So, I have written earlier about my re-ignited reading, much thanks to the Amazon Kindle. This posts comes out of that. Just to be clear, this is not necessary new book, it’s just that I’ve read them this last year. Without further ado, here’s my list.

The List

1. Leadership and self-deception (getting out of the box)

By: Arbinger Institut | Amazon link

This book totally blew me away! If you want to know why some people behave the way they do and I found some behaviors within myself I need to work on. Written in a story telling style it sucks you right into the action.

2. Five dysfunctions of a team

By: Patrick Lenconi | Amazon link

This book is also written in like a novel with a fictional story running through it. This book is about a boss taking over a team that is :somewhat de-railed and how she gets them to jell and get better.

3. Lean from the Trenches: Managing large-scale projects with kanban

By: Henrik Kniberg | PragProg link

It’s not just because this book is written by a fellow swede that I loved it. It was a really hands on book on agile projects. This is what we did and this is how it worked. In my current project this book gave me a lot of insight. The photos of kanban-boars and meeting setups was very inspiring.

4. Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor your Wetware

By: Andy Hunt | PragProg Link

If you’re like me and is in an ever ongoing quest of always trying to tweak yourself and your life to become better this is the book for your. Andy gives you a lot of concrete tips and a solid chunk of theory.

5. Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

By: Daniel H. Pink | Amazon link

The title says it all. This book is awesome in proving what you hopefully already know in your gut. Carrots and sticks is not a good way to motivate people.

Second runner ups

The books that did not make the top 5 list but still are worth mentioning are:

• Brain Rules by John Medina
• Trojan Horse: A Novel by Mark Russinovich
• Presentation Zen by Garr Renyolds

Next up

A friend of mine (@hallbergtomas) sent me this link with a list books. I already decided to read Habit after it being picked on the Ruby Rogues podcast, but the rest of the books looks awesome too, seems I have my reading cut out for the near future.