From poetry books to graphic novels, our team’s book recommendations are sure to keep your reading list filled way past the quarantine.
The past few weeks have given us time in our hands. It’s as good a time as any to catch up on reading, be that to escape to worlds anew, feed the soul, or fill our proverbial wells with knowledge.
On this week’s Arsenal Picks, we took to our team to check in on their reading. What are they reading currently? What are their favorite books? The picks below make up an interesting mix of books you can add to your reading queue.
Book recommendations from the Arsenal Team
We’ve listed book recommendations from our team. Use the list below to jump to each recommendation.
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- Damn Good Advice by George Lois
- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Tabi Po by Mervin Malonzo
- The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma
- Reboot by Amy Tintera
- Korean – English Picture Dictionary by Woosung Kang
- Poem A Day by Various Poets
- Become A Better You by Joel Osteen
Looking for great music too? Check out our team’s music recos.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
This is the first classic novel I bought. Rebecca is a 1938 Gothic novel written by English author Dame Daphne du Maurier. I am very fond of classic novels and this one got my attention in the bookstore. It’s a beautiful mix of romance, mystery, goth and crime. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” – this opening line made this novel so memorable and it got me to read it nonstop throughout the day I opened it. What I like about this book also is the choice of words, which were very deep that I have to look up some of them in the dictionary to grasp the story better. A good way to expand vocabularies.
-Abby
Damn Good Advice by George Lois
A book with some damn good advice. This book shaped me to be the person I am today. It changed my perspective not just in design and advertising but in life as a whole too. Everyday life is a design and we should treat it as such.
-Stephen
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Re-reading this whole series for fun. The Uglies book series touches physical and emotional change deeply. More importantly, it focuses on a society that requires teenagers to undergo cosmetic surgery to make them look “pretty” in line with the government’s idea of a utopian society. The author, Scott Westerfeld, wants to encourage his readers not to give into peer pressure and conformity. Instead, he wants his readers to be true to themselves. I liked reading this book because of how the author deals and tackles such issues head on, that no matter what age you are at, the takeaways in the book will always be relatable.
-Marian
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This goes beyond the practice of building habits and breaking bad ones. It is very much a book about agency. More than just a succession of tasks you push yourself into doing every day, habits dictate who we are today and who we want to become. By making the decision to commit to a good habit — say, writing a thousand words per day — you are designing the person you’ll be. A great compass that makes progress stupidly simple, this book is a must for creatives, professionals, and entrepreneurs.
-Armand
Tabi Po by Mervin Malonzo
This series of graphic novels from Mervin Malonzo is one of my go-to reads. It’s a great mix of history and mythology in which specific characters from Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are situated in an alternative Spanish colonial period where vampiric creatures called “aswangs” roam. It’s a graphic, gory, and thrilling read and the artwork for the graphic novels which is presented in color is glorious to look at. The novels are also available online for free!
-Alfonso
The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma
Not necessarily reading this book right now, but I’ve read it countless times. To lead without a title has always been my mantra ever since I started out in my career. It simply means that behaving like a leader does not require a title but it will eventually prepare you when the time comes that you have one. I recommend all of Robin Sharma’s books. He also authored The 5am Club. Waking up at 5am was a habit that I started 3 years ago. I plan to get back to it when things go back to normal.
-Andre
Reboot by Amy Tintera
Amy Tintera’s Reboot and Rebel is a two-part sci-fi series that takes place in a dystopian society. While the robot uprising story line may seem like a cliche, the author offers an interesting take on the books by telling the story from the perspective of the “bad guys” or the robots. This fast-paced series has been one of my favorites since my teenage years, and while the dynamic between the characters kept me entertained before, re-reading it now, the books go beyond that and talk about rebellion, empathy and what it means to be human.
-Monika
Poem A Day by Various Poets
Being an avid bookreader, it was hard to pick just one to recommend. But once I thought about which book had the most influence on me, it’s Poem A Day Vol. 3. It’s one of the oldest books in my library, the one with the most folds, the most notes; undoubtedly the most beloved.
It exposed me to a wealth of thought-starters and deepened my love of poetry at the tender age of 15. Since then, I have written almost 30 poems of my own, and had the honor of debuting my poem In Reminisce at the University Theater in U.P. Diliman.
-Mariah
Become A Better You by Joel Osteen
I’ve just started reading this book and I’m currently on Part 1. It’s actually a self-help book that points out where to start and the steps on how you could progress to become a better version of yourself after every chapter.
-Kate
