Take a break and read a book

Book collection

Looking for some good reading over spring break?  We’ve got you covered.  Check out our expanded innovation and entrepreneurship book collection, updated as of March 2019.   Stop by the LaunchPad in Bird Library where you’ll see the collection on special shelves just out front.  Many are also available in e-versions.  Whether you’re spending time in an airport, or chilling at home or on a beach, reading a book is a great way to keep your creative juices going while adding some mental benefits to your vacation.  Taking a break can inspire you, and the downtime you find on vacation can sometimes be just what you need to think about your next big idea.

Research shows that reading boosts your imagination and creativity.  It also connects your brain, because it creates a zone of silence and mindfulness, helping your brain become clear and focused.  So if you want to really recharge over break, read a book.  Especially a book about creativity and innovation!

Here is our list:

Title Author
#Girlboss Sophia Amoruso
$100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living Do What You Love and Create a New Future Chris Guillebeau
101 Design Methods Vijay Kumar
4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich Timothy Ferris
ABA Consumer Guide to Obtaining a Patent: A Practical Resource for Helping Entrepreneurs & Innovators Protect Their Ideas Rich Goldstein
Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think Peter H. Diamandis
Adventures of Ideas Whitehead
Age of Insight Eric R. Kandel
Agile Product Development: How to Design Innovative Products That Create Customer Value Tathagat Varma
Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions. (No Rights Us) Brian Christian
All in Startup: Launching a New Idea When Everything is on the Line Diana Kander
All Marketers are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works– and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All Seth Godin
Art of Critical Making Rosanne Somerson and Mara Hermano
Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want Dave Kerpen
Art of The Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything Guy Kawasaki
Art of The Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything Guy Kawasaki
Art of War Sun Tzu
Ascent of Money: A Financial History of The World Niall Ferguson
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin
B Corp Handbook: How to Use Business as A Force for Good Ryan Honeyman
Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose Jean Case
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Walter Isaacson
Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, And the Universe Itself Sean Carroll
Biomimicry for Designers: Applying Nature’s Processes and Materials in The Real World Veronika Kapsali
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature Janine Benyus
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction Arvind Narayanan
Black Woman Millionaire: A Revolutionary Act that Defies Impossible Venus Opal Reese
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant Chan Kim
Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in An Interconnected World Jacqueline Novogratz
Bold: How to Go Big, Achieve Success, and Impact the World Peter H. Diamandis
Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Josh Lerner
Brand Brilliance: Elevate Your Brand, Enchant Your Audience Fiona Humberstone
Building A Social Business Muhammad Yunus
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies Jim Collins
Burn the Business Plan: What Great Entrepreneurs Really Do Carl Schramm
Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers Alexander Osterwalder
Business of Good: Social Entrepreneurship and The New Bottom Line Jason Haber
Business Plans Handbook (Volumes 32 & 37)
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds David Goggins
Challenger Customer: Selling to The Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results Brent Adamson
Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation Tim Brown
Chief Marketing Officers at Work Josh Steimle
Confidence Gap: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt Russ Harris
Contagious: Why Things Catch on Jonah Berger
Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas John Howkins
Creative Intelligence: Harnessing the Power to Create Connect and Inspire Bruce Nussbaum
Creative Priority: Putting Innovation to Work in Your Business Jerry Hirshberg
Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers Geoffrey Moore
Data Science for Business Foster Provost
Data Visualisation: A Handbook for Data Driven Design Andy Kirk
Design as Art Bruno Munari
Design Basics Stephen Pentak
Design of Everyday Things Donald A. Norman
Design Process Karl Aspelund
Design Studies: A Reader Hazel Clark and David Brody
Design Thinking for The Greater Good: Innovation in The Social Sector Jeanne Liedtka
Design Thinking: New Product Development Essentials from the PDMA Michael Luchs, Scott Swan, Abbe Griffin
Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers
Do More Faster: Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup David Cohen
Do the Kind Thing: Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately Daniel Lubetzky
Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common-Sense Approach to Web Usability Steve Krug
DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online Russell Brunson and Dan Kennedy
Drawing Is Thinking Milton Glaser
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Daniel H. Pink
Driver in The Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Will Create the Future Vivek Wadhwa and Alex Salkever
Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done Peter Drucker
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, And the Quest for A Fantastic Future Ashlee Vance
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ Daniel Goleman
Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business Carol Roth
Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital: Inside Secrets from The Leaders of The Startup Game Andrew Romans
Entrepreneurial Group: Social Identities, Relations, And Collective Action (Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Martin Ruef
Entrepreneur’s Guide to Law and Strategy Constance E Bagley
Entrepreneurship for The Creative and Cultural Industries Bonita M. Kolb
Entrepreneurship in The Creative Industries: An International Perspective Edited by: Colette Henry
Everything Store: Jeff Bezos And the Age of Amazon Brad Stone
Evil by Design: Interaction Design to Lead Us Into Temptation Chris Nodder
