Recommended - Talent & Business

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz
An uneven book, but a good introduction to the modern concept of 'networking' with lots of how-to tips and ideas worth pondering to find your own answers.

The Elephant and the Flea
Charles Handy
An insightful look into the world of work and how it is changing in the 21st century. Written 25 years ago, he fully predicts the gig economy and most of the workforce trends we are seeing today. Amazing thinker and writer.

Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life
Stewart Friedman
I can envision using this as the basis for a career workshop; good exercises and thought provoking questions for you to explore the leadership style that works for you.

The Leadership Pipeline
Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, James Noel
The classic and enduring framework for building (not buying) your company's leadership capabilities

Co-Active Coaching: Coaching People Toward Success
Laura Whitworth, et. al.
More coaching skills based in a gifts-model (as opposed to the deficiency-model).

Managing With Power
Jeffery Pfeffer
Clarifies what is really going on in every organization and how influence works

The Power of Full Engagement
Jim Loehr, Tony Schwartz
How to find meaning and keep balance in a high performance lifestyle

The Essential Drucker
Peter Drucker
The master: unbelievable how much of his thought leadership on business and management, written over sixty years, are still spot on

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Patrick Lencioni
Good overview of the dynamics in many teams, and how to improve the dynamics to improve performance. Excellent workbook for this series.

Strategic Business Partner and Performance Consulting
Dana Gaines Robinson (and James Robinson)
A must read for every HR practitioner, providing a clear methodology for improving business results through linking business performance goals to people performance behaviors.

Flawless Consulting
Peter Block
How to work inside an organization with honesty and humility. Chapters 15, 16, and 19 are life-changing.

Recommended - General Interest

Wolf Hall
Hillary Mantel
Long and complicated and fascinating read about a man, Thomas Cromwell, who was also complicated and fascinating and very modern. Very different view into the court of Henry VIII from my previous readings. One of the best books I have read this year.

Confederates in the Attic
Tony Horwitz
Funny, weird, and informative, this book is an attempt to understand the southern fascination with, and attachment to, the Civil War. Full of great contemporary and historical anecdotes and characters. It sparked my own attachment to the topic!

The March: A Novel
E.L. Doctorow
Great read about Sherman's relentless march from Atlanta to the sea in during the Civil War and the different characters who marched with him.

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
James M. McPherson
Dense and rich, this Pulitzer Prize winner is a great read, providing a framework for all the little bits and pieces I have picked up in other reading.  It provides a historical background for the U.S. from the Mexican War through Reconstruction, a time of huge economic, political, and social upheaval that helps me understand the changes of the 21st century.

Dracula
Bram Stoker
Compelling, scary, and wonderfully evocative of the Balkins. This book feels so contemporary.  Really a great read.

March
Geraldine Brooks
Imagines the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Brutal and tender it explores both a relationship of misunderstandings and the role of religion in our history. Highly recommended.

White Tiger
Aravind Adiga
A fast paced modern murder mystery, in which the mystery is India and a certain entrepreneur

The Secret Scripture
Sebastian Barry
Lyrical story set in the present but reading like a long-ago tale, with a smashing surprise ending

Rocket Boys
Homer Hickam
An all-American story full of nostalgia for a certain time and place in our collective American memory

Truman
David McCullough
An fascinating story that covers a huge swath of American history

The Nine
Jeffrey Toobin
Full of insights into the least understood branch of American government

China Road
Rob Gifford
Wonderful ancedotes from a journey all the way across China on route 312

Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea
Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys
A prequel to Jane Eyre, Rhys' 1966 novel tells the life of Mr. Rochester's first wife, the notorious Madwoman in the Attic. This will compell you to read the 1847 classic Jane Eyre and you will be happy you did.  A delicious pairing.

Paranoia and Killer Instinct
Joseph Finder
Really fun, fast beach reads about industrial espionage set in modern, technology companies. Credulity is strained but the action is so amazing you won't want to put these down.

The Brass Verdict and The Lincoln Lawyer
Michael Connelly
Two fast and easy beach reads featuring fictional lawyer Mickey Haller. Set in Los Angeles, present day, don't expect to put these down once you pick them up!