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Introducing our top picks for the month of August.

Looking for book recommendations for your next company book club, corporate training, or summer reading program? Look no further! Each month, we're highlighting some of our favorite new releases for group sales to inspire connection and growth.

Among the books featured this month are business books to address timely themes of overwhelm, busyness, and uncertainty. You'll recognize a new spin on a classic novel and the latest from a New York Times bestselling author. We've also included books that address trending topics such as the Covid-19 pandemic, 9/11, and student loan debt. Rounding out the list is a title that deftly combines the teachings of the Book of Genesis with current business principles.

Business

A Minute to Think: Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Busyness, and Do Your Best Work by Juliet Funt

Juliet Funt, a globally recognized warrior in the battle against busyness, provides a powerful guide that will give you the permission, framework, and specific direction you need to escape overwhelm.

Our take: According to a Deloitte study, two-thirds of today's employees feel overwhelmed and 80 percent would like to work fewer hours This book comes at a perfect time to support these increasingly relevant workplace issues.

Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change by April Rinne

Discover eight powerful mindset shifts that enable leaders and seekers of all ages to thrive in a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty.

Our take: The Covid-19 pandemic, social justice movements, and the 2020 election have pushed issues of constant change and chronic uncertainty to the forefront. Flux empowers people to see change in new ways, craft new responses, and ultimately reshape their relationship to change from the inside out.

Power, for All: How It Really Works and Why It's Everyone's Business by Julie Battilana & Tiziana Casciaro

Concentrated, accessible, and life-changing, Power, for All is the definitive guide to understanding and navigating power in our relationships, organizations, and society.

Our take: Power is one of the most misunderstood concepts in our society. Readers will learn how to power-map their workplace to find who can create real change at work, plan for and cause sustaining power shifts, and understand the five motivations for seeking power.

Bringing Up the Boss: Practical Lessons for New Managers by Rachel Pacheco

In Bringing Up the Boss, Pacheco shares skills along with cutting-edge research, data, anecdotes, how-to exercises, and more, to help overwhelmed employees become expert managers.

Our take: In the vein of The Making of a Manager, this practical guide for new managers—especially those in fast-growing or start-up organizations—will help the reader build the fundamental skills of being a great boss.

Education

The Bug Club by Elise Gravel

Acclaimed author Elise Gravel takes the reader on a dazzling and revelatory tour of the insect world, answering burning questions and sharing interesting facts about these marvelous creatures.

Our take: We love STEM books, especially those for young readers! Additionally, the cartoon style is a great, easy way for little ones to learn.

1984: The Graphic Novel by George Orwell & Fido Nesti

One of the most influential books of the twentieth century gets the graphic treatment in this first-ever adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984.

Our take: This beautifully illustrated graphic novel edition is an accessible entry point for young readers and adults who have yet to discover Orwell's iconic story.

The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe by Josh Mitchell

From acclaimed Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell, the dramatic, untold story of student debt in America.

Our take: Mitchell charts the gripping 70-year history of student debt in America in a character-driven narrative that is required reading for anyone wanting to understand the central economic issue of our day.

Political

The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal by Mary Trump

The Reckoning examines America’s national trauma, rooted in our history but dramatically exacerbated by the impact of current events and the Trump administration’s corrupt and immoral policies.

Our take: Mary Trump follows her bestseller Too Much and Never Enough with a look at America's history with trauma, beginning with the original sins of genocide and slavery.

Some Kids Left Behind: A Survivor's Fight for Health Care in the Wake of 9/11 by Lila Nordstrom

An awe-inspiring account of the schoolchildren poisoned by the toxic air left in the wake of the Twin Towers’ destruction and the survivor who fought for healthcare for them.

Our take: Publishing in advance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Lila reveals how the American healthcare system has been tested by disasters like 9/11 and gestures toward the systemic inequities laid bare by other tragedies like the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics and the End of the Old International Order by Colin Kahl & Thomas Wright

Two of America's leading national security experts offer the most definitive account of the global impact of COVID-19 and the political shock waves for the world order in the 21st Century.

Our take: Kahl and Wright provide a riveting journalistic account of one of the strangest years on record and a comprehensive analysis of the pandemic’s ongoing impact on the foundational institutions and ideas that have shaped the modern world.

Religion

The Tree of Life and Prosperity: 21st Century Business Principles form the Book of Genesis by Michael A. Eisenberg

One of Israel’s most successful venture capitalists uses the words and actions of the Hebrew patriarchs to lay the foundations for a modern growth economy based on timeless business principles and values.

Our take: Eisenberg effortlessly combines Biblical sources with common business issues, applying Torah values to the modern world.

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This post was written by Megan Habel, the Brand Strategist at BookPal. She is currently reading Manhunters by Steve Murphy & Javier Peña.