What Salespeople Should Read This Summer

For many of us, travelling is a year-round occurrence, as is reading. But, with summer approaching, comes the personal travel too. Why not share a few personal favorites from my summer reading list. Something to read when travelling to visit customers or meeting your internal team, or maybe at the pool or on the beach as you relax and unwind, and take in the warm weather.

Here are a few books I’ll be going back to and some new ones on my list. Oh, and fair warning – this isn’t just a list of business books; it’s a compilation of books, covering a variety of topics.

Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics (Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner) – I’m guessing most, if not all of you, have read both of these books. But, how long ago? I recently came across a documentary on Freakonomics and realized it’s been awhile since I read it. So, I’m rediscovering them. And I forgot how interesting and surprising the stories and data are. As the author said in the documentary – if you want to understand people’s behaviors, understand their incentives. And who doesn’t want to relive what hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
Inferno (Dan Brown) – Dan Brown’s newest Robert Langdon adventure. I’m looking forward to where this one takes me. How about you?
Team of Rivals (Doris Kearns Goodwin) – Now that this was the basis of the movie, Lincoln, time to take a read or perhaps read it again. It’s a great insight into President Lincoln with plenty of takeaways for anyone, especially leaders. It’s just a bit on the longer side.
World War Z (Max Brooks) – A fun read about the war between humanity and zombies. Before the Walking Dead on AMC arrived and before this one became a soon-to-be Brad Pitt blockbuster, let your imagination run wild. Then maybe pick-up the Zombie Survival Guide, also by Max Brooks, so that you’re prepared to deal with them.
18 in America (Dylan Dethier) – It’s a non-fiction book written by a young man who heads out to play a round of golf in each of the 48 contiguous states. He does it after graduating high school, and puts off his college admission to do it (he’s in college now). Setting out in his Subaru, he manages to play the likes of Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course and others you’ve never heard of. But just as interesting, he also meets all types of Americans on his journey.
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls (David Sedaris) – This sounds like a great option when you could use a laugh and I’m pretty sure that’s most of us from time to time.  It’s a collection of short stories. Amazon had it on their April 2013 list of best books of the month.

What reading would you recommend this summer?