It’s summer – quick, grab a book
You are what you read. Barack Obama is a voracious reader, who releases his own summer reading list every year (you can see last year’s here). Donald Trump ‘doesn’t have time’ to read. Draw your own conclusions.
But what’s beside your sunlounger/in your backpack/on your Kindle right now? Some frivolous chicklit or gritty noir thriller?
Well, yes, me too. But here’s some REAL brainfood, as recommended by some of the greatest business brains going…
The 12 books Bill Gates reckons everyone should read: less dominated by white US men in suits than I’d expected.
My score: 1/12. Could do better.
EOFire’s compilation of the top 15 books as recommended by 350 leading entrepreneurs. Utterly dominated by white US males, but to be fair they’re all cracking books.
My score: 10/15. Not bad.
The 9 business books you MUST read this year (according to Startups). I bet you won’t believe it, but it’s all male too.
My score: 2/9. Pitiful.
Ryan Holiday’s Books to Base Your Life On. I’ll be interviewing Ryan shortly for the Extraordinary Business Book Club podcast so I’d better get myself clued up on these. The antithesis of chicklit.
My score: 4/8. (But that’s only because I did Classics A-level.)
And finally, in an attempt to redress the gender balance, here are Inc.com’s 9 books every female entrepreneur should read.
My score: 3/9.
So that’s a total of 20/53. I think it’s safe to say there’s room for improvement. How did you do?
Alison Jones (@bookstothesky) is a publishing partner for businesses and organizations writing world-changing books. She also provides executive coaching, consultancy and training services to publishers. www.alisonjones.com.