Discover Your Next Summer Read!

Summer 2024 is finally here, and Commonfund has curated a list of illuminating books to make your sunny days even brighter! Perfect for beach days or cozy retreats, these selections celebrate the spirit of community and the joy of belonging. Enjoy your summer adventures and happy reading! 

All We Can Save | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson

"Intermixing essays with poetry and art, this book is both a balm and a guide for knowing and holding what has been done to the world, while bolstering our resolve never to give up on each other or our collective future. We must summon truth, courage, and solutions, to turn away from the brink and toward life-giving possibility. Curated by two climate leaders, this book is a collection and celebration of visionaries who are leading us on a path toward all we can save."¹

American Indian Stories | Zitkala-Sa

"Combining Zitkála-Šá’s childhood memories, her short stories, and her poetry, American Indian Stories is the origin story of an activist in the making, a remarkable woman whose extraordinary career deserves wider recognition."²

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness | Jonathan Haidt

"In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood” began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s."³

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience | Brené Brown

"In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances—a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.^"4

Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides | Geoffrey L. Cohen

"Belonging is a compelling read for all who yearn for a more connected world, whether you’re a manager or employee, an educator or student, a parent or caregiver, or simply someone seeking to make the most out of every moment you spend with others. Packed with actionable insights and specific strategies, this book offers hope and practical guidance, serving as both an inspiration and a roadmap to creating a world of inclusion, understanding, and empathy."⁵

The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions | Jonathan Rosen

"Acclaimed author Jonathan Rosen’s haunting investigation of the forces that led his closest childhood friend, Michael Laudor, from the heights of brilliant promise to the forensic psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved. A story about friendship, love, and the price of self-delusion, The Best Minds explores the ways in which we understand—and fail to understand—mental illness."⁶

Black Archive: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life | Renata Cherlise

"Black Archives is a stunning collection of timeless images that tell powerful, joyful stories of everyday life and shed light on Black culture’s dynamic, enduring influence through the generations. The images showcase reunions, nights out on the town, parents and children, church and school functions, holidays, big life events, family vacations, moments at home, and many more occasions of leisure, excitement, reflection, and pride."⁷

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma | Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar

"As co-founder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind, part of Google, Mustafa Suleyman has been at the center of this revolution. The coming decade, he argues, will be defined by this wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies. In The Coming Wave, Suleyman shows how these forces will create immense prosperity but also threaten the nation-state, the foundation of global order. As our fragile governments sleepwalk into disaster, we face an existential dilemma: unprecedented harms on one side, the threat of overbearing surveillance on the other."⁸

The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth about Racism can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations | Robert Livingston

"How can I become part of the solution? In the wake of the social unrest of 2020 and growing calls for racial justice, many business leaders and ordinary citizens are asking that very question. This book provides a compass for all those seeking to begin the work of anti-racism. In The Conversation, Robert Livingston addresses three simple but profound questions: What is racism? Why should everyone be more concerned about it? What can we do to eradicate it?"⁹

How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community | Mia Birdsong

"Through research, interviews, and stories of lived experience, How We Show Up returns us to our inherent connectedness where we find strength, safety, and support in vulnerability and generosity, in asking for help, and in being accountable. Showing up–literally and figuratively– points us toward the promise of our collective vitality and leads us to the liberated well-being we all want."¹⁰

Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy, and Belonging across Differences | Mary-Frances Winters

"Effective dialogue across different dimensions of diversity, such as race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation, fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion, which in turn leads to greater productivity, performance, and innovation. Whether in the workplace, faith communities, or educational settings, our differences can tear us apart rather than bring us together if we do not know how to communicate. Recognizing our collective responsibility to earnestly address our differences and increase understanding and empathy will not only enhance organizational goals but will also lead to a healthier, kinder, and more compassionate world."¹¹

The Power of Different: The Link Between Disorder and Genius | Gail Saltz M.D.

"In The Power of Different, psychiatrist and bestselling author Gail Saltz examines the latest scientific discoveries, profiles famous geniuses who have been diagnosed with all manner of brain “problems” ―including learning disabilities, ADD, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism... Discover how everyone can not only cope with these conditions but thrive because of them. The Power of Different is a life-affirming read that illuminates the transformative power of cognitive diversity, representing a milestone in the intersecting frontiers of cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, and self-help psychology."¹²

The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony | Jay J. Van Bavel PhD and Dominic J. Packer PhD

"Understanding how identity works allows people to take control, moving beyond wondering, “Who am I?” to answer instead, “Who do I want to be?” Packed with fascinating insights, vivid case studies, and a wealth of pioneering research, The Power of Us will change the way you understand yourself—and the people around you—forever."¹³

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto | Tricia Hersey

"In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. We are enough. The systems cannot have us."¹⁴

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together | Heather McGhee

"Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?"¹⁵

This Is How I Lied: A Novel | Heather Gudenkauf

"Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately went cold… As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues, secrets about what really happened begin to emerge. But someone in town knows more than they’re letting on, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried deep."¹⁶

The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival | Bozoma Saint John

"In The Urgent Life, Bozoma takes readers through the dizzying, numbing days of multiple griefs, and the courage which these sparked in her to live life in accordance with her deepest values time and time again. We witness Bozoma's journey forward through the highs and the lows, as she negotiates life as a woman determined to learn from tragedies to build a remarkable life worth living even in her brokenness."¹⁷

Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want | Ruha Benjamin

"Long before the pandemic, Ruha Benjamin was doing groundbreaking research on race, technology, and justice, focusing on big, structural changes. But the twin plagues of COVID-19 and anti-Black police violence inspired her to rethink the importance of small, individual actions. Part memoir, part manifesto, Viral Justice is a sweeping and deeply personal exploration of how we can transform society through the choices we make every day."¹⁸

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS?  WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR REVIEWS. EMAIL US AND LET US KNOW YOUR FAVORITES.

Sources

1. All We Can Save
2. American Indian Stories
3. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
4. Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
5. Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides
6. The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
7. Black Archive: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life
8. The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
9. The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth about Racism can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations
10. How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community
11. Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy, and Belonging across Differences
12. The Power of Different: The Link Between Disorder and Genius
13. The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony
14. Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto
15. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
16. This Is How I Lied: A Novel
17. The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
18. Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want