What We’re Reading… Fall 2026
Whether we’re reading to learn something new, gain a fresh perspective, or simply unwind outside of work, a great book can stay with us long after the final page. We asked a few members of the 1919 team to share recent reads that left a lasting impression, from thought-provoking memoirs and historical fiction to literary mysteries and market history.
Here are some of their recommendations and why they found them worth sharing.
1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Recommended by: Meredith Mowen
In his 1905 work The Life of Reason, George Santayana observed that ‘those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ That sentiment is one reason I found 1929 particularly compelling. At a time when enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and related companies is running high, the book serves as a reminder that trees do not grow to the sky. History may not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Recommended by: Ron Bates
The Goldfinch is a Pulitzer Prize-winning coming-of-age novel that follows Theodore Decker after he survives a tragic terrorist bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that claims his mother’s life. In the aftermath, 13-year-old Theo unwittingly steals Carel Fabritius’s famous 17th-century painting, The Goldfinch. This secret draws him into a complex world of art, wealth, loss, and survival.
Strangers by Belle Burden
Recommended by: Kat Weber
Strangers is a memoir that has sparked important conversations about financial independence, particularly for women in long-term relationships. After her twenty-year marriage unexpectedly ends, Belle Burden reflects on love, trust, identity, and the realities of navigating finances during a major life transition. Beyond the personal story, I appreciated how the book underscores the importance of understanding your finances, protecting your long-term well-being, and feeling empowered to participate in financial decisions. It’s a thought-provoking reminder that financial independence is an important part of overall confidence and security.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Recommended by: Lu Han, CFA, CFP®
Trust by Hernan Diaz is a structurally fascinating and inventive work of fiction that challenges what fiction can do. Comprised of four distinct texts that read as standalone works, the novel tells the story of an American finance tycoon and his wife, both mysterious figures at the center of the rise of Wall Street in the 1920s. The texts span a novel, an autobiography, a memoir, and a diary, each told from a different character’s perspective. As each narrative challenges and reframes the previous one, Trust becomes a literary mystery and jigsaw puzzle that explores wealth, capitalism, identity, and the nature of truth.
As someone who typically reads fiction as a break from day-to-day work, I was initially skeptical about a story centered on finance, capital markets, and wealth creation. The journey was fascinating, disorienting, and well worth it. Diaz’s next novel, Ply, is scheduled for publication in September 2026.
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Recommended by: Yvonne Kierlanczyk-Parisi
The Women is one of my favorite books that I’ve read recently. The novel sheds light on the forgotten and often unacknowledged sacrifices of female nurses during the Vietnam War. Through an emotional and deeply personal story, it explores the lasting effects of war trauma and the heartbreaking struggle many female veterans faced upon returning home to an ungrateful country.
