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Give The Gift Of Knowledge

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It’s not an iPad. It’s not a Kindle. It’s not a Xbox game. Sorry.

To some, this is going to sound like it’s coming from the person who gives young children socks as gifts for the holiday season. I don’t. But, let’s face it, we live in a world of abundance (not everybody, but most of the people who read this Blog have it fairly good). We don’t need more things made of plastic with lights and buttons on it, and we don’t need any more gift cards to a major electronics retailer. One of the most powerful gifts you can give someone is knowledge. I’ve seen countless posts on great business books as gifts (I’m guilty of writing many of them!), so instead, here are just-released books that most people have (probably) not picked up… just yet.

Bonus!

Think beyond the giving of the book. Every time this person picks it up, they will think about you. Every time they take a note, or when the content spurs a new idea, they’ll think of you. Maybe something within these pages will help them reshape their careers, their businesses and/or their relationships. They’ll have you to thank. You can even inscribe the book with a personal message about why you think this special person will enjoy the read.

That’s a real gift worth giving!

What new books are looking to pick up (either for yourself or as a gift)… emphasis on "new!" (as in recently released ;)?

17 comments

  1. Good list!!
    I would like to humbly suggest my book, Pull, which has 46 ratings on Amazon.com for an average of 5 full stars. It’s about the future of business, data, and the web. It’s my 4th book about the web, and, I think, my best by far.

  2. I’m a MASSIVE booky bookerson and am looking to grab 2:
    1- David Garland’s (Aka The Rise to the Top) “Smarter, Faster, Cheaper.”
    2- Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why”

  3. I’m a big fan of giving books as gifts generally, as I think books have a gravitas that most other gifts don’t. I never quite framed it as the “gift of knowledge,” but that just about sums it up. Poifect
    Bonus: If they hate it — books are easy enough to re-gift!
    Not that anyone would ever re-gift “Content Rules,” of course!

  4. I am currently waiting for Rework by Jason Fried to show up in my mailbox. Unmarketing was another great business I read and bought an extra copy to give away. Six Pixels has moved to the top of my list after many people recommended it.
    I am currently reading Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky, great book.

  5. I love to read Mitch, and will be buying some or all of these; actually they will go on my Christmas list. You’d mentioned Content Rules the other day on Twitter and I think my wife is buying it.
    Speaking of books; I’m re-reading Six Pixels but curious when you will be offering another book. Anytime soon?

  6. I agree with Chris Y. ‘Unmarketing’ is a good one. I also suggest ‘Resonate’ by Nancy Duarte.

  7. Great list Mitch, and many more in the comments! I am a little overwhelmed!
    Just finished Six Pixels and picked up DragonFly Effect last week. So far so good!
    Cheers,
    Tyrell Mara

  8. Great list…I’ve been looking for something to get those folks with jobs who can get themselves what they want and the like…this is excellent. Thanks for the tips!

  9. @Chris – Rework is fantastic. I’m sure that you will enjoy it. My favourite book from the past 12 months is clearly Kevin Kelly’s What Technology Wants. Absolutely mind-blowing stuff. I suspect this will be a very important work on a longer time frame. I also immensely enjoyed Stephen Hawking’s Grand Design, which really does make you think about life and how in the grand scheme of things whatever challenges you encounter in your daily life aren’t really all that relevant when you really ponder it. Anyhow, books make fabulous gifts.

  10. Just picked up “Content Rules” and will be picking up David Garland’s “Smarter, Faster, Cheaper.”

  11. Mitch,
    First I need to thank you for personally making sure that I grabbed “Cluetrain” that’s a mindblower, wow. As for new books, I just received “The Naked Presenter” and can’t wait to tear into it, but I’m also eagerly awaiting Gary Vanynerchuck’s “The Thank You Economy”.
    Joe

  12. I have “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrnes to re-gift, never read a single page… except one maybe, where she said that if you want to loose weight, you should not look at big people! Awesome wisdom. This book wants to deliver knowledge and methods and completely fails at it. I’d prefer to read self-declared social media gurus books instead. But maybe The Secret doesn’t say it and it’s a joke we all should laugh about. LOL!

  14. Actually, there was a book named after “The Secret” and it’s name was “The secret of the secret”. I always laugh about it saying “the secret of the secret is that there’s no secret”. So work, yeah, is the real secret!

  16. Mitch, as you know from previous notes, I read a minimum of 100 business books a year and have every year since 1989. I went well over that number this year thanks to my iPad! Let me suggest two obscure but amazing books that probably few have heard about. 1. “A Pecunious Life” by M.L. Dolan – this is the “real-deal” secret. This is one of the very best and most honest books I have ever read on what it truly takes to create a highly successful life. True wisdom in that book – I loved it. 2. For the aspiring writer or artist who cannot seem to fully commit to their craft… “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield – a “punch-you-in-the-face… Kick your ass commentary on what holds back most artists (people) from living their dream and creating their masterpiece. As a writer, this one was very impactful. Hope you enjoy those two recommendations —I really loved both of them! Take good care- John Spence

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