From my 2025 bookshelf and 2026 reading plans

I originally intended to share this reading list at the end of the year, as a kind of review — to continue a small tradition of mine. But the first days of January brought a virus, and it simply wasn’t possible.

I also notice that I read a little less this year. I wrote more — for different platforms and purposes — and reading didn’t always come with the focus it asks for.

The themes that kept weaving through my reading were creativity, beauty around us, and the beauty of the moment itself. Looking at the list now, I see what shaped it — even if I wasn’t fully aware of it at the time:
intentional noticing.
Outside and inside.
Beauty and presence.

Most often, I read by the local river, sometimes with my feet immersed in the water.
The last months of pregnancy brought moments of reading too — sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Something happened that I usually try to avoid: leaving a book halfway through, starting another one, and then leaving that one too.

So this list shows the books I finished, alongside two that are halfway read and now moving into my 2026 reading list — because they are truly worth it.

I could say now that I’m open to recommendations — but when I look at what’s already waiting on my 2026 list, what’s already on the table, I feel it’s more than enough, at least for the first part of the year 🙂

Art-Based Coaching – Andrea Giraldez-Hayes and Max Eames

At the start of 2025, I began reading Arts-Based Coaching as part of my focus on creative tools in coaching and reflection. Since then, I’ve been exploring different ideas from the book—each chapter offering a unique perspective.

It presents a variety of approaches from different contributors: working with metaphors and mental imagery, exploring identity through photography, using music, poetry…. One exercise I found particularly interesting—though I haven’t tried it yet—invites reflection through two photographs: one representing how you see yourself, and another how you think others see you. The openness of the task, especially in defining who those “others” are, makes it a rich concept for exploration.

In one coaching process, I invited a client to create a music playlist related to the topic we were working on. It became a meaningful layer we returned to throughout our work.

Inspired by the chapter on coaching in galleries, I used the question “What if space could become a coach?” to guide a solo reflective session in a local gallery. I reframed it slightly for myself as: “What if space could become a reflective partner?”

I’ve also introduced poetry into supervision sessions, offering it as a shared reflective method. Both my supervisee and I wrote during the session, and if we felt like it we shared written afterwards.

Some tools, like sand tray and collage, I plan to explore further in my own reflective practice. 

One of the ideas that stayed with me is that visual imagery can hold multiple complexities and paradoxes simultaneously. Metaphor is described not just as being about the image itself, but about everything within it: color, the relationship between forms, texture, material, the weight of the line, the size, and the medium used. 

There’s an invitation to playfulness and spontaneity — using materials in the moment, offering what comes to me, without coming in with a fixed idea or attachment. This connects strongly with my MCC journey in previous years — being present, and allowing what emerges to lead the way.

The book also reflects on different coaching contexts where visual tools can offer support — for example, when working with action-oriented clients, where creative work can help shift the pace and open space for reflection.

It outlines five stages of working with art in coaching: Imaging, Creating, Connecting, Coaching, and Continuing Discoveries. 
A part that deeply resonates with me is the reminder that the coach’s role is not to interpret or judge the client’s artwork. It’s about being present, holding space, and noticing — allowing meaning to emerge in their own time.

One idea that caught my attention was using a collection of postcards. I recognized it as a great fit for reflective practice, especially knowing I have a friend who owns a collection of over 9,000 postcards. I played with the idea and gave it a try. Here is the link to my LinkedIn post where I described that experience.

Let’s Take This Outside – Rachel Woods

Those who follow what I write on LinkedIn, or who’ve exchanged thoughts with me more directly, probably know how much nature inspires me. And how often I try to steal small moments outdoors for reflection — the feeling of my feet in the river, the sound of wind in the trees, or just watching branches move. There is so much value in connection with nature.

That’s why I spent time last year developing a coaching program that brings us into connection with the natural world — inviting nature in as a companion on the path toward our goals. And that’s also why it’s no surprise this book found its place on my 2025 list.

What I love about Let’s Take It Outside is its lightness and humour — the writing is warm, relaxed, and often playful. In the beginning, the author says she hopes this book ends up “tatty and well-thumbed from its time spent in backpacks and on walks,” and that we might even leave flowers pressed between its pages.

