“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” This saying, attributed to motivational speaker William Arthur Ward, also describes the attitude of many characters in our 10 best books for this month. 

Individuals sowing the seeds for change include Franklin D. Roosevelt’s secretary of labor, Frances Perkins, in the historical novel “Becoming Madame Secretary,” and George C. Marshall, in the biography “The Making of a Leader,” whose design for post-World War II Europe became known as the Marshall Plan.   

Among the authors of nonfiction books, Marilynne Robinson draws on her love of Scripture in “Reading Genesis,” Elizabeth Kolbert offers an antidote to climate despair in “H Is for Hope,” and Nancy A. Nichols explores the social impact of driving in “Women Behind the Wheel.” 

The Swan’s Nest, by Laura McNeal

Laura McNeal’s historical novel “The Swan’s Nest” captures the great love between poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning. McNeal dramatizes the challenges the two Romantics overcame to forge a life together.

Becoming Madam Secretary, by Stephanie Dray

Frances Perkins, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s secretary of labor, steps crisply and convincingly from the pages of Stephanie Dray’s novel. As events unfold – including the Great Depression – Perkins practices an ethos of “investigate, agitate, legislate” to effect change. 

Help Wanted, by Adelle Waldman

Adelle Waldman’s novel looks at the hardships faced by part-time workers at a big-box store. Her characters, who long for the stability, benefits, and job security of full-time work, cook up a plan that sparks their hopes and dreams.