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At BookPal, we believe in the power of books to ignite continuous learning and growth. Three years ago, we created the Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Awards to recognize books that do just that.

Over the years, we've seen many great titles rise to the top. This year, we continue to highlight fifteen categories that reflect the diverse types of books we sell every day. The five longlisted titles in each category represent top reading recommendations for individuals and teams to inspire new ideas, expand perspectives, and fall in love with reading.

Introducing the five longlisted books in each category:

• • How I Built This by Guy Raz
  • Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire by Rebecca Henderson
  • The Future is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis & Steven Kotler
  • Upstream by Dan Heath
  • You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy

• • Leadership Strategy and Tactics by Jocko Willink
  • Leading with Gratitude by Adrian Gostick & Chester Elton
  • The Motive by Patrick M. Lencioni
  • Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol
  • Unleashed by Frances Frei & Anne Morriss

• • Doing Agile Right by Darrell Rigby, Sarah Elk, & Steve Berez
  • Inclusify by Stefanie Johnson
  • No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer
  • The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias by Pamela Fuller, Mark Murphy, & Anne Chow
  • Welcome to Management by Ryan Hawk

• • The Expansion Sale by Erik Peterson & Tim Riesterer
  • The Forever Transaction by Robbie Kellman Baxter
  • The Practice by Seth Godin
  • Virtual Selling by Jeb Blount
  • Zconomy by Jason Dorsey & Denise Villa

• • #MeToo in the Corporate World by Sylvia Ann Hewlett
  • Good Guys by David G. Smith & W. Brad Johnson
  • Power Moves by Lauren McGoodwin
  • Launching While Female by Susanne Althoff
  • Unapologetically Ambitious by Shellye Archambeau

• • Antiracist Baby Picture Book by Ibram X. Kendi & Ashley Lukashevsky
  • I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes & Gordon C. James
  • Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali & Rahele Jomepour Bell
  • Perfect Pigeons by Katherine Battersby
  • The Cat Man of Aleppo by Karim Shamsi-Basha, Irene Latham, & Yuko Shimizu

• • Saucy by Cynthia Kadohata & Marianna Raskin
  • Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake & Jon Klassen
  • The Amelia Six by Kristin L. Gray
  • The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay
  • Tune it Out by Jamie Sumner

• • Clean Getaway by Nic Stone
  • Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone
  • The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
  • The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean
  • When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed

• • Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron
  • Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh
  • Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
  • This Is My America by Kim Johnson
  • We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

• • Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
  • The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
  • Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

• • Bakerita by Rachel Conners
  • Breath by James Nestor
  • Keep Moving by Maggie Smith
  • The New Rules of Aging Well by Frank Lipman & Danielle Claro
  • Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty

• • A Wealth of Pigeons by Steve Martin & Harry Bliss
  • How to Astronaut by Terry Virts
  • HRH by Elizabeth Holmes
  • Storey’s Curious Compendium of Practical and Obscure Skills by How-To Experts at Storey Publishing
  • The 99% Invisible City by Roman Mars & Kurt Kohlstedt

• • A Pilgrimage to Eternity by Timothy Egan
  • Love is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry & Sara Grace
  • Strange Rites by Tara Isabella Burton
  • We Are Called to Be a Movement by William Barber
  • White Too Long by Robert P. Jones

• • American Crisis by Andrew Cuomo
  • Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
  • Rigged by David Shimer
  • Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump
  • Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein

• • A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett
  • Becoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous
  • Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett
  • Untamed by Glennon Doyle
  • When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann

Sign up for our newsletter to find out which titles make our shortlist and which will win the OWL Award for their category!

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This post was written by Megan Habel, the Brand Strategist at BookPal. She is currently reading The Future is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis & Steven Kotler.