The holidays are for eating, spending time with family & friends, maybe going for a walk and a run – and then, it’s for reading!

We’re feeling the holiday spirit of sharing – and so this is NAO’s reading list to feed our curiosity over the holiday – maybe there’s something to feed yours too? And perhaps you have a tip or two to share with us in return?

Here it goes…

We’re curious about different methodologies, mappings, research and data analysis tools. That’s why we’re going to read:

We’re curious about the future of work & skills – and that’s why we will be diving into:

We’re curious about cities, culture, tourism, people – and all the many topics that are related to this, and so we are going to read:

Perhaps not so heavy on the reading, but also on our list of curious exploration, we have:

  • The Happy Broadcast, sharing positive news from around the world. It might re-instore your “holiday spirit” after reading The Privacy Project in NYT.
  • The Happy Lab– we’ve listened to the podcast, if you haven’t, it’s recommendable – and now we’re ready to explore the readings behind each episode.
  • And, if time permits, this free online AI crash course – which Finland originally developed for Finnish citizens, but now opened up for anyone as a present to the European Union, as Finland is passing on the EU’s rotating presidency at the end of the year.

And finally, we have our fictional reading lists as well – as Margrethe Vestager, Exec VP of the European Commission, pointed out recently in an article in Danish newspaper Børsen: fictional literature often provides more direct insights into human behavior and relations.

Our fictional reading list this holiday includes:

  • Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
  • The Solitary Gourmet (Japanese manga) by Jiro Taniguchi
  • What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
  • Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen

And so, no more time for emails. It’s time for good food and good readings #curiosityrules

Happy holidays from Group NAO!