Favorite books of 2025

I read. A lot. Normally I read about 50 books a year and 20-30 research stories. In 2025, I focused heavily on research, reading about 50. Additionally, I read 38 books. Here were my favorites:

• Searching for Sunshine, Ishita Jain : This is easily in my top 15 books of all time. So good. "Drawn journalism," Jain illustrated interviewed a carpet of people in New York about plants 💚🌱 One of my favorite lines: "Initially I had the sense that I was taking care of my plants, but I have come to realise that I am the one who is actually being taken care of."

• How to tell a Story: Excellent practices from the community-building events movement, The Moth. Skills for connection and communication.

• The Electricity of Every Living Thing, Katherine May: Her Wintering is one of my top favorite books. This one is humbling and inspiring. Walking as healing and discovery.

• Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara: I read this, along with half of the people in senior living (haha). Loved the practical examples of real hospitality (restaurant associates putting coins in the customers' meters) and the transparent sharing of obstacles and lessons-learned.

• Memory and Communication Aids, Michelle Bourgeois: These last two books are filled with accessible, research proven Montessori

  practices.

• Montessori for Elder and Dementia Care, Jennifer Brush