Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg (2015)

Charming nonfiction book where Aziz, with the help of nonfiction writer Eric Klinenberg (Going Solo, Heat Wave), explores modern romance, online dating, patterns of love and so on. 

I love Aziz's distinctive, hilarious voice which comes through so vividly in the narrative. I totally also admire the effort he made to do something broader and more universal than the traditional comedian memoir. 

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying by Carol Leifer (2014)

Subtitled: Lessons from a Life in Comedy, I'm totally considering this for my all-time favorite business books.  (Along with Good Boss, Bad Boss and Creating Magic.)

It's a bit of a mix--memoir, comedic essay and some good solid business sense mixed in. Fascinating look at her career, the challenges she's faced and her useful advice, including her great advice to always say hi to people and be kind to everyone.  Also, this quote really hit home for me personally:

"Still I wish I knew then what I know now, and I hope you'll benefit from knowing now what I didn't know then. Whatever workplace you're in, always aim to please the captain. It matters, even if the first mate is ecstatic with your performance, because it's the captain who ultimately decides who stays onboard. If, like I did, you sense that the one person in charge isn't thrilled with what you're doing [spoiler: it was Lorne Michaels], ask for feedback and figure out how to correct your course. Because flying under the radar is a passive tactic that will eventually get you tossed off the ship."

Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home by Nina Stibbe (2014)

In the early 1980s, Nina Stibbe moved to London to work as a nanny to Mary-Kay (MK) Wilmers, deputy editor of the London Review of Books, and her two children with Stephen Frears, Sam and Will. 

Stibbe kept in touch with her sister Victoria back in Leicestershire through letters outlining the events of the household, reproducing hilarious (and eminently quotable) conversations with Sam, Will and MK as well as frequent household visitor Alan Bennett. 

 Along the way, Stibbe is persuaded to attend university and studies English (her observations on literature are a stitch). With an introduction by Nick Hornby, this charming epistolary novel is a treat for anyone who loves dry, British humor and gets a bit starstruck by London literary elite.

Good Boss, Bad Boss: How To Be the Best-- and Learn from the Worst by Robert I. Sutton (2010)

While waiting for Sutton's The No Asshole Rule, I picked up this one instead.  I read and started marking all the parts that really hit home.  When I found post-its sprouting on way too many pages, I realized that I would surely need to buy it. Which I did, for full price (almost) at Barnes & Noble, no less.

Sutton, whose No Asshole Rule is subtitled: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't has a great, humane view on management, and admits that there are no easy answers.  Sutton's stance is that management is a great balancing act, and he includes real-life stories and great advice to successfully balancing. Definitely a must for any manager's professional bookshelf. Too many good points to possibly include here!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010)

Amazingly gripping non-fiction book about Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman whose cells were used for scientific research (and still are). The skill in this book for me is the depiction of her family, as well as mixing the science in in a very palatable way for the non-scientifically inclined. Skloot skillfully makes herself a part of the family, but only as she has to in order to accurate depict her relationships with Lacks' family.  The issue that she's a white woman talking about this black family's experience is raised early and well. Very well done, gripping book. I totally welled at the end. Love the slightly supernatural bits where the family attributes events to Henrietta and her cells.

Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell (2008)

Subtitled: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney, This is an amazing, amazing, amazing book on leadership. Cockerell worked in the hospitality industry for years and managed the Disney World Resort operations. Amazing insights into leading and managing and lots of real-world strategies for anyone who's interested in encouraging happy, motivated employees and customers.

Stuff by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee (2010)

Subtitled Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things, this is a fascinating look not just at the world of compulsive hoarding, but at the basic attachments we have to our stuff. Explores the research into the roots of hoarding, including OCD and other obsession disorders. Includes case studies and the (sadly, often ineffective) treatments for hoarders. If you've ever watched television shows on hoarding with mouth agape, or looked with a critical eye at your storage shelves, this is the book for you.

Fired! Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed by Annabelle Gurwitch (2005)

A fun, but quick read with stories from mostly show-biz personalities about their experiences getting fired. Lots of great stories with standouts being Gurwitch's story about being fired by Woody Allen (the impetus for the shows, the book, and the film), Fisher Stevens's experience guest starring on Friends, and Tate Donovan's experience being fired from the film of Torch Song Trilogy (then watching it being filmed outside of his apartment. Ouch.)

Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch (2007)

Subtitled Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter, this is an engaging and very readable behind-the-scenes glimpse at the world of four-star dining, courtesy of Damrosch's experiences working on the wait staff at Thomas Keller's Manhattan restaurant Per Se.  Very entertaining.

Hotel Babylon by Anonymous and Imogen Edwards-Jones (2004)

A frothy, soapy, behind-the-scenes biography of a five-star British hotel, framed over the span of 24 hours. Very inside and gossipy. Great fun.  Adapted as an equally fun television series.  

Followed by a number of other ______ Babylon titles by Edwards-Jones, but none as fun as this one.

Free Gift with Purchase by Jean Godfrey-June (2006)

Subtitled My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup.  Delightful, dishy memoir by a surprisingly self-deprecating beauty editor. Great for any reader of fashion magazines--provides fascinating insight into the inside world of magazines and the work of a beauty editor in a way that no chick lit novel ever did (despite many attempts).

The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman (1997)

I heart Michael Ruhlman, and not just because he's cute. This book is about his journey through the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) program. A great nonfiction writer, Ruhlman has the gift of not making himself part of the story, except to tell the story in an interesting, compelling, cleanly written way. 

Another great book by Ruhlman is The Soul of a Chef, where he follows a group of students taking the Master Chef course at the CIA, hangs out in the kitchen with Michael Symon of Cleveland's Lola, and tells the story of Thomas Keller of French Laundry.

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (2005)

Subtitled The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, this is the third in a series of food-related biographies by Reichl.  The first, Tender at the Bone: Growing up at the Table, is a lovely family memoir;  Comfort Me With Apples: More Adventures at the Table is about her beginnings as a food writer and her romantic relationship.  This is my favorite of the three because it covers her work as the New York Times food critic and the disguises she adopts to dine incognito.  A fascinating look into the work of a restaurant critic.

Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink (2006)

Subtitled Why We Eat More Than We Think, this is an interesting scientific look at how people fool themselves about what they're eating and how much. The author is part of a team that does fascinating sociological experiments about how people eat. Interesting AND very useful as far as assessing one's own eating patterns.

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee (2010)

Fascinating look not just at the world of compulsive hoarding, but at the attachments we have to our stuff. Explores the roots of hoarding, including OCD and other obsession disorders and includes some amazing horror stories.

Why We Buy by Paco Underhill (1999)

From the butt-bumping factor of tight store aisles to the social psychology behind the direction we head in when entering a store, this book is filled with fascinating and practical insights on the way people shop.Underhill writes with a chatty, conversational tone that make his books a delight to read.  Followed by The Call of the Mall, equally interesting but located over in the 300s.