Books are critical for growth and leadership. Not just non-fiction, but all types of books. Two of my favorite sayings are:

Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.

and

If you don’t like reading, you haven’t found the right book yet.

Ryan Holiday recently shared a Latin saying: “Qui pauca legit, pauca scit. He who reads little knows little.” He goes on to say:

To truly become wise, we have to open our minds to the vast accumulation of experiences that have come before us. To not read widely, as General Mattis has said, is to be functionally illiterate.

Reading is a glorious hobby and an evergreen one. Books won’t go out of style, and reading makes you more well-rounded. Books, audiobooks, articles, whitepapers – anything with some meat to it is worthwhile reading (Sorry, Buzzfeed and Mashable just don’t cut it). Here are my favorites and recommendations from May.

• The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner

  • Why I Liked It: It’s a super fun, standalone fiction book that blends 1790s London with present-day London in a way that brings everything together. It’s a well-written, but easy read, with just a hint of magick.

• The Infinite Game – Simon Sinek

  • Why I Liked It: I’ve read all of Sinek’s books and I think this one is my favorite. It combines the elements from Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last and puts the concepts into a more holistic view of business. This book helps you change your mindset from a “winners v. losers” business mentality to a “non zero-sum game” mentality.

• Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents – Lindsay Gibson

  • Why I Liked It: This book is a follow-up to Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents which is also a great one to read if you deal with people on a daily basis. Just like the first book, it’s not just about parents, it’s about emotionally immature (EI) people. We all deal with EI people and this book (Recovering) helps us not only set better boundaries, but also helps us find empathy for those who have not emotionally matured and are in our lives.

Here’s what I’ll be reading in June

• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V.E. Schwab

• The Midnight Library – Matt Haig

• A World Without Email – Cal Newport

• Ultralearning – Scott Young

• Originals – Adam Grant

• And more, but I don’t know exactly what just yet!

What are your favorites and what are you reading next?