We all know the story. A compelling, coming-of-age book, about a young girl’s views of growing up in the South, racism, prejudice, and inequity as her father, a good man and a great lawyer, takes a leap of faith to defend a black man who has been unfairly accused of an awful crime.

Lucy is sixty years old and has lived his whole life in Thomaston, New York. Lucy is an optimist, although he’s had many reasons not to be—the main reason being his mother. But it is because of his mother that they now hold a legacy of convenience stores ready to be passed down to the next generation.

Richard Russo tells us the story of Lucy, his family, and his oldest friend who now presides in Venice, Italy through the history of Thomaston Lucy is writing.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is the story of a young girl, from a poor family, growing up in Brooklyn. Francie discovers that her brother is the favorite child, that her aunt spends too much time with many different men, and that her mother constantly tries to control her life. We, the readers, see how hard coming of age can be for a girl like Francie.

We start with a basic question: Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more successful than others? Why do some people have what it takes to cultivate a loyal following of employees and clients? And why is it so rare for a successful individual to repeat that success?

Those who have found the most success, Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers to name a few don’t have much in common. But something they do share is that all of them first asked why! They knew that people won't completely buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the why of it all.

Start With Why reveals to us that the leaders who've had the greatest success in the world all look to the same strategy. Simon Sinek calls this “The Golden Circle”, and it gives us a framework to bring forth ideas, movements, and organizations. It all starts with why.

Mitzi Perdue provides us all with practical advice on how a family businesses can develop a culture that supports keeping the family business in the family. She has lived through two long-lasting family enterprises: Her father co-founded the Sheraton Hotels, and her late husband managed Perdue Farms. What’s the secret to keeping a successful family business in the family? Don’t leave your legacy to change. Create a plan to make sure your business stays where it belongs. Mitzi Perdue uses checklists, activities, stories, and tips to share her knowledge and expertise in How to Make Your Family Business Last.

The title says it all. Carol Travis and Elliot Aronson write about one of our biggest weaknesses as humans: our need to remove any cognitive dissonance we may feel when we make a mistake, a bad decision, or realize something we believe doesn’t truly make sense. Why do we justify our mess-ups in this way and how does it occur? Travis and Aronson explain one of the most interesting psychological misfortunes and the significance our doing so.

We’ve all wondered how our lives could be if we had made different choices along the way. What if we could go back in time and undo what has been done? If you had the chance, would you? Matt Haig writes of a fascinating world where such an opportunity exists in The Midnight Library. In his book, the library contains an infinite number of books, holding an infinite number of possibilities for your life based on the choices you could have made.

Nora Seed, Haig’s main character, finds herself faced with this decision. She could change her life as she knows it—go down a different career path, undo an old breakup, or follow her dream of being a glaciologist. Nora must look within herself as she moves through The Midnight Library and figure out what will make her life truly happy.

Jacqueline Novogratz left a career in banking to dedicate her life to poverty and finding new and better ways of approaching it. Novogratz tells us the stories of her ventures, from her first efforts as a young, naive woman to the development of the non-profit organization she runs today. She shows us how traditional charity often fails, but how a new way of philanthropic investing: patient capital, can make a true difference in allowing people to become self-sufficient and can change millions of lives for the better.

There are so many stories about how wonderful it is to start a business, but, it is rare to find a book describing how difficult it is to run one. Ben Horowitz provides us with just that in his book: The Hard Things About Hard Things. He analyzes the problems business owners are faced with everyday, shares the insights he’s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and and overseeing technology companies with us. Horowitz is a lover of rap music and he makes his business lessons fun for us with lyrics from his favorite songs. He writes about firing friends, poaching competitors, developing a CEO frame of mind, and recognizing when to cash in.

Written by one of my very best friends, Nothing But Blue is about Diane Meyer Lowman’s life changing work trip aboard a German container ship. In the summer of 1979, she was a mere nineteen years old, a student at Middlebury College. The ship took her from New York to Australia to New Zealand and back again, and she took this trip accompanied with a majority male crew. She learned a lot about herself and came back a new person: confident, independent, and resilient.

Freedom tells us the story of Patty and Walter Berglund, two seemingly normal parents living in a time when life is mind-numbingly confusing. Franzen’s work will draw you in with its relatable material. He writes of struggles we all face: the difficulties we have living life as we get age, the expectations that older generations may have of younger ones, the desire of younger generations to build their own lives, and the problems that all this brings to the forefront. Freedom touches on serious issues, but is masterfully written with humor splashed in throughout.

Bob Dylan’s memoir is a wonderfully written book about his life, his career, his music, and his insights. He starts in New York City, Greenwich Village around 1961, the time he first came to Manhattan and paints us a picture of what life was like in the city then. Bob Dylan shares with us the parties that lasted all night, literary awakenings, his loves and friendships, observations, and memories. He takes us through New Orleans, Woodstock, and Minnesota. Chronicles is a must read.

Composed from Matthew McConaughey’s thoughts, notes to himself, diary entries, and insights, he writes about his experiences so far, his successes, his failures, his philosophies on life, how to live a good life, how to be a good person, and how to make the most of it all.

Leslie Montanile, divorce lawyer, has seen it all. She’s seen happiness, sadness, love, hurt, betrayal. Her line of work, and her personal life, has combined to give her important insights into what can make life ugly, and what can make life how it’s meant to be. The Cult of the Black Card shares her stories with us and gives us hope as we look for the best in what can sometimes be a confusing, hateful world.

Lulu Miller, NPR Reporter, takes us into an incredible story of David Starr Jordan—a taxonomist who had his life’s work destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. This book is part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, and shows us how truly important resilience in the midst of hardship is. It received a Best Book of 2020 recognition from The Washington Post and is a must read.

If you are in a funk about our current times, HumanKind is a must read. Bregman, a Dutch historian, author and journalist, systematically breaks down the myth that at our root, all people are evil. He provides a new, and quite refreshing perspective of human history, proving that we are indeed prone to goodness and not evil.