Recommended reading

The reading room.

Some ideas deserve more than a passing glance.

A stack of blank cloth hardcover books with a pair of reading glasses resting beside them on a warm linen surface

A shelf in the making

Books for curious minds.

The shelf is open. Recommendations get added as Eliese finishes books worth arguing with. In the meantime, join The Montag Margin for thoughtful prompts and future reading notes.

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A recommendation

On the shelf.

Cover of Crucial Influence, Third Edition: Leadership Skills to Create Lasting Behavior Change

Added October 2026

Crucial Influence.

Leadership Skills to Create Lasting Behavior Change

Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler

McGraw-Hill · 240 pages

Crucial Influence is a practical look at why changing behavior is harder than simply telling people what to do, and what actually makes change stick. It treats influence as something you can design and not a magical personality trait given to extroverts.  It's  useful, research-backed, and refreshingly light on motivational malarky.

And there’s also a really gross but inspiring story about guinea worms.

Find it on Bookshop ↗