Here are 100 books that Play fans have personally recommended if you like
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I grew up in the 70s when a linear perspective was king, including the objectivity of science and elevation of the importance of men’s work, so I fought to become a female exploration geologist. I learned to conquer dangers and collect data to discover riches. I also learned that my feminine intuition and curiosity were invaluable in understanding the patterns in nature. My next career as a treaty negotiator for the Federal government introduced me to indigenous cultures, and I felt the familiar clash of circular and linear thinking once again. I dedicated myself to the study and work experience that would help me give language to this pattern.
What first gripped me was the insight into how North American Indians organized their societies. It was so interesting to see how it was advantageous to them to be free of the command-and-control leadership style in a competitive battle for economic gains. Instead, they relied on numerous pods of self-organizing systems where people chose who to follow based on what they admired in a person and understood the situation to require. It made them very nimble and creative.
This decentralized system might be the future of organizational leadership or at least a viable alternative. I love how the authors translate traditional wisdom into modern business practices. I really want to wrap my head around this.
If you cut off a spider's head, it dies; if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and that leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. Traditional top-down organizations are like spiders, but now starfish organizations are changing the face of business and the world.
What's the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and women's rights movements? What fundamental choice put General Motors and Toyota on vastly different paths?
Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom have discovered some unexpected answers,…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I am, first and foremost, someone who cares deeply about the world, people, and learning. I have been passionate about ideas, curiosity, and innovation since I was a child and since starting our company and writing four books, have had the privilege of helping over 400 organizations and 700,000 people to unlock their genius by not being experts but by being curious about the world around them and other people. I am also a teacher, speaker, and community volunteer who is keen to help people find their own unique brilliance.
I love this book because it is all about how we show up each day and how we engage the world.
I am particularly keen on the idea that we can choose to be open to learning new things, meeting new people, and making a difference…in other words, we can choose to “grow” …or we can choose to stand still.
And I hope that I will never stop wanting to know more, read more, learn, and try to make a difference.
From the renowned psychologist who introduced the world to “growth mindset” comes this updated edition of the million-copy bestseller—featuring transformative insights into redefining success, building lifelong resilience, and supercharging self-improvement.
“Through clever research studies and engaging writing, Dweck illuminates how our beliefs about our capabilities exert tremendous influence on how we learn and which paths we take in life.”—Bill Gates, GatesNotes
“It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest.”
After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this…
I’m passionate about these topics is because I'm a world-renowned dog trainer and an elite agility competitor. In both of these activities, I need to know my learning theory as well as how to break behavior into tiny pieces. When counseling canine behavior clients, I teach them these skills as well. My hope is that if they learn how their dog's brains work, they might make more of an effort to teach their dogs more cooperative skills. There are so many activities that people and dogs can share, one such being agility! People love to teach it (form of play) and the dog's confidence grows, as many as the obstacles are introduced.
Another winner by Karen Pryor! In this book, Karen talks about the methodology of clicker training and why it is such an important teaching tool. With the sound of an audible signal (the click), we can teach the animal that what he/she did, at that moment in time, is the reason why they are receiving reinforcement. As Bob Bailey once said, “The clicker is used as a scalpel to carve out behavior.”
Scattered throughout the text are video URLs to demonstrate some of the concepts. For example, a reader can go to the URL and watch a cat do agility!
Whatever canine sport you are in, the clicker can be a valuable tool in your toolbox.
I love this book because, as a dog trainer, I want to use tools that communicate effectively to the dog. This book talks about clicker training and why it can be used to pinpoint…
From the founder of “clicker” training, the widely praised humane approach to shaping animal behavior, comes a fascinating book—part memoir, part insight into how animals and people think and behave.
A celebrated pioneer in the field of no-punishment animal training,Karen Pryor is responsible for developing clicker training—an all-positive, safe, effective way to modify and shape animal behavior—and she has changed the lives of millions of animals. Practical, engrossing, and full of fascinating stories about Pryor’s interactions with animals of all sorts, Reaching the Animal Mind presents the sum total of her life’s work. She explains the science behind clicker training,…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I grew up in the 70s when a linear perspective was king, including the objectivity of science and elevation of the importance of men’s work, so I fought to become a female exploration geologist. I learned to conquer dangers and collect data to discover riches. I also learned that my feminine intuition and curiosity were invaluable in understanding the patterns in nature. My next career as a treaty negotiator for the Federal government introduced me to indigenous cultures, and I felt the familiar clash of circular and linear thinking once again. I dedicated myself to the study and work experience that would help me give language to this pattern.
