The Charlotte Urban Institute’s top seven books of 2025
By Bianca Bagley
Researchers are busy people who make time to read. Our staff enjoyed a range of titles this year that gave them insight into the various topics they study. Looking for your next 2026 read? Here are seven books that Charlotte Urban Institute staff believe you must get your hands on in the year ahead:
1 . “DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story” by Nancy Duarte
“DataStory,” aims to help researchers better convey their data through “narratives that blend the power of language, numbers, and graphics.”
About the book, Duarte writes: “The essential skill for today’s leaders (and aspiring leaders) is shaping data into narratives that make a clear recommendation and inspire others to act.” “DataStory,” published in 2019, teaches researchers to use data to drive decisions by turning numbers into narratives.
What we love: “DataStory” is an insightful and accessible book for anyone who wants to make data-driven decisions.
2. “Affordable Housing in Charlotte: What One City’s History Tells Us About America’s Pressing Problem” by Tom Hanchett
Hanchett’s book, published in May 2025, tracks low-rent housing in Charlotte from 1940 to the present, taking a case-study approach.
According to Good Reads, Hanchett shows in detail how power brokers have clashed on all levels of government and yet have the ability to empower both citizens and elected officials to take action toward better housing for all, in North Carolina’s most populous city and beyond.
What we love: This book dives deep into Charlotte’s housing history and explains how it relates to glaring national problems.
3. “American Midnight: The Great War, A Forgotten Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis” by Adam Hochschild
“American Midnight” details the “brief, yet appalling” period of United States history during and after World War I.
The book summary states that “Hochschild brings alive the horrifying yet inspiring four years following the U.S. entry into the First World War, spotlighting forgotten repression while celebrating an unforgettable set of Americans who strove to fix their fractured country—and showing how their struggles still guide us today.” This book, published in 2022, provides insight into an often overlooked period of history and how it shapes our present and future.
What we love: This title not only brings a relatively forgotten period in American history to the forefront, it draws disturbing similarities to modern society.
4. “Transforming Food Systems: Narratives of Power” by Molly D. Anderson
Published in 2024, “Transforming Food Systems: Narratives of Power” explores food system transformation through narratives, which “are closely connected with theories of change.”
The book’s blurb states: “Using political economy and systems approaches to analyze food system transformation, the author focuses on how power in food systems manifests, and how this affects whom can obtain healthy and culturally appropriate food on a reliable basis.” “Transforming Food Systems: Narratives of Power” aims to point towards a solution to obtain sustainable food systems.
What we love: “Transforming Food Systems” is great for students, scholars and policymakers interested in creating a sustainable food system to ensure environmentally sound and fair food access for all.
5. “Eating Culture: An Anthropological Guide to Food” by Gillian Crowther
“Eating Culture: An Anthropological Guide to Food” is a 2025 title that explores the continuities and changes in human consumption.
Crowther writes that her book “uses the concept of cuisine to trace humanity’s relationship with food, thematically explored through health, sociality, and identity.” This work provides an engaging anthropological perspective of human eating habits and what they say about greater circumstances.
What we love: This book was recommended by Research Associate Mecca Howe, Ph.D. “Eating Culture” is a great read for anyone interested in “how deeply food is intertwined with our identity.”
6. “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown
In her 2018 book, “Dare to Lead,” author Brene Brown teaches readers how to practice bravery in their lives and work, and how to apply it to their leadership skills.
Brown writes: “One of the most important findings of my career is that courage can be taught, developed and measured. Courage is a collection of four skill sets supported by twenty-eight behaviors. All it requires is a commitment to doing bold work, having tough conversations and showing up with our whole hearts.”
What we love: This book is all about leading and working with others and challenges what readers think they know about being vulnerable and courageous – with themselves and others.
7. “Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to Take Them Down” by Anand Pandian
Something Between Us” describes anthropologist Anand Pandian’s journey to understand and bridge the deep social and political divisions in contemporary American society, ignited by divisive 2016 election rhetoric. Pandian travels across the United States to find Americans with diverse viewpoints which culminate in this work. In the text, he explores profound ruptures in the social fabric, as well as the hopeful, courageous efforts made to rebuild a sense of collective life. He argues that critical global issues like the climate crisis and the pandemic underscore the high stakes of disconnection.
Through his encounters with a variety of Americans such as truck drivers, police officers, and various activists, he surfaces strategies for mutual aid and communal caretaking. By sharing these real-world examples, Pandian offers tools to think beyond current impasses, and reveals how meeting strangers with care can offer radical visions for a shared life and help overcome the deep, historical American tendency toward isolation and segregation.
What we love: We appreciate the book’s focus on how the physical and social infrastructure of daily life, including urban design and community interactions, contribute to, or break down, societal segregation and isolation.
If a title on this list piques your interest, check it out from your local library or independent bookstore. Consider Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, J. Murrey Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte, Park Road Books, That’s Novel Books or Troubadour Books for your next literary escape.
The book covers and summaries in this article were compiled from Good Reads.