Ready for some inspiration? 13 lists to find your next good book

I’m never without a book in my hand—well maybe not while paddling my kayak—but that’s about it! I vividly remember the day in 2^nd grade when Mrs. Neman, the librarian at our local library, called my Mom to report me for trying to check out books that were “too precocious” for my age. I was flabbergasted that someone wanted to keep me from reading and learning about something new—I think it was a couple of books about spies or race car drivers or astronauts (all careers-of-choice to my 7-year-old self)! My Mom’s response? “Let her check out any book she ever wants to read!” I’ve never looked back!

If you take a look at my ereaders (Kindle Voyage, iPad Pro), you’ll find a plethora of business books on marketing, social media, design, knowledge management, program management, creativity, graphics, leadership, programming… If you look at my “fun” books, you’ll find thrillers, adventures, steampunk, mysteries, histories, fantasies, cookbooks, travel guides, romances, dyeing, weaving, knitting, spinning…

What do they all have in common? They help me to expand my skills, broaden my horizons, think, ponder, grow, create, dream…

I’m always ready to try a new book. Here are some good book lists I’ve come across lately—I hope you’ll find some new inspiration (and perhaps a great “vacation read”) among them!

• 21 Books That’ll Get You Ahead at Work, According to Top Career Coaches – Jody Powowski writing on The Muse website (Check out this website—lots of great content and a nice daily newsletter).
• 15 Books for Creative Leaders – by David Slocum writing on Forbes.com.
• 12 Best Books Every Leader Needs to Read by Geoffrey James writing on Inc.com (He also has a list of The 18 Best Motivational Books Everyone Should Read compiled from his readers’ suggestions).
• NPR’s Book Concierge – Our Guide to 2015’s Great Reads – produced by Nicole Cohen, Rose Friedman, Petra Mayer and Beth Novey (I like this list because I can hover over an image of each book’s cover and get a “snippet” of the review and then click the link to the full book review).
• It’s All Geek to Me – NPR.org (This is one of the filters available on the NPR favorite books lists to explore various titles. I’ve found some interesting books using this filter!).
• goodreads has a collection of “Best Book Lists” voted on by goodreads readers that ranges from “Best Books Ever” to “Best Science Fiction of the 21^st Century” to “Best Steampunk Books” to “The Most Influential Books in History” and everything in between. (Careful, though. You can get lost in the lists and only resurface hours later! Allow plenty of time to explore the contents!)

Here’s the list of recommended books I put together for my recent presentation Hashtags, mentions, endorsements…oh my! How to use social media to build your personal and corporate “brand” at the 2016 APMP Bid & Proposal Con. Definitely check out Guy Kawasaki’s book!

• The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick
• Content Marketing – Think Like a Publisher by Rebecca Lieb
• Content Rules – How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, ebooks, Webinars (and More) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman
• 27 Facebook marketing mistakes businesses make and how to fix them by Jim Edwards
• The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott
• The Social Customer: How Brands Can Use Social CRM to Acquire, Monetize, and Retain Fans, Friends, and Followers by Adam Metz
• Social Media for Business by Martin Brossman and Anora McGaha
• Social Marketing Superstars – Social Media Mystery to Mastery in 30 Days by Cydney O’Sullivan

Finally, here are lists of favorite business books provided by my industry colleagues.

• From the experts: Favorite business books to start off 2016
• Suggestions from readers | More favorite business books to start off 2016
• Top 10 Favorite Business/Proposal Development-related Books
• Lohfeld Team’s Favorite Business, Proposal, and Design Books
• More top proposal books for proposal writers

I hope you find a few books within all these lists that will inspire you and spark your imagination!

What books do you recommend to the rest of us? Send your favorites to me at BWingate@LohfeldConsulting.com so I can share them in a future post.

Beth Wingate, aka AppMaven, is a CF APMP Fellow. She’s the managing director at Lohfeld Consulting Group. She has more than 25 years’ proposal development, management, training, and communications experience managing proposal centers for Lockheed Martin and MSD, and training and mentoring proposal and BD staff in industry best practices. Beth manages social media, branding, content strategy, and marketing for Lohfeld Consulting Group.

Connect with Beth on LinkedIn.