Summertime readings: a compilation by The Square
Summer is just ahead of us. For some of you, the shiniest time of the year translates into more time spent with friends and family, good weather, and on top of this, a good book to read by the pool, beach, or during the warm and long nights of July and August.
Thinking about your summertime needs, we compiled a group of book suggestions from our team.
“24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep”, by Jonathan Crary
At a time when the rampant logic that underlies the capitalist ideology of our contemporary world is put to test, it is interesting to go back to the origins and understand — from a sociological and philosophic point of view — how to frame the dynamic we allowed to rule our daily lives.
24/7 is a journey through the ages, from the Industrial Revolution to the Social Media Era, focusing on the role played by sleep in a society that, supposedly, never stops.
- Beatriz Giestas
“Brave New World”, by Aldous Huxley
I would definitely recommend ‘The Brave New World.’ It is an interesting reading because it shows a perspective in which technological advancements combined with classical conditioning and psychological manipulation can control and shape society’s behavior.
Furthermore, the book raises the question that, with advances in science, human beings are losing their humanity, which, knowing that the book was published in 1932, is an interesting perspective, especially because we think about that nowadays.
- Cristiana Peres
“Creativity, Inc”, by Ed Catmul
‘Creativity, Inc’ is a book about Ed’s path and experience as a creative mind, but also as a manager — of companies, projects, and, most importantly, people.
He takes us on a trip down memory lane on how he built the Pixar empire and the formula behind some of his most successful hits, such as “Toy Story” or “Finding Nemo,” explaining the technical and creative process behind them, but also the ups and downs and the importance of facing failure with a positive attitude, to ensure the success of next steps. Ed also shares the challenges of keeping a culture of creativity and union among the team, noting that human resources are the most valuable asset on any company — even in the ones with a great reputation — and, for that reason, it is extremely important to keep them side by side, giving them space and time so that they can create and innovate.
All in all, it is an inspiring book with great ideas to business owners or team managers which shows us that sometimes the little gestures can make all the difference.
- Ângela dos Vais
“Factfulness”, by Anna Rosling Ronnlund, Hans Rosling & Ola Rosling
The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends — why the world’s population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty — we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and a man who can make data sing, Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens and reveals the ten instincts that distort our perspective.
It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.
The book basically explains, with real facts, why the present world — and the future that is waiting for us — is not as bad as the prophets of doom portray it.
- Sara Proença
“Galveias”, by José Luís Peixoto
In this piece, José Luís Peixoto revisits the village where he grew up in the rural interior of Portugal, named Galveias. From his childhood memories, the writer depicts a portrait of the Portuguese rural ways of living in the ´80s.
The characters transport us immediately there and describe a very characteristic way of living. The details gain shapes, taste, smell, light, and temperature. A great book to ‘go outside while staying inside’.
- Matilde Ferreira
“Home Fire”, by Kamila Shamsie
The novel has quite a slow pace — although it approaches interesting themes such as emigration, the entity crisis one can experiment because of growing in a country that was not originally theirs, also the terrorism through an inside perspective, how terrorists hire and attract new members. Reaching the last pages, it all pays off, as the end of the novel is so unexpected and fast.
Those last pages, you will read them over and over again and then you will go through the book looking for signs anticipating what the hell just happened.
- Lúcia Henriques
“Homo Deus”, by Yuri Noah Harari
After laying down the last 75,000 years of Human history in “Sapiens,” Harari takes us on a trip to the future of mankind with ‘Homo Deus.’ ‘Where are we heading from here?’ is the question he sets as the beginning of this masterpiece that explores how technology will impact our lives — especially when it comes to the ways we collect and treat data and the advancements in artificial intelligence.
The author starts by explaining we are more powerful than ever, since we have beat our archenemies from the last century, but explains the new challenges ahead of us: famine is disappearing — we are now more at risk of obesity than starvation; war is obsolete — we are more likely to commit suicide than be killed in conflict; and immortality is our next big step.
Harari has a unique ability of explaining hard and abstract topics in a comprehensible way. If you already found yourself wondering about the future of mankind, you should definitely read ‘Homo Deus.’
- João Abreu
“Into Thin Air — A Personal Account of the Everest Disaster”, by Jon KrakauerIn
In times of confinement and social isolation, an outdoor’s book about the harsh realities of mountaineering and frantic calls of climbers lost high in the mountain.
