Author: 森見登美彦 (Tomihiko Morimi)

I grabbed this one on a lark years ago when I was visiting a Japanese bookstore. I’ve never directly read anything by the author, but I loved the anime adaptions of some of his works, The Eccentric Family and The Tatami Galaxy. Now it’s finally time to give it a read.

Authors: Josh Clark, Chuck Bryant, Nils Parker

This was a very random pick. To look at it, it’s 27 chapters about all sorts of topics with no apparent theme whatsoever. Randomness. But truthfully, I can see some value in that. If a person wants to broaden their horizons, this scattershot approach might be a great way to do it. And the more stuff I know, the more stuff I have to trot out in conversations with people.

Authors: Jennifer E. Beer, Eileen Stief

This looks like a great way to gain some insight into the art of mediation. As someone who thinks we need a lot more interpersonal understanding, this should provide some fruitful material. Plus, this handbook has its origins in conflict resolution work developed by the Quakers, who I’ve long admired.

Authors: Rhena Branch, Rob Willson

I think we can all use some deeper reflection on our thoughts and how they flow. If I understand correctly, that’s the heart of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This seems like a fairly accessible overview of it, with some practical suggestions for healthier thinking.

Author: Jane Yolen

I’ve long loved folklore. Be it fairy tales, legends, or proverbs, our world contains a stunning wealth of them. In many ways, they’re expressions of our values. So I believe it’s important to be familiar with a good variety from around the world. Looking through the table of contents of this book, it’s clear that when the editor says “world”, they really mean it. While the majority of the stories come from the global north, the global south is not neglected, with several stories coming from South America and Africa.

Authors: The Arbinger Institute

This one seems like it could have some fruitful material for my mission of diplomacy. It purports to be about investigating the roots of conflict, and I’m definitely a believer in going after root causes. I admit to having little knowledge of The Arbinger Institute, but perhaps this book will give me good reason to look at their other work.

Author: Kendra Cherry

I kinda regret not having taken an introduction to psychology course in college. I think there’s lots of interesting stuff there with insights into how the human brain works. I’m hoping that going through this book might lend me some of that insight.

Authors: Portable Press

I came across this while browsing at Barnes & Noble and took a liking to it. It seems to take a very humorous perspective on numerous survival topics. I’m all about humor and not dying, so this seemed to be a good choice.

Author: Jostein Gaarder

I’ve never actually read this one, though in a high school philosophy class I remember reading some excerpts from it. It seems like a rather pleasant way to look back through Western philosophy, which seems pretty cool up through Kant and Kierkegaard and then seems to nosedive into a nihilistic hole.

Author: Dominique Dubois Gilliard

This book delves into the topic of social injustice from a Christian perspective, which I rarely see. I am firmly convinced that there is a Christian call to demand justice and I’d like to see how this book approaches it.

Authors: Paulo Lemos Horta, Yasmine Seale

I have wanted to read a good version of this for a long time, and this seems like it’s probably the closest thing to an authoritative English translation I’m going to find. Numerous tales from here have captured the imaginations of people all over the world. That alone seems like a great reason to dive in.