What are you reading, Susannah Tawse?
We’re back with the second installment of our “What are you reading?” series. This week, we chat with Susannah Tawse, a curriculum designer and facilitator at InceptionU. Susannah is a self-professed bookworm who easily gets lost in a good book and has her office shelves lined with great reads.
IU: What are you currently reading?
ST: I’m currently reading Braiding Sweetgrass and Joyful.
IU: What is your favorite business book?
ST: N/A
The Rainforest - the community was where I landed when pivoting back into tech. I felt at home in community with shared values. The analogy speaks to me and connects with my heart.I do not see business as ‘business’ - it is relationship and intent, support, ideas, learning and growing. For me it is community.
IU: Favorite technical book?
ST: During my Computer Science degree I took a course in technical writing. It has made me appreciate the craft, art and expertise it takes to truly make a technical book come to life. That being said, I find my favorite ‘technical’ book would not seem so technical. It is Creative Acts for Curious People - exploring how to think, create, and lead in unconventional ways. It is a work of art in the way it tells a story and contains so many nuggets and boulders of goodness and inspiration. It is a book I read end to end.
IU: What is your favorite self-help book?
ST: Ask and It is Given - it feels true to my soul and has helped me grow and evolve. It is a place I can always turn to.
IU: What was your favorite book as a kid and why?
ST: It was about a Panda and the Panda’s paints - the illustrations were so vivid, fantastically realistic that they were juicer than life. I lived inside that story, connecting to the essence and spirit of the book. I felt that it was alive.
Also, Pippi Longstocking ~ being half Swedish, it allowed me a window into the playfulness of my culture. Her fantastical way of being in the world influenced how I experience and see the wonder in our world ~ enjoying things as simple as the way the sunlight plays with the air creating a spotlight¸ of the invisible particles dancing and swirling around us.
IU: What are your three all-time favorite books?
ST: One of my favorite authors is Roshani Chokshi ~ she has the most beautiful way with language, weaving rich tapestries of story. It’s like diving into a pool of water and being viscerally immersed in new places to discover.
One other author that has been with me from childhood to parenthood is Robert Munsch. He has such magic and a marvelous way of stringing joyful meaning with silliness and fun. All my memories of reading his multitude of books bring smiles and a sense of love and happiness, as well as words and pictures. His thoughtfulness and connection to his readers and the fun of life he reminds us of, that the world and our connections and stories are meant to be fun. I always see his smiling face and I am grateful.
My all-time most must-read for me is Braiding Sweetgrass. It truly is the most meaningful and beautiful book I have even had the pleasure of reading. It is like a divine meal shared with friends that you want to savour each and every morsel and then talk about it all over again with each bite. It reminds me of life. There is such wisdom and memory, a remembering and a way of being that touched my soul. When I read it, it reminds me of who I am and the gift it is to be here. It helps connect me to the spirit of all. It is a blessing and I am humbly grateful. 💖
IU: Do your read more than one book at a time?
ST: Yes!
IU: What’s a book you’ve read more than once?
ST: Mists of Avalon
IU: How do you make time for reading?
ST: Anywhere I can!
