Here are a few handpicked books to help fulfill your New Year's resolution of reading more often.
The Washington Post has come up with a list of leadership reads coming out early this year.
1. The Right Kind of Crazy by Adam Steltzner, PhD, with William Patrick. Coming out Jan. 12, this novel is written by one of the Jet Propulsion engineers who helped land the Curiosity rover on Mars in 2012. Dr. Steltzner outlines leadership techniques and how years of work led to a successful landing.
2. A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service by Robert M. Gates, PhD. Though he currently serves as chancellor of Williamsburg, Va.-based College of William and Mary, Dr. Gates has led the Department of Defense and the CIA. In this book, out Jan. 19, he gives advice based on lessons learned during his career.
3. The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness by Todd Rose, PhD. As director of the Mind, Brain and Education program at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard Graduate School, Dr. Rose is no stranger to new ideas. In this book, he discusses the importance of uniqueness. The End of Average comes out Jan. 19.
4. The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success by Emma Seppälä, PhD. Dr. Seppälä's new book, which premieres Jan. 26, assesses the true meaning of happiness and the correlation between it and success. She currently serves as the science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford (Calif.) University.
5. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant, PhD. Dr. Grant, a professor at Philadelphia-based Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, gained acclaim through his 2013 book Give and Take. In Originals, coming out Feb. 2, he delves deeper into his thoughts on innovation and non-conformity.
6. Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent by Sydney Finkelstein, PhD. Coming out Feb. 9, Dr. Finkelstein's book coins the term "superbosses," otherwise known as leaders who help people go on to do greater things somewhere else. Dr. Finkelstein, a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Hanover, N.H.-based Dartmouth College, gives examples of superbosses and describes what they do.
7. What Works: Gender Equality by Design by Iris Bohnet, PhD. Even today, gender equality is one of the most widely debated topics in the corporate world. In her book premiering March 8, Dr. Bohnet, director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, claims changing the bias at the workplace is easier than changing people's minds.
8. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. While Mr. Duhigg's 2012 book The Power of Habit discussed habit-making and habit-breaking, Smarter Faster Better takes a closer look at what makes a person productive. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Mr. Duhigg studies some of the most productive people and teams in the nation in his book coming out March 8.
9. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, PhD. Premiering May 3, Dr. Duckworth's Grit examines how persistence and what she calls "grit" win over genius and intelligence alone. Dr. Duckworth is a 2013 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award," and she now serves as a professor at Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania.