This week, we’re taking a break from the usual marketing news to give you some book recommendations for the holidays. Here’s what the Motum B2B team will be reading over the break.

For leadership inspiration: Start with Why

Corinne Lynds, Editorial Director at Motum B2B, is reading a book that expands on a TED talk all about the importance of knowing why we do what we do.

“I'm reading Start with Why by Simon Sinek, as recommended by a client of ours,” says Corinne. The book draws on real-life stories to explore where leaders, organizations and movements draw inspiration. “It’s a great book for anyone to read, but especially the marketing-minded.”

For sharper writing chops: The Elements of Style Illustrated

If you’re a fellow word nerd who’s looking to improve your craft, copywriter Tanya Decarie recommends a classic with a twist: The Elements of Style Illustrated by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, plus illustrations by Maira Kalman.

“Strunk and White taught me how to write a clean sentence. Kalman showed me you can read an illustrated book in public and still look smart,” Tanya says.

For a cataclysmic journey: The Road

Our senior writer, Mike Ouellette, recommends The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

“Not everyone likes a post-apocalyptic dystopian nightmare for evening relaxation, but McCarthy’s ability to create incredibly rich scenes while using the fewest words possible and abandoning all punctuation is, in a word, beautiful,” Mike says. “In 287 Pulitzer prize-winning pages, McCarthy manages to create a world any other writer would need 1,000 pages to achieve. No other work has informed my writing style more than McCarthy’s.”

For an obscure sci-fi/fantasy epic: The Book of the New Sun

Straddling the line somewhere between hard sci-fi, post-apoc road movie and sword-and-sorcery epic, Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun series comes highly recommended by our VP of Technology, Mark Whiting (and Tanya too!).

“The series is as dense and rich as a Christmas fruitcake, reading something like the Odyssey crossed with Ulysses, plus a few handfuls of film noir and Shakespeare thrown in for good measure,” Mark says. “Its peculiar flashbulb vignette style and unreliable narrator may not be for everyone, but those who enjoy cross-referencing the author's thousand-dollar words will find a lot to like in this meaty, cryptic and full-bodied fantasy epic.”