L&D Book Recommendations: What Books To Read?

What Shall I Read Next? L&D Book Recommendations

Well, here's a list of recommended books I found useful while researching and writing my own. The titles are listed in no particular order, but I grouped them into categories for you. Categories are loosely based on the focus area where I gained the most knowledge out of them. However, since learning, playing, designing, and changing are all human-centered activities, you may find many of these categories actually overlap. Pick, choose, read, and share!

Learning (And Doing Business)

• How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching
  Ambrose, Susan A.
• The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age
  Bean, Carolyn
• Make It Stick
  Brown, Peter C.
• Listening: The Forgotten Skill: A Self-Teaching Guide (Wiley Self-Teaching Guides)
  Burley-Allen, Madelyn
• How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens
  Carey, Benedict
• Design for How People Learn (Voices That Matter)
  Dirksen, Julie
• The Learning & Development Book: Change the way you think about L & D
  Emerson, Tricia
• Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization (Columbia Business School Publishing)
  Hess, Edward D.
• Instructional Designer Competencies (The Ibstpi Book Series)
  Koszalka, Tiffany A.
• Expanding the Self: The Intelligent Complex Adaptive Learning System:
  A New Theory of Adult Learning (The Knowledge Series)
  Bennet, David
• The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development into Business Results
  Pollock, Roy V. H.
• Map it! The Hand-on Guide to Strategic Training Design
  Moore, Cathy
• Revolutionize Learning & Development: Performance and Innovation Strategy for the Information Age
  Quinn, Clark N.
• The Success Case Method: Find Out Quickly What’s Working and What’s Not
  Robert O. Brinkerhoff
• Write and Organize for Deeper Learning: 28 evidence-based and easy-to-apply tactics that will make your instruction better for learning (Make It Learnable Book 1)
  Shank, Patti
• Continuous Learning: Delivering CONSISTENT Business Results: Delivering CONSISTENT Business Results (Executive Learning Exchange Book 1)
  Tussing, Dirk
• The Trainer's Balanced Scorecard: A Complete Resource for Linking Learning to Organizational Strategy
  Pangarkar, Ajay, and Kirkwood, Teresa
• Disruptive Learning: Discover Your Inner Learning Rebel
  Tipton, Shannon
• A Quick Guide to LLAMA - Agile Project Management for Learning
  Torrance, Megan
• Show Your Work
  Bozarth, Jane
• The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
  Senge, Peter M.
• The Social Leadership Handbook Second Edition
  Stodd, Julian
• TED Talks Storytelling: 23 Storytelling Techniques from the Best TED Talks
  Karia, Akash
• Connect Using Humor and Story: How I Got 18 Laughs 3 Applauses in a 7 Minute Persuasive Speech
  Reddy, Ramakrishna
• The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
  Truby, John

Designing

• Ebook: Design Thinking (Innovation Trends Series)
  BBVA Innovation Center
• Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation
  Brown, Tim
• Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
  Burnett, Bill
• Dark matter and trojan horses. A strategic design vocabulary.
  Hill, Dan
• Designing for Behavior Change: Applying Psychology and Behavioral Economics
  Wendel, Stephen

Thinking

• The Future Workplace Experience: 10 Rules For Mastering Disruption in Recruiting and Engaging Employees (Business Books)
  Meister, Jeanne
• Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve Conflict, and Increase Intimacy
  Newberg, Andrew
• Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition (Business Books)
  Patterson, Kerry
• Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life
  Paul, Richard
• Thinking, Fast and Slow
  Kahneman, Daniel

Playing

• How to Talk about Videogames (Electronic Mediations)
  Bogost, Ian
• Play to Learn: Everything You Need to Know About Designing Effective Learning Games
  Boller, Sharon, and Kapp, Karl
• Escape the Game: How to make puzzle and escape rooms
  Clare, Adam
• HTML5 Game Development from the Ground Up with Construct 2
  Dillon, Roberto
• Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers
  Gray, Dave
• Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (MIT Press)
  Tekinbas, Katie Salen
• Game Thinking: Innovate smarter & drive deep engagement with design techniques from hit games
  Amy Jo Kim

Futuring

• The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies
  Brynjolfsson, Erik
• TOMORROW | TODAY: How AI Impacts How We Work, Live and Think (and it’s not what you expect)
  Daly, Donal
• Learning in the Age of Immediacy: 5 Factors for How We Connect, Communicate, and Get Work Done
  Carson, Brandon

Debating (About How Our Mind Might Work)

• The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement
  Brooks, David
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Interactive Edition
  Covey, Stephen R.
• See You Later, Procrastinator! (Get It Done) (Laugh & Learn series)
  Espeland, Pamela
• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
  Fisher, Roger
• Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work . . . and What Does: The New Science of Leading, Energizing, and Engaging
  Fowler, Susan
• Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
  Gardner, Howard
• Leave The Grind Behind: Rocket fuel to live life on your terms. Make more money, build your legacy, and quit your job.
  Gesso, Justin
• WHAT MAKES A LEADER: WHY EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE MATTERS
  Goleman, Daniel
• The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It
  McGonigal Ph.D., Kelly
• Brain Matters: How to help anyone learn anything using neuroscience
  Meacham, Margie
• The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life
  Roth, Bernard
• Searching For Memory: The Brain, The Mind, And The Past
  Schacter, Daniel L.
• Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
  Thaler, Richard H.
• Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back
  Zolli, Andrew

And of course, if you've read all of these, and you want something completely different: Engage the WORL&D! - A whimsical, brain-picking meme-oir from a creative digital learning strategist.
Olah, Zsolt 

Conclusion

Every book I read opened up new questions, and ultimately led to another book. I never finished reading all I wanted to, I just ran out of time. Strangely, one theme kept returning in this eclectic collection of writings. That theme was mindfulness, the mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment. If you have any recommendations on where to start mindfulness, please let us know!