The Impact Edit: A Last-Minute Gift Guide for People Who Think Too Much

It’s December. People want gift ideas. I’m not going to pretend I have opinions on candles or bath salts or whatever else shows up in holiday gift guides. But books? Books I can do.

Here is a small collection of books I keep returning to and keep prescribing, especially as the year gets darker and quieter. They work for that person on your list who is impossible to shop for. They work just as well for you- if you need something to disappear into while everyone else argues about politics at dinner.

Many of the books I return to have shaped how I think about systems, about who gets considered when we design spaces, and about what sustainability actually demands of us. Some are explicitly about the built environment. Others aren’t. But they all changed how I see the work.

Who gets welcomed and who is left out

• Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

• Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

• Cultish by Amanda Montell

• Power by Jeffrey Pfeffer

• Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas

How things work

• Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

• Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth

• Greenthink by Rick Fedrizzi

How can we look at things differently

• The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres & Tom Rivett-Carnac

• The First, the Few, the Only by Deepa Purushothaman

• The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• Higher Ground by Alison Taylor

How can we build differently?

• Net Zero City by Farah Naz FCibse RibaAF AoU and Langdon Morris

• Healthy Buildings by Joseph Allen and John D. Macomber

• Economics of Biophilia by Bill Browning at Terrapin Bright Green

• Circular Economy for Dummies by Eric Corey Freed, AIA, LEED Fellow

Community: We can't do it alone

• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

• Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

• Connect by Carole Robin, Ph.D. and David Bradford

For hope and a reminder that things could be different

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• What If We Get It Right? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Personal Sustainability: How to keep going

• Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

• WELL at Work by Esther Sternberg M.D.

Read one. Read half of one. Buy one and leave it on your coffee table so visitors assume you’re interesting. If they ask about it, even better.

The book will do the explaining far more gracefully than you ever could :)

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The Conversation Continues...

This post is part of our ongoing exploration into how the ideas we consume—from systems theory and indigenous wisdom to behavioral economics—shape the way we build and inhabit the world. As problem-solvers, we believe the best insights emerge when diverse perspectives meet. Have you encountered similar challenges or discovered different approaches? Share your story.

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