I’m planning for my annual curation of books of the year lists for a late December blog post. In anticipation of that, I have curated below my posts about book lists to date for 2022.
Ideally, these compilations will provide you with endless suggestions for reading, as you await the flood of new releases for 2023. And if you have read any books based on what you’ve found in these lists, please let me know!
55 Select Books on Longevity and Productive Aging
October 4, 2022
Intro:
In my guest post for the Wisdom Well blog of the entrepreneur/author Chip Conley last month, I wrote that he “has intuited that today we need a jolt of awareness that goes beyond knowledge workers (who may be an endangered species due to Artificial Intelligence/AI and other technological advances) to “wisdom workers.”
On the same day, in my blog post about author/journalist Kerry Hannon’s new book In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work, I wrote that “what separates her from many other writers in what is sometimes referred to as “the aging space” is that she is an experienced reporter who knows how to dig for the essence of the story and to present it clearly and concisely.”
That book, and Chip Conley’s latest, Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder How to Reinvent the Second Half of Your Career, are included in my list of 55 select books below on longevity and productive aging, the latest in my ongoing series of list-based blog posts.
Celebrating Berrett-Koehler at 30 With a Curated List of Influential BK Books
August 4, 2022
Intro:
One of my most memorable and meaningful recent experiences was participating in last week’s virtual Berrett-Koehler 2022 shareholders meeting. This also marked a celebration of 30 years in business for the unique publishing company, which published my first book in 2009.
A recent Publishers Weekly article, “Berrett-Koehler Publishers Saw Growth in 2021,” provides a succinct overview of the company and some of the characteristics that differentiate it from other publishers.
Although I’m not a shareholder, I attended because I’ve been an active member of the BK community since my book was published, and have written about its activities often, most recently in my post about Becky Robinson’s new book Reach, and about the recent virtual BK Authors Nonfiction Book Marketing Workshop. In 2017, I wrote about BK’s 25th anniversary.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the company started by the visionary Steve Piersanti (who transitioned from CEO to full-time editor a few years ago), I’ve curated a list of some of BK’s most crucial books. I did not have scientific criteria in compiling the list, but I have limited it to one title per lead author, and have used the most recent edition of the many that have gone into multiple editions.
22 Curated Book Lists For Summer 2022
June 22, 2022
Intro:
I write about many book lists during the year, but my favorite is always the summer book lists. I aim to include a variety of publications and institutions, thereby increasing the opportunity to discover new authors, publishers, and subjects.
As usual, Emily Temple, managing editor of LitHub, has read through multiple lists and determined which books have the most mentions. This year, she says that meant 36 lists recommending 614 books. The most cited book, on 13 lists, is Ottessa Moshfegh’s Lapvona. Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man and Tom Perrotta’s Tracy Flick Can’t Win came in next with 10 each. Sloane Crosley’s Cult Classic and Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty each were on 9 lists.
The list from The Atlantic is divided into various interesting categories, such as “If You Want to Read What Your Friends Are Reading,” “If You Want to Better Understand Our World,” “If You Want to Be Transported to Another Place,” and “If You Want to Feel Wonder About the Universe.”
30 Eclectic Investing Book Lists
June 7, 2022
Intro:
Following up on my recent post featuring “25 Eclectic Books Worthy of Renewed Attention,” my new list is focused on investing books. Considering how challenging the financial markets have been this year, becoming as knowledgeable as possible about investing is a key skill for our times.
The following 30 lists are from a wide variety of sources, and cover many aspects of the investing world.
29 Eclectic Entrepreneurship Book Lists
May 18, 2022
Intro:
On June 6, I’m presenting online for the 1BusinessWorld Leading Entrepreneurs of the World 2022 Conference, which starts that day and runs through June 10. Last month I presented virtually for the 1BusinessWorld Young Entrepreneurs of the World 2022 Conference.
Participating in these events has reminded me how important it is for current and prospective entrepreneurs to have access to solid information about the many varied aspects of entrepreneurship. Since there is an overload of books about this complex subject, I’ve curated the following 29 lists, from a wide variety of sources.