The book offers a range of reflective practices — simple, grounded, and rooted in the outdoors:
barefoot walking, mindful listening, grounding with natural objects, visualisation with natural imagery, journaling, drawing, even writing poetry.

It draws on research showing nature’s impact: improved attention span and memory, cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, creativity, and problem-solving.
Nature is presented as a restorative environment — and that’s something I know from experience too.

There’s space in the book itself to pause and reflect — blank pages with questions and prompts, invitations to write, doodle, scribble, plan, celebrate.
It also includes client stories, and even ideas on how digital tools can enhance nature-based work.

Metaphors weave through the pages — the power of wind, the rhythms of the seasons — inviting us to be in reflective dialogue with the natural world.

One sentence I underlined and returned to:
“In natural settings, individuals are more likely to notice a bond to something bigger than themselves.”
A thought that somehow leads me into the next book I’ll be writing about — one by Peter Hawkins.

Beauty in Leadership and Coaching – Peter Hawkins

Beauty in Leadership and Coaching gently invited me to slow down, look around, become more aware of what surrounds me—and also reflect on how I could bring more of that beauty into everyday life and my work.

One of the practices that stayed with me appears right at the beginning:
How many times have you checked your phone, emails, or notifications in the last 24 hours?
And how many moments of beauty, awe, or wonder have you experienced in that same time?
Write down both numbers.
Look at the ratio.
Then ask yourself—what would you like that ratio to be?

This is a book that speaks of beauty as something that calls to us and recognizes us—something that exists in its own right, and that we can be in relationship with, if we pay attention.

One passage I returned to several times (a quote from Andreas Weber) reads:
“Beauty has its own power to exist. That it asserts itself. That it sustains. That it greets me. That it recognizes me. That I recognize it also. That I am able to see into its eyes, into the eyes of the water lilies… into the curious eyes of the ducks, into the calm eye of the lake itself, which welcomingly opens its watery mirror to the hesitant heavens.”

Out of all the books that accompanied me this year, this one stayed with me the most.
Reading it while surrounded by nature, in places filled with stillness and presence, felt like being in quiet conversation with the very themes the book explores.
And reading it in those settings — it really was beautiful.

(*original title – Serbian edition: Dream Sweet Dreams)

This is a book I didn’t choose—it found me. It came as a gift from friend during the local protests. We had met there, and at one point, she simply pulled the book out of her bag and handed it to me. Unexpected, unplanned.

And honestly, with too many books already waiting on my shelves, I rarely pick up a title spontaneously. Especially not one with a cover that didn’t appeal to me, or a title that didn’t really spark my interest in its Serbian version. But once I opened it, the book pulled me in and reminded me of that classic line: Don’t judge a book by its cover.

It’s a collection of short, three-page stories.
And it’s true—nothing much happens. Or maybe: everything happens, just differently. Quietly.
Each story slows you down, invites you to stay with small details—sounds, textures, smells, moments that might otherwise slip past.

Between the stories, there are small, practical additions: a bath ritual, a recipe for homemade Irish cream, simple cookies, a guide for making origami decorations, a calming breathing technique, and instructions for a simmer pot with herbs and spices.

I read it slowly. One story at a time. Sometimes even putting it aside on purpose—to save the next one for another day.

And I noticed that something shifted in my everyday rhythm. More small pauses. More quiet attention.
Like one evening, when I happened to be home alone. It started raining. And instead of opening my laptop, I took some ice cream from the freezer, turned on the soft lights, and just sat on my balcony. Listening to the rain. Tasting sweet frozen cream with cookies. 

This is the kind of book I’ve already recommended to friends and a few clients I work with.
And now I’m sharing it here too—just in case someone else needs a gentle reminder to pause.

Hour of the Heart – Irvin Yalom

(*title in Serbian – 60 minutes in here and now)
I believe I’ve read (and have) almost everything Irvin Yalom has written — and I still return to his books.
He’s one of those authors who have inspired me for years, in different ways, through both his novels and therapeutic stories.
This book — Hour of the Heart, written with his son Benjamin — felt especially close to me.
It arrived at just the right time and touched on several themes I’ve been exploring lately: the power of relationship, presence in the here and now, and the courage to use oneself as an instrument in practice.
These reflections align closely with my ongoing journey into exploring mastery in coaching and supervision.

