The 2026 DesignMeets Summer Reading List

As an ultrarunner and design researcher, I found this book to be a fascinating study of human motivation, "extreme user behaviour", and how communities construct shared meaning around "Type 2 fun".

A throughline across much of my work is the question of what stays human and what gets delegated to machines, especially when it comes to creative work. Freshly published at the end of June, this book sits right at that intersection.

My cousin Cindy Khayat’s new book/guide for doing the internal work to keep our nervous systems optimized to deal with all the things life, work, family throws at us. We need to tune up our nervous system now more than ever …. 

When I hear about a book that people say ‘you must read’ from more than 5 people in a short time, I buy it. I can’t wait to pour into this work of fiction during my upcoming summer holiday at the cottage.

The follow up book to her ‘everyone must read’ book Braiding Sweetgrass, this is a very short book about reciprocity - in nature and in life. The beauty of it - after reading it, you give it to someone and they continue the chain.

Adam is a charming historian who recently wrote two books to tell the story of how Toronto (and most of Canada) formed through stories about ‘death’ (think: disease, gun duels, suicides, war, etc.)… and a follow up book — The Toronto Book of Love — completes the historical account of Toronto via stories of love (which is next for me to read this summer!)

P.S. Happy to befriend readers on GoodReads to see what others are reading and get more ideas for my Reading List!

I read this sweeping novel while travelling through Poland, Austria, and Croatia. Set in the 18th century against the backdrop of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the neighbouring Ottoman and Habsburg Empires, it offered a fascinating historical lens on the regions I was experiencing firsthand.

I revisited Ferrante's remarkable Neapolitan Novels series while exploring Naples. Reading the books a second time while navigating the city's chaotic, vibrant streets gave them an entirely new dimension.

As I travel back and forth between the two places I call home, Canada and the U.S., I was reminded of this beautiful novel, which moves between Cornwall, London, and New York. Its reflections on home, friendship, family, and belonging resonated in new ways.

Back in Toronto, I finished the most recent novel from my favourite Canadian author. Toews's signature blend of humour, resilience, heartbreak, and unforgettable characters makes her work as compelling as ever.

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If you found yourself connected with Cory Doctorow's (@doctorow) insights in his book and articulation of "enshittification," this is essential reading. Doctorow takes an open-eyed look at artificial intelligence and the hype to reveal the power dynamics inherent in the technology. How we can build tools that actually fit our human needs. A timely and critical look at AI and how it remains in service of people, not the other way around.

"A centaur is a person who is assisted by a machine... A reverse centaur is a person 'conscripted to act as an assistant to a machine' where the machine is the real mind behind a particular task while the human counterpart is simply there to 'help' the machine get to the objective."

Kraftwerk wasn't just a group of musicians; they were a cultural design laboratory. Influenced by Bauhaus principles and modernist visual design, they explored the boundaries between human artists and automated machines. In our landscape of generative tools and automated workflows, their work feels quite relevant. Kraftwerk demonstrated to us how to treat technology as an instrument of human creative intent rather than letting the machine take over the output. For designers navigating AI automation today, it’s a brilliant masterclass in maintaining artistic direction, identity, and control beside automated systems.

Computer love, computer love
Another lonely night
Stare at the TV screen
I don't know what to do
I need a rendezvous

- some lyrics from Computer love

Our industry is obsessed with rapid output, metrics, and automated workflows; Indi Young (@indiyoung) reminds us that what fuels our meaningful design work is deeper listening. Published by Rosenfeld Media (@rosenfeldmedia), this book helped me reframe empathy not as a vague, squishy feeling, but as a deliberate design discipline. A great guide for breaking down silos, improving collaboration, and making sure our technology solutions solve real human problems.
 

“The deepest form of understanding another person is empathy...which involves a shift from...observing how you seem on the outside, to...imagining.” – Indi Young