Leslie Berlin’s List of Books that Make Life Better

I always say that innovation is a team sport, and nowhere is this more obvious than in Ellis’s account of the teamwork and competition among Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison that launched the American republic.

We had kids before any of our friends, which meant there was almost no one to compare notes with. This classic book was my how-to guide on how to communicate with my brood.

Long, but so worth the effort. A wonderful storyteller lays out the history of genetics and biotech in such an effortless manner that you don’t even realize how much you’re learning.

I recently reread this novel and was struck again by Irving’s ability to tackle big subjects through great narrative. The women in the story are a bit one-dimensional, but overall, this is a really enjoyable Dickens-esque immersion in a now-disappeared time and place (in this case, mid-20th-century Maine).

Though I’m too much of a fraidy-cat ever to have made it through one of King’s other bestsellers, I turn to this memoir of his writing life not just for the superb storytelling, but also for the great advice on craft.