Whether you’re poolside with a paperback, sneaking in a few pages at the airport, reading late into the night, listening on a long road trip, or flipping through a chapter between meetings, summer is an ideal time to engage with new ideas through books.
At VentureWell, one of our core values is to live innovation—a commitment to continuous learning, creative thinking, and the pursuit of fresh ideas and perspectives.
In that spirit, members of our executive leadership team have shared a selection of books that have recently inspired or challenged them. We hope these recommendations offer valuable insights—and perhaps even spark new and innovative ways of thinking. Happy reading!
Chithra Adams, vice president, Data Intelligence
For There Is Always Light by Amanda Gorman
This reflection journal features poems by Amanda Gorman interspersed throughout its pages. I use it to jot down notes, and most mornings, I start my day by reading one of her poems. Her words consistently ground me in the importance of building community and help set the tone for the day ahead.
Chris Desrosiers, vice president, Finance and Administration
A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel
This is a great book on investing that serves as a valuable reminder to stay true to my investment principles. It reinforces the importance of maintaining a long-term perspective and only dedicating a small portion of my portfolio to speculative assets or individual stocks. A helpful read for staying disciplined in an unpredictable market.
Demetria Gallagher, vice president, Higher Education Innovation Ecosystems
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This critically acclaimed nonfiction bestseller offers actionable, research-based advice on habit formation. It’s helped me rethink structure in my life, especially around work-life balance, and has inspired me to be more intentional about the habits I put in place to be the best Demetria!
Mark Marino, vice president, Growth Strategy
Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity by Eric Topol
We are in an unprecedented moment in human history, with scientific discoveries and breakthroughs emerging daily. Our growing understanding of biological processes has the potential to revolutionize how we think about aging and disease.
Eric Topol, a renowned physician-scientist and compelling storyteller at the Scripps Research Translational Institute, presents the latest evidence with clarity and insight. He helps separate science from fiction as we humans move closer to the possibility of slowing, or even reversing, our biological clocks.
Rebekah Neal, vice president, Commercialization
Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Song of the Cell has been sitting on my nightstand for the past few months. I first heard Siddhartha Mukherjee speak years ago at what felt like a cross between Grand Rounds and a book tour, and I was immediately hooked. I purchased and devoured The Emperor of All Maladies. I received The Gene as a gift a few years later, but was admittedly daunted by its literal heaviness.
This summer, I’m giving Mukherjee another go with Song of the Cell (maybe I’ll try The Gene again next summer!). Cells are more in my scientific comfort zone than genes, so I’m hoping this feels like a kind of homecoming: an opportunity to learn something new through a good book that (hopefully) reads like a novel. I’ll report back!
Ursa Scherer, vice president, People & Culture
Eyes on the Road by Michell C. Clark
I met the author at a retreat focused on “renewal” and found deep resonance with everything he shared over those few days. It was a joy to scoop up his book afterward.
Through a thoughtful collection of personal reflections, mantras, and reminders, this book has helped me reframe how I view my work, my life, my family, my community, and myself—and the commitments I make in each of those relationships.
My biggest takeaway is that it’s perfectly fine to need reminders that within each of us, we are enough—for ourselves and in community with each other. It’s normal to feel inspired, overwhelmed, and everything in between on a daily basis. It’s okay to be human while trying to accomplish big, meaningful things!
Christina Tamer, vice president, Ventures
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
You might expect me to recommend Venture Deals (Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson) or The Founder’s Dilemmas (Noam Wasserman), and while I value those classics, I’m choosing a different kind of read for this moment: historical fiction.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a powerful novel set in World War II–era France, following two sisters who risk everything to resist oppression and save lives. It’s a story of ordinary people stepping into extraordinary leadership during one of history’s darkest moments.
At VentureWell, we support early-stage innovators who are also stepping up to tackle some of the world’s most urgent and complex challenges. Like the protagonists in The Nightingale, our innovators often work behind the scenes, pushing against entrenched systems to build something better. The novel reminds us that real change often comes from those who aren’t seeking recognition, but who act because they know it’s right. It’s a moving reflection on courage, resilience, and leadership in difficult circumstances. Most importantly, understanding history and lived experiences helps build empathy and broaden perspective—key traits of impactful innovators.
Phil Weilerstein, president and CEO
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
This historical page-turner explores how Abraham Lincoln’s extraordinary empathy helped him transform political rivals into a highly effective wartime cabinet during the Civil War. I picked it up looking for an inspirational story of presidential leadership, and it delivers that, along with a compelling perspective on overcoming adversity and wrestling with moral and existential dilemmas.
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
As someone who’s generally debt-averse, I found it eye-opening, enlightening, and at times disturbing to view the history of the world through the lens of how people’s obligations and commitments to one another have evolved from informal traditions and cultural norms into a central organizing structure of society.