This is one of my favorite posts to write. Each year, I ask everyone across Salesforce to send me their favorite book recommendations for the year. And each year, I am sent too many suggestions to name. This year posed an interesting challenge. Typically, “Best of” lists capture books released in the last year. And we have plenty of those below.

But my colleagues also sent me passionate suggestions of books they read in 2016, which just so happened to have been published in other recent years. Because great books never go out of style, we’re including a few of those, too, as their messages were still topical and appreciated this year.

Keep reading to find our favorite reads of 2016.

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

 Earlier this year, Adam Grant spoke to our leadership team about his research around the workplace — the dynamics of givers and takers, and how they affect productivity, career growth, and morale. In Originals, he applies his same gift for storytelling and research to show how originality thrives, where new ideas stagnate, and how to understand our own tolerance for risk. His examination of the psychology around work and groups make for a fascinating read for managers and teams alike. 

— Cindy Robbins, EVP, Global Employee Success

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Amy Weaver, our EVO and General Counsel, first recommended this book to me. The New Jim Crow offers a wide-ranging and sobering look at the subject of race and the U.S. criminal justice system in the 21st century. It's a compelling read that I hope will widen the aperture of your thinking on justice and equality in America today.

— Tony Prophet, Chief Equality Officer

Alibaba: The House that Jack Built by Duncan Clark

As someone living and working in Asia Pacific, I found this book fascinating. For anyone interested in hearing how an English teacher founded one of the world's fastest-growing and most interesting ecommerce businesses — this is for you. I found Alibaba great for understanding the ecommerce phenomena in Asia and useful when thinking about our messaging on Commerce Cloud in Asia.

—Katie Dufficy, Communications Director, APAC

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert gives readers insight into her creative process and how she got back in the writing saddle after Eat, Pray, Love became a surprise runaway success. Some of her ideas may seem a little out there, but overall the book empowered me to embrace my creative nature and to explore creativity for its own sake. My biggest takeaway was that it’s worthwhile to follow your curiosity, because you never know where it may lead.

— Laura Lindeman, Employee Engagement Specialist, Salesforce Pardot Tech & Product

Watch Elizabeth Gilbert discuss the role of compassion in creativity at Dreamforce 2016.

Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Smarter Faster Better really helps my current work, especially when it comes to organizing new small teams. The book helps me understand how an opportunity motivates people, and that the best way to cause high team performance will be different in every organization.

— Satoko Kobayashi, Senior Technical Support Engineer, Japan

A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life by Brian Grazer

A Curious Mind reminds us through stories and examples of the success we can achieve by staying curious and hungry for knowledge, information, and experiences. The best way to innovate is with an outside-in perspective, and this book shows again and again how learning about others can help us broaden our own perspectives, leading to better outcomes.

— Ryan Aull, Director, Salesforce Employee Community

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

When I picked up this astonishing memoir from a surgeon who learns he only has a few months to live, it certainly wasn’t to learn a business lesson. However, as I read this book, I started to wonder not how I could "seize the day," but how to make everything count. Which is why this piece of art quickly became a weird meditation on meetings. Yeah, meetings, those 30-minute calendar slots where it’s all too easy to check out with a glance at a phone or a peek at email. Put a bit differently, life is something you’re given without asking. But meetings are voluntary. You don’t have to be there — even when the invite says MANDATORY. So if you show up, SHOW UP. Close your laptop. Turn the phone off. Listen to what someone else thinks with your full attention. You’ll get a lot more out of the meeting, and life. Trust me.

— Malachy Walsh, Creative Director