Ask HN: Must Read Books

Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup -- Brad Feld (Author), David Cohen (Author)

Seeing What's Next (Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change) -- Clayton Christensen (Author)

What I've read recently (and recommend):

1. The Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve "@sgblank" Blank

2. Built To Last - Jim Collins

3. (re-read) Crossing the Chasm - Geoffrey Moore

4. Positioning - Al Ries & Jack Trout

5. Differentiate or Die - Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin

6. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - Al Ries & Jack Trout

Reading Now:

1. Repositioning - Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin

2. Enterprise 2.0 - Andrew McAfee

Queued Up to Read:

1. Create Marketplace Disruption - Adam Hartung

2. Seeing What's Next - Clayton Christensen, Scott Anthony & Erik Roth

3. The Ultimate Marketing Plan - Dan S. Kennedy

4. Rethink, Reinvent, Reposition - Leo Hopf & William Welter

5. Only The Paranoid Survive - Andy Grove

6. Blue Ocean Strategy - W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne

7. The Power of Unfair Advantage - John L. Nesheim

8. Product Lifecycle Management - Michael Grieves

9. Marketing High Technology - William Davidow

10. Open Innovation - Henry Chesbrough

11. Product Strategy for High-Technology Companies - Michael McGrath

12. Living on the Fault Line - Geoffrey Moore

13. Inside the Tornado - Geoffrey Moore

14. The Chasm Companion - Paul Wiefels

15. Getting to Plan B - John Mullins & Randy Komisar

16. Business Model Generation - Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur

1.Accountability in action 2.The art of extreme sel-care 3.the art of innovation 4.the art of war 5.authentic happiness 6.axiom 7.the big three 8.the brain that changes itself 9.broken windows, broken business 10.change or die 11.change your toughts, change your life 12.citizen marketers 13.confidence 14.confronting reality 15.dance of change 16.death by meeting 17.dynasties 18.the education of an accidental CEO 19.Einstein 20.Execution 21.felling good together 22.the fifth discipline 23.flawless consulting 24.flight plan 25.fooled by randomness 26.fountain head 27.the four obsessions of an extraordinary executive 28.the four seasons of mariage 29.getting to yes 30.giant steps 31.good business 32.the google story 33.the great bridge 34.group genius 35.the heart of change 36.highlight of the perfect sales process 37.how to start a consulting service 38.how to win friends and influence people 39.idioms 40.influencer 41.innovation and entrepreneurship 42.the innovator's dilemma 43.inside Drucker's brain 44.inspire! why customer come back 45.the intelligent investor 46.irrational exuberance 47.it's not about the coffee 48.Jack: straight from the gut 49.judgment 50.the leader in me 51.life makeovers 52.linked 53.the long walk 54.madde to stick 55.the magic of thinking 56.man's search for meaning 57.managing in the next society 58.managing oneself 59.managing transitions 60.the mariage you always wanted 61.the message 62.mindfulness 63.Moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game 64.the new psycho-cybernetics 65.the no asshole rule 66.outliers 67.the personnality code 68.planet google 69.pour your heart into it 70.the power of intention 71.the power of positive thinking 72.the richest man in babylon 73.rule 1 74.the science of getting rich 75.screamfree parenting 76.the search 77.shackleton's way 78.the snowball 79.social intelligence 80.speak to win: how to present with power in any situation 81.the spontaneous fulfillment 82.the structure of scientific revolutions 83.strength finder 84.success built 85.take time for your life 86.talking dirty with the queen of clean 87.team of rivals 88.the ten faces of innovation 89.the three signs of a miserable job 90.transparency 91.ultrametabolism 92.the wal-mart way 93.the warren buffet way 94.what make an effective executive 95.what would google do? 96.a whole new mind 97.the whuffie factor 98.winning 99.the wisdom of crowds 100.writing down the bones 101.zero 102.the 4 hour work week 103.the 80/20 individual 104.the 80/20 principal

On my own list of usual recommendations, in no particular order.

- Linchpin

- Rework

- Evil Plans

- Four Hour Work Week

- Steve's Mind

Man, I'm moving now, and my books are all packed already. These are the ones that I've read and recommend.

No two books have helped me more than:

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion

Sometimes it pays to take a break from the monotonic techno mumble contained in books quoted by others here.

I suggest you read "English August" by Upamanyu Chatterjee.