Scribble’s Isolation Reading List 2020

Scribbles isolation reading list 2020 – because we could all do with a bit of inspiration, wisdom and creativity right now.

Maybe You Should Talk To Someone

Lori Gottlieb offers an incredibly deep and heartwarming insight into life as both a therapist, and patient, as she explores a range of transformative and irresistibly honest personal stories in Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. The book offers a very timely reminder that no one is immune from hard-times – but also, that difficult times pass, and often they help us to grow as people.

Wild

Dreaming of wild open spaces, adventure, and the spirit of rebuilding feels cathartic right now – added bonus that the film version is available too.

At twenty-six, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's rapid death from cancer, her family disbanded and her marriage crumbled. With nothing to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to walk eleven-hundred miles of the west coast of America - from the Mojave Desert, through California and Oregon, and into Washington state - and to do it alone. She had no experience of long-distance hiking and the journey was nothing more than a line on a map.

But it held a promise - a promise of piecing together a life that lay in ruins at her feet.

The Boys in the Boat

The Boys in the Boat tells the incredibly story of a young man abandoned by his family at a young age, told against the backdrop of the Great Depression. A story of determination and fortitude, how he puts himself through college by joining the rowing team, and along with eight other working class boys, becomes so successful that they are even able to compete at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Ultimately a tale of rebuilding self-esteem, rising above seemingly unsurmountable challenges and pushing through – time honoured lessons we can all appreciate at the moment.

Reasons to Stay Alive

Whether you suffer from depression yourself or hope to gain a better understanding of someone who does, Reasons to Stay Alive is an unfailingly honest account of life at its bleakest, but one that simultaneously manages to deliver a powerfully positive message.

What does it mean to feel truly alive? Aged twenty-four, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living.

This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again.

A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth.

Man’s Search for Meaning

If you’re looking for an incredibly inspirational read, look no further than Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

It teaches you how to be resilient by leading you through the heartbreaking story of Frankl’s time imprisoned in Second World War concentration camps. He came to realise that no matter the circumstances of his fellow prisoners, the choice of how to react (and ultimately how to feel) always belonged to them. 

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. His work is especially poignant when you hit a rough spot in life and find yourself feeling hopeless.

Essentialism

As we all have some (a lot of) extra time on our hands at the moment, it’s an ideal moment to consider how we live and if we could live better.

In Essentialism, Greg McKeown, CEO of a leadership and strategy agency in Silicon Valley who has run courses at Apple, Google and Facebook, shows you how to achieve what he calls the disciplined pursuit of less. Being an essentialist is about a disciplined way of thinking. It means challenging the core assumptions of "we can have it all" and "I have to do everything" and replacing them with the pursuit of "the right thing in the right way at the right time".

By applying a more selective criteria for what is essential, the pursuit of less allows us to regain control of our own choices so we can channel our time, energy and effort into making the highest possible contribution toward the goals and activities that matter.

Imagine it Forward

Beth Comstock’s Imagine it Forward brings to life her twenty five year-long endeavour to instigate change at the top levels of big business. Full of ideas to unlock your own creativity, she proposes thought provoking ways to envision your future and build strategy around it. Plus a healthy sense of optimism and self-belief that we could all do with at the moment – it makes for an incredibly inspiring read during this time.

The Daily Stoic

During stressful times it can be helpful to turn to the great stoics – those philosophers who profess that although you may not be able to change the situation in which you find yourself (think global pandemic), you absolutely can you control your reaction to the situation – and ultimately find peace in the most difficult of times.

Lean on greats such as Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Letters From a Stoic by Seneca, and Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus.