10 books like Suddenly Hybrid

By Karin M. Reed, Joseph A. Allen,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like Suddenly Hybrid. Shepherd is a community of 8,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Crucial Conversations

By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

Book cover of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

Steven G. Rogelberg Author Of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

From the list on navigating out of meeting hell.

Who am I?

As an organizational psychologist, I am driven to study and work to improve work activities that are causing great frustration and not working effectively—meetings are the perfect fit. And, for 20 years I have been actively publishing in this space and have spoken to well over 100,000 leaders through my keynotes/events/videos. What excites me is that meeting science can truly help leaders, teams, and organizations. The books I recommend are well-aligned with the science, and can be difference makers. I hope you enjoy them and find them helpful.  

Steven's book list on navigating out of meeting hell

Discover why each book is one of Steven's favorite books.

Why did Steven love this book?

This is not a book about meetings per se, but a book about effective conversations. Clearly, conversation is at the heart of meetings. The book provides many tips for improving interpersonal communication. So many of the learnings from this book can be applied to meeting leaders and meeting attendees alike. It is easy to read and definitely a good complement to your more traditional meetings books.

Crucial Conversations

By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Crucial Conversations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times and Washington Post bestseller that changed the way millions communicate

"[Crucial Conversations] draws our attention to those defining moments that literally shape our lives, our relationships, and our world. . . . This book deserves to take its place as one of the key thought leadership contributions of our time."
-from the Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

"The quality of your life comes out of the quality of your dialogues and conversations. Here's how to instantly uplift your crucial conversations."
-Mark Victor Hansen, cocreator of the #1…


Death by Meeting

By Patrick M. Lencioni,

Book cover of Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business

Steven G. Rogelberg Author Of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

From the list on navigating out of meeting hell.

Who am I?

As an organizational psychologist, I am driven to study and work to improve work activities that are causing great frustration and not working effectively—meetings are the perfect fit. And, for 20 years I have been actively publishing in this space and have spoken to well over 100,000 leaders through my keynotes/events/videos. What excites me is that meeting science can truly help leaders, teams, and organizations. The books I recommend are well-aligned with the science, and can be difference makers. I hope you enjoy them and find them helpful.  

Steven's book list on navigating out of meeting hell

Discover why each book is one of Steven's favorite books.

Why did Steven love this book?

This is a really unique and different meeting book – it basically teaches about how to run meeting effectively by inserting them naturally into a fable. The fable is really quite engaging and something most of us can relate to. The learnings, although not extensive, align quite well with the science. Overall it is a fun and informative book.

Death by Meeting

By Patrick M. Lencioni,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death by Meeting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Casey McDaniel had never been so nervous in his life. In just ten minutes, The Meeting, as it would forever be known, would begin. Casey had every reason to believe that his performance over the next two hours would determine the fate of his career, his financial future, and the company he had built from scratch. 'How could my life have unravelled so quickly?' he wondered. In his latest page-turning work of business fiction, best-selling author Patrick Lencioni provides readers with another powerful and thought-provoking book, this one centred around a cure for the most painful yet underestimated problem of…


Where the Action Is

By J. Elise Keith,

Book cover of Where the Action Is: The Meetings That Make or Break Your Organization

Steven G. Rogelberg Author Of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

From the list on navigating out of meeting hell.

Who am I?

As an organizational psychologist, I am driven to study and work to improve work activities that are causing great frustration and not working effectively—meetings are the perfect fit. And, for 20 years I have been actively publishing in this space and have spoken to well over 100,000 leaders through my keynotes/events/videos. What excites me is that meeting science can truly help leaders, teams, and organizations. The books I recommend are well-aligned with the science, and can be difference makers. I hope you enjoy them and find them helpful.  

Steven's book list on navigating out of meeting hell

Discover why each book is one of Steven's favorite books.

Why did Steven love this book?

There are many reasons to really like this book. It is certainly thoughtful, intriguing, and well-grounded. The advice and guidance around meetings are plentiful and meaningful. I particularly appreciated that it addresses meeting practices that high-performing organizations use to drive results and build an excellent meeting culture. Overall, I appreciate the systems-based approach to addressing meeting issues.

Where the Action Is

By J. Elise Keith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Where the Action Is as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How well you meet determines what your group can achieve

When you ask leaders in a high performing organization about the key to their success, the answers are all over the place: failing fast, radical transparency, operational excellence, strong core values... so many different North Stars to follow.

Then, if you ask them for an example–to tell you what that looks like in practice–they will all describe a meeting. Leaders at these organizations have learned to design a sequence of tailored meetings that create a healthy organizational culture and drive forward momentum. They know that meetings are where the action…


The Art of Gathering

By Priya Parker,

Book cover of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

Steven G. Rogelberg Author Of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

From the list on navigating out of meeting hell.

Who am I?

As an organizational psychologist, I am driven to study and work to improve work activities that are causing great frustration and not working effectively—meetings are the perfect fit. And, for 20 years I have been actively publishing in this space and have spoken to well over 100,000 leaders through my keynotes/events/videos. What excites me is that meeting science can truly help leaders, teams, and organizations. The books I recommend are well-aligned with the science, and can be difference makers. I hope you enjoy them and find them helpful.  

Steven's book list on navigating out of meeting hell

Discover why each book is one of Steven's favorite books.

Why did Steven love this book?

This book is chock full of good ideas and thoughts on how to gather effectively. It is very easy to read. Lots of great stories to help bring the content to life and engage the reader. She goes beyond just meetings at work, discussing a broader set of informal and formal gatherings in a variety of settings.

The Art of Gathering

By Priya Parker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Art of Gathering as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Hosts of all kinds, this is a must-read!" --Chris Anderson, owner and curator of TED
 
From the host of the New York Times podcast Together Apart, an exciting new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend our time together—at home, at work, in our communities, and beyond.

In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lackluster and unproductive--which they don't have to be. We rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when…


The Surprising Science of Meetings

By Steven G. Rogelberg,

Book cover of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

Joseph A. Allen Author Of Running Effective Meetings For Dummies

From the list on guidance for meeting and collaborating well.

Who am I?

I’ve always wondered why meetings are so terrible. And, why we spend so much awful time in them. So, in my graduate studies, I decided to try to figure that out. What makes meetings good and what makes meetings bad? Then, over the course of a couple decades, I wrote what constituted about 25% of all the science on the topic of workplace meetings. It may be self-proclaimed, but I am the Meeting Doctor. Just like you go to a physician for an illness, I’m who people go to when their meetings are sick and need a cure!

Joseph's book list on guidance for meeting and collaborating well

Discover why each book is one of Joseph's favorite books.

Why did Joseph love this book?

So, you’re trying to make your meetings better, but every self-help book out there seems to fall short of your expectations. Well, try some science! This book is all about the science of effective meetings. What they are, what they look like, and how everyone can participate in and lead good meetings. Based on the best science by author, Steven Rogelberg, PhD, and his many colleagues, former students, and research collaborators, this book provides best practices that work. They’ve been tested and they really, actually, work!

The Surprising Science of Meetings

By Steven G. Rogelberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Surprising Science of Meetings as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A recent estimate suggests that employees endure a staggering 55 million meetings a day in the United States. This tremendous time investment yields only modest returns. No organization made up of human beings is immune from the all-too-common meeting gripes: those that fail to engage, those that inadvertently encourage participants to tune out, and those that blatantly disregard participants' time.

Most companies and leaders view poor meetings as an inevitable cost of doing business. But managers can take heart: researchers now have a clear understanding of the key drivers that make meetings successful. In The Surprising Science of Meetings, Steven…


Breakup from Hell

By Ann Dávila Cardinal,

Book cover of Breakup from Hell

Dawn Kurtagich Author Of Teeth in the Mist

From the list on YA horror creepy creatures to keep you up at night.

Who am I?

I am and have always been fascinated with supernatural creatures, particularly if they have horns and dwell in the dark swamps of wooded hinterlands. I spent a greater part of my childhood in the African bush. A formative experience was the day an isangoma (witchdoctor) cast knuckle bones at me in a particularly energetic frenzy. Rather than being scared, I was fascinated by the power these little bones had to command spirits and creatures I had only seen in my nightmares. An obsession was born.

Dawn's book list on YA horror creepy creatures to keep you up at night

Discover why each book is one of Dawn's favorite books.

Why did Dawn love this book?

This one is a little bit of a cheeky pick, because, at the time of writing, it hasn’t been published yet. I was lucky enough to get an early read and I loved it. Miguela is frustrated by the tight reign her Puerto-Rican grandmother keeps on her. She is bored with going to church, going to school, being forbidden to date, or basically anything fun. So when Sam, a new gorgeous boy comes to her school and she feels an irresistible pull towards him, she doesn’t resist very hard. Until Sam learns of Sam’s family roots… and has to break up with him. But you don’t just break up with Sam without potentially apocalyptic consequences. This book reminded me of a YA Imaginary Friend by Chbosky, only funny. And why did I pick it for this creepy creature list? Well, the creatures in this one definitely freaked me out. Despite…

Breakup from Hell

By Ann Dávila Cardinal,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Breakup from Hell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fans of Undead Girl Gang and The Babysitters Coven will love Breakup from Hell, a witty YA rom-com with a supernatural twist, starring horror novel obsessed Mica Angeles, who discovers the guy she fell for comes straight out of one of her beloved books.

Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she's known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica…


Invasion

By Jenna Katerin Moran, Elizabeth Sherry (illustrator),

Book cover of Invasion

Misha Handman Author Of Pawns and Phantoms

From the list on fantasy that draws from older stories.

Who am I?

So much of our culture and our fiction comes from taking older stories and ideas and reworking, blending, and adapting them into new forms. This cultural mixture has gifted us with some of the greatest works of English literature, and I’ve always been surprised and delighted to discover what people can pull out of older works and make. It’s why my first novels have followed the theme, and why I will always have time to check out a new story that builds on older ideas to create something new. 

Misha's book list on fantasy that draws from older stories

Discover why each book is one of Misha's favorite books.

Why did Misha love this book?

Jenna Moran is an under-appreciated author who combines whimsy and darkness in equal measure, created worlds that are at once familiar and strange. This bittersweet picture book is her at her finest, accompanied by glorious artwork by Elizabeth Sherry as she tells the story of a picture-book world attacked by an invasion of terrible, otherworldly things—Ordinary Objects.

Invasion

By Jenna Katerin Moran, Elizabeth Sherry (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Invasion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Earth is full. Now, when there's a new ordinary thing, it doesn't have anywhere to go. A plague of blankets, chairs, and other horrors unleashes itself upon the picture-book realm. Warning: content is fearsome.

"O.O

that is a very creepy children's book.

O.O" - C.E. Murphy, author of the Walker Papers series, The Negotiator
Trilogy, and the Inheritor's Cycle.


Dante's Divine Comedy

By Seymour Chwast,

Book cover of Dante's Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation

Vince Galea Author Of Leviathan

From the list on graphic memoirs with creativity and flair.

Who am I?

I am from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I have always had a passion for art and literature. I started drawing at a young age and never stopped. Constantly drawing on scrap papers from my father’s graphic arts business. Always pulling from my imagination and the world around me for inspiration. Books were a major outlet for my creativity. Graphic novels in particular were always my favorite form of expression. To be able to tell a story using pictures and share my own personal feelings with others was a means of communication for me. I began to study illustration in school and college. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Marywood University. I currently work as a graphic designer and illustrator.

Vince's book list on graphic memoirs with creativity and flair

Discover why each book is one of Vince's favorite books.

Why did Vince love this book?

First I want to say how much I love The Divine Comedy Dante’s Inferno and this graphic novel adaptation by Seymour Chwast is a wonderful version of the tale. If you don’t already know the story I highly suggest you read it in its original text but also be sure to grab this copy as it will really bring the levels of hell to a more comical light. I particularly love the black and white bold art style and humor brought to life here. 

Dante's Divine Comedy

By Seymour Chwast,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dante's Divine Comedy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The founding partner of Push Pin Studios puts his own artistic spin on this graphic adaptation of Dante Alighieri's 1321 epic poem chronicling his journey through the afterlife and visiting both Heaven and Hell.


Pilgrimage To Hell

By James Axler,

Book cover of Pilgrimage To Hell

Justin Oldham Author Of Search for Haven

From the list on post-apocalyptic showcasing humanity’s drive to survive.

Who am I?

I am a lifelong fan of all things post-apocalyptic. Books, movies, television, games – I have enjoyed all of it. I knew I wanted to write post-apocalyptic fiction before I was ten years old. I had to wait almost three decades before life gave me the opportunity to do it. I’ve always been fascinated by the many different ways people can survive these kinds of catastrophes. As dark and visceral as the genre can sometimes be, I will always look for the elements of hope.

Justin's book list on post-apocalyptic showcasing humanity’s drive to survive

Discover why each book is one of Justin's favorite books.

Why did Justin love this book?

This is the first volume in the long-running Deathlands series, penned by many ghostwriters. If you can find all of the volumes, you’ll be treated to the most extravagant post-apocalyptic story arc that I’ve ever seen. I enjoyed the larger-than-life heroes and heroines, who blazed their trails across a detailed landscape. This series inspired me to think bigger about life and the things that I could do with it.

Pilgrimage To Hell

By James Axler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pilgrimage To Hell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On a crisp January day, a Presidential inauguration day, a one-megaton blast ripped through the Soviet embassy in Washington, D.C.

Subsequent explosions around the globe changed the face and the shape of the earth forever. Out of the ruins emerged Deathlands, a world that conspired against survival.

In the blasted heart of the new America, a group of men and women plan desperately to escape the eerie wastes and mutated life forms of their nuclear hell. Three warriors—the tough, intelligent Ryan Cawdor, an enigmatic beauty called Krysty Wroth and the armorer J.B. Dix—set out on a harrowing journey to find…


Hideaway

By Dean Koontz,

Book cover of Hideaway

Miriam Van Scott Author Of Bandun Gate

From the list on Heaven, Hell, and the Afterlife.

Who am I?

I’ve always been intrigued by concepts of what happens after death, ignited by my religious schooling and fueled by afterlife stories from The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Tales from the Crypt, and similar works of fiction. In college I began studying interpretations of Heaven and Hell from literature, art, myth, music, and pop culture, and continued to pursue the topic in my early career. This fascination led to my first books, Encyclopedia of Hell and Encyclopedia of Heaven, and has inspired many of my other works. I continue to do research in the field of comparative afterlife theory, and never miss a chance to interview those with expertise in supernatural matters. 

Miriam's book list on Heaven, Hell, and the Afterlife

Discover why each book is one of Miriam's favorite books.

Why did Miriam love this book?

Hideaway explores the question: what would happen if people who’ve had near-death experiences bring something back with them from the other side? Koontz offers two characters resuscitated after being clinically dead for more than half an hour, one who tastes Heaven while the other sees Hell. Is the carnage that follows the result of their angel/demon hitchhikers wreaking havoc among the living, or is something else at play? The novel offers unique perspective on the desire to return to the land of the dead, and how closely the forces of Heaven and Hell are linked to the realm of the living. 

Hideaway

By Dean Koontz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hideaway as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Strange visions plague a man after he survives a near-death experience in this chilling thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.

Surviving a car accident on a snowy mountain road is miraculous for Lindsey Harrison, but even more so for her husband, Hatch, who was clinically dead for eighty minutes.

After experimental procedures bring Hatch back to life, he awakens with the terrifying feeling that something is it out there. But it soon becomes apparent that the evil stalking Hatch is within him-a dark force of murderous rage that hides within us all...


5 book lists we think you will like!

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