Of the books I’ve recommended on the site, these have been the most popular:
1) Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
It’s the best book out there on being persuasive. Backed by scientific studies, Cialdini presents the five time tested principles that underlie how to influence others. Great for marketers and those have to negotiate, but I truly believe it’s a book everyone should read.
2) Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon: A Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That and Go There
Do you know the best time of day to be operated on? The best day of the week to ask for a raise? The best day of the month to make an offer on a house? No? Then you should definitely check this out.
3) What You Can Change and What You Can’t: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement
An accessible book by noted University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman that explains the state of research in the basic mental health issues (depression, anxiety, etc), how much we are able to treat them and the most effective methods.
4) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, interviewed 91 Nobel Prize winners, national book award winners, eminent scholars and other brilliant people to get to the bottom of what makes us creative. He also outlines how you can use this information to enhance your own creativity.
5) The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated.
Want to escape the rat race, travel the world and learn the shortcuts to financial independence? Ferriss offers a book with plenty of life hacks and resources but most importantly it will change the way you think about money, career, and entrepreneurship.
Gretchen Rubin’s delightful one year experiment in how-to-make-oneself-happier. An easily digestible way to learn a lot of simple techniques for dramatically improving your life.
7) Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
This is the book on negotiation, written by Roger Fisher, the man who pioneered the Project on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
Offers the best strategies and insights I’ve seen on handling job interviews. More importantly, the entire second half of the book is a list of the top 100 questions asked in job interviews and the answers that employers want to hear.
9) Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t
Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford’s MBA school, breaks down what studies show is the real path to power in organizations — and intelligence and performance aren’t at the top of the list. A scientific explanation of office politics, what works and how to use it to your advantage.
10) If I Knew Then What I Know Now
A collection of advice and anecdotes from CEO’s, top executives and movers-and-shakers from a variety of industries as they look back on their early careers. Rich with insight and perspective.
Other posts:
Things you didn’t know about sex
How to quickly and easily improve your life
Things you didn’t know about sports
Things you didn’t know about happiness
Things you didn’t know about lies, liars and detecting lies
Things you didn’t know about negotiation, persuasion and influence