Ep 46 - One for the Books’ Astrological Guide

Written By One for the Books

We’re back! And with a banger of an episode. Whether you really get into your spirituality or are just barely aware of your star sign, this episode will give you plenty of recommendations.

We dedicated our first episode of 2023 to unpacking the most representative books for each of the Zodiac signs.

If you’re keen to understand more about your astrological chart, refer to your either Sun, Moon or Ascendant sign for the best books for you! Find out your astrological signs and chart here.

ARIES: The Power by Naomi Alderman

At their core, Aries do things their own way. They are unafraid of conflict, highly competitive, and honest. They throw themselves at the world eagerly and without fear. Aries are driven by a desire to prove themselves and their strength. They have high energy, and are competitive and ambitious. They naturally take charge because they are good at initiating new projects. They can also be impatient, but are naturally active and don’t like to waste time. While Aries like competition, they don’t like to play games. They are highly self-aware, have strong opinions and are always ready to defend them.

We also recommend: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight, The Odyssey or Iliad by Homer, a classic biography or memoir of a high achiever.

TAURUS: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tauruses are the human equivalent of moss. A handmade wooden chair. They are normally satisfied with the way things are. They embody stability. Sitting in a patch of grass admiring the breeze. When everything else seems to be falling apart, Tauruses are a rock of dependability in an oasis of calm. They’re patient and steady, and their materialism is an extension of their pursuit of stability. Once they get into a groove, it’s difficult for them to get out of it. Object in motion stays in motion. Object at rest stays at rest. Appreciative of beauty. Attuned to physical pleasure. They like things to be predictable. They are perfectly happy eating the same meal over and over, or wearing the same outfit for a week straight. They would prefer things to be consistent than chaotically good. They like to discover what they have the most fun doing, and then do it to the extreme.

We also recommend: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner,The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman, Stanley Tucci: My Life Through Food, any kind of cookbooks.

GEMINI: The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Geminis are very intelligent and pick up knowledge quickly. They are perceptive, analytical, and often very funny. They have an unreserved, childlike curiosity, always asking new questions. Geminis have an uncanny ability to size up a person’s character in a matter of seconds, even if they only just met them. If someone’s bluffing, they’ll be the first to notice. They are great communicators because they tend to be very responsive and sensitive listeners. Geminis are versatile, comfortable being both introverts and extroverts. They are quick to adapt to the energy of a room–they can be the life of the party or a complete wallflower. Geminis know how to bring dissimilar people together and make them get along.

We also recommend: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez, The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, books from two perspectives.

CANCER: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A Cancer’s personality is like wading chest deep in a lake of warm water. It feels sparkling and cool while you're in the shallow end, but you know that if you were to dive in, it would feel warm. The self-awareness of a Cancer is like the tides–constantly moving in and out of focus. Their personalities are layered. Cancers have many moods, some of which are contradictory, but they also have a deep, core self that persists. Cancers are weighed down by their own sorrows and the sorrows of those around them. They are frequently haunted by grief. It’s hard for them to share their pain with others, and they are often afraid to be vulnerable because they carry a fear that people will use their weaknesses against them. Cancers have learned to hide their pain to avoid burdening anyone else. They pretend they’re okay when they’re not.

We also recommend: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, books that don’t match their cover.  

LEO: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Leos are bold, warm, and loving. They are also the ultimate performers. They can dazzle with the theatrical flair of a Broadway star and the charisma of a politician. They are captivating personalities. No matter how quickly they’ve just been introduced to a topic, they can speak eloquently about almost anything because they have such a way with words. Leos inject ambition into everything they do. They are ruled by the heart. Their actions are natural and effortless because they are brash and confident and trust their instincts.

We also recommend: Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen, Music Is History by Questlove, The Giant Dark by Sarvat Hasin, books by or about performers. 

VIRGO: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits by James Clear

Virgos are known for being perfectionists. They are known for their attention to detail, which helps them find patterns where there are none. At times, Virgos can be finicky and critical to a fault. It’s true that Virgos are very particular, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they keep neat spaces. Their particularities and habits don’t necessarily line up with traditional views of cleanliness. They could live in what looks like a Tasmanian devil-style dust storm ruin, but still impose a “no shoes in the house” or “no outside clothes on the bed” rule. Maybe their house looks cluttered, but they still know where everything is. Everything has its place. Virgos prefer to exist in organized spaces, but put helping others over their own comfort. A Virgo can become so busy fixing the lives of those around them that they don't put much work into providing for their own needs. Virgos are rarely motivated by their own self-interest.

We also recommend Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo, anything self-help or health-focussed. 

