Top Holiday Reads Recommended by myGwork Professional Members

With the festive season upon us, and 2022 fast drawing to a close, the holiday break will provide a much-needed opportunity, for rest, relaxation and reflection. It will also provide many of us some time to finally catch up on some reading.

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Here are some inspiring reads recommended by myGwork’s professional community members for the upcoming holiday season:

Richard Sharp, HR Vice President at Unilever, recommends Dominon by Tom Holland and Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan. “I finished Dominon by Tom Holland a couple of months ago – it’s a history of the western world through the Development of Christianity. I’m now Reading Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan, which is a history of the world written from an Eastern hemisphere perspective,” says Sharp. “I keep up my interest in history, but really enjoy books that look at things through a different lens to the one I learned through at school and university. It’s a lesson that there are ‘facts’ and these don’t change, but more importantly there are ‘perspectives’ that everybody in the world holds, and the interpretation of history is always evolving.”

Rachel Scheel, SVP Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Criteo, suggests Girl Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis. “It was an interesting read by a woman who started her own business from scratch; her learnings as a working mum; and some interesting tips on self-confidence and self-assurance for women.”

Meena Chander, CEO & Founder at Events Together Ltd puts forward Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck. She recommends it because “one has to shift one’s own mindset in order to help oneself first; and mindset is a powerful factor of success and being happy.”

Kate Mikolajewski, Solicitor, Clyde & Co LLP suggests The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor to everyone as it was really thought provoking: A"s a result of reading the book, I am trying to maintain regular mindfulness; and we discuss three things that have made us happy over the last 24 hours over dinner as a family every day.”

Jessica Chu, Group Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement at RS Components has three recommendations: A Promised Land by Barack Obama, What We Owe Each Other, A New Social Contract by Minouche Shafik, and Outspoken, 50 Speeches by Incredible Women by Deborah Coughlin. “I am one of those annoying people who reads three books at once… a bad habit I have passed onto my son,” she admits. “I am enjoying all of them and I am getting something different and challenging from all three.”

Rehana Nanji, Senior Manager, People Culture at Checkout.com, “highly recommends” Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. “I’m currently listening (on audiobook) to Invisible Women. I read the book a long time ago and I love to go back to it as it continues to give me amazing examples to use in conversation with others,” she explains. “The book is data-driven and really useful in outlining the practicalities of why inclusion matters. I highly recommend it.”

Synechron’s Global Head of Operations, May Yang, endorses The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker to everyone. “An interesting take away and my biggest learning was how to structure your time and create unbroken blocks for individual think time,” she notes. “I would recommend this book to everyone.”

Tammi Wallace, co-founder of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, suggests Thank You for Being Late by Thomas L. Friedman, because it’s “thought-provoking, engaging and even unsettling”. “The author really does an excellent job of piecing together some of the biggest changes as to how our lives have been transformed in every aspect by what is referred to as ‘tectonic movements’ through technological changes,” she says.

Finally, as a start-up entrepreneur, Pete Howroyd, CEO of Swapi, recommends Venture Deals by Fled Mendelson. Of course, to anyone who is not interested in start-ups, funding or VCs “this will be the most boring book you have every picked up, so don’t read it,” he warns. “However, I found it very useful as it helped me to navigate my way around some negotiations when looking for investors in Swapi. So if you are looking for some hand tips when starting out then get yourself a copy!”

In fact, Howroyd launched a loyalty e-wallet platform, which is now available on all app stores as reported. Read more here.