Here’s some great book recommendations to keep you occupied and maybe even expand your mind.

Sapiens

By Yuval Noah Harari 

This book looks at the history of humankind from the evolution of the archaic human species in the Stone Age, all the way up to the 21st-Century. It tackles the biggest questions of history and the modern world. Sapiens is an interesting and thought-provoking novel that will keep you occupied for this social distancing period. 

The Art of People 

By Dave Kerpen

What does it take to become successful and influential? This book will teach you the skills that you need to get what you want from both your personal and professional life. In a world where we are constantly connected sometimes who you know is more important than what you know. Those who build the right relationships, who truly understand and connect with their friends, colleagues, customers and partners tend to be the most successful.

Utopia for Realists

By Rutger Bregman 

Utopia for Realists may help uplift your spirits during this strange time. Bregman shows that we as people can construct a society with visionary ideas that are very feasible. Every milestone of history, from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy was once considered a utopian ideal. This book tackles new utopian ideals such as universal basic incomes and a fifteen hour work week. 

1984

By George Orwell

This novel is set in a dystopian society which is terrorised by a totalitarian ideology propagated by The Party. The main character Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. Can one person's thoughts change the world?

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate

By Naomi Klein

Capitalism vs. The Climate is a book about our future. Forget everything you think you know about global warming - it’s not about carbon, it’s about capitalism. Klein takes a look at our current [failing] economic system and explains how we can transform it into something better. She shows that it is within our means to seize this crisis and slow down climate change.

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar

By Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein

Ever wanted to learn some more about philosophy but found the language surrounding it too complex? This genius book gives you a crash course through all the great philosophical thinkers by explaining their concepts through jokes. Its philosophy for those who like learning about the heavy stuff in a lighthearted way.  

Thank You for Arguing

By Jay Heinrichs

These days everyone is trying to convince us of something, politicians, advertising, media and most of all our friends and families. This book is a masterclass in the art of persuasion taught to you by people such as the likes of Bart Simpson and Winston Churchill. As well as showing you how to win arguments it will teach you skills such as how to shine at work and tactics like setting your goals and gaining the high ground. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

This classic novel set in the Deep South of the 1930’s is  a must read. I actually studied this book in highschool and it has always stuck with me to this day. Atticus Finch, the town lawyer is defending a black man who is falsley accused of raping a white girl. This confronting story told through the eyes of his children Scout and Jem gives it an interesting and innocent perspective. Can the consciousness of a town steeped in racism, violence and hypocrisy be altered by one legal trial? 

The Idiot Brain

By Dean Burnett

Ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in there? For something that is supposedly so advanced, the human brain is pretty disorganised and messy. In this book, neuroscientist Dean Burnett looks at the wonderful imperfections that the human brain possesses and the impact that these have on our daily life. 

Don’t Even Think About It

By George Marshall

Despite all the overwhelming scientific evidence, why do we as people continue to ignore climate change? The vast majority of us acknowledge the fact the climate change is real, and yet we do nothing to stop it. Marshall explores this psychological mechanism that allows us to know something that is true but act as if it is not. On this journey he meets with people from all areas of the climate change movement from the world's leading climate scientists to the people who denounce them, from liberal environmentalists to conservative evangelicals.