A good read

It’s always good to have a recommended read at hand. Having this question (recommended reads) asked regularly I’ve updated my list and wanted to present my favorites here:

Category is added in brackets to give an indication of what kind of book this is.

Disclaimer: I found most the descriptions on amazon far outperformed my own articulation, so I’ve copied some of them :)

Stumbling Upon Happiness, Dan Gilbert [psychology]
In the words of Malcolm Gladwell: “Gilbert walks us through a series of fascinating–and in some ways troubling–facts about the way our minds work. In particular, Gilbert is interested in delineating the shortcomings of imagination.”

Made to stick, Chip Heath and Dan Heath [communication]
Chip and Dan Heath “offer an entertaining, practical guide to effective communication
. Drawing extensively on psychosocial studies on memory, emotion and motivation, their study is couched in terms of “stickiness”—that is, the art of making ideas unforgettable.” – Publishers Weekly

Blink, Malcolm Gladwell [psychology, marketing]
Gladwell offers an illuminating look into how we make snap judgments, discussing why snap judgements can be more accurate than well researched, careful analysis
.

Making Ideas Happen, Scott Belsky [creativity]
Belsky has years of experience helping creatives succeed in business. Seeing why some push through and some fail

. In this book he summarizes those findings and suggest solutions and tools to help us go from having ideas to making them happen.

Truth lies and advertising, Jon Steel [advertising, strategy]
Jay Chiat called it “The best new-business tool ever invented.” Jon Steel provides us with their first practical look at a tool [account planning] that is reshaping the ad industry.

The art of thinking sideways, Alan Fletcher [creativity]
Alan Fletcher writes what Amazon describes as “an absolutely extraordinary and inexhaustible ‘guide to visual awareness'”. The book is filled with anecdotes designed to make any mind think sideways
.

Designing design, Kenya Hara [design]
“DESIGNING DESIGN is quite possibly the most beautiful book on design ever published. Not only is the content illuminating and intelligent, allowing the world to gain an appreciation for one of the truly unique voices in the design field – that voice being the Japanese master Kenya Hara – but also in keeping with the subject, the book itself is a paramount of elegance, simplicity and superb creative force.” – Grady Harp

Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely [psychology]
Dan Ariely’s ingenious experiments explore deeply how our economic behavior is influenced by irrational forces and social norms. In a charmingly informal style that makes it accessible to a wide audience, PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL provides a standing criticism to the explanatory power of rational egotistic choice.” – Kenneth Arrow

Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner [marketing]
The authors argue that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don’t need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. The book discusses why people turn out the way they do. Examining the influence of incentive, heredity, the neighborhood you grew up in, etc.

Business model generation, Alexander Osterwalder [business ,strategy]
Business Model Generation is a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers striving to defy outmoded business models and design tomorrow’s enterprises
. If your organization needs to adapt to harsh new realities, but you don’t yet have a strategy that will get you out in front of your competitors, you need Business Model Generation
. I’ts a wonderfully designed and visual business book featuring practical innovation techniques used today by leading consultants and companies worldwide