If you just have to give a book as a graduation gift, make it this one from the always-excellent Dan Pink. This pithy career guide is written in the Japanese comic book style manga—so you know they’ll read it.

I’ve read this book at least three times. Dan Pink is a pro and his highly readable insights about motivation will change the way you see the world. From the publisher: "Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people—at work, at school, at home. It's wrong. Drive is bursting with big ideas—the rare book that will change how you think and transform how you live."

From the publisher: "Everyone knows that timing is everything. But we don't know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of 'when' decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork. Timing, it's often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science. Drawing on a rich trove of research from psychology, biology, and economics, Pink reveals how best to live, work, and succeed. How can we use the hidden patterns of the day to build the ideal schedule? Why do certain breaks dramatically improve student test scores? How can we turn a stumbling beginning into a fresh start? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? Why is singing in time with other people as good for you as exercise? And what is the ideal time to quit a job, switch careers, or get married?"