Looking for inspiration and practical tools to grow your career and creativity? These seven books shaped how I work, lead, and connect — and they’re still the ones I recommend most.
From Comfort Reads to Transformational Books: My Top 7 Picks
I typically read 70–80 books a year, fiction to unwind at night and non-fiction to sharpen my thinking. Over time, I’ve noticed the books that truly change me are non-fiction, but there are seasons when I drift into comfort reads and miss the impact of deeper ideas.
Inspired by my favorite blogger, Elise Blaha Cripe’s practice of mainly reading physical books so her kids see her with a book instead of a device, I reset my own reading habits and returned to more intentional choices. After all, what you take in is what shapes you.
Radical Candor By Kim Scott
The key idea of Radical Candor is that the most effective management style combines genuine empathy and care for those you lead with direct, specific feedback. Scott “shows not tells,” illustrating this with vivid examples that bring the concept to life.
One of the boldest ideas in the book is that every team member can and should excel in their role. Temporary setbacks are normal, but allowing long-term mediocrity is a disservice both to the team and to the employee, who deserves the chance to find personal excellence elsewhere.
Scott also weaves together a larger philosophy of how to lead amazing teams and achieve results. I especially loved her distinction between “superstars” on a rapid growth track and “rockstars” who excel in their craft but don’t want promotion. In cultures that reward only advancement, rock stars get left behind.
When I finished the book, I felt I’d read a complete philosophy of how to lead—and perhaps even how to live. I’ve been recommending it to clients and collaborators ever since.
The Creative Curve By Allen Gannett
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The big promise of The Creative Curve is a theory of why some creative work resonates with audiences while others don’t. Gannett argues that the ideas that truly take off strike the perfect balance of innovation and familiarity. His analysis is fascinating and gave me countless ideas for my own creative practice.
What spoke to me most was his exploration of those creative “a-ha” moments—what’s actually happening inside our brains. According to the research he cites, flashes of insight are often less mysterious than they feel; they’re the product of our subconscious scanning and associating behind the scenes.
This resonated with one of my longtime favorites, Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, which describes how our subconscious constantly solves problems and aligns our lives with our self-image. The Creative Curve gave me fresh insight into what might be happening under the hood when I task my own subconscious with a creative problem—and how to improve its ability to generate breakthroughs.
It’s that rare non-fiction book that not only gives you insights and tools to change your practice but also completely lights you up.
24/6 By Tiffany Shlain
24/6 is filmmaker and Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain’s account of how she takes a weekly “tech Sabbath” away from technology and work. She shares how her family developed the practice through experimentation and the impact that one unplugged day a week has had on her relationships and quality of life.
I’ve had a Sabbath practice for most of my life and have grown increasingly committed to it. Taking a weekly day of rest has been one of the most profound aspects of my life—deepening my connections, creating space for reflection, and fueling my creativity. What once felt like a challenge to my artistic life has become an essential part of my creative cycle.
Part of what I loved about this book was peeking into the life of a prolific creative and seeing how her rest practice works. Shlain offers joyful, practical guidance for starting your own Tech Sabbath—even if no one else around you is doing it—and tips for making it work with children. Her voice as a writer is so warm and cheerful that I simply enjoyed being in her world while reading.
We Should Get Together By Kat Vellos
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I first met Kat Vellos, the author of We Should Get Together, through my Design Research Mastermind group and discovered she had written a book on making adult friendships—right when I needed it most. I’d just moved to South Florida, knew very few people, and wanted to build new friendships and a sense of community after struggling to do the same in New York.
Kat’s book articulated the challenges of adult friendship so clearly that it felt like she was inside my head. As a user experience designer, she approached the problem like a design challenge—breaking it down and offering practical practices to help you make and strengthen friendships. One tip I tried myself was meeting a new friend frequently to “gel” the relationship, which helped me establish my first deep friendship in my new town.
It’s easy to believe that making new friends as an adult is just too hard. Kat’s book is full of positive, actionable steps to counter that narrative and reclaim this powerful, joyful part of a well-lived life.
The Accidental Creative By Todd Henry
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I’ve followed Todd Henry for years and loved his book Herding Tigers on managing creatives. Before a solo retreat to work on my own book about everyday creativity, I finally picked up his first book, The Accidental Creative, and the timing was perfect.
Henry breaks down the unique pressures creatives face and explains why proactive practices are essential to avoid burnout and creative malaise. He offers a complete system for sustaining creative productivity—from where to find new ideas and how to structure your time to the types of community, critique, and collaboration you need.
It’s one of the most comprehensive and elegant guides I’ve read on maintaining a thriving creative life, and it came at exactly the right moment for me.
The Doodle Revolution By Sunni Brown
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Sunni Brown’s book invites you to join the “doodle revolution” by using what she calls the “infodoodle” in your work and brainstorming. You’ve seen versions of these—those colorful visuals graphic facilitators draw on posterboards and whiteboards at meetings—but that’s just one example of the “mighty infodoodle.” Infodoodles combine words and images to display complex ideas, communicate more effectively, and spark new connections.
Whether you’re visually confident or a beginner, Brown shows how to use this powerful ideation and communication tool. We process images far faster than words, making infodoodles an incredible way to see relationships and generate insight.
Reading The Doodle Revolution felt like learning how my brain works while laughing out loud. Brown’s writing is hilarious and the book is impeccably organized—laying out why infodoodles are so powerful and then teaching you, step by step, how to practice and master the skill.
The Pumpkin Plan By Mike Michalowicz
I love everything Mike Michalowicz writes, but The Pumpkin Plan has become one of my favorites. The big idea: within your client base are a few “giant pumpkins”—the best-fit customers you should nurture—while the so-so clients drain your time and energy.
By identifying and focusing on those ideal clients, you can design your business around their needs, become more efficient and profitable, and free yourself from 60-hour work weeks.
At its heart, the book is about mindset and boundaries: giving yourself permission to zero in on who you most love serving and letting go of the impulse to offer something to everyone, even those who don’t respect your boundaries or truly need what you provide.
Together with Michalowicz’s other business books, The Pumpkin Plan offers a clear, practical path to building a more successful and enjoyable business around the clients you serve best.
Wrapping Up
Each of these books offered me not just ideas but practices that continue to shape how I work, create, and lead. They’re guides I return to again and again when I want a fresh perspective or a practical way forward. I hope that at least one of them sparks the same kind of insight or shift for you.
About Maya Sharfi
Maya Sharfi is an executive and career coach and the founder of Build Yourself. She helps women move forward into the right role, and step up into new levels of impact and fulfillment. Her clients achieve results like launching new, innovative programs, landing senior director roles, and earning $25,000 raises.
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