This classic satire gripped me even though I only half-understood it. Whatever disaster befell my family, my mother used to assert it was surely for the best; so when, as an eye-rolling teenager, I found this on the reading list—Mum’s philosophy, tested in the real world—I was hooked.

OK, the eighteenth century was racist, sexist, and colonial… but perspective is what Voltaire is all about. Didn’t quite cure me of optimism, btw.

The Haitian Revolution was long left out of the history of Atlantic revolutions, dismissed as a violent uprising of enslaved people without an ideological dimension.

Dubois’s book walks readers through the twists and turns of this decade-long revolution, highlighting the intellectual agency of enslaved and freed people and the ideological consequences of this transformative event.

The Haitian Revolution is a notoriously complicated event, but I found that this book provided coherence and a compelling analysis of the effects of this crucial moment in the history of democracy and movement for human rights. And it was a gripping read at that.

I love this novel’s lush language, its wordplay, and the fun of the story. Pynchon’s descriptions of nature are reminiscent of Bierstadt’s paintings of nature as a sacred space. Combine this with the density of detail about science, cartography, and America in the late 1700s, and what results is a complex telling of the creation of a line with huge consequences, such as its use to define the North and the South during the Civil War.

Pynchon’s irony and satire imply more than what is said, using map-making, to cite just one example, as a way to talk about how the world is divided between classes, races, religions, and national identities.

I love how the book continually asks readers, How do we know what we think we know? And puts the lie to the simplistic stories about early America that most of us learned in school.

Most people think of Bach as a church composer, but the broader political context was that of Frederick the Great and the Enlightenment.

Bach was rationalizing music as much as he was putting it to liturgical use. The great cycles of the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Art of the Fugue are science as well as art. This book explores that idea by focusing on a bizarre encounter between Frederick and Bach, when he was invited to play for the king, in what may have been an early attempt at trolling.

This was written by Robert A. Heinlein, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. It is a delightful story of a boy and his off world pet. It describes the adventures that the two go through, and in the end, is one a pet or are they simply caring friends? I have read most of Heinlein's novels, but this one hit a cord with me. Perhaps, it does so, because it reminds me of my boyhood with my dog or that it shows the love humans have for their animals. Whatever the reason that it stays with me, it showed that you don't need a complex story to capture someone's imagination and emotions.

As a philosophy student at university, I stuck my nose up at Voltaire and his cynicism and blunt words. Now, in my wise old age, I not only realize the truth behind his aphorisms but I am also astounded by how accurately he speaks to life happening now.

History repeats itself is not a cliche, it’s fact, and while reading this book, I found myself taken aback by Voltaire’s wisdom. It highlighted so many present-day issues despite being written centuries ago and offered meaningful and groundbreaking approaches to navigating life. I’m so grateful I returned to Voltaire.

This is really just an essay, but it is one of the most insightful documents on fashion ever written. It asks a deceptively simple question: why have modern men rejected the fashionable adornment, finery, and splendor that was once the hallmark of all high-status clothing, masculine and feminine. The psychologist and dress reformer John Carl Flugel attributes the change in masculine fashion in the 18th century to a change in social and political ideals. The Enlightenment and the political revolutions against the old regimes of Europe inspired a new, modern wardrobe for men: sober, practical, unassuming. Flashy clothing was then associated with discredited aristocratic—and feminine—vanity.  

Reverse Harems are not typically a genre I read, but since I know the author well, I made the exception.

I thoroughly enjoyed book 1, especially since she came up with an actual reason reverse harems were necessary to the otherworld cultures involved. In book 2, we get to learn more about the paladins and Crystal. Her true birthright revealed, Crystal is going to fight for the throne—not for the power or prestige, but because she loves the paladins and wants to save them from their current fate.

Realistic world problems, realistic politics, and other problems abound that will take effort rather than sugar-coated easy fixes. A fantasy that works and has consequences. Loads of surprises, which just adds to the fun. 

I have adored my next pick for its long narrative threads ever since I read it in my youth. It is the first book of a trilogy, but its ideas about human dignity and honor transcended the first book and pulled me into reading the second and third.

This book helped me shift my mindset, and I first picked it up during a stressful phase of my life. I gave myself some time to simply breathe and take it in. It reminded me that the “now” is not just a passing second, but a sacred space where peace and clarity live.

I love how it helped me stop living in the echo of yesterday or the fear of tomorrow. I remember closing my eyes and whispering, “This moment is enough,” and feeling my shoulders relax for the first time in weeks. It helped me feel more connected with myself, my son, my clients, and in doing so, intentionally live every moment with more compassion, stillness, and supremacy.