Books spread ideas and inspire new thinking. Better yet, find an author you respect and read most if not everything by that industry expert. Here are a few of my favorites listed by topic.

Marketing  

1. Anything by Seth Godin  including  Purple Cow,  Free Prize Inside,  Permission Marketing, Tribes, Small is the New Big ·Positioning
2. The Battle for Your Mind, Al Ries & Jack Trout
3. Your Marketing Sucks, Mark Stevens
4. Story Brand, Donald Miller

Advertising  

1. The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR, Al and Laura Ries
2. Advertising Media Planning, Jack Z. Sissors & Roger B. Barron
3. Bang!, Linda Kaplan Thaler & Robin Koval

Sales

1. Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching!, Jeffrey Gitomer
2. Survival Selling, Mike Blinder
3. Million Dollar Consulting, Alan Weiss

Strategic Planning 

1. Focus, Al Reis
2. In Search of the Obvious, Jack Trout
3. Change or Die, Alan Deutschman

Blogging   

1. Julie & Julia, Julie Powell
2. Blog Wild!, Andy Wibbels
3. Naked Conversations, Robert Scoble & Shel Israel
4. Clear Blogging, Bob Walsh
5. How to Blog a Book, Nina Amir

Digital Trends   

1. Digital Leadership, Eric Qualman  
   

Social Media Marketing 

1. The Zen of Social Media Marketing, Shama Hyder Kabani ·
2. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary Vaynerchuk

Writing & Creativity 

1. News is a Verb, Pete Hamill  
2. On Writing, Stephen King
3. Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
4. Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon 
5. One Continuous Mistake, Gail Sher
6. Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert