One of the hottest April seasons on record in Middle Europa has me in a serious summer mood as we head into May.  Yep, summer is practically here and I’m looking for some good titles for the night stand (or the iPhone–no Kindle for me yet).  So, I thought I would share a few books in topic areas that I like to write about on m-cause (marketing & anti-marketing, good, causes, green, the future, Europe, purpose & random stuff).  Note: Where possible, I am linking my recommendations to BetterWorldBooks.  If you aren’t familiar with them or want to know why I’m linking to them whenever possible, check out this post.

Anti:

Life, Inc: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back by Douglas Rushkoff.  I like how Douglas Rushkoff questions how we do things today.  He is a refreshing voice and not afraid to go against the grain.  I read his blog and basically whatever he puts out there.  He has done some great documentaries (see The Persuaders.  This one comes out in a month or so, and I’ve already pre-ordered.   And hey, I work in a corporation as do so many others…so I’ll be interested in Doug’s POV.

Marketing:

Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson.  Chris A. versus 1 of the 4 P’s of marketing.  I’ll enjoy this duel.  Chris Anderson is brilliant…who hasn’t read The Long Tail?  I hope he has some insights for companies (especially media companies) trying to capitalize on “free,” but are struggling at the moment–not everyone can be Google.  I really don’t want to watch the New York Times fail because they could not figure out how to navigate the brave new business of “free“!

David vs Goliath

How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In by Jim Collins.  Jim Collins is the co-author of one of my favorite business books of all time…Built to Last. So, of course I will read whatever he has next in the pipeline. 

Purpose:

Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future by Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty S. Flowers.  I got this tip from Jeffrey Hollender‘s blog and his recommendations.  Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation and prolific reader/blogger (Inspired Protagonist) says that this book has meant more to him than any book he has read over the past 10 years.  I definitely respect Jeffrey, so, I’ll give it a go.

Higher Purpose:

In the Christian literature zone one book that I have my eye on is Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll. For those of you who have not heard about him, Mark Driscoll is a preacher who is in touch with the culture–but not afraid to criticize it.  He’s out there debating and mixing it up…recently his church held an interesting session with Deepak Chopra + others, debating the existence of the Devil (which you should check out here).  I think most of the funds from his books get plowed back into his ministry.

Social:

The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics:  This is another tip from Jeffrey Hollender.

The Future:

One book that I’m sad to admit I’ve missed is Revolutionary Wealth by renown futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler.  I simply love future literature and I have no excuse for missing this book.

I’ve got a few more on my list (CSR related, etc.) but I’ll stop here.

What are you planning on reading this summer?

Photo credit: soundfromwayout

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