Executive Director’s Guide to Thriving as A Nonprofit Leader Mim Carlson
Experimental Capitalism: The Nanoeconomics Of American High-Tech Industries (Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Steven Klepper – Edited By: Serguey Braguinsky, David A. Hounshell, John H. Miller
Explaining Creativity Keith Sawyer
Exponiential Organizations: Why New Organizations Are Ten Times Better, Faster, and Cheaper Than Yours (and What to Do About It) Salim Ismail
Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms Danielle Laporte
Form A Partnership: The Complete Legal Guide Denis Clifford
Foster Your Passion: A Guide To Finding Your Passion And The Tools You Need To Foster It Hayley Foster
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days Jessica Livingston
Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup Noam Wasserman
Four Steps to the Epiphany Steve Blank
Functional Art: An Introduction to Information Graphics and Visualization Alberto Cairo
Fundable Startup: How Disruptive Companies Attract Capital Fred M. Haney
Future Agenda: Six Challenges to the Next Decade Caroline Dewing and Tim Jones
Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech Heather Cabot
Geek Silicon Valley Ashlee Vance
Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works Roger L. Martin
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In Roger Fisher
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women Catherine Thimmesh
Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of The World’s Most Successful Companies Charles Koch
Good to Great Jim Collins
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Angela Duckworth
Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration Paperback Keith Sawyer
Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building A Business When There Are No Easy Answers Ben Horowitz
HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business Richard Ruback
Heavy Hitter I.T. Sales Strategy: Competitive Insights from Interviews With 1,000+ Key Information Technology Decision Makers and Top Technology Salespeople Steve Martin
High Output Management Andrew S. Grove
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products Nir Eyal
How Did You Do It, Truett?: A Recipe for Success Cathy Truett
How Exceptional Black Women Lead: Unlocking the Secrets to Creating Phenomenal Success in Career and in Life Avis Jones-DeWeever
How the Internet Became Commercial: Innovation, Privatization, And the Birth of a New Network Shane Greenstein
How to Change the World David Bornstein
How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (Every Once in a While) Change the World Michael Bierut
How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World Steven Johnson
Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness And (A Lot Of) Success in America John Gartner
Idea Factory: Bell Labs and The Great Age of American Innovation Jon Gertner
In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from Over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs Grace Bonney
Inevitable: Understanding The 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future Kevin Kelly
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Cialdini, Robert B
Infographic Guide to Science Tom Cabot
Innovating: A Doer’s Manifesto for Starting from A Hunch, Prototyping Problems, Scaling Up, And Learning to Be Productively Wrong Luis Perez-Breva
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Peter Drucker
Innovation and Scaling for Impact: How Effective Social Enterprises Do It Christian Seelos
Innovation Blind Spot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas and What to Do About It Ross Baird
Innovation Code: The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict Jeffrey Thomas Degraff
Innovator’s Dilemma Clayton Christensen
Innovators: How A Group of Hackers, Geniuses, And Geeks Created the Digital Revolution Walter Isaacson
Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel Benjamin Graham
Invention of Enterprise: Entrepreneurship from Ancient Mesopotamia To Modern Times Edited (Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship) David S. Landes, Joel Mokyr, William J. Baumol
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be: The World’s Best-Selling Book by Paul Arden Paul Arden
King of Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall, And Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone David Carey
Knowledge is Beautiful David McCandless
Launch Pad: Inside Y Combinator, Silicon Valley’s Most Exclusive School for Startups Randall Stross
Lead Your Tribe, Love Your Work: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Culture that Matters Piyush Patel
Leadership Is an Art Max Depree
Leadership Step by Step: Become the Person Others Follow Joshua Spodek
Lean Out Dawn Foster
Lean Product Design and Development Journey: A Practical View Marcus Vinicius Pereira Pessoa
Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses Eric Ries
Lean UX: Designing Great Products with Agile Teams Jeff Gothelf
Lightning in A Bottle David Minter and Michael Reid
Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, And Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way Richard Branson
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Managing the Nonprofit Organization Peter Drucker
Massive Change and the Institute Without Boundaries Bruce Mau
Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain Anas Antonopoulos
Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-Up to IPO On Your Terms Jeffery Bussgang
Mental Toughness for Women Leaders: 52 Tips to Recognize and Utilize Your Greatest Strengths Larae Quy
Microtheory Of Innovative Entrepreneurship William J. Baume
Money of Invention: How Venture Capital Creates New Wealth Hardcover Paul A. Gompers
Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Randy Komisar with Kent Lineback
My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla
Myth of Meritocracy: Why Working-Class Kids Get Working-Class Jobs James Bloodworth
Networking China: The Digital Transformation of The Chinese Economy Yu Hong
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It Voss, Christopher
Next Generation Business Strategies for The Base of The Pyramid: New Approaches for Building Mutual Value Ted London
Nolo’s Patents for Beginners David Pressman
Not So Obvious: An Introduction to Patent Law and Strategy Jeffrey Schox
On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker A’Lelia Bundles
Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need Anthony Iannarino
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World Adam Grant
Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success William Thorndike
People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and The American Century Steven Watts
Philanthro-Capitalism: How the Rich Can Save The World Matthew Bishop
Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, And Winning the Deal Oren Klaff
Platform Revolution Sangeet Paul Choudary, Geoffrey G Parker, and Marshall Van Alstyne
Platform: Get Noticed in A Noisy World Michael Hyatt
Pocket Universal Principles of Design: 150 Essential Tools for Architects, Artists, Designers, Developers, Engineers, Inventors, and Managers William Lidwell
Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at A Time Howard Schultz
Power of Little Ideas: A Third Way to Innovate for Market Success David C Robertson
Predictably Irrational Dan Ariely
Predicting the Turn: The High Stakes Game of Business Between Startups and Blue Chips Dave Knox
Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience Carmine Gallo
Presentation Techniques: A Guide to Drawing and Presenting Design Ideas Dick Powell
Present-Future Leader: How to Thrive in Today’s Economy Randall Wolken
Principles: Life and Work Ray Dalio
Profit from Your Idea: How to Make Smart Licensing Deals Richard Stim
Purpose Economy Aaron Hurst
Purpose Is Profit: The Truth About Starting and Building Your Own Business Ed McLaughlin
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity Kim Scott
Raising Venture Capital for The Serious Entrepreneur Dermot Berkery
Raw Data: Infographic Designer’s Sketchbooks Steven Heller
Research Methods for Product Design Alex Milton
Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to A Plan That Works Ash Maurya
Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less Robert Sutton
Screw Business as Usual Richard Branson
Seventh Sense: Power, Fortune, And Survival in The Age of Networks Joshua Cooper Ramo
Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business Barbara Corcoran
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by The Creator of Nike Philip H. Knight
Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers Koos Eissen
Small Is the New Big: And 183 Other Riffs, Rants, And Remarkable Business Ideas Seth Godin
Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Productivity in Life and Business Charles Duhigg
Snowball: Warren Buffett And the Business of Life Alice Schroeder
Social Entrepreneur’s Playbook, Expanded Edition: Pressure Test, Plan, Launch and Scale Your Social Enterprise Ian C. Macmillan
Social Entrepreneurship: A Skills Approach Christopher Durkin
Solomon’s Knot: How Law Can End the Poverty of Nations (Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Robert D. Cooter, Hans-Bernd Schäfer
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain John Ratey
Start Something That Matters Blake Mycoskie
Startup CEO A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business Matt Blumberg
Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City Brad Feld
Startup Equation: A Visual Guidebook to Building, Launching and Scaling Your Startup Steven Fisher
Startup Game: Inside the Partnership Between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs William H. Draper
Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career Reid Hoffman
Startup Playbook: Founder-to-Founder Advice From Two Startup Veterans Rajat Bhargava and Will Herman
Startup Way: How Modern Companies Use Entrepreneurial Management to Transform Culture and Drive Long-Term Growth Eric Ries
Startup: The Complete Handbook for Launching a Company for Less Elizabeth Edwards
Steal Like an Artist Austin Kleon
Steal the Show: From Speeches to Job Interviews to Deal-Closing Pitches, How to Guarantee a Standing Ovation for All the Performances in Your Life Michael Port
Storyscaping: Stop Creating Ads, Start Creating Worlds Gaston Legorburu
Succeeding at Social Enterprise: Hard-Won Lessons for Nonprofits and Social Entrepreneurs Social Enterprise Alliance
Success and Luck: Good Fortune and The Myth of Meritocracy Robert H. Frank.
Summary of Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
Sustainability Generation: The Politics of Change & Why Personal Accountability is Essential Now! Mark C. Coleman
Tactics of Hope: How Social Entrepreneurs Are Changing Our World Wilford Welch
Tao Of Leadership: Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching John Heider
Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs Larry Keeley
Term Sheets & Valuations – An Inside Look at The Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations Alex Wilmerding
That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together Joanne Lipman
Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain Steven D. Levitt
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students Ellen Lupton
Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman
Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of The Future Stephen Case
This is Service Design Doing: Applying Service Design Thinking in the Real World: A Practitioners’ Handbook Marc Stickdorn (editor)
This is Service Design Methods: A Companion to This is Service Design Doing Marc Stickdorn (editor)
Thoughts on Interaction Design Jon Kolko
Thriving on Chaos Tom Peters
Time to Trust: Mobilizing Humanity for a Sustainable Future Mark C. Coleman
To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others Daniel Pink
Tom Peters Essentials: Design Tom Peters
Tom Peters Essentials: Leadership Tom Peters
Tom Peters Essentials: Talent Tom Peters
Tom Peters Essentials: Trends Tom Peters
Travels of A T-Shirt in The Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, And Politics of World Trade Pietra Rivoli
True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership Hardcover Bill George
Truthful Art: Data, Charts, and Maps for Communication Alberto Cairo
Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet Andrew Blum
Turn Ideas into Products: A Playbook for Defining and Delivering Technology Products Steve Johnson
Uncontainable Kip Tindell
Understanding Social Enterprise: Theory and Practice Rory Ridley-Duff
Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds Michael Lewis
Universal Principles of Design William Lidwell
Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, And the Killer Companies of The New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World Brad Stone
Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want Alex Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda, Alan Smith; Designed by Trish Papadakos.
Venture Deals Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson