My Summer Book Recommendations -2019

Summer is officially here, and if you’re like me, you’re constantly on the lookout for books to add to your reading list. There are a few books I’ve really enjoyed reading over the last six months, and would highly recommend them for your own list. These books cover a wide range of topics from cultural world views, moneyless living, and life in bike lanes. So without further a due, here are my top books for the summer season.

Factfulness by Hans Rosling

I originally heard about this book from Bill Gates [Bills review here] and was immediately intrigued by its premise. What if most of the ‘facts’ we hear about third world countries were wrong? What if the world is actually doing a lot better than we thought? Hans was a Swedish physician and a statistician who saw first hand the misconceptions we believe in the western world about ‘third world’ countries. Throughout the book, Hans outlines these misconceptions backing them up with hard facts and statistical data. It was a very eye-opening read and showed me just how wrong I was about the world around me.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl

Out of all the books I’ve come across, this one has been one of the most recommended, and for good reason, it tackles a question that everyone has thought about -the meaning of life. For Frankl, the answer to this question was realized in the concentration camps of World War II and seasoned by his career as a psychologist. The book details many of the struggles and suffering Frankl and his inmates endured during his time in the concentration camps all while outlining his thoughts on finding meaning in life. It’s a very humbling read. You can view my full review here.

The Man who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen

Daniel Suelo is known by many as the father of the moneyless movement and has been living a moneyless life for over fifteen years. This book by Mark Sundeen is an autobiography of sorts taking you into the mind of Daniel and his journey in finding life. Part vagabond, activist, and spiritual guru, Daniels story has a bit of everything and was a fun read. You can read my full review here.

Bike Battles by James Longhurst

I’m all too familiar with the inequality of road use in America and for good reason, I battle it every day. As a bike commuter and pedestrian, it’s not hard to see that our road systems and most of our landscapes for that matter were built for one thing…cars. It wasn’t always this way though for long before the automobile came to be, this new invention called the bicycle was all over the streets. Bike Battles by James Longhurst chronicles the history of the bicycle in the U.S. and the battles its fought in road use, marketing, economics, and cultural perceptions. You can read my full review here.