It’s that time of year again! Is someone in your life graduating this May? Check out these great gift ideas for graduates! With best wishes from your friendly librarian, Cailin.
Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, by J. K. Rowling
This book is based on a commencement speech delivered by J. K. Rowling at Harvard University. Rather than focusing on the meaning of success, Rowling highlights the importance of having the courage to fail.
The Quarter-Life Breakthrough: Invent Your Own Path, Find Meaningful Work, and Build a Life that Matters, by Adam Smiley Poswolsky
Poswolsky writes from his own experience working a job that made him miserable. His book offers career advice on how to work with purpose.
Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, by Arianna Huffington
In Thrive, Arianna Huffington points out that the pursuit of traditional metrics of success (money and power) has led to stress-related illnesses and the loss of quality in our relationships. Instead, Huffington argues for a third metric to be considered: our well-being and capacity for compassion.
What You’re Really Meant to Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential, by Robert Steven Kaplan
Kaplan, a professor at Harvard Business School, has written a book about how to look inward and decide which path is best for you. This is not a one-size-fits-all prescription for success.
The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion, by Elle Luna
This book acknowledges that knowing what you want is the first step. Then, Luna makes the distinction between “should” (what we think we ought to do) and “must” (what we really want to do). The author discusses the most common reasons why people hesitate to choose must over should.