We asked Landed employees to recommend books for summer reading, and the team pulled from the worlds of social justice, business, suspense, and more to create the list below.
Choose a category to jump to that genre. Happy reading!
American Dream
Social justice
History like a mystery
Suspense
Dystopia
Period pieces
Professional growth
Life stories
American Dream
An American Marriage
Tayari Jones
Location featured in the book: Atlanta, Georgia.
“Complex love story with surprises all throughout.”
–Kelley Nayo Jahi, Community Outreach.
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
Location featured in the book: Brooklyn, New York.
“This book follows the story of an immigrant family: an alcoholic father, a tough janitress, Francie Nolan, and her little brother Neeley. An elderly man in an airport once told me that soldiers requested this book overseas to remind them of the details of home.”
–Kat Clark, Engagement. Hometown: Racine, Wisconsin.
Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Location featured in the book: Lagos, Nigeria.
“Wonderful self-reflection from an outsider's perspective. The protagonist helps the reader become an outsider, too, in order to evaluate the reader’s own culture.”
–Alex Lofton, Co-Founder. Hometown: Bellevue, Washington.
Social justice
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Matthew Desmond
Location featured in the book: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“Honest, unflinching exploration of housing and poverty in America. A hard read, but such an important one.”
–Nikki Lowy, Partner Success. Hometown: Mill Valley, California.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Bryan Stevenson
Location featured in the book: Monroeville, Alabama.
“Required reading for all Americans about our legal system. Just read it.”
–Norma Hilary Gibson, Business Operations. Hometown: Denver, Colorado.
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
Location featured in the book: fictional American neighborhood of Garden Heights.
“A powerful story of racial injustice, identity, and activism.”
-Kate Cooper, Growth. Hometown: McLean, Virginia.
History like a mystery
Season of the Witch
David Talbot
Location featured in the book: San Francisco, California.
“San Francisco post-summer of love: the reinvention and evolution of a city. A must-read for anyone who works in, lives in, or loves San Francisco.”
–Nikki Lowy, Partner Success. Hometown: Mill Valley, California.
Devil in the White City
Erik Larson
Location featured in the book: Chicago, Illinois.
“Nonfiction that reads like a novel! Part recounting of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, part murder mystery.”
–Nikki Lowy, Partner Success. Hometown: Mill Valley, California.
Suspense
Absolute Power
David Baldacci
Location featured in the book: Washington, D.C.
“Completely mindless book candy. Think 'Scandal' in book form.”
–Norma Hilary Gibson, Business Operations. Hometown: Denver, Colorado.
Tales of the Unexpected
Roald Dahl
Location featured in the book: London, England.
“This is one of my favorite short story collections, along with 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.' It includes many of Roald Dahl’s best adult stories up through 1979. Like his children’s books, there are elements of magical realism and black comedy.”
–Kat Clark, Engagement. Hometown: Racine, Wisconsin.
Dystopia
The Fifth Season
N.K. Jemisin
Location featured in the book: fictional supercontinent.
“Afrofuturism at its best. Think Orson Scott Card meets Toni Morrison.”
–Norma Hilary Gibson, Business Operations. Hometown: Denver, Colorado.
Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
Location featured in the book: dystopian version of late 1990s England.
“This novel moves you from childlike innocence to a gradual realization of what the adults have done.”
–Kat Clark, Engagement. Hometown: Racine, Wisconsin.
Period pieces
My Ántonia
Willa Cather
Location featured in the book: Black Hawk, Nebraska.
“Romantic, nostalgic, and beautifully written: ‘I wanted to walk straight on through the red grass and over the edge of the world, which could not be very far away.’”
–Kat Clark, Engagement. Hometown: Racine, Wisconsin.
Lilac Girls
Martha Hall Kelly
Location featured in the book: Furstenberg, Germany.
“Incredibly moving and captivating, examining horrific history from the female perspective.”
–Tiffany Testa, Administrative Operations. Hometown: Charleston, West Virginia.
Professional growth
Ethics for the Real World
Ronald A. Howard & Clint D. Korver
“Opportunity to improve your working assumptions about the world.”
–Alex Lofton, Co-Founder. Hometown: Bellevue, Washington.
High Performance Habits
Brendon Burchard
“It provides tangible, proven practices for improving all areas of life.”
–Tiffany Testa, Administrative Operations. Hometown: Charleston, West Virginia.
Life stories
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah
Location featured in the book: Apartheid South Africa.
“One of my favorite comedians – insightful and funny coming-of-age story.”
–Emily Eshman, Customer Operations. Hometown: Ketchum, Idaho.
Space Between the Stars
Deborah Santana
Location featured in the book: San Francisco, California.
“A beautiful memoir by a woman who redefined herself over and over.”
–Kelley Nayo Jahi, Community Outreach. Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Never Stop Walking
Christina Rickardsson
Location featured in the book: São Paulo, Brazil.
“The author's journey through grief and self-discovery feels intimately familiar.”
–Tiffany Testa, Administrative Operations. Hometown: Charleston, West Virginia.
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Walter Isaacson
Location featured in the book: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“A history that feels surprisingly modern.”
–Jesse Vaughan, Co-Founder. Hometown: Malibu, California.