I wrote more about it in a longer post, because it stayed with me long after reading.
If you’re curious, here’s the link.

Cultivating Coachability – Clare Norman

As with several other books I read this year, I read most of this one while spending time in nature — more precisely, on Jastrebac mountain near my hometown. The setting felt just right, as the book itself highlights how time spent in green spaces supports our ability to think clearly.

One of the key takeaways for me was the idea that Thinking Accelerators — factors that support deeper, clearer thinking — should be part of the contracting conversation with the thinker. These include:

• Quality of sleep

• Physical activity

• Time in nature

• Diet and hydration

• Stress management

• Balanced use of technology

I also appreciated the language the author uses — continuing from her previous book Transformational Coaching, she speaks of thinkers, explorers, and sensers, and uses the term compatibility meetings instead of chemistry sessions. These subtle shifts offer a different lens for thinking about our roles and relationships in coaching.

One idea that stayed with me is that the coach’s role is to create a learning laboratory — a space where the thinker can strengthen their thinking muscles, build agency, and engage in self-directed learning by drawing on their own resourcefulness. This also reaffirmed something I often return to in my own work — the importance of supporting clients in defining their own ways of accountability, especially for the moments when we, as coach or supervisor, are no longer in the picture.

Toward the end, one of the reflection questions asked:
What questions has this book prompted but not answered?

For me, it brought back something I’ve been sitting with for a while: If this book is about cultivating coachability in coachees — what would a book about cultivating supervisability in coaches look like?

Quiet Perseverance – Victoria Liu

I ordered this book out of curiosity — knowing it was written by a colleague, but without any real idea of what I’d find inside. What I discovered was a quiet, personal, and honest book. One that weaves together stories, reflections, and questions that stay with you.

What resonated most were the stories of her relationship with her father, of moving between places, of searching for her own definition of success, and of creating time for herself and her wellbeing.
There’s a steady thread of persistence, self‑awareness, and listening inward.

Having spent years in the corporate world, I found much that spoke to me: the drive to constantly go further, moments when the body speaks more clearly than the mind, and the wish to shape success in a way that feels true.

The book speaks to:

• High achievers who tend to go the extra mile

• Those who sometimes lose touch with their inner voice

• Anyone curious about how personal and inherited stories shape the way we live and work

It is beautifully illustrated and rich with lived experience, reflective questions, and topics that invite returning.

Creative Reflectve Practice – Dr Clare Beckett-McInroy/Sameera Ali Baba 

This book is full of invitations — to experiment, to reflect differently, to step outside the usual questions and formats. Structured in two parts, the first explores models, theories, and tools that support reflective capacity, while the second offers personal reflections and case studies from practitioners around the world.

Two contributions stayed with me the most, both offering clear structure while leaving space for creative interpretation:

Mining for Gems is a simple yet powerful writing-based exercise. It can be done individually, in pairs or with a supervisor, and takes around 20 minutes. After a short period of free writing, you revisit what you’ve written to uncover what stands out — a thought, question, or emotion — and follow it more deeply. At the end, you name one insight or “gem” that emerged. I’ve used this at different stages of coaching processes: for setting goals, recontracting, and evaluation. The time-bound nature keeps it focused, and the format invites depth.

The PRAISE model supports reflection on moments of success. Instead of only exploring what’s not working, it offers a reminder to pause and learn from what already works well.
PRAISE stands for:
Pause – Recognize – Assess – Identify – Sharpen – Embody.
It’s a gentle structure that allows space for acknowledging strengths, tracing what led to a successful outcome, and considering how to build on that moving forward.

If you’re looking for ways to refresh your reflective practice — with both structure and play — this book offers plenty to explore.

Effective Reflective Practice – Christian van Nieuwerburgh/David Love 

This book talks about reflective practice as a pause from busyness, noise, excitement, or routine — to notice what is happening and what it means.

In the book, reflective practice is described as “pressing the pause button” — taking time to understand where things are and to gain insight about how to move forward.
For me, the key word of this book is intention. It connects strongly with how I described my 2025 reading journey: intentional noticing.

