A Short Reading List for Bookshop.org's Anti-Prime Day
Bookshop.org is running its Anti-Prime Day special with free standard shipping through June 26. If you have been meaning to add a few useful books to the shelf, this is a practical moment to do it while sending the order through independent bookstores.
I put together a list of some of my favourites for people to consider, which includes some fiction but mainly personal development books that I found helpful over the years. Below are some highlighted books to consider that are related to the hospitality industry.
Unreasonable Hospitality
Will Guidara
Guidara writes about service as a disciplined operating choice, not a mood. For hospitality leaders, the useful lesson is not to copy Eleven Madison Park. It is to ask where a property can give guests more thought, fewer handoffs, and a clearer sense that someone is paying attention. I greatly enjoyed this book and love that he has been consulting on one of my favourite TV shows, The Bear.
Setting the Table
Danny Meyer
Meyer’s book remains useful because it treats hospitality as a business system. The strongest parts are about priorities, staff judgment, and the difference between service steps and the feeling those steps create. That distinction matters in hotels, restaurants, and any guest-facing operation.
The Stoic Virtues Series
Ryan Holiday
This series is a practical leadership shelf: courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom. Read together, the books are a useful counterweight to reactive management. Collectively, they ask leaders to slow down, choose standards before pressure arrives, and build the habits that make calm decisions possible. Also consider signing up for Ryan's Daily Stoic newsletter which is free and full of essential ideas to consider.
Slow Productivity
Cal Newport
Newport’s argument is useful for operators who are trying to do too much with too many tools and too little recovery time. The book is not about working less carefully. It is about reducing scattered effort so the work that matters gets enough attention to actually improve. I love Cal's writing, but also greatly enjoy his podcast that publishes a few times a week. If you enjoy the book, you will enjoy the podcast too.