The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)'s Book Recommendations (Updated for 2021)

Want to know what books The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form) recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)'s favorite book recommendations of all time.

Dream With a Deadline

How to Turn a Strategy for Tomorrow into a Plan for Today

Jacques Horovitz, Anne-Valerie Ohlsson-Corboz | 4.14

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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We Need to Talk About Kevin

Lionel Shriver | 4.14

The gripping international bestseller about motherhood gone awry.

Eva never really wanted to be a mother and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social...

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath, Maggie Gyllenhaal, et al | 4.20

Sylvia Plath's shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel about a woman falling into the grip of insanity.

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is... more

Bryony GordonAs a teenage girl, you have to read The Bell Jar. It’s a rite of passage. (Source)

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

Tim KendallDespite its subject matter, The Bell Jar is often a very funny novel. Perhaps we miss it because the pall of Plath’s biography descends across the whole work and reputation. But The Bell Jar is viciously funny. There are people still alive today who won’t talk about it because they were so badly hurt by Plath’s portrayal of them. (Source)

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Honor

Elif Shafak | 4.27

An honor killing shatters and transforms the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s London

Internationally bestselling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children.

In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in. After Adem abandons his... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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More Than This

Patrick Ness | 4.05

A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies. Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but alive. How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place?

As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?

From multi-award-winning Patrick Ness comes one of the most provocative and moving novels of our time. less

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

Estelle FrancisThis book tackles the themes of guilt and facing the skeletons in your closet. (Source)

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Fear

Stefan Zweig, Anthea Bell | 4.34

Finding her comfortable bourgeois existence as wife and mother predictable after eight years of marriage, Irene Wagner brings a little excitement into it by starting an affair with a rising young pianist. Her lover’s former mistress begins blackmailing her, threatening to give her secret away to her husband. Irene is soon in the grip of agonizing fear.
Written in the spring of 1913, and first published in 1920, this novella is one of Stefan Zweig’s most powerful studies of a woman’s mind and emotions.

La Paura (1954) the Roberto Rossellini film based on the Stefan Zweig novel... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Black Soul

Ahmet M. Rahmanovic | 4.49

After fifty years, genocide in Europe again. This time live, 24/7 coverage of the extermination of a nation. The author, Ahmet M. Rahmanovic, pens a fictional novel based on the true events of Bosnia´s darkest period in "Black Soul", a new book release through Xlibris.

This book, unlike any others, gives a face to all the actors in the Bosnian tragedy. In gripping war-action thriller, Rahmanovic takes readers from the battle-torn hills of Sarajevo to the streets of Chicago, where one man journeys to find new meaning in his life. Can he escape the horrors of memory in a foreign... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Wise and Otherwise

Sudha Murty | 4.27

Fifty vignettes showcase the myriad shades of human nature

A man dumps his aged father in an old-age home after declaring him to be a homeless stranger, a tribal chief in the Sahyadri hills teaches the author that there is humility in receiving too, and a sick woman remembers to thank her benefactor even from her deathbed. These are just some of the poignant and eye-opening stories about people from all over the country that Sudha Murty recounts in this book. From incredible examples of generosity to the meanest acts one can expect from men and women, she records everything with... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

Joseph Murphy | 4.37

In The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Dr. Joseph Murphy gives you the tools you will need to unlock the awesome powers of your subconscious mind. You can improve your relationships, your finances, your physical well-being. Once you learn how to use this unbelievably powerful force there is nothing you will not be able to accomplish. Join the millions of people who have already unlocked the power of their subconscious minds. I urge you to study this book and apply the techniques outlined therein; and as you do, I feel absolutely convinced that you will lay hold of a miracle-working power... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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The Elephant in the Room

One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America

Tommy Tomlinson | 4.44

The government definition of obesity is a body mass index of 30 or more. My BMI is 60.7. My shirts are size XXXXXXL, which the big-and-tall stores shorten to 6X. I’m 6-foot-1, or 73 inches tall. My waist is 60 inches around. I’m nearly a sphere.

Those are the numbers. This is how it feels…

So begins The Elephant in the Room, Tommy Tomlinson’s remarkably intimate and insightful memoir of his life as a fat man. When he was almost fifty years old, Tomlinson weighed an astonishing—and dangerous—460 pounds, at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, unable to climb a flight of stairs without having to catch his breath, or travel on an airplane without buying two seats. Raised in a family that loved food, he had been aware of the problem for years, seeing doctors and trying diets from the time he was a preteen. But nothing worked, and every time he tried to make a change, it didn’t go the way he planned—in fact, he wasn’t sure that he really wanted to change.

In The Elephant in the Room, Tomlinson chronicles his lifelong battle with weight in a voice that combines the urgency of Roxane Gay’s Hunger with the intimacy of Rick Bragg’s All Over but the Shoutin’. He also hits the road to meet other members of the plus-sized tribe in an attempt to understand how, as a nation, we got to this point. From buying a FitBit and setting exercise goals to contemplating the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, America’s “capital of food porn,” and modifying his own diet, Tomlinson brings us along on a candid and sometimes brutal look at the everyday experience of being constantly aware of your size. Over the course of the book, he confronts these issues head-on and chronicles the practical steps he has to take—big and small—to lose weight by the end.

