Happy Book Lovers Day

If I wasn’t an accountant, I’d probably be a writer.
(Or maybe a librarian… though the introvert in me might spend more time hiding in the stacks than helping people find books.)

Libraries have always been my happy place—where every word is magic, every page a portal, and every book a chance to rebalance the emotional ledger.

Assets? Imagination, curiosity, perspective.
Liabilities? Not enough time to read them all.

These days, I “read” more with my ears than my eyes. Audiobooks are my lifeline—turning soccer commutes into adventures and road trips into classrooms.

This past June 2025, we drove across Spain listening to the Divergent series. We debated factions, analyzed Tris and Four’s choices, and realized bravery isn’t the absence of fear—it’s moving forward despite it. (My accountant brain is firmly in Erudite, though I like to think I have some Dauntless days.)

Books have been my constant companions—helping me escape, understand, and return with new ways to see the world. They’re also my favorite gift to my daughters, because they open their eyes to worlds they haven’t yet seen and build their “library of perspectives.”

Here’s my current shelf of intangible assets—the books I keep coming back to:
1. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Annual ritual in French, English, and now Spanish. A simple story of a boy and his rose… but really, about love, responsibility, and valuing the essential.

2. Zero to One – Peter Thiel
A masterclass in creating something new, not just improving what exists.

3. All Fours – Miranda July
A liberating, strange midlife detour reminding me freedom of thought is worth protecting.

4. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
A lesson in resilience. Revenge plotted like a meticulous cash flow forecast—with a payoff worth the wait.

5. Storyworthy – Matthew Dicks
Storytelling as a skill you can audit and improve.

6. Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
His accountant roots show in his mastery of cash flow and risk. Honest, messy, inspiring.

7. Breath, Eyes, Memory – Edwidge Danticat
Captures the flavors, doubts, and beauty of Haitian life.

8. Power – Jeffrey Pfeffer
Practical guide to navigating influence like an internal control manual for leadership.

9. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
Mandatory money literacy for teens and adults.

10. Anything Judy Blume
Tender, funny, and timeless road trip gold with my girls.

11. Poetry Anthologies
Like emotional accrual—quietly building until you need it.
Right now, I’m listening to Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley—raw, lyrical, and heavy, following a young woman navigating poverty, exploitation, and the cracks in the justice system.

I’ve always believed books are like balance sheets for the soul:
Your assets are the stories you’ve read.
Your liabilities are the ones you haven’t yet discovered.
And every new book is an investment in your intellectual equity.

What’s one book that’s shaped your life—or the way you see the world?