If you're like me, one of the benefits of a long holiday weekend is some bonus time to curl up with a good page-turner.
So, in light of the 4th of July weekend, we thought it would be fun to switch up this month's KCI Design Journal and have each team member share a book recommendation they've enjoyed in the past few months.
There's a little bit of something for everyone in here: business advice, personal growth, historical fiction. Grab one or grab them all. We're hoping to help you fill your bookshelves AND your summer weekends. Oh, and may we suggest a hammock… what book isn't better enjoyed in a hammock?!
Kari's Pick:
Founder + Principal Designer
Unreasonable Hospitality
Will Guidara
The title of this book alone is 100% my jam. As a lover of gathering people, especially in our home, I had a feeling I might like this one. Author Will Guidara is the former co-owner of famed NYC restaurant, Eleven Madison Park. He was recently interviewed on a business podcast I listen to, and after hearing his philosophy on service I couldn't get my copy of his book fast enough.
Unreasonable Hospitality is a call for ALL business owners (and humans in general) to join the hospitality industry, or rather, BRING the hospitality industry to our work. Guidara pulls back the curtain on several of the best restaurants in New York, simultaneously demonstrating how to “transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences.”
Ultimately, this is a deeply inspirational book about human connection. And I loved it.
-Kari
Taylor's Pick:
Senior Designer
How Are You, Really?
Jenna Kutcher
Jenna Kutcher teaches how to harness your power to take control of your life. This book is a guide to reframing your entire life and finally finding your own sense of joy and fulfillment in a world telling you who to be. It’s about understanding what’s going on in your head and finding your way back to a life that is truly your own. Jenna Kutcher teaches how to harness your power to take control of your life.
I personally love this book because it brings the honesty out of yourself and makes you ask yourself hard questions to truly find your passion. Jenna has a great way of relating real-life experiences to help guide you and make you feel like you are not alone on this journey.
-Taylor
Dee Ann's Pick:
Product Manager
The Alice Network
Kate Quinn
Switching things up a bit, and going with a New York Times bestseller - The Alice Network.
This is about female spies during WWI and WWII. I found this book to be a very interesting read. I enjoyed learning about the remarkable women of the Alice Network and really appreciated that there was some truth to this story, which is why I love diving into historical fiction novels.
-Dee Ann
Kayla's Pick:
Virtual Administrative Assistant
28 Summers
Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand is an American writer, mostly of romance novels. Her novels are typically set on and around Nantucket Island, where she resides making all her books the perfect summer escape. She is known as the queen of beach reads, and for some of us living in the midwest, it allows us to live vicariously through her words!
28 Summers is based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), 28 Summers explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year love affair and the dramatic ways this relationship complicates and enriches their lives and the lives of the people they love.
-Kayla
As always, let us know if there are other design questions you have or decorating tips you’re interested in. We’re here to help!
Now go claim dibs on that hammock. Happy Reading!
