Hello from Brionna! Thank you for inviting me into your 2018. Today’s episode is a collaboration with Hiwote Getaneh, host and producer of "Depth & Candor" podcast. I discovered “Depth & Candor” via @podcastsincolor in 2017 and, after orbiting one another for months, we met at an event she was facilitating (ht @Vinterlude!)

 "Depth & Candor” is a pod “designed to help you live a fulfilling, impactful and vibrant life."

In this episode, we break down the books that we resonated with and were challenged by in 2017, and why they deserve a spot on your reading list this year.

8:00 - Our Top Reads For Your 2018

• Hiwote: “Homegoing” by Yaa Yahzi. “It makes you think of race and power in current political climate, but this made you think of it in a different way.”
• Brionna: “Cravings" by Chrissy Teigen is easily the most approachable cookbook I’ve ever read. I come form a dieting household--Melba toast crackers and Lean Cuisine was de rigueur. (Re)-learning flavors with Chrissy was the highlight of my 2017, and this book will be at my fingertips for the foreseeable future.

15:15 - Our #1 Career Books For Your 2018

• Hiwote: “Linchpin” by Seth Godin. “He focuses on how to add value to the world in a way that’s not corny, and despite your fears. “Linchpin” is about how to stand out in your career, become an expert, and how to share your work with the world. Doing that, despite whatever fear you have.”
• Brionna: “The Big Life,” by Ann Shoket. “Ann's work really shaped how we as millennial women came into ourselves. When Ann was Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen, she guided the magazine and audience through that time. She noticed as more women became career and entrepreneurship focused. She helped lead the brand. “The Big Life” helped me unpack what matters to me, so I’m not busy spinning my wheels worrying about a life I don’t even want.”

17:30 - Our #1 Fiction Books For Your 2018

• Hiwote: “The Thing Around Your Neck,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “Everyone knows “Americanah, “but this is an anthology. She tells people’s stories in both Nigeria and in the US. I made my mom read it, my aunts read it.”
• Brionna: “The Engagement Game,” by Joi-Marie McKenzie. “Her journey to get “that answer” unlocks a lot of questions she’s never asked of herself. The character shifts mindsets to get where she wants to be.”

25:40 - The Books We’d Recommend To Our Younger Selves

• Hiwote: “Designing Your Life,” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. “Their point is, your life can be successful in a million ways. Your only job is to choose the direction you want to go in, and go in that direction with no stress about the things you’re leaving behind. It’s a game changer, and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of switching careers or figuring out what direction to go in in life.”
• Brionna: “Drop the Ball,” by Tiffany Dufu. “What makes her so relatable to me is that she grew up thinking it was her job as the woman in the house to take care of everyone. The book is about her letting go of that need, how she had to learn to drop the ball. By dropping the ball, she created space for others to pick it up.

Find Hiwote and "Depth & Candor" podcast on Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud. Subscribe to her newsletter here. Instagram @hiwote_g.

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