The days are getting shorter, sending us indoors to snuggle in with a new book.
At HR Dive, we’ve compiled a fall reading list catered to HR professionals, featuring books exploring the world of work and the workplace. From a high school science teacher trying to save the world to a guide on how to become an adaptive leader, the books offer something for every reader.
These recommendations include books from our own fall reading lists as well as ones from HR Dive’s readers. Hopefully, some of these make it onto your To Be Read lists! And please, let us know what you think.
Nonfiction
“Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear
I consistently recommend Atomic Habits by James Clear because its core message is highly relevant to both our corporate team and franchise owners: meaningful, lasting improvement comes from the small things we do consistently. In staffing and HR, where our success depends on people, processes, and relationships, building strong habits can have an outsized impact on performance and culture. The book is practical, accessible, and gives leaders a useful framework for turning good intentions into repeatable behaviors that drive better results over time.
—Rick Hermanns, HireQuest CEO
“The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World” by Alexander Grashow, Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership is the third book in a series exploring adaptive leadership. It serves as a practical guide on how to hone skills as an adaptive leader using tools and worksheets.
“Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect” by Will Guidara
Unreasonable Hospitality … is set in the world of high-end restaurants, but its lessons travel well beyond. Service is getting the job done right, and hospitality is how you make people feel while you do it. That distinction is exactly what HR professionals should strive for every day. Our “customers” are employees, candidates and leaders, and the difference between processing a request and making someone feel genuinely cared for is the difference between a transaction and trust.
I liked it so much that I shared it with our president. He agreed, and we handed out 90 copies at our leadership summit last year. It’s become part of how we talk about the experience we want to create for our people.
—Nancee Martin, senior managing director of corporate recruiting for AvAirPros
Fiction
“Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro
As discussions about artificial intelligence agents and robots becoming workers’ colleagues abound, this book explores the relationship between technology and humans from the point of view of an Artificial Friend.
“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir
Many are questioning whether remote work plays a role in the loneliness epidemic. But what if you’re the sole survivor on a spaceship whose mission is to save Earth and humanity? This science fiction novel (and a 2026 film) explores how to overcome and tackle problems in the hardest of times.