21 Books I Recommend You Give as Gifts

Introduction: Books I Recommend You Give as Gifts

Over the past few years, I have read some really good books. There are many times when I read a good book, I will tell my friends about it, but I do not mention it here. Or I may mention it, and not write a blog post with a collection of those books. In this post are  21 books I recommend you give as gifts.

Looking back, it would have been a great experience to discuss some of the books that I read with others. I read a lot of books to summarize them for the blog or for sale to busy professionals, so being in a book club is not convenient for me. But reading does not have to be a solitary experience for you. When you discuss a book with others, you get to see other points of view. And when you are in a book club, you get to read books that you normally would not read.

For me, I am intentional about reading books from different genres. And some of you may know that I am also reading the world. I am also reading books to teach me the 10 key skills needed for future jobs. And some of the books are off the beaten path. When I read books, one of the things that I am trying to find, are the ones that are structured in a such a way that they can teach you key skills – I already mentioned – to help you become more valuable in the workplace. Not every book will teach you a skill, however, I think you can learn from every book you read, even the bad ones. But your mind has to be like a sponge, open to absorbing.

More importantly though, if you read the books carefully, take detailed notes, then pick out the big ideas, you could possibly profit from reading the books. You also get new ideas from the books that you would not usually read. An idea is a combination of two or more old elements. Imagine the ideas you might find when you read broadly and diversely. To discover great ideas though, it is important to read diverse books, making sure that you read books outside your industry, and across genres, cultures and generations.

I have divided the books I recommend you give as gifts into two groups – non-fiction and fiction books.

Non-fiction Books I Recommend You Give as Gifts

1. The 10X Rule (If you want to grow your business fast)
2. The 3 Gaps (Learn how to develop your personal constitution)
3. Impulse Interrupted (If you want to replace unwanted behavior)
4. Mind Hacking (Learn how to focus and replace negative thoughts with more positive ones)
5. Smartcuts (People often think of taking shortcuts to get things done faster, but what they should be doing is taking smartcuts, doing things more efficiently)
6. Little Bets (Consistently take small actions. Create then continually make your creation better)
7. What Do You Do With an Idea (Give your ideas wings to fly)
8. Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice (What jobs do your clients hire you to do? Are those the jobs you want them to hire you for?)
9. The MacGyver Secret (You need to know how find creative ideas)
10. Self-Made Billionaire Effect (It’s important to know what it takes to become wealthy)
11. Creating Fat Content (If you have a blog, it is important to understand how to structure and write your blog posts to increase engagement)
12. Non-Obvious (It’s important to know how to look for patterns by curating ideas)
13. Several Short Sentences About Writing (Clear and concise written communication helps you to get your message read)

Fiction Books I Recommend You Give as Gifts

1. Strangers on a Train (Why you need a support network)
2. The Feed (What can happen when the use of technology goes unchecked)
3. Game Changer (Could such a technology exist, and what are the implications)
4. The Devotion of Suspect X (It was fascinating to read this murder mystery set in Japan and written by a Japanese author)
5. Gilgamesh (Does the fountain of youth exist, and how can you access it?)
6. The Arabian Nights: One Thousand and One Nights (What’s the origin of some of your favorite stories?)
7. The Duppy (I laughed so hard while I was reading it, but you may not understand it if you are not around Jamaicans)
8. The Coroner’s Lunch (Have faith in yourself)

Have you read?­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Summary: The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
The 3 Gaps by Hyrum Smith – My Thoughts
Impulse Interrupted: Four Simple Steps to Improve Cognitive Flexibility
Summary: Mind Hacking by Sir John Hargrave
7 Lessons from Little Bets by Peter Sims
What do you do with an Idea by Kobi Yamada, Book Review
Blog Posts That Build Authority, Drive Traffic
Non-Obvious: How to Think Different, Curate Ideas and Predict the Future by Rohit Bhargava
Notes on Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg
The Feed by Nick Clark Windo – My Thoughts

Final Thoughts: Books I Recommend You Give as Gifts

There are 21 books I recommend you give as gifts. I am sure that a few will resonate with you, and you will want to get copies for yourself. Some of them will help you to grow your business or even accelerate your career, if you choose to apply the information. You have to take action to get the results you want.

For a book such as The 3 Gaps, you have to invest the time to read the book, in addition to another seven hours to create your personal constitution. That is a lot of time, but imagine having your own set of guidelines for your life, so that you will always know where to draw that line in the sand. You will know what you are prepared and not prepared to do in most situations.

Some of the books will make you question what you believe to be the right thing because they will force you to shift your mindset. You can do almost anything you set your mind to.

Please listen to the podcast, Jobs to Be Done is Product Management