KellerINK Summer 2024 Recommended Reads
It’s happening! The hottest list officially dropped last week. No, it’s not the best restaurants to visit or the most exciting places to vacation this summer. The New York Times released their 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list. There is truly no one more excited than us.
In the spirit of this announcement, KellerINK is releasing our own list of books to check out this summer. So, if one of your goals was to read more this year, or if you haven’t found a good new book to embark on lately, these titles should be added to your “to be read” shelf. From fiction, to business, to mindset, there’s something here you can enjoy and learn from.
1. 
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
By Rick Rubin
Record producer and executive Rick Rubin is no stranger to talent. He’s helped produced hit records for musicians like Run-DMC, Johnny Cash, The Strokes, and more. He’s not known for a particular sound, necessarily, but rather for creating space for artists of all genres to tap into who they truly are and make some of their best work. In The Creative Act, Rubin both outlays his wisdom of how to understand our relationship with the world around us and illuminates “the path of the artist as a road we can all follow.”
2. 
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
By Charles Duhigg
To journalist Charles Duhigg, communication is a superpower. Combining storytelling and research, Supercommunicators outlines three different types of conversations: practical, emotional, and social. And how we can learn to leverage the power behind each of them.
3. 
Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
By Amy Edmondson
Entrepreneurs of all kinds know that failure is often times the quickest way to finding success. Professor Amy Edmondson agrees. In Right Kind of Wrong, she dispels the myth that failure is a bad thing. She shows us how to maximize “what we gain from flubs of all stripes,” and how to make failure our friend.
4. 
By Ashley Elston
Okay, yes, every member of the KellerINK team has read this novel and talked about how great it is at the top of several meetings. But we aren’t alone in raving about it. The #1 New York Times bestseller by Ashley Elston follows Evie Porter, a woman who seems to have the perfect, Southern-charmed life. The thing is, Evie Porter doesn’t exist. First Lie Wins has all the twists and turns that make for a thrilling summer read.
5. 
The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing
By Adam Moss
This book examines how art is made from the inside of an artist’s head. Author Adam Moss shows us the evolution of novels, paintings, movies, songs, and more through conversations with some of the most successful artists. Napkin sketches, journal entries, and thumbprint beginnings break down the work that goes into creating prolific art. And as all creators know, the path isn’t always pretty.
6. 
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
By James McBride
Characters’ stories overlap in this novel about class, race, religion…and murder. James McBride’s Nation Book Award winner takes us to the neighborhood of Chicken Hill, Pennsylvania in 1972, where no matter how different the neighbors are, they work together to create a loving community that protects its members.
7&8. 
By Kathryn Hughes
and
By Tommy Tomlinson
This dual recommendation is for all the animal lovers out there. From the history of the “cat craze” to the current craze that is the Westminster Dog Show, both Catland and Dogland detail the relationships between humans and our furry friends throughout time.
9. 
By Mira Grant
This clever horror novel takes us to a documentary crew on a world-class cruise ship, where there are two life-threatening realities: climate change and killer mermaids. By Author Mira Grant, Into the Drowning Deep will transport you out of life’s mundane to-do list and into “the greatest hunt of all.”
10. 
The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better
By Will Storr
Part craft book and part science report, this book looks at how our brains are hardwired for story — and how writers can take advantage of our neurology to create lasting impact. From Jane Austen to Greek drama, stories shape who we are. And this book helps us tell ours.