books that help me grow:

More than just self-help books, these are books that challenge my assumptions about my personal and professional development. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Great Things by Adam Grant

  • Go ahead and read anything by Adam Grant (Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know is another favorite). What I liked about hidden potential is that it explores the individual, interpersonal, and structural changes we can make to develop character virtues. Thoughtfully researched and written with powerful stories and examples, it’s an easy read that makes you want to keep coming back to it to learn more.

• Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport

  • When I read Deep Work: Rules for Success in a Distracted World, I found myself challenged by the notion of removing distractions to focus on engaging with work. When I read Slow Productivity, I felt seen, heard, and understood! What if we deeply engaged in our most meaningful work instead of the “pseudo-productivity” often demanded by and supported by organizational structures today? How might the value we provide in our work improve?

• The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Singer

  • The first time I read this book, I was a first time manager working in an industry struggling because of a recession. It helped me step back and look at the relationship between my thoughts and emotions. Touted as a book that explores spirituality and consciousness, for me it felt more like a mirror that reflected back some of my insecurities and anxieties to help me find opportunities for growth.

• Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu

  • This was my first foray into eastern philosophy (alongside studying the Noble Truths of Buddhism). Not a book to be read in one sitting, but a treatise to be explored and considered over time. One idea that stood out to me from beginning was to be like water - it is adaptable enough to go around obstacles, but powerful enough to shape those obstacle along the way. I mean that’s outstanding.

• Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

  • Elizabeth Gilbert has the most beautiful way of wrestling with the English language. In this non-fiction book, she explores what it means to be a creator. And even though she is talking about creating in terms of writing, the principles go so far beyond that and make a case for how we as humans are designed to create and how we can find ways to create in our lives.

My favorite Fiction (in audiobooks)

One way I consume a LOT of fiction is through audiobooks. My general rule of thumb is I listen to fiction and read non-fiction.

A great audiobook isn’t just a powerful story, it’s a masterful performance from a trained audiobook narrator. My absolutely favorite narrator is Julia Whelan. As this point I just search for books performed by her and figure it will be a joy to listen to (it always is). They should hire her to do audiobooks of academic papers. That could revolutionize research.

Some of my favorite authors:

Ann Patchett: Perhaps my favorite author of literary fiction. She has this ability to craft a sentence that makes you stop and think. Her books will make you feel things. Her non-fiction and essays are also exceptional. And she owns a bookstore. That might be my favorite part about her.

Kristen Hannah: Her stories explore the human condition. Her characters are rich and complex and she knows how to create narrated scenes in a way that make you feel like you are there.

Freida McFadden: My goodness this woman can tell a twisty story that gives me such anxiety. You know you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you still can’t guess the ending.

Marie Benedict: A lawyer who writes historical fiction. I love how she weaves history with creative story-telling. I feel like I learn something with every book.

Taylor Jenkins Reid: Interesting characters, great stories. She creates a world that draws you in.

Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love was a great book. But her other books (see Big Magic listed above) demonstrate her writing is so much more than that one book. I particularly liked Committed and Signature of all Things.