Who doesn’t like to read some good old books? Our team can’t live without them, so we created this article to show you what has been on our bedside table — or even on our desk.

But more than just showing you our reads, we want you to know what these books represent to us, and their impact on how (or why) we think. In a simple way, we want to walk you through what helps us being, well… US!

So, without further ado, here are our eight recommendations:

1. Las venas abiertas de América Latina by Eduardo Galeano.

This book is a classic! It explains the realistic view of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English colonialism, as well as its consequent impact in Latin America to this day.

2. States of Mind — New discoveries about how our brains make us who we are by Roberta Conlan

An all-star lineup of scientists take you to the front lines of brain research. Are we born to be shy? Why do we remember some events so clearly, while others, not at all? Are creativity and depression somehow linked? Do our dreams really have deeper meanings? Being a technical book, you’ll probably need to read it more than once. But trust us: it contains the brilliant participation of 8 scientists explaining, and proving why, under the same scenario, we have different visions and act totally different from each other. You’ll want to read it!

3. Sprint — How to Solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days by Jake Knapp

This book needs no introduction but, and in case you’re new to the design world, we’ll tell it to you. Sprint is written by three partners at Google Ventures, and it’s a unique five-day process for solving tough problems — proven at more than a hundred companies. This book is a practical guide to answering critical business questions, and it answers problems for teams of any size: from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to nonprofits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea, who needs to get answers today.

4. Cebola Crua com Sal e Broa by Miguel Sousa Tavares

Eternal storyteller, the author gives life to his early years: from childhood to youth, from newspapers to politics. The testimony of a unique life with the contemporary History of Portugal as a background.

5. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

For us, the title of the book speaks for itself. To us, there are two ideas that we consider very interesting. The first one is that the creation of value for the organization is developed in the “Deep Work”, and not in the “Shallow Work” (responding to emails, messages, etc.), meaning that the excess of action and movement is not, by itself, a creator of value. The second one, closely related to the first, is that if we develop our work in “flow” states, we increase our well-being and happiness at work.

6. 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think by Brianna West

Over the past few years, Brianna West has gained renown for her deeply moving, philosophical writing. This new compilation of her published work features pieces on why you should pursue purpose over passion, embrace negative thinking, see the wisdom in daily routine, and become aware of the cognitive biases that are creating the way you see your life.

7. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg reignited the conversation around women in the workplace.

Sandberg is a Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and the co-author of Option B, with Adam Grant. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TED talk in which she described how women, unintentionally, hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than six million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” to seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto.

8. The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less: How the Culture of Abundance Robs Us of Satisfaction by Barry Schwartz

In “The Paradox of Choice,” Barry Schwartz explains why too much of a good thing has proven detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. Synthesizing current research in the social sciences, he makes the counterintuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. Once again, a great book (in our opinion!), but not an easy read. We’re sure you will read it a lot and on many occasions.

Some of these are food for thought, while some are food for the soul. Anyway, they are a little bit of who we are, and sharing is caring. Right? Let us know if any of these reads was helpful to you in any way.

Thank you for reading

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Monday is a Business Design Consultancy based in sunny Lisbon. We co-create with ambitious leaders to build better businesses. We use strategy & design to transform businesses from within.

This core philosophy stands at the center of everything we create. Clients include: Mercedes, Red Bull, Banco de Portugal, Mars, Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda, Philips, Jogos Santa Casa, Guloso…