Favorite Books of 2017: Nonfiction

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

I LOVED this book and have been waiting impatiently to share it with you! We've all had them—those memorable moments that have a disproportionate impact on our lives, the ones that make us feel proud, insightful, connected, even transcendent. The moments that we know are special, both as we experience them, and through the lens of memory, years later. In this pageturner of a business book (yep, that's a thing) the Heath brothers explain not only why those moments are so special, but how we can deliberately create more of them in our own and other people's lives. Practical and inspiring, and one of my favorite reads this year.

Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts

by Ryan Holiday

From the publisher: "How did the movie The Shawshank Redemption fail at the box office but go on to gross more than $100 million as a cult classic? How is Iron Maiden still filling stadiums worldwide without radio or TV exposure forty years after the band was founded? Holiday explores this mystery by drawing on his extensive experience working with businesses and creators such as Google, American Apparel, and the author John Grisham, as well as his interviews with the minds behind some of the greatest perennial sellers of our time. Holiday reveals that the key to success for many perennial sellers is that their creators don’t distinguish between the making and the marketing."

Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage

by Dani Shapiro

Easily one of the best books I've read this year, and I don't expect that to change. I wouldn't have "gotten" this at 22 but adored it in my 30s. Time, memory, marriage—things many of us relate to, or can at least imagine—but Shapiro writes about them with such freshness the concepts seem brand new. My favorite line of exploration: the nature of mistakes, near-misses, and time: "The stumbles and falls; the lapses in judgment; the near misses; the could-haves. I’ve become convinced that our lives are shaped less by the mistakes we make than when we make them." If I were to judge my books by how many passages require book darts, this one wins everything. Publication date: April 11.

Favorite Books of 2017: Nonfiction

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts

Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage

The MMD Summer Reading Guide

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summer reading starts May 16th