This account of a stroke took me from seeing thinking as one complex mystery to seeing two styles of thinking in me. This was life-changing. Taylor’s stroke left her stuck in one mode or the other, and as a neuroscientist, she had the language to describe each mode. How rare is that!
She first cared deeply about the present moment and wholeness. Feeling connected to her body and the energy in everything around her, she was flooded with feelings of curiosity and love. Then, perception shifted, and Taylor focused on finding details to categorize and organize, with a focus on the past as predictors of the future. The world was there for her to use as she achieved her goals. As Taylor described these two states, I could feel and relate to the differences. I started to consciously separate them out in my mind, feeling suddenly awake.
"Transformative...[Taylor's] experience...will shatter [your] own perception of the world."-ABC News
The astonishing New York Times bestseller that chronicles how a brain scientist's own stroke led to enlightenment
On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven- year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. As she observed her mind deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life-all within four hours-Taylor alternated between the euphoria of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and…
As someone who’s lived through burnout and now helps people prevent it, I know firsthand that productivity isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what matters, when it matters, without sacrificing your sanity, health, or relationships. Reclaim Your Workday was born from years of coaching teams and leaders to focus deeply, communicate clearly, and work sustainably in our always-on world. These books challenge the myth of hustle culture and offer practical ways to reclaim your time, attention, and energy—so work supports your life, not the other way around.
As a performance coach and speaker, I find his research relevant and doable. After Deep Work, I incorporated many of his findings into my business.
With Digital Minimalism, the content and strategies—along with the reasons why we need to minimize our digital world—were presented in a relatable and realistic way. Newport doesn’t say we should throw our phones away and never go online again. He’s practical, with examples of people seeking more solitude and less noise.
It’s the ultimate guide to focus in an era of distraction and a foundation for any sustainable productivity practice.
Many modern knowledge workers now spend most of their brain power battling distraction and interruption, whether because of the incessant pinging of devices, noisy open-plan offices or the difficulty of deciding what deserves your attention the most. When Cal Newport coined the term 'deep work' on his popular blog, Study Hacks, in 2012, he found the concept quickly hit a nerve. Most of us, after all, are excruciatingly familiar with shallow work instead - distractedly skimming the surface of our workload and never getting to the important part. Newport began exploring the methods and mindset that foster a practice of…
I believe that creativity and mindfulness are critical qualities for a well-lived life. This is something I learned through personal experience as a former lawyer who returned to my childhood dream of creating art and stories. Mindfulness—a kind, nonjudgmental awareness of what is happening in the present moment in and around you—helps people of all ages practice self-compassion, appreciate the world and others, and see life as an adventure. I write and illustrate picture books to share these concepts through storytelling, teach mindful creative classes, and am a certified meditation teacher through The Awareness Training Institute and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.
I love this book for its gentle, minimalist drawings reminding us to be present, to be brave, and to be compassionate.
It isn't a standard picture book, but a collection of vignettes that began as Charlie’s most popular Instagram posts. You can start on any page, but I read it straight through and loved the overall narrative as well.
This book is something that kids and adults can treasure for its beautiful ink drawings and timeless simplicity.
A book for all ages, a book for all time. Adapted into a short animated film, coming this Christmas.
Enter the world of Charlie's four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most important life lessons.
The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared millions of times online. They've also been recreated by children in schools and hung on hospital walls. They sometimes even appear on lamp posts and on cafe and bookshop windows. Here, you will find them together in this book of Charlie's most-loved drawings, adventuring into the Wild and exploring the thoughts and…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I wasn’t always a reader. Diagnosed with a learning disorder in elementary school, I hated reading and school. Eventually, I discovered my passion for psychology, neurolinguistics, and persuasion and influence, and have now become a lifelong reader! Through my boutique consulting firm Solutions In Mind, my colleagues and I have been coaching executive teams to make the changes required to improve sales, organizational behavior, and communication. In my latest book,Ignite a Shift, I equip readers to think about how they and those around them think, feel and do. With greater awareness you’ll be able to better establish and meet your goals and persuade and influence others to do the same.
This best-selling book, from the incredibly talented Karen Pryor, looks at behavior through a scientific and practical lens. When it comes to animals and humans, we aren’t that different in terms of our behavior and how it can be corrected positively. Through encouraging reinforcement, we can learn new ways of taking in and dealing with conflict in a more constructive way. I have found the methods suggested in this book extremely beneficial and have successfully incorporated them in my own life.
Karen Pryor’s clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don’t Shoot the Dog a bestselling classic with revolutionary insights into animal—and human—behavior.
