While “summer reading lists” may have started as a tradition in our school-aged years, for many, the tradition has carried on into adulthood. And boy oh boy are there a whole lot of books to choose from. Many new releases come out at the beginning of summer, as readers enjoy more down time to read by the pool, the beach, in their backyard, or even their local park. While The New York Times recently published their 100 Best Books of the 21st Century (that will keep you busy for a few years), if you’re looking for some newer books – from fiction, to non-fiction, to memoirs, to self-help books – we decided to reach out to some female founders from our 1,000 Stories Project and ask them what they’re reading this summer.
The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls
Dalya Harel, the New York City-based founder and mompreneur behind Lice Busters, has The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls on her summer reading list – a book that Harel has come back to time and time again. The New York Times bestselling memoir recounts the complicated and often painful childhood of Walls and her siblings, as they navigate the early years of their lives living with their alcoholic father and absent mother. Walls and her siblings learn how to be their own parents, taking care of each other and eventually moving to New York City. While the Walls siblings find success in their new city life, their parents follow them, choosing to live on the streets rather than rely on their own children for help. “It’s a story of overcoming adversity,” Harel says, “a true testament of human tenacity and perseverance to keep pushing for your dreams and goals no matter how bleak your current reality is.”
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Who Not How, by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Larissa Soehn is an independent publisher (she runs Next Page Publishing) and a book fanatic – so it is perhaps not surprising that she is usually reading a few books at a time. This month, Soehn tells us she’s reading Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy, a how-to guide book to reaching your goals through time management and mindset shifts. Soehn says she finds Sullivan and Hardy’s work useful because, “I have been on the cusp of growth in my business for months, but I wasn’t sure how to manage the hurdles of doing more while still having a work-life balance,” adding to us, “I am excited to work toward a future filled with ‘who’ and less ‘how.’”
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The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor, by Hamilton Nolan
Francine Hwang’s company, FrannyCares, works to solve staffing shortages within the healthcare industry – but her interest in the American labor market extends beyond her own work. When we reached out to Hwang to find out what she is reading this summer, she told us she’s currently working through The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor by Hamilton Nolan. A labor journalist, Nolan dives into the current state of America’s labor force, particularly the places where labor unions and politics intersect. Hwang tells us that she started reading The Hammer because, “It highlights the importance of understanding the inequalities that shape our work systems,” while also, “exploring the power (and pitfalls) of organized labor.”
Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life, by Jamie Kern Lima
As a self-made entrepreneur, Mandi Young understands that the biggest key to success in business and entrepreneurship is often just about “working through your own mental junk, triggers and self-doubt.” So this summer, Young, who is the founder of Minneapolis wedding venues Juniper Gardens, is reading New York Times bestselling author and beauty brand CEO Jamie Kern Lima’s second self-help book, Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life. Young told us that Worthy helps readers have “the confidence that you are worthy of success and the life you want.” Plus, she likes that Lima outlines not only her life story in the book but offers “techniques and strategies to help you.”
The Women, by Kristin Hannah
Kate Harvey, the eco-fashion entrepreneur behind recycled accessory brand BirdieBlue, recently finished Kristin Hannah’s novel The Women. Harvey described the premise to us: “It is a raw and real portrayal of the absolutely heartbreaking time in our nation’s history during Vietnam,” following the female nurses who worked on the front lines. The Vermont-based mompreneur found the book particularly inspiring because “love and hope drives the female protagonist throughout her journey – even in the darkest times of her life. It is a great lesson for all of us just trying to hold it together through managing families, building businesses, facing and managing loss and grief.” She adds, “Women truly do run the world!”
The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness, by Eric Jorgenson
Orianne Gambino is a leadership development coach who works with professionals looking for a mindset shift in their careers. Her summer read? The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric Jorgenson, one of her favorite writers who covers technology and startups. In Jorgenson’s 2020 book, he explains how happiness and wealth are skills that can actually be learned, through the retelling of AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant’s experiences as an entrepreneur, philosopher and investor. Gambino says she’s been enjoying the book on the beach, so she can process Jorgenson’s work while she takes breaks to swim. Sounds like a very productive beach read.
Measure of A Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents' Tailor, by Martin Greenfield (with Wynton Hall)
Amber Massey, a wedding planner from Ohio, currently has Measure of A Man: From Auschwitz to Presidents’ Tailor by Martin Greenfield (with Wynton Hall) on her summer reading list. Massey told us via email that it’s “a story regarding a holocaust survivor who promised to make something of himself if he survived. After his entire family was murdered, he persevered to become one of the world’s most respected tailors.” From his teenage years in a Nazi death camp, to his journey to America post-World War II, Greenfield managed to survive unthinkable horrors and eventually found America’s premier custom-suit company, dressing the rich and famous from presidents like Dight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton to Barack Obama – and even celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Newman.
People Hacker: Confessions of a Burglar for Hire, by Jenny Radcliffe
Rachael Collins, an entrepreneur who runs her HR consultancy firm, Mera Consultancy, while traveling the world with her partner, told us she’s currently reading Jenny Radcliffe’s People Hacker: Confessions of a Burglar for Hire. Collins says, “It explores the world of social engineering and manipulation,” as author Radcliffe, a security consultant, “shares her experiences into how she uses human behavior to breach security systems.” And Collins adds, “It’s really good!”
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Achievement Addict: The Overachievers 12-Step Guide to Peace, Presence, and a Life Beyond Doing by Rose Lounsbury
When Karen Kossow saw a friend’s post about Achievement Addict by Rose Lounsbury, she says she knew immediately that, “It belonged at the top of my (slightly massive) TBR pile!” Kossow, who is the founder of Out of Your Ordinary, a company that works to change the way parents of kids with autism care for themselves, says she often feels pressure to do, “more and more, faster and faster.” The periods of exhaustion and burnout that typically follow led Kossow to realize that she was addicted to the feeling of “doing.” Since reading Achievement Addict, Kossow says she’s learned how to “set realistic goals, work rest into my days, and find a more manageable way to live my life and run my business,” and recommends it to anyone looking to change the way they approach their to-do list.
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Supported: Your Baby Guide to Birth, by Kristin Revere and Alyssa Veneklase
Kelly Cox has helped thousands of families through pregnancies, births and parenthood in her work as a doula, and currently runs Share The Drop, a platform facilitating breastmilk exchanges in communities across the country. Keeping on theme with her work, Cox’s summer reading is Supported: Your Baby Guide to Birth by Kristin Revere and Alyssa Veneklase, two doulas who, according to Cox, “offer very clear and easy to comprehend information on how women can approach pregnancy, prep for labor and delivery, and build support for their postpartum experience.”
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life, By Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
Laura Radocaj, who helps people with intellectual disabilities engage in physical activity through her business, Sunday Strong, says she is currently reading Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. Radocaj told us that she often struggles with saying “no” because she wants “to help everyone and be involved in everything, but not at the cost of my own sanity!” A friend recommended the book to the Florida-based entrepreneur and Radocaj is happy to report that she is “enjoying learning how to set healthy boundaries with people.”