Affecting and searingly honest, The Elephant in the Room is a powerful memoir that will resonate with anyone who has grappled with addiction, shame, or self-consciousness. It is also a literary triumph that will stay with readers long after the last page. less

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Superhuman By Habit

A Guide to Becoming the Best Possible Version of Yourself, One Tiny Habit at a Time

Tynan | 4.05

Our willpower is limited, yet we rely on it every day to get our tasks done. Even if we build willpower slowly over time, it's never enough to reach all of our goals. The solution lies in habit creation, the method by which we transform hard tasks into easy ones, making them automatic and independent of our will power. Each of us has millions of habits, in how we do our work, interact with others, perceive the world, and think about ourselves. Left unexamined, these habits are just as likely to hinder our progress as they are to push it along. Without a deliberate system for building habits,... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Heaven, an Unexpected Journey

One Man's Experience with Heaven, Angels, and the Afterlife

Jim Woodford, Thom Gardner | 4.21

Encounter the glories of Heaven, the terrors of hell, and the stunning reality of the unseen world!

When Jim Woodford died, he spent eleven hours in Heaven. When he came back, he was changed forever.

A successful airline pilot and businessman, Jim had it all--a loving family, substantial wealth, and all of the good things that come with it. But none of this was enough to satisfy the emptiness he felt in his heart. He always hungered for something more. And then one day, he died.

Jim was never a religious man. When it came to matters of God and faith, he... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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The Magic (The Secret, #3)

Rhonda Byrne | 4.47

In 28 days, you can take a journey that will change your life. Long ago, sacred texts held secrets we can unravel today. One word can change your life. less

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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The 5 AM Club

Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life

Robin Sharma | 4.00

Legendary leadership and elite performance expert Robin Sharma introduced The 5am Club concept over twenty years ago, based on a revolutionary morning routine that has helped his clients maximize their productivity, activate their best health and bulletproof their serenity in this age of overwhelming complexity.

Now, in this life-changing book, handcrafted by the author over a rigorous four-year period, you will discover the early-rising habit that has helped so many accomplish epic results while upgrading their happiness, helpfulness and feelings of aliveness.
more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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My Life

An Illustrated Biography

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Prabhjyot Majithia | 4.60

The story of my life has become intertwined with the story of this country. And somewhere along the way, as I met a million children across this land, I too learnt from a million minds. This book was not written to only tell my story. I want every young reader to think that this book is his or her story too. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has been one of the most iconic figures of Independent India. A scientist, leader, thinker, teacher and writer, he achieved remarkable success in various fields. Yet, what endeared him to so many was his dedication to the idea of a developed India, his simple and direct... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Life is a Highway

A Roadmap for Your Journey

Ian C Byrd | 4.42

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Changing Destiny - Liao-Fan's Four Lessons

1, 200 | 4.30

Liao-Fan Yuan originally wrote Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons in the 16th century in China. The book was intended to teach his son, Tian-Chi Yuan, how to recognize the true face of destiny, tell good from bad, correct one’s faults and practice kind deeds. It also provided living proof of the rewards and outcomes of people who practice kind deeds and cultivate virtue and humility. Relating from his own experience at changing destiny, Mr. Yuan himself was a living embodiment of his teachings. less

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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The World as Will and Representation, Vol. 1

Arthur Schopenhauer, E. F. J. Payne | 4.25

Arthur Schopenhauer's Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung is one of the most important philosophical works of the nineteenth century, the basic statement of one important stream of post-Kantian thought. It is without question Schopenhauer's greatest work. Conceived and published before the philosopher was 30 and expanded 25 years later, it is the summation of a lifetime of thought.

For 70 years, the only unabridged English translation of this work was the Haldane-Kemp collaboration. In 1958, a new translation by E. F. J. Payne appeared that decisively supplanted the older... more

Recommended by The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 1 others.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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The Planet Remade

How Geoengineering Could Change the World

Oliver Morton | 4.12

A fascinating look at the perils and promise of geoengineering and our potential future on a warming planet

The risks of global warming are pressing and potentially vast. The difficulty of doing without fossil fuels is daunting, possibly even insurmountable. So there is an urgent need to rethink our responses to the crisis. To meet that need, a small but increasingly influential group of scientists is exploring proposals for planned human intervention in the climate system: a stratospheric veil against the sun, the cultivation of photosynthetic plankton, fleets of unmanned... more

Chris GoodallThis book is largely about reducing the amount of the sun’s energy that gets through to the earth’s surface as a way of counterbalancing the increase of the heat blanket in the earth’s atmosphere. (Source)

Maarten BoudryThe poetic envoi of Oliver Morton's (@Eaterofsun) The Planet Remade, a fascinating book on the history (and future) of geo-engineering. (In this quote, he's imagining aerosol spraying in the stratosphere). We better start taking this technology seriously. https://t.co/BBvRN16Tgt https://t.co/bBZzdhw4Tj (Source)

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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City of Thieves

David Benioff | 4.45

From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival — and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering... more

Recommended by Leo Babauta, Brian Koppelman, Nicholas Carlson, and 5 others.

