Book blurbs have become a central part of the publishing industry: Who better to endorse a book than other authors and thought leaders? In that same spirit, we asked several writers to recommend books that you and other TechCrunch readers may want to gift this holiday season.
Read on for recommendations from:
The responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. This article contains links to affiliate partners where available. When you buy through these links, TechCrunch may earn an affiliate commission.
Jon Evans
You may know Jon Evans as a former TechCrunch columnist or from his engineering and CTO roles, but he is also a novelist. Most of his books are technothrillers painting travelers caught in tricky situations in exotic locations. “Exadelic” is different, and not just because it’s his first novel in over a decade: It is set in Silicon Valley, where a tech exec gets threatened by a rogue AI.
Book recommendation: “The Steerswoman,” by Rosemary Kirstein
Kashmir Hill
Kashmir Hill’s book “Your Face Belong to Us” is the story of a “small AI company that gave facial recognition to law enforcement, billionaires and businesses, threatening to end privacy as we know it.” But she doesn’t need to resort to (science) fiction to make it chilling; the company in question is Clearview AI, which very much exists, and its Dutch publisher describes the book as a “real-life thriller.”
Book recommendation: “The Listeners: A History of Wiretapping in the United States,” by Brian Hochman
Jerry Neumann
“Founder vs Investor,” a recently published non-fiction book, crosses two perspectives on venture-backed startups; entrepreneur Elizabeth Zalman is the founder, and veteran VC Jerry Neumann is the investor. Together, they share insights on how both sides can best work with one another.
Book recommendation: “How Data Happened: A History from the Age of Reason to the Age of Algorithms,” by Chris Wiggins and Matthew L. Jones
Barr Moses
Barr Moses is the CEO and co-founder of Monte Carlo, a data observability startup. She also co-wrote a technical book on the topic: O’Reilly’s “Data Quality Fundamentals: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building Trustworthy Data Pipelines,” sharing advice on achieving reliable data at scale.
Book recommendation: “Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts,” by Brené Brown
Polina Marinova Pompliano
It’s her newsletter The Profile that led Polina Marinova Pompliano to become an author. “After years of profiling hundreds of fascinating people, I asked myself: What distinguishes the great from the truly exceptional?” This led to her first book, “Hidden Genius: The Secret Ways of Thinking That Power the World’s Most Successful People.”
Book recommendation: “It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War,” by Lynsey Addario
Georgiana Laudi
Georgiana (Gia) Laudi helps SaaS businesses grow through her agency, Forget the Funnel. This is also the title of the book she co-wrote with her co-founder Claire Suellentrop, and whose premise is to present readers with a “a customer-led approach for driving predictable, recurring revenue.”
Book recommendation: “Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products,” by Martina Lauchengco
Scott Hurff
As a writer, Scott Hurff doesn’t always write about product design; but when he does he is able to share his perspective as someone who’s also a product maker and designer. It is also this intersection that nurtured his book, “Designing Products People Love: How Great Designers Create Successful Products.”
Book recommendation: “Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application,” by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson and Matthew Linderman
James Wise
You may know James Wise as a partner at VC firm Balderton Capital; but this London-based VC also wrote his first book, “Start-up Century: Why We’re All Becoming Entrepreneurs – and How to Make It Work for Everyone.” Launched in the U.K. on November 23, it should make a great gift for aspiring entrepreneurs around you.