I’m convinced that entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking are needed more now than ever. That goes for startups, and small and large businesses that want to gain or maintain an edge in the unforgiving economy of today and tomorrow. It’s also applicable beyond the business world, to social entrepreneurship ventures, and the considerable amount of entrepreneurial activity related to universities.
25 Eclectic Books Worthy of Renewed Attention
May 4, 2022
Intro:
When it comes to information, we’re living in an age of super-abundance. As much as I love reading about and compiling new book lists, we can’t forget about the thousands of books published every year that don’t always stay in the public consciousness.
The books in the list below would probably be characterized by the publishing industry as ‘midlist,’ perhaps somewhat slow or maybe even steady sellers, but not consistently getting wide attention. I would like to shine a more regular spotlight on books in this category, so that they remain part of the conversation, and can be worthy of continued/renewed attention. Some are relatively recent; and most are from the past decade or so.
The list was not compiled scientifically. Although I know some of the authors personally, and in some cases edited their Leader to Leader articles, I’ve never met most of them. A few (Paul Arden, Mila N. Baker, and Clayton M. Christensen) are no longer alive.
My Curated List of Books by Current/Former USA TODAY Writers: Revised and Updated
March 2, 2022
Intro:
Last March 15 I wrote about “A Curated List of Books by Current/Former USA TODAY Writers.” Mainly by crowdsourcing to learn about authors and books I didn’t include on the original list (starting immediately after the list was published and continuing throughout the year), I’ve updated and revised the list. Most of the crowdsourcing came through the Facebook groups USA TODAY Alumni, and Ex-Gannett Employees Group. (I worked for Gannett-owned USA TODAY for 21 years, 1987-2008.)
As I noted in the original post, besides current and former USA TODAY staffers (reporters, editors, executives, and people working behind the scenes), I’ve also included authors with USAT bylines, but who were primarily associated with either Gannett News Service, or individual Gannett newspapers.
Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, and More: Peter Drucker’s 1996 Reading Recommendations
February 16, 2022
Intro:
Peter Drucker was known for his refined taste in reading. That’s no surprise for a man primarily known as an author writing about business and other organizations who also wrote two novels. I wrote about his “eclectic reading habits” in my August 23, 2021 blog post “29 Select Books Cited in Peter Drucker’s The Ecological Vision.”
Going through my print archives recently, I found a 1996 copy of the Schwartz Business Books Gazette of Business, Professional and Technical Books, a 30 page glossy publication from the Milwaukee-based bookseller that morphed into 800-CEO-READ and now Porchlight. Sadly, the mastermind behind the company’s role as a business book powerhouse, Jack Covert, passed away at 77 last August. Jack was also known for writing, with coauthor Todd Sattersten, The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You. The book has been published in three editions, and lists The Essential Drucker and The Effective Executive among the 100 Best.
22 Curated Books of 2022 Lists
January 26, 2022
Intro:
Last January I wrote about “21 Curated Books of 2021 Lists,” which I am following up with this curated list for 2022. It also follows last month’s “21 Curated Best Books of the Year Lists for 2021.”
There are already way too many books than you’ll have time to read this year, based on many of the intriguing titles in these lists alone. And as is common in these lists, the artwork and design of many of the book covers is compelling. It’s great to see that strong, imaginative cover design remains important.
These lists cover a number of genres, with returning big name authors, but also many debut works. Many titles appear on multiple lists, such as the novels Pure Colour, by Sheila Heti; The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine Chan; and Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson; and nonfiction books such as In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing, by Elena Ferrante; Finding Me, by Viola Davis; and How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Drink, by Paco Underhill.
39 Selected Books by Authors From My ‘69 Educators’ List
January 5, 2022
Intro:
On November 3 I wrote about a list I curated of “69 Educators Who Remind Me of Peter Drucker’s 1969 Learning and Teaching Quote.” I followed that on November 24 with “69 Educators List: The Leader to Leader Articles.”
In this post I highlight 39 different books representing a wide variety of subjects from these educators. In cases where an author has more than one book, I’ve chosen the most recent one.