The best books I’ve read so far this year that were published in 2024 or 2025 are
- (5.0) 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life by Adam Chandler (Pantheon Books, 2025)
- (4.5) The Bright Side: How Optimists Change the World, and How You Can Be One by Sumit Paul-Choudhury (Scribner, 2025)
- (4.5) Exvangelical + Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement That’s Fighting Back by Blake Chastain (TarcherPerigee, 2024)
- (4.5) This is Strategy: Make Better Plans by Seth Godin (Authors Equity, 2024)
- (4.5) Walking with Our Ancestors: Contemplation and Activism by Barbara A. Holmes (Fortress Press, 2024)
- (4.0) Unraveling Religious Leadership: Power, Authority, and Decoloniality by Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi (Fortress Press, 2024)
- (4.0) They Just Need to Get a Job: 15 Myths on Homelessness by Mary Brosnahan (Beacon Press, 2024)
- (3.5) Undoing Urgency: Reclaim Your Time for the Things That Matter Most by Ryan Matt Reynolds (Forbes Books, 2025)
99% Perspiration
Thomas Edison’s quip, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” continues to shape thinking about work in America. Journalist Adam Chandler unpacks why it is that hard work alone is hardly enough for American workers to succeed in today’s economy. Additionally, he provides helpful historical data alongside interviews with a wide variety of workers to explain the development and current state of work in the United States.
This book is an important read for anyone who is interested in achieving increased understanding and for all who are working to impact systemic change.
Welcome Back
Seth Godin is the lone returning author on this month’s list. He has appeared on this blog on numerous occasions, including when The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams was rated 4.5 in August 2023. He has also been mentioned in multiple thought provoking posts going back as far as 2010.
Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi appears for the first time as a book author. She has, however, been mentioned twice before in posts that leveraged her work in her former role as director of the United Church of Christ’s Center for Analytics, Research and Data. An example from 2016 is Closing the Clergy Gender Pay Gap.