It’s summertime in New Zealand, often this creates a chance to read maybe a little more than normal. I know my reading goes up when on a break - to be fair when I pack to go away I start with the books I'm going to take and they form the basis of any packing list.

I've shared my thoughts on the power and value of reading to extend your skills and knowledge in the leadership zone. I've included my top 10 books I'd recommend for leading in healthcare. My website has its own library section and many of these emails are summaries of books I've recently read for you to take the key points and put into action.

What will I be reading next and over the summer and what other places can you look for recommendations.....

For me, I'm going to check out Margaret Heffernan's new book Uncharted, To be honest I might immerse myself in her work a little. I first came across her via the magic of the TED talk and have at last purchased a couple of her books that are sitting just waiting on the bookshelf. Given the year we've all had, I'm intrigued by how we live and learn to thrive with the uncertainty that we are waking up to as our new reality. She has 4 TED talks you can choose from and there is a long list of books. Her website had a great number of links to videos and articles. I'll have plenty to keep me busy.

I do though read a cross-section of things and love getting lost in fiction. I read the new Jack Reacher book in a day and I've just finished Girl, Woman, Other - which is by far the best book I've read in a long time - it's a must-read. My other recent favourite and inspiring (though not fiction) read was Untamed. Reading fiction is a strength builder for us all, as this recent HBR article points out. Reading fiction strengthens our EQ, building empathy abilities and it creates the space for us to think about things from other perspectives, it promotes what the article describes as cognitive ability as we have to slow down to take in the stories and change our minds as the stories unfold. I even managed to decide on my favourite books of 2020.

I’ve set a new reading challenge for 2021 and you can follow along or join me on Goodreads, or track my progress on the Now page.

I'm also finding joy in poetry, so this recommendation from our own Jedi tribe last week was a great treat. I enjoyed poetry a lot when I first learnt to read but school seemed to put me off and make it hard work, now I'm finding value all over again This book series is wonderful and I love being able to use poetry to lift people at rough times.

Two more places to look for inspiration:

9 books to help you re-write your own story

and this list, a gift guide from TED for all types of readers