LIBRA: No Friend but the Mountain by Behrouz Boochani

Libras are difficult to really understand because they seem so contradictory. They’re simultaneously extroverted and introverted, strategic and spontaneous, focused and intuitive. This variability makes it difficult to pin down their true character. They are an entire constellation of personalities. Libras are different depending on who they're around. This is because they value empathy and want to be receptive. They can be other people’s mirrors. While they have strong opinions about other people, it can take a long time for them to understand themselves. Libras want to be admired not for their talents but for their charm. They want to be seen as the responsible figure who can balance out the turbulent elements around them. Libras feel an intense amount of guilt and shame when they are unhappy because they know that their unhappiness affects everyone around them.

We also recommend Educated by Tara Westover, We Should All Be Feminists & Guided Journal by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, social justice or non-fiction books. 

SCORPIO: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

A Scorpio's personality is a chasm of infinite complexity (or at least how they project themselves). They are difficult people to get to know because they are psychological trap doors. Scorpios socialise from behind a double-sided mirror, always scanning, reading you while you can only see your own reflection. They prefer to be the people asking the questions, removing your skin with their perceptive scalpel and taking inventory of your pulsing viscera. They subtly probe and push your pressure points so they can get the answer they're seeking. Scorpios are keenly aware of power, its flows, and their position within its matrix.

We also recommend I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy, Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone, Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong, your favourite moody mystery. 

SAGITTARIUS: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Sagittarians are explorers of the human condition and are unafraid of change. Sagittarians feel like the world is their playground. They love to explore the unknown. At their core, they want to understand how the world works. On an unbounded quest to discover the whole of the universe inside of themselves, Sagittarians are unshackled from any particular worldly attachment. They are reckless in their pursuit of what they want, and often end up doing and experiencing things that defy conceptions of the possible. Sagittarians are explorers. They are both the fearless adventurers and the jaded critics. They understand that knowledge comes in two forms: the shallow, disposable kind that comes from external sources, and the kind that comes from within. Sagittarians know that external knowledge can be easily gained while internal knowledge is exponentially deeper and more powerful.

We also recommend Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri, Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark by Julia Baird, any Bill Bryson exploration. 

CAPRICORN: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Capricorns aren’t consumed by the need for attention, but are not immune to it. They simply don’t indulge in attention-seeking behavior. Capricorns don’t want attention for their looks or style or ingenuity. They don’t want to be admired, but they do want to be respected. They don’t care to be the center of attention. Instead it’s like they need to prove their own abilities to themselves. They plow through adversity with blinders on until they reach success. Capricorns are constantly competing with themselves. They do want praise, though. Praise is a simple acknowledgment of a job well done. Praise is a pat on the back. They use this as validation to compensate for general feelings of incompetence and inferiority.

We also recommend Girls That Invest by Simran Kaur, Fleishmann Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, any business or self-improvement books. 

AQUARIUS: Dune by Frank Hebert 

Aquarians are archetypal outcasts. This doesn’t mean they’re loners. In fact, they thrive in large groups—charming you with their peculiar senses of humor, intriguing you with fun facts about the history of disposable straws, or convincing you to join their reading groups. They try to be weird. Aquarians hang grapefruit rinds from the wall and call it art, they pretend to actually like noise music, they saturate their internal monologues with SAT words. Intelligence, to them, means the ability to formulate the most unpopular opinion possible. If they were white sheep, they’d dye their wool black just to prove a point. They are destined to live their lives in direct opposition to the current world. In fact, they are world-builders. An entire universe exists in their heads, and this universe adheres to its own set of logic that doesn’t map onto reality. They aren't anarchists. They are utopians. To them, emotions are just holes in their idealistic vessels. Why succumb to sensitivity when there is so much knowledge to acquire, so many problems to be solved, worlds to invent?

We also recommend One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, a science-fiction or dystopian epic.

PISCES: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Pisces are just permeable membranes that pensively let things flow through them. They are cerebral sea sponges. They are boundless, diluting themselves with larger personalities to avoid having to form coherent identities. Most of the qualities usually associated with Pisces (dreaminess, emotionality, imagination) are internal processes that are difficult to observe from the outside. Pisces are primarily inward-facing. They are not self-absorbed, but they are absorbed in themselves.  Ultimately, a Pisces wants to dissolve. To wrest themselves of a physical form and diffuse into everything they touch as love. To exist in the gossamer liminal layer that hangs just barely above the material. To live their life like a romantic poem. To understand that reality and fantasy are neighbors on the same infinite plane.

We also recommend Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, the A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas or Percy Jackson series’ by Rick Riordan, a fantasy you can get lost in.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

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