- Ana Pedro
“Mafalda”, by Quino
Even though most people look at comic books as children content, this book (and the following ones) is as unintelligible as mandatory to children, since it will shape them as adults. Mafalda is a kid who’s not even in primary school but — in the mid ´60s — is already concerned about the world’s geopolitical situation, pollution, space exploration and the importance of education and gender equality. All of these concerns come from a child who does not leave her own neighborhood and only knows her parents and three friends (each one depicts society in its own way — and not only applies to the ´60s but also to nowadays).
Manolito, the weakling of the school, but relentless when it comes to collecting debts from his father’s grocery store, represents capitalism. Susanita is the future housewife who wants to marry a doctor and have lots of kids — to her, knowledge comes after looks. Finally, Felipe suffers from a lack of vision and ambition — he wants to be a boss but does not know of what. Mafalda, the main character, is a young lady who does not like soup, who also uses it as a swearword, and wants to be better than her mom — the typical housewife — dreaming of a bachelor’s degree. She cannot control the patronizing ways of her father — who is the usual American worker who counts his money every month to pay the bills and tries to buy a new car. Amidst all the busyness, Mafalda puts the world (a globe that she likes better than the usual dolls) on sick leave because she sees that, with all the wars, unfairness and malice, it can only be ill.
- Sara São Miguel
“Marketing Digital para Empresas”, by several authors
A book about digital marketing with six chapters — each one is written by a different specialist. Websites and Landing Pages, SEO, Google Ads, Social Media, Email Marketing, and Metering and Performance. This is an excellent introductory book to digital marketing with good explanations and basic teachings on the subjects, with tips and practical examples.
I believe that, in an ever-growing digital Era, digital communication and every digital vehicle has gained a natural and special importance. Whatever professional area of communications, it is important to be familiarized with the general topics to understand how our work can affect or have an impact on other areas, or even to maximize the results of our work.
- António Azevedo
“The Last Lecture”, by Jeffrey Zaslow & Randy Pausch
‘The Last Lecture’ is probably one of my favorite books. It is a lecture that was then turned into a book, by a computer science professor who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He gives a lecture to his kids on what he wants them to know in life once he is gone and will not have the opportunity to teach them.
I have re-read it a couple of times because it is one of those books that depending on your current situation you take on different learnings from the book.
- Isabel Taulé
“The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka
“Gregor Samsa wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect.” The book depicts a person who was excluded from the Human relationship system, subtracted to the inherent quality of his personality, without autonomy or self-determination. A person who got his own dignity stolen. Making it possible to capture the message that sets apart the concepts of isolation and loneliness.
The book forces us to reflect on the acceptance of the difference, about the way we see ourselves and how others see us and the importance of doing what truly fulfills us.
- Rosa Marreiros
“The Wreck of Civilizations”, by Amin Maalouf
In this book, Amin reflects about society nowadays and our ways of living, in a time when we live longer and better, and the technological advancements facilitate our access to knowledge like never before.
The “Third World” is developing and, for the first time ever, we can drive Humankind to an Era of freedom and progress. However, the world seems to be heading in the opposite direction, towards the destruction of everything that has been accomplished. According to Armin, the civilizations are depleted because of the lack of confidence in “Others”, xenophobia, political and religious intolerance, populism, individualism, and racism — hence “The Wreck of Civilizations.” Amin shares his stories and reflections and narrates big events where he was one of the few eyewitnesses.
All of this, to explain to us what the deviations of Humanity were and what makes us set foot on the edge of an abyss.
- Raquel Alfredo
“Trust me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator”, by Ryan Holiday
If you work in PR or journalism, you will probably think twice before reading this book but, trust me, it will definitely change the way you see things. This book is Ryan Holiday’s confession — a PR professional reveals how he used shady tactics to manipulate bloggers and the online media’s lack of attention to create buzz for his clients.
He reveals his tactics and why they work and shows how others can do the same. Scary, huh? However, you will also be impressed by his honesty and by what it really means.
The book can be dark and raw, but it teaches us valuable lessons: internet consumers need to be more rigorous with media outlets and bloggers; PR people need to be vigilant, protect their clients, and proactive in building their own messages. It is a must-read if you want to be a more informed citizen!
- Sofia Pereira
We would love to hear what you will be reading this summer and what other recommendations you have to share with us — we may add them to our office library!
