Expand your horizons with 21 books our well-read team recommends

We asked our colleagues from all over the world to share some of the books they enjoyed and think are worth recommending to our community. We were really curious to find out what everyone has been reading.

Below, you’ll find some recommendations on topics from soft skills to body and mental health, behavioural psychology, self-improvement and a few others.

We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we did.

1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari

   This is a thrilling account of how we have evolved as species, covering everything from evolution, anthropology, geography, psychology, religion, ideologies and our future.

2. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think – Hans Rosling

   The media is mad. And this book is the antidote, offering you an alternative lens to view the world with and a methodology for questioning the information the media gives out.

3. Quiet: The Power of Introverts – Susan Cain

   This book eloquently explains the behaviour of introverted people – the kind of environment they need in which to work better, things they pay attention to and ways in which they recharge themselves. It’s a useful book for anyone who works or lives with introverts and would like to understand them better.

4. 12 Rules of Life – Jordan B. Peterson

   A must-read if you want to keep life’s chaos in check.

5. Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual – John Z. Sonmez

   Useful reading if you want to improve your soft skills and career as a software developer.

6. Into Thin Air – John Krakauer

   This book tells the story of, perhaps, the most disastrous accident to have taken place on Everest.

7. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable – Patrick Lencioni

   A compelling fable with a powerful, yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders.

8. TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking – Chris Anderson

   Do you have to – but hate to – speak in public? If so, this is a fantastic guide to overcoming your fear and learning how to deliver brilliant talks.

9. Stress Less, Accomplish More – Emily Fletcher

   The clue is in the title 🙂

10. Unconventional Medicine: Join the Revolution to Reinvent Healthcare, Reverse Chronic Disease and Create a Practice You Love – Chris Kresser

    This book offers good insights into healthspan, longevity, and functional medicine in order to prevent unhappiness and unnecessary illness.

11. The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz

    The co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a start-up. This is practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business schools don’t cover.

12. Simulacra and Simulations – Jean Baudrillard

    This book is about the role that images play in modern society and how reality is influenced by these images. The author introduces the concept of ‘hyperreality’, which is an inability of the consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality.

13. Talking to Strangers – Malcolm Gladwell

    In Gladwell’s unique way, he describes funny and interesting anecdotes about interactions with strangers and common mistakes and assumptions we all make.

14. Microservices Patterns – Chris Richardson

    A very descriptive book about how we should model and design microservices.

15. Rags to Ritchie – Shane Ritchie

    This is about one man’s journey from treading the boards at Pontins holiday camps, to the dizzying heights of being a regular at the ‘Vic’ in London’s East End. This page-turner will take you through an empathic journey of hardship, laughter and the heart-wrenching moment ‘nanna moon’ passes away. It throws light on the pressures of C-list game show hosting.

16. The Manager’s Path – Camille Fournier

    A must-read for every engineer who is curious about the entire career path ahead of them – from junior engineer to senior engineer, to tech lead, to the engineering manager, to CTO. It offers a healthy understanding of what should be expected at each level. Some engineers who are at a mature stage of their career don’t have to choose between more technical and more managerial roles. They can swing back and forth between technically-focused and managerially-focused roles.

17. The Ideal Team Player – Patrick Lencioni

    This book deals with the concept of an ideal team player and how to spot one. Moreover, it also explains the ways to strive to be one by focusing on the qualities of humble, hungry and smartness (in managing relationships).

18. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century – Yuval Noah Harari

    What is really happening right now? What are today’s greatest challenges and choices? What should we pay attention to? This book focuses on the biggest questions of the present moment.

19. Atomic Habits – James Clear

    Want to build good habits and break bad ones? Then this book is for you. It’s full of practical advice and draws from various scientific researches.

20. Contagious: Why Things Catch On – Jonah Berger

    Berger, a Wharton school professor, outlines what all contagious ideas have in common and why some marketing campaigns go viral and others don’t.

21. The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression – Edward Bullmore

    As mental health becomes an increasingly topical issue, Bullmore explains the role that inflammation plays in depression.