Alright everyone, I’ve shared my all time favorite books. I’ve shared my favorite summer reads, my favorite winter reads and even my favorite historical romances. Clearly, I have a deep and abiding love with fiction.
But believe it or not, I actually do read non-fiction as well and these tend to be the books that have had the most impact on my life. So if you’re looking for something interesting without a vampire love triangle, check out this list of my favorite non-fiction books.
1. Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker – I have to start with this one because it has had the biggest impact on my life. This book about how Jen Hatmaker and her husband changed their lives to be more mindful of their community, the less fortunate and the homeless population in their city was life changing. No I’m not being overly dramatic, this book really did fundamentally change the way I view the world around me and the way I choose to live my life. If you’ve never read Jen’s work there are so many incredible books to choose from, but this is my favorite.
2. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz – Hands down, my absolute favorite book on business. Ben (a wildly successful entrepreneur who started Opsware and later sold it to Hewlett-Packard for a billion dollars) chronicles the history of building (and almost losing his company) over many years. It’s funny and smart and uses rap lyrics as business metaphors. Such a good one for you fellow entrepreneurs!
3. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed – This book is a collection of articles written by Cheryl (the popular author of Wild) when she was an advice columnist. The advice she gives is brutal in its insight and so moving I ended up reading most of the book aloud to my husband. It should be required reading for life.
4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris – David Sederis is one of the funniest writers and speakers on the planet and this was the very first book I ever read by him. All of his books are hilarious and each is a different collection of short stories based on his life. The writing style is stellar and the stories will having crying you’re laughing so hard.
5. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg – I have such a business crush on Sheryl Sandberg (she’s the CEO of Facebook) and this book only helped to fuel my obsession. If you are a woman in business (or heck, a forward thinking man) you should read this immediately.
6. Bossypants by Tina Fey – I assume most of you had read Tina Fey’s hilarious book filled with stories of her life and her career but just in case you haven’t I’m including it here. She writes about everything from motherhood to business to the entertainment industry and you’ll laugh your pants off throughout the whole thing.
7. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – The tipping point is a collection of research and data about different movements, businesses or celebrities who hit their tipping point. Basically it explores how a something goes from popular amongst a few people to a worldwide phenomenon. It’s so interesting!
8. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling – If you liked Tina Fey’s book you’ll love this one too. Mindy Kaling includes a collection of stories from her life and work and they’re all hilarious.
