The Booko Team’s favourite holiday reading picks

There are a fair few of us that are responsible for the day-to-day operations of Booko. This often involves liaison with booksellers around the world, working on the Booko platform and ensuring all pricing and delivery information is accurate and up to date and responding to admin messages. The Booko team spend a reasonable time during the year doing what they love best: reading. This might involve reviewing a book, getting an understanding of a new title or author and ensuring that our customers are given the best and most relevant information about books.

When we’re not working, we love reading just for the sake of it – just like everyone. Here are the summer reading picks that our team are currently working through or planning to read whilst reclining on a banana lounge somewhere else:

Karen’s pick:

Girl Stuff 8-12 by Kaz Cooke

Girl Stuff 8-12 is on my summer reading list, and I think it will make an excellent gift for both girls and their parents. Kaz Cooke’s Up the Duff was my don’t-panic-source-of-wisdom during pregnancy, so I am looking forward to her take on how to survive the pre-teen years (and my resident pre-teen has already given it the thumbs-up). Kaz Cooke’s advice is forthright, respectful, sensitive and funny all at once – and carefully researched to boot. Girl Stuff 8-12 offers advice on a range of the most important topics including body changes, healthy habits, relationships, bullying and mental health.

Riina’s pick:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

It has taken me a while to get around to reading this one, but now that I have, I can see why it became the bestseller it did. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a heart-warming tale about that grumpy old man I’m sure we’ve all come across, and it made me laugh and cry (apologies to fellow passengers on Tram route 55!). Bit by bit, as you learn about the experiences that shaped Ove, you come to understand and even love him, no matter how little you like him at first.
Whether you’re in the Southern or Northern hemisphere, this one makes a good holiday read. It’s light enough to read on the beach, but its themes of family, honour and community bring warmth to even the whitest of Christmasses.

Marie’s pick:

The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis

This is on my summer reading list at the recommendation of my husband who has suffered from the ‘just can’t put it down’ addiction that we have to the books we love. I’m a big fan of non-fiction and getting a better understanding of how our minds work.

This is the story of a bromance between two Israeli psychologists which has turned our understanding of how we make decisions on it’s head. One of the pair’s observations is that ‘no one ever made a decision because of a number – they need a story.’ On the whole, humans make decisions based on emotions rather than facts. Their work created the field of behavioural economics and established rules for human irrationality.

Renae’s Pick:

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

One of my new year resolutions is to try and be more creative. Easier than it sounds, right? When you come from a pretty rational way of looking at the world, creativity can be challenging! This book was recommended to me by a friend. It promises to unravel the mystique around the processes leading to creativity, making it seem easier and more natural.

Gilbert explains the habits and approaches we need in order to live our most creative lives and how to harness creativity in whatever project we are involved with. Living a mindful life is one of the areas I need to focus on more. I’m looking forward to reaping the benefits of reading this book in the new year.

Dan’s Pick

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

I’ve chosen a story of apocalypse for my holiday reading. Already part way in and I find myself engaged enough in the story that some mornings when I wake, I look up at the sky and wonder how the people on Izzy ( International Space Station ) are holding up. Neal Stephenson’s books seem to have that effect on me. Depictions of the near future which are well researched and realistic, characters I feel I know well enough that their predicaments generate so much tension once I’ve finished reading, I feel I need a(n other) holiday.