What we're reading these days

This summer, the Oldspeake team launched a monthly series called Creative Community Meetups welcoming all creatives to virtually gather and share ideas and inspiration. One of these sessions produced this reading list that takes some weird twists and turns. So, if you’re looking for something surprising and new to add to your must-read list, keep going...we’re sure you’ll find something here.

The Overstory by Richard Powers
Recommended by Cody Hopper

Filled with short stories all with a tree at the center. Cody said reading it was, “an unexpectedly emotional experience,” that conveyed both the cultural and ecological impact of trees.

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Recommended by Despi Ross

Despi loved this book because it reveals the complex ways that trees communicate with one another, care for their neighbors, and other amazing things we didn’t know trees could do. It’s worth it to splurge on the illustrated edition.

And, if you are looking for a soundtrack to your tree-reading, Allen Pieper recommends The Trees by Rush.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Recommended by Jameal Ghaznawi

Written by a writer - this one is focused on the topic of resistance. Jameal shared his big takeaways: Creativity comes from outside of yourself. Do the work and put the time into your craft if you want results.

All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols
Recommended by Emily Mixter

Emily loved this one because of the unique way the writer and artist mixed digital illustration, painting, and poetry into a single medium. The result was expressive work that conveyed a sense of vulnerability; something Emily feels is sometimes missing in professional creative work.

Boss Life: Surviving my own Small Business
Recommended by Scott Johnson

Scott, who owns his own small business, found resonance in this look into a woodworking business the author grew into a $2million company over the course of 26 years. Each chapter is a month of the year as he was struggling to keep his business afloat.

Lone star: The History of Texas and the Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach
Recommended by Tyler Greason

Tyler has a habit of reading historical non-fiction to better understand the context of historical violence and its impact and imprint on society. This title is considered the old standard when it comes to the history of Texas.

The Lean Startup by Eric Reis and and Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Recommended by Allen Pieper

As the co-founder of Oldspeake, Allen is always thinking about growth, expansion, and opportunity. He enjoyed reading these two books at the same time because they tackle these startup topics from different perspectives. The Lean Startup asserts that iteration leads to success while Zero to One focuses on the unique thing you made.

As you can see, the conversation took us all over the place from trees to startup founders. If you’d like to join us for a future meetup, sign up here. Meetups take place at 4 PM ET the last Wednesday of the month.