In her groundbreaking approach to improving behavior, behavioral biologist Karen Pryor says, “Whatever the task, whether keeping a four-year-old quiet in public, housebreaking a puppy, coaching a team, or memorizing a poem, it will go fast, and better, and be more fun, if you know how to use reinforcement.”
Now Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and reveals how this art can be applied to virtually any common situation. And best of all,…
I am a passionate learner; passionate, not for knowledge, but for what Anders Ericsson calls “know-how.” I love to learn how to do things– especially writing craft techniques. These fascinate me because every technique and every skill I practice and master makes me better at the real work of writing: communication. In many of today’s writing workshops, aspiring writers are told to focus on themselves and their feelings. This is idiotic: expert writing is not about you; it’s about making things happen in other people—in their intellects and imaginations, in their hearts, even in their bodies. To make that happen, you need skills, skills anyone can learn through dedicated practice.
Had this book not been written, I would probably never have learned about Professor K. Anders Ericsson and his research; my own work—even my life—would have been much poorer. Colvin’s book (appearing years before Peak) was the first to introduce Ericsson to a wide audience. Although many similar books followed, in my mind, this is the best. It’s extremely well-researched and written, full of lively anecdotes and fascinating information about how “world-class performers” get to that level.
I especially enjoyed Colvin’s story of how Benjamin Franklin trained himself to become a better writer by imitating the work of the best stylists of his day. Imitation of experts, as Anders Ericsson later discovered, turns out to be a key technique for gaining expertise in any activity.
Since its publication ten years ago, businesspeople, investors, doctors, parents, students, athletes, and musicians at every level have adopted the maxims of Talent Is Overrated to get better at what they’re passionate about. Now this classic has been updated and revised with new research and takeaways to help anyone achieve even greater performance.
Why are certain people so incredibly great at what they do? Most of us think we know the answer—but we’re almost always wrong. That’s important, because if we’re wrong on this crucial question, then we have zero chance of getting significantly better at…
I’ve always wanted my work to have meaning beyond the paycheck, and for some reason, my mind automatically seems to drift toward the bigger picture. During my career, I have watched environmental issues change from being distant concerns to a flat-out crisis that we may well have ignored until it is too late. I think the issue of humanity being able to thrive with respect for each other, other species, and the planet itself is the one that matters most.
When I started reading this book, I thought, ‘I don’t even care if it’s a load of rubbish, because it feels so good just to read something nice about our species for a change’. A bonus is that, far from rubbish, it turns out to be extremely well-grounded and evidence-based.
I found this challenge to the negative stories we tell about human nature to be so refreshing and uplifting.
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A Guardian, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman and Daily Express Book of the Year
'Hugely, highly and happily recommended' Stephen Fry 'You should read Humankind. You'll learn a lot (I did) and you'll have good reason to feel better about the human race' Tim Harford 'Made me see humanity from a fresh perspective' Yuval Noah Harari
It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Dawkins, the roots of this belief have…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I grew up in the 70s when a linear perspective was king, including the objectivity of science and elevation of the importance of men’s work, so I fought to become a female exploration geologist. I learned to conquer dangers and collect data to discover riches. I also learned that my feminine intuition and curiosity were invaluable in understanding the patterns in nature. My next career as a treaty negotiator for the Federal government introduced me to indigenous cultures, and I felt the familiar clash of circular and linear thinking once again. I dedicated myself to the study and work experience that would help me give language to this pattern.
I love good research, especially when it’s related through interesting stories. Damasio delivers big insights about how we think and make decisions through a fascinating collection of research findings and stories. He explains the foundations of emotional intelligence and challenges the consistent application of logic!
It’s a dense read and I hung in there to the end. It rewards with the insight that we remember things by attaching an emotion to information. Meaning that if we don’t have an emotional response to something, we don’t remember it. Schools give tests because fear of a low grade resulting in a dim future makes us remember. We also remember things by attaching love-based emotions. Imagine going to a school dedicated to supporting us in following our curiosity wherever it took us.
In the centuries since Descartes famously proclaimed, 'I think, therefore I am,' science has often overlooked emotions as the source of a person's true being. Even modern neuroscience has tended until recently to concentrate on the cognitive aspects of brain function, disregarding emotions. This attitude began to change with the publication of Descartes' Error. Antonio Damasio challenged traditional ideas about the connection between emotions and rationality. In this wonderfully engaging book, Damasio takes the reader on a journey of scientific discovery through a series of case studies, demonstrating what many of us have long suspected: emotions are not a luxury,…
