Graduates get lots of stuff when they earn their diplomas. But maybe the most valuable gift they can receive is good advice. It doesn’t matter if they heed it right away (or ever). What matters is that they are aware that there are many solutions to a problem, many paths that lead to a similar place, and many ways to achieve success.
Here, in no particular order, are book suggestions to give as gifts. Each is selected to help the graduate feel more comfortable in his/her own skin, break free from the path and explore new vistas, think about things in a new way, or improve important skills for everyday life.
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Self-help books often suggest that you try to discover the meaning and purpose of your life by looking within yourself, but Rick Warren says that is the wrong place to start.
The Essentials of Persuasive Public Speaking by Sims Wyeth
A collection of short and insightful pointers on the power, potential, and practice of public speaking by yours truly.
Where Chefs Eat by Joe Warwick
From bargain noodle joints to high-end restaurants; late night haunts to all day breakfasts; neighborhood eateries to destination restaurants, Where Chefs Eat reveals over 2,000 personal recommendations by chefs of their top places to eat in all major cities around the world.
Moving Mountains by Henry M. Boettinger
Moving Mountains is the Classic Text on how to organize your thoughts into a logical and enjoyable presentation
It’s Gonna Be Okay by Knock Knock
Science has proven that optimism is actually good for your heart, and this amusing writer’s journal affirms the notion that it’s also good for your brain. With playful prompts and witty quotations, It’s Gonna Be Okay is smart yet comforting like a pair of horn-rimmed rose-colored glasses.
An Apple A Day by Caroline Taggart
You’ll learn about different proverb’s surprising origins, why some are valid and others are not, the derivation and meanings behind them, and their relevance in today’s society.
The New York Times: 36 Hours 150 Weekends in the USA & Canada by Barbara Ireland (Editor)
Want to read what Sam Sifton suggests in his beloved borough of Brooklyn, or David Carr in Minneapolis, Mark Bittman in Death Valley, or Ariel Kaminer in lower Manhattan? Here is where to do it.
Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives–and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble.
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light.
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. Then gently, and in very practical terms, he leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we truly are—which is something infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are—and learn to live and breathe freely.
At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.
Write More Good: An Absolutely Phony Guide by The Bureau Chiefs
Part dictionary, part journalism textbook, part grammar and writing manual, Write More Good is a “comprehensive” “guide” to today’s “media,” in all its ambulance-chasing, story-fabricating, money-hemorrhaging glory.