Summer is well and truly here. It’s a time of year when lots of people take some downtime, and whether at home or on the beach, take some time to do a bit of reading. Given that, we thought we’d share some of the books that have caught the eye of the Proxima team and that you may want to pick up to enjoy over the Summer.
For a glimpse of what the future might look like, check out:
The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything by Matthew Ball
‘Metaverse’ might be the buzzword of 2022, but how many of us could really tell a room of people what it actually is and how it will shape our future? In his recently released book, Matthew Ball provides a must-read guide for those looking to get their head around how the Metaverse will alter the years to come.
The Nowhere Office: Reinventing Work and the Workplace of the Future by Julia Hobsbawm
The debate continues to rage about whether the future of work is in-person, remote, or hybrid. This new book from Julia Hobsbawm envisions a future where remote work will increasingly become the norm, building on the momentum generated during the pandemic. But rather being the tome of an evangelist, it grasps thorny problems such as how to manage WFH teams and the role offices will play as creative and collaborative spaces.
Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century by Helen Thompson
This book looks at the geopolitical, economic and democratic forces that have shaped the 21st Century so far – and in particular how those stories became intertwined and led to the disruption that had already began before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Many of the themes this book highlights are still playing out and provide useful thinking about the challenges that lay ahead for our world.
If you’re looking for a book to spark some new ideas about work and your career, then try:
The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel Pink
Daniel Pink is a prolific business writer, and his books ‘To Sell is Human’ and ‘Drive’ has won him a huge fan base. His latest book looks at how regret shapes us and our careers, but more importantly, how we can use those regrets to make smarter decisions and perform better moving forward.
Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World by Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross
Identifying who to hire is one of the toughest challenges in business. This book from the economist Tyler Cowen and venture capitalist Daniel Gross looks at how organizations can find the best people. In particular, it highlights some of the ways you can break the monotony of standard interviews and ask better questions to determine the talent level of the person you are interviewing.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It by Oliver Burkeman
Four Thousand Weeks starts from the sobering premise of the average person only has 4,000 weeks alive on this earth – so we’d better be sure we are using it wisely. It looks at the challenges we all face in achieving that, from swelling inboxes to lengthening to-do lists and the endless distraction of social media. It gives us all the opportunity to look anew at what productivity really is.
And if you want something that takes your mind away from the day-to-day, how about:
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Douglas Stuart’s debut novel Shuggie Bain won endless plaudits and landed him the 2020 Booker Prize. His follow-up novel is again set in the working-class Glasgow of youth, featuring two lovers from different sides of the Catholic and Protestant divide.
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
This has been called the “Queen of the Summer novel” and “literary sunshine.” It could be said this is a book about time travel, but really, it’s a story about the passing of time, family relationships, and the change that inevitably happens in our lives.