the home being central to breaking negative generational trauma cycles. These systems and cycles disproportionately affect people of color, highlighting racial inequalities in other systems. I hope Evicted shines a light on the need for stable housing for all and shapes the political debate.

Reading is one of the quickest and most inexpensive ways to learn and improve. If you’re looking to make reading a habit or looking for books in specific areas, I’ve put together a list of the best books for New Year’s Resolutions.

Written with women in mind, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle talks about the big and little stressors we experience daily – from the patriarchy (ugh) to the "second shift" most women have after work at home (house chores, caregiving). Compared to what it's like to be a woman, what's expected of women creates burnout without even realizing it.

Having read a fair few books on companies, teams, and organizational culture, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I appreciate the punchiness of the book. Too many books on team culture highlight tired stories of achievement in the 1950s or focus on one particular success story that is unlikely to be repeatable at another company.

From a scientific and technical perspective, this book was great. That said, it was deeply scientific and technical. I would not describe Forgetting as an easy read. I appreciated this book’s understanding of the connections and similarities between computer science and neuroscience with new studies and science.

How to Be Sad is Russell’s best work to date. She started this book in 2019, and given the pandemic and its (gestures vaguely) fallout, How to be Sad arrived at just the right time.

As Holiday discusses, fear isn’t the opposite of courage – it’s apathy. Doing nothing, being cynical, assuming your actions don’t matter – that’s the opposite of courage. Courage is a choice. You might make the right choice. You might make the wrong one. Regardless, choosing something holds power and takes courage.

I loved this book. Nichols talks about everything from the merits of colleges, the good and bad of social media (spoiler: there’s very little that’s good), and the concept that while experts are occasionally wrong, they are consistently less wrong than you and I.

Breath was one of my favorite books I read in 2020. Recently, I’ve seen more about this book on social media as new people discover this treasure.

Emotionally immature people are everywhere, and seeing these behaviors in others, and yourself, is invaluable for growth and improvement. It’s never too late to be a better version of yourself.

A non-fiction book where three unlikely parties converge for a true story that reads like the latest thriller novel. This absolutely a must-read.

Whether you identify as a “creative” or not, each day, you’re delivering work of some kind. You might make pottery, or you might be working on your dissertation, but no matter what, you have to show up for something each day and deliver.

If you think negotiating is like a battle, or if it gives you anxiety, I’d highly recommend this book. Voss takes high-stakes situations and gets to the root of how to be successful at ensuring the best possible outcome.

The Trusted Advisor has been around for twenty years. If you’re new to the world of human interaction and relationship building, or you need a formulaic approach to working with people, you might enjoy this book.

A recap and review of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant - a non-fiction look at what Seinfeld, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the CIA have in common in a changing world.

Time management is all about maximizing what you do in the time you have to do it. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time allotted. When you have multiple things competing for your time and attention, you must focus your efforts on what will deliver the biggest bang. Otherwise, tasks and to-do lists will stretch out and take much longer than intended.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is the book you never knew you wanted to read. Full of approachable facts, logic, and cohesive storytelling, Yuval Noah Harari makes our species proud by addressing the wild, woeful, and wonderful things we, as Homo Sapiens, do, create, and achieve.