Book Day 2021: the team's recommendations 📓

Any excuse is good enough to celebrate the books that have helped us get here. The ones that make us think, give us clues to solve a block or simply entertain us.

This 2021 we're not celebrating a traditional Sant Jordi in Barcelona, the kind with books and roses (and people) on Las Ramblas and on every corner of the city. And besides, we have the team scattered—remote work is very familiar to us. But we want to keep sharing books, and instead of doing it on Slack so it stays within the team, we're doing it here. So you can read us and try to get to know us a little better through our recommendations, whether you call it Sant Jordi, say Book Day, celebrate the whole month, or just treat it as another Friday. With any luck we'll introduce you to a title you didn't know, or encourage you to grab that book you already had on your radar.

We've got everything. For every taste.

For when you're in the middle of chaos

Our day-to-day is becoming more complex and it's easy to get lost among all the information and noise. Here's a book that will help you face chaos and complexity with concepts and exercises, and plenty of clues on how to make sense of it all—whether it's projects, products, processes, events, relationships, recipes… Whether you work in design or not, this book is for anyone who wants to make sense of chaos.

• 'How to Make Sense of Any Chaos', Maria Martins says is worth your time. Maybe that's her secret for being logical and creative at the same time. 💯

For when you hit a creative block

A book that reads like a conversation between friends, where the author breaks down for you, anecdote after anecdote, how successful ideas are generated. He argues you don't need to be a genius (in fact he questions the narrative we've built around genius and inspiration) but rather understand and know how to find the balance between novelty and familiarity. It won't change your life, but it will fill you with curious facts. For example, how a new ice cream flavor is created at Ben&Jerry's or what Paul McCartney's creative process was for writing Yesterday.

• 'The creative cure', Anna Bohigas's recommendation for rethinking processes and staying motivated, and for a bit of creative gossip (always helpful). 💡

In case you want to improve as a professional—and while you're at it, as a person—

Saying things clearly without beating around the bush. Honesty with humanity and empathy. Real constructive criticism, the kind that actually cares about improvement. Sounds good? This is the approach of 'Radical Candor', a book that revolutionized how people communicate and lead teams in the startups and that poses an approach we could benefit from, by the way, in any area of society.

• 'Radical Candor', Sora says it's a recommendation for any human being. Pretty much required reading 👏

And if you want to grow as a person and while you're at it, as a professional—

Carl Rogers was a renowned American psychologist from the last century who centered his career on defining and measuring the potential of what is known as "person-centered psychotherapy", a technique from the humanistic school characterized by being the least directive of all. Based on three basic attitudes—empathy, acceptance, and congruence—this approach catalyzes personal growth in those who experience it and teaches us things directly applicable to our everyday relationships with family, friends, teams, and clients.

• 'On Becoming a Person', we had some suspicion that Ismael was going to take us into the world of psychology. And we love being right. 🧠

For developers looking to sharpen their skills

If you're a developer, you've definitely heard of Clean Code (we recommend it too, by the way). But in this case 'Clean Code in Javascript' focuses more on JS and if you want to improve the readability and level of your code, it'll definitely be a good choice.

• 'Clean Code in Javascript', Javi's recommendation for cleaner, better-organized code. The sock drawer is something everyone organizes themselves. 💻

For curious and thoughtful minds

Without question 'Ways of Seeing' is a classic: four essays that originated as a BBC TV series in the 1970s, and are the perfect starting point for asking yourself what we see when we look. John Berger explores matters such as point of view, woman as an object in art and in society, the conscious decision to look—rather than to see—or how fascination is manufactured.

• 'Ways of Seeing', the book that Ana Picado read on a train and hasn't stopped reading since. 🤓

And if you're looking, finally, to understand everything that concerns us

An allegorical novel, set in traditional India, that recounts the life of Siddhartha blending poetry and philosophy. It speaks about how the path to truth and wisdom passes through renunciation and understanding. And it speaks, ultimately, about how each path is different, profound, and personal. One of those indisputable classics that have helped shape Western culture of the twentieth century, and a work that has established Herman Hesse as one of the fundamental authors of our time.

• 'Siddhartha', Marta's recommendation for asking ourselves the deep questions. 🧐

For you who know that imagination can save the world

This book is a gift for everyone who loves to read, write, and imagine. Through his conversations with Ursula K. Le Guin, David Naimon reveals everything behind the novels, poetry collections, and essays by this brilliant woman and writer. An entire world of fantasy that is far more connected to the adult world than it may appear at first glance.

• 'Conversations on Writing', the book that for María León is the perfect blend of fantasy, method, and observation. 🙃

For those seeking the common story in all stories

''The Hero with a Thousand Faces' ('The Hero with a Thousand Faces') is a work by mythologist, writer, and professor Joseph Campbell in which he analyzes, through comparative mythology, the theory of the mythological structure of the archetypal hero's journey. This analysis has had significant influence on writers and artists today: George Lucas acknowledged the influence of these theories on Star Wars. A new and improved translation was recently published by Editorial Atalanta, and we love it.

• 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces', if recommended by Ritxi, brings guaranteed reflection. We'll definitely read it. 🙌

So you stop to reflect deeply on our impact

Are we aware of how our designs impact society? Hundreds of people commit suicide every year because of social networks, because of designs made by designers, product developers... A doctor has an ethical code and would never prescribe medication to someone who doesn't need it; yet, we accept making designs that we know can deceive or hook people into a product or service.

• 'Ruined by Design', Pablo's recommendation that left us wide-eyed (and our minds occupied). 🤔

And meet a very peculiar mind. Could he be the Columbus of the 21st century?

This biography tells the life of Elon Musk (whom we imagine you already know), and how he builds a puzzle with a single objective: colonizing other planets to ensure human persistence. It's also curious to discover how he disrupts complex sectors like aerospace, staying ahead of competitors in just a few years thanks to a lean

• 'Elon Musk, the entrepreneur who anticipates the future', recommended by Laurent to break out of routine (and planet Earth). 🚀

So you can follow the stories of women with top-notch illustration

An inspiring book that tells stories of wonderful women who went unnoticed throughout history. Plus, each biography comes with a portrait made by María Herreros that lets us imagine and feel them closer to us. Short stories, some quite surprising, that leave you wanting more. Throughout the book we see how these women have been silenced and unfairly sidelined.

• 'Us: Stories of women and more', Laura's recommendation, one of those we like for so many reasons. 💜

And for those moments of disconnection when you want to laugh... at what's no longer even funny

A comic designed and written by a woman, Raquel Córcoles (if we mention Moderna de Pueblo you'll probably recognize it). It's a book of humor, critique, and feminism where we can see reflected situations similar to ones we women have to deal with. At home, at work, in the media... everywhere. If humor brings reflection, even better.

• 'Coñodramas'. This one comes from Eli and it's just like her: humor, revolution, and color. 😜

Happy reading!

The Soluble team.