Books That Change How We Work, Think and Lead
The Reading List for WorkLife Learning brings together every book featured in the Book Club Books stories, with links to the stories and podcast episodes for each one.
The Book Club Books stories draw on real WorkLife struggles and successes, showing how the books read by each protagonist helped them navigate their challenges, in their work and in their lives. Literature offers timeless insights into human character, motivation and resilience, and the stories bridge the gap between reading for pleasure and learning for work and life..
The same book can open something different for you, or something different again when you return to it later.
Some stories feature more than one book, and some books are featured in more than one story. A good book can serve many situations, and often meets us in a different place each time we pick it up.
A book club can be one person or many. The stories support both individual and group learning, whether you read and reflect in your own space and time, or share the reading experience with a colleague or a friend, a team or a group, with the stories framing the discussion.
I add new books as each story is published.
The Book Behind the Stories
The stories are inspired by my book, WorkLife Book Club Volume One Shoreditch by Carmel O’ Reilly, available to order from bookshops — following members of a London book club as they navigate WorkLife challenges through the wisdom found in the books they read together.
Disclosure
Book links go to Bookshop.org UK, which shares its profits with independent bookshops. You can choose from the formats available. It currently ships to UK addresses only, so these links are for readers in the UK. I hope to find a way to offer something similar for readers elsewhere. If you buy through them, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps support this work.
You can also browse every book in my Bookshop.org shop, gathered into five lists, with a note on each book of the story, programme or class it features in.
Fiction
Story: How Reading Fiction Develops Empathy and Transforms Leadership
Featured Book: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Story: How Reading Fiction Builds Professional Courage and Ethical Leadership
Featured Book: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Story: How Reading Fiction Develops Resilience and Strengthens Leadership
Featured Book: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Story: How Classic Literature Develops Professional Voice and Confidence
Featured Books:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Story: How Reading Fiction Develops Discernment and Strengthens Professional Judgement
Featured Book: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Story: The Classic Book That Revealed Her Integrity
Featured Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Story: The Historical Fiction Romance That Developed His Systems Thinking
Featured Book: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Story: The Fantasy Novel That Unlocked Her Curiosity
Featured Book: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Story: How Historical Fiction Strengthens Perspective-Taking and Develops Cultural Intelligence
Featured Book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Story: Why “What Are the Best Books for Leaders?” Is the Wrong Question
Featured Books:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Stories:
Self-Coaching Through Speaking
Featured Book: Stoner by John Williams
Story: How Classic Literature Develops Strategic Influence Without Compromising Your Values (Coming Soon)
Featured Books:
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
Story: How Classic Literature Develops Trust After Professional Betrayal (Coming Soon)
Featured Books:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Stories:
Professional Development Through Reading (Coming Soon)
Professional Development Through Writing (Coming Soon)
Professional Development Through Speaking (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Story: How Classic Literature Reveals the Difference Between Success and Purpose (Coming Soon)
Featured Books:
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Story: How Classic Literature Helps You Honour Your Family’s Sacrifice by Living Your Own Life (Coming Soon)
Featured Books:
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Story: How Classic Literature Reveals Why Asking for Help Makes You a Stronger Leader (Coming Soon)
Featured Books:
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Story: How Classic Literature Transforms Crisis Management Into Strategic Leadership (Coming Soon)
Featured Books:
Story: How Classic Literature Helps Professionals Communicate Across Cultures Without Losing Themselves (Coming Soon)
Featured Books:
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon
Story: Professional Development: Why Book Club Books Matter (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Story: Professional Development: Book Club Books in Action (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Story: Self-Coaching Through Book Club Books to Find New Perspectives (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Non-Fiction
Story: How Research-Based Reading Strengthens Connection and Develops Collaborative Intelligence
Featured Book: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
Story: How a Non-Fiction Guidebook Develops Courage and Transforms Leadership
Featured Book: Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
Story: How a Psychology Book Develops Productive Disagreement and Transforms Collaboration
Featured Book: Think Again by Adam Grant
Story: How a Management Book Develops Coaching Capacity and Transforms Leadership
Featured Book: The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Stanier
Story: How a Business Book Develops Dialogue Capacity and Transforms Communication (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Emily Gregory
Story: How a Behavioural Science Book Develops Change Capacity and Transforms Leadership (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Switch by Chip and Dan Heath
Story: How a Motivation Book Develops Engagement and Transforms Leadership (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Drive by Daniel Pink
Story: How a Working Life Relationships Book Develops Reciprocity and Transforms Professional Success (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Give and Take by Adam Grant
Story: Professional Development: Book Club Books at Work (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Story: Self-Coaching Through Book Club Books to Act With Courage (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Story: Self-Coaching Through Book Club Books to Share What You Learn (Coming Soon)
Featured Book: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Books from the WorkLife Compass Guided Professional Programmes
Explore these books in depth through the WorkLife Compass Guided Professional Programmes, where book club discussions and personal reflection bring each one to life, with practical exercises that connect it to your own working life.
Programme: The Power of Fiction: Developing Character Traits Through Reading
Featured Book: Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
Programme: The Power of Non-Fiction: Developing Connection Through Reading
Featured Book: The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
Programme: The Classic Literature Book Club: Learning Through Themed Reading
Featured Books:
Fictitious Dishes by Dinah Fried — Look for it in your favourite bookshop or second-hand bookshop, quoting ISBN 9780062279835.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Programme: The Four Powers of Mental Time Travel: Developing Perspective Through Reading and Journalling
Featured Books:
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly
Where It All Began
WorkLife Book Club Volume One Shoreditch by Carmel O’ Reilly
This book is where School of WorkLife’s Book Club Books stories began. Every WorkLife Compass Guided Programme and Story Lesson grew from the idea at its heart: that reading, whether together or alone, and reflecting deeply on what we read, can change how we understand our working lives.
How to Order
Available to order from your favourite bookshop, wherever you are in the world, quoting ISBN 9781914278044.
Featured Books:
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be. By Paul Arden
The One Minute Apology by Ken Blanchard and Margret McBride
Look for it in your favourite bookshop or second-hand bookshop, quoting ISBN 9780007160068
The Inner Game of Work by W. Timothy Gallwey
Look for it in your favourite bookshop or second-hand bookshop, quoting ISBN 9780375758171
The Power of a Positive No by William Ury
Books from Story-Based Learning for Organisations
Explore these books through Story-Based Learning for Organisations, where an original story, book club discussions and practical exercises help people share what they know, independently or in facilitator-supported sessions. Each resource can also be tailored to your organisation.
Story: Book Club Books at Work [Coming Soon]
Featured Books:
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Book Club Books at Work
A free Story-Based Learning for Organisations resource.
Download → Book Club Books at Work (Coming Soon)
Stay Connected
Work With Me: Individual WorkLife Coaching, Commissioned Learning Resources, Speaking Engagements and Organisational Partnerships.
Support This Work: Your support makes a difference and helps me to continue creating resources that are accessible to everyone. Thank you. Carmel
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