As part of CGI’s focus on what it takes to keep going — we asked CGI staff, partners, and special guests what they’re reading in the world of social impact.
From nonfiction works that drive deeper understanding of our world’s most pressing challenges, to children’s books, cookbooks, and so much more — we hope these books keep you going in your work to build a better, more equitable world.
CLIMATE RESILIENCE:
- “How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet” by Laura Schmidt
- “Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists” by Leah Penniman
- “Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden” by Camille Dungy
- “Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet” by Jeff Goodell
- “The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean” by Susan Casey
- “Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis” by John Doeer
HEALTH EQUITY:
- “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life” by Dacher Keltner
- “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis” by Beth Macy
- “Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds” by Paul Farmer
- “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” by Judy Heumann
INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND GROWTH:
- “Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream” by Alissa Quart
- “Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection Now and in an Uncertain Future” by Gabriella Rosen Kellerman & Martin Seligman
- “Sink: A Memoir” by Joseph Earl Thomas
- “Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together” by Heather McGhee
- “Good Economics for Hard Times” by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE:
- “You Don’t Know What War Is: The Diary of a Young Girl from Ukraine” by Yeva Skalietska
- “All Else Failed: The Unlikely Volunteers at the Heart of the Migrant Aid Crisis” by Dana Sachs
- “Asylum Speakers: Stories of Migration From the Humans Behind the Headlines” by Jasmin O’Hara
- “The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope” by José Andrés and World Central Kitchen
WOMEN AND GIRLS:
- “Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America” by Dahlia Lithwick
- “Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care” by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba
ADDITIONAL TITLES:
- “King: A Life” by Jonathan Eig
- “There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness: And Other Thoughts on Physics, Philosophy and the World” by Carlo Rovelli
- “Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You” by Sonia Sotomayor
- “A Place to Stay: A Shelter Story” by Erin Gunti
Thank you to Northshire Bookstore, a family-owned, independent, community bookstore who served as our partner in building out this year’s CGI Book Corner.