1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (336)
The subtitle of Outliers is "the story of success," and that's exactly what this book is. Malcolm Gladwell tells readers all sorts of interesting stories of success (and some stories about a lack of success) and explains how that happened (or didn't). It's not just the usual "work hard and you'll succeed" sort of thing, though. Instead, Gladwell makes observations about success (and the keys to success) that many of us have probably never thought about before.
I loved this book. It's one of my favorites, and I find myself talking about it all the time. Not only did it give me a ton of interesting conversation pieces, but it also affected how I look at my own life (and how I look at working with my students as they work toward success).
I recommended this book (actually, I straight up gave him a copy) to my nephew who graduated from high school recently. I thought it was a great recommendation for him because he's at a point in his life where he's making major decisions about how he's going to try to find success, and I figured the subject matter of Outliers was perfect for that crossroads.
2. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (*178/296)