Looking for that Competitive Edge? Check Out These 25 Books!

Everyone knows the names of the most popular business books and the gurus who wrote them: Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Ken Blanchard, Jim Collins... you know the list. Now someone's created a list of books from off the beaten path. His name is Gregory Ciotti, and the list appeared in his blog on Help Scout, where he works. He also has a site called Sparring Mind, where you can check out some of his other posts.

Writes Ciotti: "The problem is that many business books are just plain awful; bloated to meet book length quotas, overly self-promotional, or a regurgitation of common sense, many are disappointments." Ever had that feeling? You're not alone.

So if you're looking for an edge in business (and who isn't?), perhaps you'll find something in the list, which Ciotti calls "25 Unconventional Business Books that You Won't See on Most Bookshelves (But Should)." We're just listing the names and authors here. On his site, Ciotti provides brief explanations and links for each book.

Read any good lists lately?

1. Breakthrough Advertising, Eugene Schwartz
2. The Social Animal, Elliot Aronson
3. Be Our Guest, Disney Institute
4. Hooked, Nir Eyal
5. My Life in Advertising/Scientific Advertising, Claude C. Hopkins
6. Raise the Bar, Jon Taffer
7. Increasing Customer Loyalty, Harvard Business Review
8. Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi
9. Accounting Made Simple, Mike Piper
10. On Writing Well, William Zinsser
11. The Copywriter's Handbook, Robert W. Bly
12. The Essays of Warren Buffet
13. Priceless, William Poundstone
14. Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, Karen Berman & Joe Knight
15. Brainfluence, Roger Dooley
16. The New Strategic Selling, Robert B. Miller & Stephen E. Heiman
17. Brain Rules, John Medina
18. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, Al & Laura Reis
19. Strategic Customer Service, John A. Goodman
20. Customer Winback, Jill Griffin & Michael W. Lowenstein
21. Growing Great Employees, Erika Andersen
22. Ca$vertising, Drew Eric Whitman
23. Made to Stick, Chip & Dan Heath
24. First, Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
25. Making Things Happen, Scott Berkun

Bonus list! Ciotti, who seems to love making lists of business books, also has a list of 50 books on social psychology - good reading for anyone interested in persuading and influencing consumers. Could that perhaps be you?