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On the heels of part 1 of my essential books for product builders series, I’m excited to share part 2.

As with last time, the books are organized by their jobs-to-be-done in your work and life. I’m again limiting myself to only three per category that I’ve personally read (and completed), and only books that have stood the test of time (i.e., no new books). As a bonus, at the end of the post I’ve also included a dozen fan favorites that either fell just below the ones I picked or I haven’t had a chance to read yet.

I know it’s hard to find time to read a whole book, and when you do, it’s hard to retain anything. As I mentioned in part 1, what’s worked for me is to read 10 minutes before bed as part of my wind-down routine. This has the added benefit of helping me sleep better! And as I read, I try to find one nugget or tactic that I can bring into my work that week. I take a photo of it and email it to myself (using this sweet app) for the next morning. My philosophy is that if I retain just one golden nugget per book over the years, I’m happy. That’s how it usually ends up working out anyway.