10 Book Recommendations About Stories, Responsibility, and Fairness
—January 2026 Book Recommendations
Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.
—Malorie Blackman
These latest books I finished circle again and again around questions—of agency, responsibility, and consequences of choices we make in our lives.
From leadership and justice to rivers, data, stories, and heart-moving poetry, these books invited me to slow down and look more closely at what fairness, connection, and care look like in my own life, too.
I hope you might enjoy one or two of these as well.
[See previously recommended books here]
NONFICTION
1. Strong Ground
The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit
by Brené Brown
This book contains the typical strengths of Brené Brown’s books—practical, heavily-researched, and human. It runs the gamut of topics that facilitate better leadership skills, including multiple great metaphors to illustrate her points. (For instance, Brown inspired me to do deep dives into YouTube videos to better understand how dams and weirs work, for her metaphor about locking in and locking through. Interesting!)
2. The Afterlife of Data (from Nonfiction November recommendations—thanks, Anne!)
What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care
by Carl Öhman
Have you noticed how many of your Facebook friends have died, but their account still shows up as active? I did a count once, and it was astounding. This book is a wakeup call that when we die, we’ll leave lots of personal data behind online. And who decides what happens to it? While I didn’t find the entire book interesting, much of it (and definitely the premise!) is a wakeup call to start thinking—and doing—something about our information.
3. Is a River Alive? (from Nonfiction November recommendations—thanks, Harry!)
by Robert Macfarlane
This book may change how you see water forever. I found myself skimming it at first because, yeah, I’ve seen rivers before.
But I soon found great value in adopting the pace that the author wanted me to go, which was slower, more in depth, and magically poetic. And then I loved it. (When I started listening to the audiobook, even better!) The characters in Macfarlane’s stories are memorable. His mystical, lyrical writing matches the mystical, lyrical flow of a river with its wildness and beauty and authority. (Read Harry’s full review here to get a fuller picture of the book’s content. I’m not doing it justice in this snippet.)
4. The Common Good (from Nonfiction November recommendations—thanks, Deb!)
by Robert B. Reich
This book will remind you why pursuing a common good still matters—maybe more than ever. Reich’s writing feels urgent about rethinking (and then doing!) what it means to be a good citizen and to be morally responsible in our current political and cultural climate.
5. Unfair ***
The New Science of Criminal Injustice
by Adam Benforado
Unfair might change how you see the justice system. It shows how our ordinary human bias unconsciously shapes outcomes at every step of the process. It’s quite unsettling. The book is easy to understand and full of real cases and research that reveal how often fairness depends on things that go unnoticed.
6. Everything Is a Story
Reclaiming the Power of Stories to Heal and Shape Our Lives
by Kaitlin B. Curtice
Curtice helps you see how deeply our narratives shape who we are. And how much agency we have to actually question and rewrite those stories ourselves. As a citizen of the Potawatomi nation, she writes grounded in wisdom and clarity.
[Read full review here, “How Stories Shape Our Lives”]
7. All the Honey
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
I’m a wannabe poetry reader. While I loved the one book of poetry I made myself read last year by Mary Oliver last year, this book I read on Hoopla by Trommer truly stirred my soul in a deeper, more surprising way. Her poems are tender and insightful. I’m already planning to buy my personal copy of this book when I see her in person in a few weeks.
FICTION
8. The Good Father
by Diane Chamberlain
I enjoy how Chamberlain writes stories. In this book, she tells how a young single father devotes his life to raising his daughter, then loses his job and home. When a too-good-to-be-true opportunity comes along to solve his problems, he has to make decisions about how far to go. While I did get frustrated with some of the unbelievable decisions the characters made, I remained enthralled with the plot all along the way.
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Originally published in 1999, I just now finished this sweet novel for the first time with my local bookclub. The story follows the letters written by Charlie, a quiet and observant high school freshman, to a “friend” about his new friendships, new loves, and complicated family struggles. It felt so authentic to a high schooler’s voice about the trials of growing up. (I haven’t seen the movie.)
10. The Woman in Suite 11
by Ruth Ware
I make a point of reading all of Ruth Ware’s novels because they center on crime without being gory or terrifying. This follow-up to The Woman in Cabin 10 (helpful but not required reading) finds journalist Lo Blacklock trying to revive her career at a luxury Swiss hotel—until a dangerous mystery pulls her into a chase across Europe. It didn’t feel perfect to me, but it was definitely engaging and easy to follow. (I don’t want to have to think too hard with a novel.)
WHAT I’M READING NOW
- The Frozen River
by Ariel Lawhon - Rule Makers, Rule Breakers ***
Tight and Loose Cultures and the Secret Signals that Direct Our Lives
by Michele Gelfand - Awake
by Jen Hatmaker - Real Love
The Art of Mindful Connection
by Sharon Salzberg - Beyond Belief
by Nir Eyal - All in This Together
Stories and Teachings for Loving Each Other and Our World
by Jack Kornfield - Women Who Run With the Wolves
by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
*** Books from Daniel Pink’s 21 Favorite Books list; you can find it here. I’m working through the list. I’ve read 14 so far, and have 7 more to read.
