Corsini’s Top Read, Watch or Listen List: Summer Reading Edition

by | May 26, 2020 | Uncategorized

Part 2 of 2

Here’s the rest of my curated summer reading list. As I mentioned in the previous blog (with the first five recommendations), these are some of my favorite books. Others are highly recommended by people whose opinions I value and trust.

Whether or not you can actually go on a real vacation this year, these books are great ways to spend some downtime. And time for yourself—to be entertained and to learn something new—is more important than ever.

Corsini’s Top Read, Watch or Listen List (especially for leadership and listed by topic):

  1. Hoaxes & deceptions. Billion Dollar Whale by Bradley Hope & Tom Wright. This is a story of hubris and greed and white-collar crime on a global scale. Jho Low, a Malaysian national who graduated from the Wharton School of Business, was the mastermind of an incredible heist. For over a decade, with the help of Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions, he swindled more than $5 billion from an investment fund. He used the money he took to finance elections, purchase yachts and luxury real estate, throw elaborate parties and even bankroll the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. If you liked Bad Blood, John Carreyrou’s book about Elizabeth Holmes and the large-scale corporate fraud she perpetrated with her Theranos blood-testing company, you’ll love this book.
  2. Identifying talent. Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday. I happened onto Holiday in a podcast recently and was impressed with what he had to say. Since I’m always talking about “the swarm” of life and how we all have too much to do, too many obligations and too little time for prayer and reflection—this book spoke to me. Lately, I’ve been including a chapter of Ryan’s book in my hour of quiet time each day. Ryan says stillness is the way to “be steady while the world spins around you.” And he draws inspiration from Confucius and Winston Churchill and Fred Rogers, among others. He believes that slowing down is key to success as we charge ahead in life.
  3. The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky. Speaking of Ryan Holiday, this is the “one” book he recommends everyone read. It’s an easy-to-follow workbook that offers exercises in how to think about happiness as well as quizzes for understanding our individual potential for joy and how to sustain it. What I like best about this book is that the usable information about “happiness” is based on science and years of research—not feelings or assumptions.
  4. Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by Coach John Wooden. Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach (and, arguably, the greatest basketball coach of all time) offers all types of wisdom that pertain to just about all areas of life. In readable, conversational style, he shares his personal philosophy about teamwork, competition, success and excellence as well as his thoughts on family and marriage. This book is a treasure of inspirational life lessons. (There’s a reason why Coach Wooden’s book has been on our list in previous years.)
  5. Little things matter. Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life … and Maybe the World by Admiral William “Bill” McRaven. This book grew out of McRaven’s riveting and wise University of Texas at Austin commencement address. If you haven’t yet heard that speech, spend 20 minutes and go to https://bit.ly/3ajiTGU to see what I mean. McRaven is a former Navy SEAL, and he shares 10 principles he learned during his SEAL training that have helped him overcome challenges throughout his life. He also wrote a great follow-up book, Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations.

Here’s a bonus book (because more than one client recommended it):

Blink:  The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. This book draws upon cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology to understand leadership and decision-making. Turns out that the best and most successful decision-makers are not the ones who deliberate for hours or process the most information. Instead, these are the people who have learned how to “thin-slice” information—filtering and then focusing on the very few factors that really matter. This book will change the way you think about thinking.

And if you want even more reading suggestions, take a look at our 2018 Summer Reading:  Corsini’s Top 10 “Read, Watch and Listen” List:  https://bit.ly/2Ys9Eya  or the 2019 Corsini’s Top “Read, Watch or Listen” List: https://bit.ly/38f5ZIA

Have a safe summer. Stay well. And thank you for allowing us to help you do what you do better.