I was asked that question recently. A friend was planning to send me a book and wanted to know what I might like.
I have three favorite authors: Orson Scott Card, Louis L’Amore and Clive Cussler. I also like classic science fiction: Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova, Heinlien. I enjoy biographies, especially political ones.
I then realized that what I was really interested in weren’t Westerns or Science Fiction or even the short stories that I read.
It’s really management books. I have dozens. Possibly hundreds. I can rattle off my favorites like some iTunes playlist.
My top five are
- First Break All The Rules
- Dale Carnegies’s How to Win Friends and Influence People
- Influencer
- Never Eat Lunch Alone
- Crucial Conversations
“Purple Cow” and “Stealing The Show” are a couple of my favorite marketing books.
On my bookshelf at work I have four books. They are visible for a reason. They are designed to make people think.
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- The Prince by Machiavelli
- The Art of The Deal by Donald Trump
- The Seventy Habits of Highly Successful Mercenaries by Howard Tayler
I’m not sure what impression people will get with those particular titles, but I like the story they tell.
I have the list of books that I don’t like:
- The 4 Hour Work Week
- Leadership and Self Deception
- The Traveller
I’ve read books that everyone thought were great, but failed to impress me.
- Good To Great
- Who Moved My Cheese
- Our Iceberg is Melting
I’ve read run of the mill management books that made some excellent points but didn’t make a huge impression
- The Inmates Are Running the Asylum
- Crucial Confrontations
- The Mythical Man Month
- Business at The Speed of Thought and The Information Super Highway by Bill Gates
- Everything I Know About Business I Learned At Microsoft
- 13 Mistakes That Managers Make
I have several books on my current reading list.
- Mind Rules
- Getting Things Done
- The Power of Habit
- Crucial Conversations (again)
I have dozens more that I don’t remember the names of without looking. But, I realized that as much as I love fiction, and short stories, I couldn’t name dozens of books off the top of my head and what impressed me about each one.
What kind of books do I read? Until he asked I hadn’t really considered it.
I’m not sure what kind of a story my reading list tells. If it weren’t mine, I’d say it was boring and nerdy. But, it is mine and apparently “Management books” is my favorite reading genre.
Weird.
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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