‘Take your brain for a long walk today… read a book!’

I’ve often tweeted lines like this, to try to encourage more people to read and to read more widely and well.

Much of my work revolves around developing and inspiring leaders, as a keynote speaker around the world, and addressing major social issues via the media and press as a social commentator.

One of the questions I most enjoy answering in Q & A sessions is this: ‘What do you read?’

I always take it as a compliment that people might be intrigued enough by what I say or write to enquire as to the background, or the material that at least gets my grey cells working.

Below are the top eleven books I would recommend from my reading throughout 2011.

But I think these titles should perhaps appear near the top of your list if you’re looking to increase your ability to innovate and to inspire others to do the same. They may also boost your understanding of where the world is and where it might be headed.

Most of these are available through Amazon and other online outlets and from good bookstores - and you can read reviews on each one on those sites. A number will doubtless be available as e-books, though I’ve read the paper versions.

Note: these titles are not listed in any particular order and, of course, I do not necessarily endorse everything each author has written.

Happy reading!

December 21, 2011

The Filter Bubble
What the Internet is Hiding from You
Eli Pariser

No Time to Think
The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-Hour News Cycle
Howard Rosenburg and Charles S. Feldman

Switch:
How to Change Things When Change is Hard
Chip Heath & Dan Heath

Start-Up Nation
The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle
Dan Senor & Saul Singer

The Master Switch
The Rise and Fall of Information Empires
Time Wu

Rediscovering Values
In the City, our Towns and in Your Community
Jim Wallis

Justice
What's the Right Things to Do?
Michael J. Sandel

The Shift
The Future of Work is Already Here
Lynda Gratton

An Optimist's Tour of the Future
Mark Stevenson

The Sky is not Falling
Living Fearlessly in these Turbulent Times
Charles Colson

The Rage against God
Peter Hitchens

For NEW recommendations, follow Mal on Twitter: @malfletcher.

Mal's predictions for 2012: 'Twelve Big Shifts for 2012'.