When it comes to summer reading, Ivey faculty members have eclectic interests – from books detailing key points in history to those that uncover the why and how on topics related to their research. Here are some of their recommendations on both the business and personal side.
Barnini Bhattacharyya’s pick
Barnini Bhattacharyya is an assistant professor of Organizational Behaviour
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
by Isabel Wilkerson
This book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson examines how the caste system has shaped society and how we can move beyond destructive separations of human divisions.
“Wilkerson provides a scathing and incredibly well-researched analysis of American society, and argues that the system of race in America is like other caste-based systems such as casteism in India and anti-semitism during Nazi-era Germany,” said Bhattacharyya. “In doing so, she really illustrates how racism is extremely rigid, and embedded across systems and structures in America.”
Erik Bohlin’s pick
Erik Bohlin is a professor and Ivey Chair in Telecommunication Economics, Policy and Regulation
Conversation in the Cathedral
by Mario Vargas Llosa
Erik Bohlin said he became fascinated with this novel, which portrays Peru under dictator and president Manuel A. Odría in the 1950s, not out of interest in Peru, but because of the way the story is told. Author Mario Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2010, works with several stories at once and separates them either by chapters or by alternating different stories in one chapter. Bohlin said he read the book one summer when he needed to be distracted and plunged into a new kind of reading. He first tackled Vargas Llosa’s breakthrough novel, The Green House, but found it too complex, so tried Conversation in the Cathedral, which he said was easier to follow and get lost in.
“It was like a fascinating puzzle to keep up with what was going on,” he said. “I found great fascination in it without knowing much about Peru, just by seeing how the author mixes different motifs and stories and builds to various surprises and ‘taking off the curtain’ of hidden elements.”
Bohlin said the book prompted self-exploration because his own family had several hidden stories that were revealed to him after age 30.
“It is considered to be Vargas Llosa’s greatest book, and I suppose it is useful if you want to get lost and fascinated by hidden family stories, untold but present,” he said.
Given that the book may be challenging to read due to the complex dialogue and style, Bohlin recommends some resources:
Vargas Llosa’s lecture on Conversations in the Cathedral
An article on the use of language
An article on the main characters and story
Jessica Kelly’s pick
Jessica Kelly, HBA ’09, is a lecturer in Managerial Accounting and Control
We Are Not Like Them
by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
Jessica Kelly said she was entranced by this novel from writer/editor Christine Pride and journalist/editor Jo Piazza, not just for the story, but also the format. The book follows two women – one black and one white – whose friendship is altered by a tragic event, and tells the story from each of their perspectives.
“I find the alternating perspectives captivating, especially in audiobook format,” said Kelly.
Zoe Kinias’s pick
Zoe Kinias is the John F. Wood Chair in Innovation in Business Education and an associate professor in Organizational Behaviour
The Person You Mean to Be
by Dolly Chugh
Equity, diversity, and inclusion can be a challenging issue, but this evidence-based book by Dolly Chugh, an award-winning social psychologist at NYU Stern School of Business, can help people to have difficult conversations or face uncomfortable truths.
Zoe Kinias said the book is front and centre among her recommendations because it is based on the principle that development as leaders requires readers to move from thinking in terms of right and wrong/good and bad to thinking about where learning can enable change.
“The book focuses on equity, diversity and inclusion, which can be a hot button for many. Chugh's approach – infused with her generous spirit and deep knowledge – brings what to do, how, and why to life,” she said.
Sergio Lazzarini’s picks
Sergio Lazzarini is a professor of Sustainability and Strategy
Sergio Lazzarini recommends two books that, while quite different, both offer a look at points in history from authors who lived through them.
Child of the Dark (in Portuguese, Quarto de Despejo)
by Carolina Maria de Jesus
Carolina Maria de Jesus, a destitute black Brazilian woman, is best known for her diary detailing her life in a slum in São Paulo, Brazil in the late 1950s, which drew attention to the plight of the poor.
“It’s raw and poetic, devastating and emotional – a poignant lesson of how to navigate life under extremely harsh conditions,” said Lazzarini.
The Philosophy of Modern Song
by Bob Dylan
American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan delivers his unique prose while sharing what he has learned about his craft over the years. The book contains Dylan's commentary on 66 songs by other artists with a variety of styles.
“It was fun to go through the chapters and listen to the featured songs (some of which I did not know), while reading Dylan’s short essays on his personal interpretation of the songs’ symbolism and history,” said Lazzarini.
Ting Li’s pick
Ting Li is an assistant professor in Information Systems
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
by Eric Ries
Ting Li said she developed her interest in digital entrepreneurship research after reading this book from American entrepreneur Eric Ries that explains why innovation is key to a successful startup. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, the book offers advice and best practices for all entrepreneurs.
“This book explains how people envision and create value under extreme uncertainty and shows that entrepreneurship is both art and science,” she said.
Mohamed Satti’s pick
Mohamed Satti is an associate professor in Management Communications
The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality
by Angus Deaton
Mohamed Satti said he enjoys reading books on international affairs, economic development, and religion, among other topics, so Nobel Prize-winning economist Angus Deaton’s account of how the world has progressed, yet is more unequal, appealed to him. Satti said the book is an interesting account of the development of human well-being over the past two centuries or so.
“Deaton argues that economic development incorporates both wealth and health. He looks at how life expectancy has improved due to advances in medicine and agriculture. Developing countries have also advanced, but are still way short in comparison to developed countries,” he said. “Deaton also pointed out that foreign aid is not helping developing countries and should therefore be discontinued since it reflects the interests of donor-developed countries and often harms the recipient developing country.”
Dusya Vera’s pick
Dusya Vera, PhD ’02, is Executive Director of the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership and a professor of Strategy
Happiness is a Choice
by Barry Neil Kaufman
It is easy to think being happy is beyond your control, but Dusya Vera said Barry Neil Kaufman’s book highlights how, at any moment, when facing stimuli, it is the choice of our beliefs that leads to a response or outcome. Kaufman is a therapist, author, motivational speaker, and founder of the educational organization, the Option Institute.
“This book invites us to own our beliefs and to make happiness our priority,” she said.
Zhe Zhang’s pick
Zhe Zhang is an assistant professor of Marketing
The Art of Choosing
by Sheena Iyengar
Given his expertise in branding and marketing communications, it’s no surprise that Zhe Zhang is drawn to a book that explains how we make choices. Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyenger outlines how choices define us and shape our lives and Zhang said it’s an excellent book to read from both a personal and business perspective.
“Coke or Pepsi? iPhone of Samsung? Starbucks or Tim Hortons? The marketplace is filled with choices. This book helps to answer how we, as humans and consumers, make our choices on a daily basis,” he said.
