Summer’s here, and with it, the half-point of a year that’s been filled with challenges for CFOs. From navigating an uncertain economic environment to keeping an eye on geopolitical tensions to considering how technologies like generative AI could impact their business, financial leaders have had a busy six months.

With the elections and year-end close around the corner, it’s a good time to find some way to relax — like sitting by the pool with a good book. With that in mind, we’re recommending 10 of the top books on our own summer reading list.

We’ve attempted to cast a broad net to appeal to multiple topics and tastes, with some business-focused non-fiction as well as some fiction that will help your mind step away from the office. The list includes heavy-hitting deep dives into such topics as the racial wealth gap and the role of women in our economic system as well as science fiction that explores humanity’s potential future, and mysteries that might keep you occupied poolside.

We hope you get a chance to pick one of these up (maybe while listening to our CFO summer playlist) and if so, let us know your thoughts — along with any titles that you recommend we should check out.

NON-FICTION

When McKinsey Comes to Town by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe

McKinsey & Company is an iconic name among the consulting industry, tapped by businesses everywhere to help them improve their efficiency and bolster profits, but its inner workings are often shrouded by secrecy and NDAs. In this investigative work, the authors peer behind McKinsey’s curtain to understand the advice it gives. They examine how while recommendations for cost-cutting can boost profits in the short-term, they can have negative long-time impact on workers and safety measures.

Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber

While the title of this book is simple, its contents are anything but. Now in its tenth anniversary edition, in this work anthropologist David Graeber examines the origins and historic workings of credit and how this economic system — which predates physical currency, he notes — has impacted countries’ political workings and history for thousands of years.

The Color of Money: Black Banks And The Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran

While slavery was abolished nearly 160 years ago, the economic disparities between White and Black Americans created by it still linger in our society. In this book, author Mehrsa Baradaran examines these racial wealth disparities by honing in on the generators of wealth for Black Americans — Black banks.

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport

Companies today are facing a shortage of skilled talent, as CFOs hunting for new accounting or finance blood well know. In addition to making it more difficult to find new candidates, the talent crunch also leaves current employees stuck juggling inflated workloads that can lead to burnout. But what if our definition of modern “productivity” is fundamentally broken? That’s just what Cal Newport argues in this book. Instead, Newport looks at historic philosophers and thinkers including Galileo and Isaac Newton to examine “slow productivity,” a more sustainable approach to our modern jobs.

Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net by Jessica Calarco

Bostonians may point to a certain coffee chain, but really, what America runs on is, well, women, sociologist Jessica Calarco argues in this book. Surveying 4,000 parents and conducting over 400 hours of interviews with women, Calarco takes a deep look into how economic and political policies have dismantled America’s social safety net, leaving many women serving in a role akin to Greece’s mythic Atlas — bearing the economic and social strains on their own shoulders.  

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism and The World by Malcolm Harris

Silicon Valley looms large in our cultural zeitgeist as a center of innovation and entrepreneurship, but the birthplace of some of the modern world’s most revolutionary inventions has a long and storied history. In this book, Malcolm Harris sketches out the evolution of Palo Alto, one that includes everything from microchips to the impact of colonialism.

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion by Julie Satow

The creation of the American department store represented a new stage in retail, allowing customers to easily purchase diverse arrays of goods. More than that, these stores represented a new era of independence for women, including those who took the company reins in a male-dominated world. In this book, Julie Satow examines the lives and career paths of three women who each championed their own stores, including Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller, Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor, and Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel’s.

FICTION

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu  

Science fiction authors and fans alike have long pondered what first contact with other life forms might look like. In the first of this series by Cixin Liu, an alien civilization answers a signal put out by Earth and plans to invade the planet — sparking division among humanity, with some allying with the coming invaders against a civilization they see as corrupt and others planning to fight.

The Hunter by Tara French

Mystery fans might want to check out the latest by acclaimed author Tara French, which follows retired Chicago police officer Cal Hooper to rural Ireland. When two men arrive in the town — both hoping for riches — Hooper is drawn into a scheme of love, family, and revenge.

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

This novel by Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Jayne Anne Phillips received the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Set in West Virginia, the novel follows three characters during the aftermath of the civil war, including a 12-year old child, her mother and a wounded Union soldier in a book about family endurance, trauma and war.