Books that changed how I see the world
The ones in bold are my absolute must-recommend. Fabian Dablander keeps a very extensive list of climate books, movies and podcasts.
On being mortal
- Four thousand weeks, by Oliver Burkeman
On living in time
- Saving time, by Jenny Odell
On seeing and shaping systems
- Thinking in systems, by Donella Meadows (and basically anything else she’s written; more about her life and work)
- Doughnut economics, by Kate Raworth
- The ultimate hidden truth of the world, by David Graeber (eclectic intro to his many books and ideas)
On living amongst other creatures
- Braiding sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- The light eaters, by Zoe Schlanger
- The overstory, Richard Powers
- Mary Oliver’s poetry (one of my favorite ones is here)
- The nutmeg’s curse by Amitav Ghosh (and his other books)
On hope in dark times
- Active Hope, by Joanna Macy (and her many other books; powerful short talk; do an Active hope or Work that reconnects workshop/session)
- I want a better catastrophe, by Andrew Boyd (accompanying flowchart)
- Not too late, by Rebecca Solnit (accompanying website; anything written by Solnit is gold)
On social change
- This is an uprising, by Engler and Engler
- Change: how to make big things happen, by Damon Centola
On futures worth pondering
- Butler’s Parables
- Children of time trilogy, by Adrian Tchaikovksy
- Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
- The ministry for the future, by Kim Stanley Robinson
On being a scientist
- The joy of science, by Roel Snieder and Jen Schneider
- The slow professor, by Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber
On being a parent
- The baby on the fire escape, by Julie Phillips
- Hunt, gather, parent by Michaeleen Doucleff
On spiritual clarity
- Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, by Robert Pirsig
- The four-fold way, by Angeles Arrien
- Ursula K. Le Guin’s version of the Tao Te Ching