Have you read a good book lately? I’d love to hear in the comments.
- Prepare to Shift: Choosing My Word for a Year That Will Change
- Will You Be Good at Your Thing Today?
I truly found all the titles you’ve listed here so intriguing, Lisa. I certainly hope to get more reading done in the New Year. Thanks for all the recommendations. Blessings!
I got some good reading done over the holidays, which I so enjoyed doing. I hope you’ll find some good time with books in this new year, Martha!
I read Wallflower a while ago and loved it. I’m reading an interesting book called Emotion Hacks at the moment which I thought might be trite but has some good points, and also Kathy Burke’s autobiography, which is excellent.
Emotion Hacks is such an intriguing title! I’ll look forward to hearing what you think of it by the end. I could use some good emotion hacks from time to time. 🙂
Review is up now – I recommend it!
I have so many books waiting to be read. Now I’ll have even more!
Happy New Year!
Same – I have so many stacks to read, either physically or digitally, here and there. I’ll never get to them all! But it’s still fun to add new books to my list. 🙂 Happy New Year to you too, Willow!
All of these sound so good! I love Diane Chamberlain books but haven’t read that one yet and I really enjoyed The Woman in Cabin 10 so I’ll have to look for The Woman in Suite 11.
Diane Chamberlain has become one of my favorite authors the past couple of years too. She’s been quite prolific so there are still a lot of her books I’ve yet to read. Always nice having good books ahead of me. 🙂
I had to read a recap of The Woman in Cabin 10 before I started the sequel because I had forgotten so much of it. ha. It was helpful!
Luckily I just watched the movie adaptation of the Woman in Cabin 10 recently so I remember the basic story line (though I did remember liking the book much better than the movie!).
I am not a big poetry reader. I was given some cards with excerpts by Mary Oliver and I read one each day and love them. Small doses.
I enjoy Diane Chamberlain too but haven’t read anything by her for a long time, read The Good Father but don’t remember too much about it.
Let us know when you hear Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. How exciting. I get her poems every day and yes they are deep and inspiring. And that book about data after we die – that is really something we need to consider. My hubby knows where I keep my passwords but he has no idea all the places I post. I should create a cheat sheet for him – and would probably be good for me too. All good resources here, Thanks Lisa!
You read Trommer’s poems every day? How delightful, Jean! I only first heard of her a few weeks ago, but already I’ve fallen deeply for her poetry (which is odd for me because I’m not really a poetry person). I listened to the best podcast episode with her just this morning that I saved to listen to again later. https://yg2d.podbean.com/e/rosemerry-wahtola-trommer/
you can subscribe to her daily poems at her website. https://www.wordwoman.com/a-daily-dose-of-poetry/. I really like getting them emailed each day. It is refreshing!
My husband just bought the Brene Brown book for us to read. Some of the others you listed sound really good too.
Love Brene Brow’s writing and her books and I’m excited to know I have a new one to read. Will pin this post.
Brene Brown and a whole lot of new to me authors! What a feast here in the midst of a cold winter’s day. Thanks, Lisa. And a very belated Happy New Year to you, friend.
The only one on that list that I have read is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Loved it
what an amazing selection of books. I love watching Brene Brown on You Tube but I think I’ve only ever read one of her books before. I am finding myself drawn to Is A River Alive although it’s not a book I’d pick up normally. I’ve just watched The Woman in Cabin 10 on Netflix so I’d be interested in reading Ruth Ware’s next book.
Wow, an impressive list of serious thinkers. Adding the Afterlife of Data to my tbr. My list is here if interested! https://theparteveryoneskips.com/posts/011526-modern-mrs-darcy-quick-lit-short-and-sweet-reviews-jan/
I haven’t read any of the books you’ve been reading. But I was interested to see that you’re reading The Frozen River. I’ll be interested to hear what you thought of it. I loved it.
I finished The Frozen River last week and I loved it, too, Jennifer! So well written and the storyline kept me hooked from beginning to end. I especially like that the midwife was based on a real person, too. That always makes a novel more special to me.
I’m reading that Robert McFarlane at the moment – ducking in and out of it. I love his writing and this one is glorious. Thanks for linking up with us and happy new year!
Gosh you are a prolific reader Lisa! You also have a ton of books on the go at one point in time. I struggle if I have 2 on the go and usually just dive in and finish one so I only have one on the go! There are a couple of non fiction books you mentioned (The Common Good and The afterlive of Data) that I think would be good to read in these times we are living in.
That is certainly an interesting selection of books! I haven’t read any of them and the only one I’ve actually heard of is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I’m much more of a fiction fan, but The Afterlife of Data definitely sounds worth a read.
Thanks for joining us for #WOYBS Lisa, you always have such an interesting range of books! Some of these titles really appeal to me so many thanks for your reviews.
Great reading round up Lisa. Ha, I’m a wannabe poetry reader too. I try but it doesn’t work out well for me.
Visiting today from Share Your Shelf.