Books for Your 2021 Reading List

You hear it all the time that top executives read 50+ books a year. We asked our friends and followers for their recommendations and created 3 book lists for you to add to your 2021 Reading List:

1. Topeka Authors to Read

2. Nonfiction Recommendations by TK Friends and Facebook Followers

3. Fiction Recommendations by TK Friends and Facebook Followers

TOPEKA AUTHORS TO READ

• The Topeka School by Ben Lerner (Born & Raised in Topeka, KS)
  Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and one of the New York Times Top 10 Books of the Year. Deftly shifting perspectives and time periods, Ben Lerner's The Topeka School is the story of a family, its struggles and its strengths: Jane’s reckoning with the legacy of an abusive father, Jonathan’s marital transgressions, the challenge of raising a good son in a culture of toxic masculinity.

• Breathtaking by Courtney Turcotte Bond
  To the outside world, Cara’s life seems perfect. The only one who knows the dark secrets inside her home is her best friend and next-door neighbor, Adam. Cara’s only escape is by writing and sharing her stories with him through their facing bedroom windows late at night. Just when everything seems to get better, Cara’s world shatters, causing her to spiral into a deep depression and writer’s block.

• The Daugher Also Rises by Anne Francis, Ph.D.
  How women overcome obstacles and advance in the family-owned business.

• House of Aries, House of Taurus, and House of Libra (The Ascendant Series) by Whitney Estenson
  A Story of Love, Loss, and Extraordinary Discovery. Kyndal Davenport has suffered terrible tragedy. As the sole survivor of a car crash that claimed her entire family, Kyndal knew that her life would never again be easy.

• Beyond Sticky by Martha Bartlett Piland
  With sections on branding, business development, customer experience, culture, and innovation, Beyond Sticky includes exercises to help bank executives break free from the commodity mindset and create new value offerings for their bank and its customers.

• Must Be Present to Win by Doug Sterbenz and Paul Heagen
  The leaders who win are those who understand what it means to be fully present — physically, mentally, and emotionally — in the day-to-day of their business.

• Dog Church by Julie Castaneda
  Julie Castaneda is first and foremost a wife, mother and self-proclaimed graduate from The School Of Hard Knocks. She is an award winning entrepreneur, an inspirational public speaker and an influential leader in the pet care industry. Julie offers a unique style in story telling, making her personal experiences in life and love relatable to audiences of all ages.

• The Code: How to Win in the Game of Life & Business by Greg Gathers
  Gathers learned all his lessons the hard way. He never had a formal business mentor helping him succeed. This made him all the more determined to help mentor others. His advice can be the first step to a prosperous career and a fantastic life.
  

NONFICTION RECOMMENDATIONS BY TK FRIENDS & FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS

• Think Again by Adam Grant
  #1 New York Times Bestseller. The bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals examines the critical art of rethinking: learning to question your opinions and open other people's minds, which can position you for excellence at work and wisdom in life.

• Double Double by Cameron Herold
  A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth -- while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur.

• Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelps-Roper
  The activist and TED speaker Megan Phelps-Roper reveals her life growing up in the most hated family in America.

• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
  #1 New York Times Bestseller. The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed

• Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by General James “Mad Dog” Mattis and Bing West
  #1 New York Times Bestseller. A clear-eyed account of learning how to lead in a chaotic world, by General Jim Mattis—the former Secretary of Defense and one of the most formidable strategic thinkers of our time—and Bing West, a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine.

• No-Drama Leadership by Marlene Chism
  Today's leader needs more than position, power, or business acumen. Today's leader needs more than self-management, communication skills, or emotional intelligence. We need leaders who are aligned, aware, and accountable, who balance choice and power with wisdom and responsibility-leaders who embrace and embody both the inner game of leadership growth with the outer game of business results, modeling both the mindsets and actions that transform the cultures they lead.

• When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink
  The instant New York Times Bestseller and #1 Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller. Daniel H. Pink, the #1 bestselling author of Drive and To Sell Is Human, distills cutting-edge research and data on timing and synthesizes them into a fascinating, readable narrative packed with irresistible stories and practical takeaways that give readers compelling insights into how we can live richer, more engaged lives.

• Right Away and All at Once by Greg Brenneman (Washburn University Graduate)
  Brenneman takes what he’s learned from turning around or tuning up many businesses, including Continental Airlines and Burger King, and distills it into a simple, clear, 5-step roadmap that teaches you how to prepare a succinct Go Forward plan, build a fortress balance sheet, grow your sales and profits, choose all-star servant leaders, and empower your team.

• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
  Malcolm Gladwell, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Outliers, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers -- and why they often go wrong.
  

FICTION RECOMMENDATIONS BY TK FRIENDS & FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
  A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.

• Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (Book 1 of 2)
  The #1 New York Times bestseller―now a #1 Netflix series! Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.

• Fly Away by Kristin Hannah (Book 2 of 2)
  An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss, and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness.

• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
  Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s magnum opus: a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

PRE-ORDER

• The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country (Hardcover) by presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman
  On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Gorman captivated the nation and brought hope to viewers around the globe. Her poem “The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country” can now be cherished in this special gift edition. Including an enduring foreword by Oprah Winfrey, this keepsake celebrates the promise of America and affirms the power of poetry.