Brian KoppelmanI’ve given it to 100 people. All of them thanked me and gave away a bunch themselves. (Source)

Nicholas CarlsonAmazing recommendations. Thanks everyone. Just finished a book off this list: "City of Thieves." It was funny, moving, and thrilling. I also recommend it. https://t.co/mvmjjNpyHC (Source)

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.

Good Omens

The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett | 4.47

‘Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don’t let you go around again until you get it right.’

People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?

You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as (hopefully) just another hoax. Or you could just try... more

Recommended by Jim Lee, Veronica Belmont, Zoe Keating, and 6 others.

Jim Lee@thecameroncuffe @skydart Lovely pic! And a great show! (And book 👍🏼) (Source)

Veronica Belmont@stephenmalovski Not necessary but the book is great! (Source)

Zoe Keating@TheTwoHeadedBoy @GoodOmensPrime @neilhimself I love the book so much. Re-read it in preparation. (Source)

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Fanatical Prospecting

The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, Email, Text, and Cold Calling

Jeb Blount, Mike Weinberg | 4.51

Ditch the failed sales tactics, fill your pipeline, and crush your number

Fanatical Prospecting gives salespeople, sales leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives a practical, eye-opening guide that clearly explains the why and how behind the most important activity in sales and business development--prospecting.

The brutal fact is the number one reason for failure in sales is an empty pipe and the root cause of an empty pipeline is the failure to consistently prospect. By ignoring the muscle of prospecting, many otherwise competent salespeople and sales organizations consistently underperform.

Step by step, Jeb Blount outlines his innovative approach to prospecting that works for real people, in the real world, with real prospects.

Learn how to keep the pipeline full of qualified opportunities and avoid debilitating sales slumps by leveraging a balanced prospecting methodology across multiple prospecting channels.

This book reveals the secrets, techniques, and tips of top earners. You'll learn:

Why the 30-Day Rule is critical for keeping the pipeline full Why understanding the Law of Replacement is the key to avoiding sales slumps How to leverage the Law of Familiarity to reduce prospecting friction and avoid rejection The 5 C's of Social Selling and how to use them to get prospects to call you How to use the simple 5 Step Telephone Framework to get more appointments fast How to double call backs with a powerful voice mail technique How to leverage the powerful 4 Step Email Prospecting Framework to create emails that compel prospects to respond How to get text working for you with the 7 Step Text Message Prospecting Framework
And there is so much more! Fanatical Prospecting is filled with the high-powered strategies, techniques, and tools you need to fill your pipeline with high quality opportunities.

In the most comprehensive book ever written about sales prospecting, Jeb Blount reveals the real secret to improving sales productivity and growing your income fast. You'll gain the power to blow through resistance and objections, gain more appointments, start more sales conversations, and close more sales.

Break free from the fear and frustration that is holding you and your team back from effective and consistent prospecting. It's time to get off the feast or famine sales roller-coaster for good! less

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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That Will Never Work

The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea

Marc Randolph | 4.49

In the tradition of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog comes the incredible untold story of how Netflix went from concept to company-all revealed by co-founder and first CEO Marc Randolph.
Once upon a time, brick-and-mortar video stores were king. Late fees were ubiquitous, video-streaming unheard was of, and widespread DVD adoption seemed about as imminent as flying cars. Indeed, these were the widely accepted laws of the land in 1997, when Marc Randolph had an idea. It was a simple thought-leveraging the internet to rent movies-and was just one of many more and far worse proposals, like personalized baseball bats and a shampoo delivery service, that Randolph would pitch to his business partner, Reed Hastings, on their commute to work each morning.

But Hastings was intrigued, and the pair-with Hastings as the primary investor and Randolph as the CEO-founded a company. Now with over 150 million subscribers, Netflix's triumph feels inevitable, but the twenty first century's most disruptive start up began with few believers and calamity at every turn. From having to pitch his own mother on being an early investor, to the motel conference room that served as a first office, to server crashes on launch day, to the now-infamous meeting when Netflix brass pitched Blockbuster to acquire them, Marc Randolph's transformational journey exemplifies how anyone with grit, gut instincts and determination can change the world-even with an idea that many think will never work.

What emerges,though, isn't just the inside story of one of the world's most iconic companies. Full of counter-intuitive concepts and written in binge-worthy prose, it answers some of our most fundamental questions about taking that leap of faith in business or in life: How do you begin? How do you weather disappointment and failure? How do you deal with success? What even is success?

From idea generation to team building to knowing when it's time to let go, That Will Never Work is not only the ultimate follow-your-dreams parable, but also one of the most dramatic and insightful entrepreneurial stories of our time. less

Recommended by Dharmesh Shah, The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and 2 others.

Dharmesh ShahReally enjoying the book "That Will Never Work" from one of the founders of Netflix. Really insightful and interesting read on the life of an idea. By @mbrandolph Recommended: https://t.co/KB4xoquzBd https://t.co/mPBIMARFNo (Source)

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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Don't have time to read The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)'s favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)'s Top Book Recommendations

Don't have time to read The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)'s favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

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