One thing I really appreciated is that the book does not stop at reading. Both authors also hosted community calls on LinkedIn, where ideas from the book were explored together. I joined one of these sessions and enjoyed exchanging perspectives with other practitioners.

Creativity is present throughout the book. One of the authors is a cartoonist, and the book invites playfulness and creative ways of reflecting. This felt very aligned with the creative themes of other books on my 2025 list.

The book names four foundational principles of reflective practice:
awareness, openness, intentionality, and compassion. It also names four purposes of reflective practice:
learning, change, alignment, and presence.

In addition, there is a dedicated chapter on reflective practice in academic writing, which adds another useful perspective.

Radical listenng – Robert Biswas Diener/Christian van Nieuwerburgh

This is one of the two books I started and enjoyed, but then set aside with the intention to return. Pregnancy shifted my focus, and I noticed I could read the same page several times without really taking it in. I haven’t finished it yet, but some parts already felt meaningful and continue to call me back to read more. I can also see this approach being useful in leadership development and communication trainings.

The book starts with positive intention. Then it moves to a question: what gets in the way of listening to others, and how can we reduce those distractions? For me, a clear takeaway was about noticing. Great listening depends on what we pay attention to — and what we notice is shaped by our intention.

There are simple reflective questions throughout the book. One that stayed with me was:
What are the biggest distractors of your attention when interacting with others?

These questions invite you to look at your own attention and notice what draws it away, and what helps you stay present.

Since this and the next book remain unfinished, I’ll likely write more about them during 2026 — and maybe even think about something practical based on the insights they offer.

Mastery in coaching – edited by Jonathan Passmore

This is another one of the books I began exploring, and I plan to return to it in 2026. It’s structured in a way that allows for flexibility — after the introduction, it presents ten distinct coaching approaches, each in its own chapter. That makes it easy to choose what you want to read based on current interests or needs.

The chapters cover:

• Positive psychology

• Psychodynamic coaching

• Narrative coaching

• Gestalt coaching

• Neuroscience-informed coaching

• Cognitive behavioral coaching

• Mindful coaching

• Compassionate mind coaching

• Acceptance and commitment

• Motivational interviewing

There’s a nice balance of theory, practical examples, case studies, and resources for deeper exploration. One of the chapters focuses on Narrative Coaching — which made me even more curious to finally dive into Narrative Coaching by David Drake, a book I received as a gift from a dear colleague and that’s already waiting on my 2026 reading list.

Reading list for 2026 🙂

Books I’m returning to, just starting, or keeping nearby — professional and personal.
This is the list that’s ready for now — curious to see what else might show up along the way.

Radical Listening
A book I started but put aside during pregnancy. I plan to return to it this year — the concepts around intention and noticing already sparked some thoughts about designing leadership development sessions focused on listening.

Mastery in Coaching 
Still unfinished, but one I keep close. Its structure — 10 different coaching approaches with theory, practice, and case studies — makes it perfect for deeper exploration. Might even inspire some new directions for my own research and supervision work.

Narrative Coaching by David Drake
A gift from a dear colleague. I’m looking forward to diving deeper into David’s work, especially after collaborating with him recently through EMCC on a document soon to be published. After adding his Five Maturities to my previous list, this feels like a natural continuation.

Supervision as Spiritual Practice edited by Robin Shohet
Spirituality is a theme I’m exploring in my supervision space — especially my own biases around it. I’ve watched Robin’s webinars and found his presence and storytelling deeply masterful.

A Guide to Formulation in Coaching by David A. Lane, Sarah Corrie & Louise C. Kovacs
I became interested in this book after watching David Lane’s EMCC webinars on research in coaching and seeing some posts on LInkedIn. Curious to learn more about how this work can support my development.

Let’s Talk Leadership by Arvid Buit
An amazing surprise from the author himself, after connecting during the writing of my Exploring Mastery in Coaching eBook. Already sensing it might become a valuable resource to recommend for my leadership clients.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Recommended by someone I follow and whose posts on LinedIn often inspire me. It’s not a professional book — more of a story I plan to read during breaks from professional content, when I want to rest and recharge.