40% of Americans didn’t read a book last year. These three are worth the exception



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Good morning. About 40% of Americans didn’t read a single book last year, despite Oprah’s Book Club, Bill Gates’ reading list and ominous missives about declining literacy. Many of us own books we’ve never read or, at best, skimmed. When Chris Matthews asked me during a Hardball interview about my book Fraternity, having apparently not read it, I turned it over to show him he’d written a blurb to praise it on the back. 

My summer reading list includes speculative fiction, true crime and a divisive book about trad wife time travel. But let’s talk about the value of a good business book. Many are written by people seeking fame on the speaker circuit or a chance to rewrite their own history. But I speak to many leaders who were deeply influenced by a good book that shifted their thinking. Here are three recent reads I think are worth a look this summer. 

My former colleague Josh Tyrangiel has written a book called AI For Good: How Real People are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things that Matter. Tyrangiel’s book is a deeply reported and nuanced look at the real potential of AI. As he told me recently, the goal was to cut past the euphoria and existential panic around AI to find promising examples of how people are using it to create solutions for challenges like sepsis, vaccine distribution, and personalized tutoring at scale. If you want to learn about use cases for AI from entrepreneurs who don’t aspire to live on Mars or predict the elimination of 80% of jobs, read his book.

I also like Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great by Eric Ries. Honestly, I got it because Ries held a book party in The Dakota, a building I’ve always wanted to see, and I liked what he had to say so I started reading it on the way home. I expected analysis of business gone bad—and there’s some of that—but he also looks at corruption as a failure of structure, not morals, and essentially offers an interesting playbook for how companies can build trust and maintain their mission without being virtuous.

And when you find yourself yearning for a good memoir, reach for Trash: A Garbageman’s Story by Simon Paré-Poupart. It’s been compared to Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential for good reason. I prefer to think of Paré-Poupart as modern-day Margaret Mead (with French-Canadian swear words) observing the absurdity of our consumption. He’s a sociologist who celebrates physical labor. A philosopher-king hauling our garbage and analyzing our waste. It’s a voice from the trenches. It’s funny. It’s honest. And it’s short. Where’s the beach?

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

Top leadership news

3 factors proving remote work is here to stay

Stanford’s Nicholas Bloom says this summer’s combination of late-night World Cup matches, record heat, and gas prices near $3.84 a gallon has pushed even skeptical employers like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to let staff work from home. “There is absolutely no way we are now going back to 2019 on WFH,” Bloom told Fortune, adding that “the Pandora’s box of working from home has been opened.”

Stitch Fix’s nascent turnaround

Stitch Fix, once a data-driven disruptor, cratered post-pandemic as revenue plummeted and customers fled. CEO Matt Baer, a former Walmart and Macy’s exec, is refocusing the company on retail fundamentals—private label, new categories, tech-aided styling. Active clients and revenue are rising again, though market cap remains far below its peak.

Inside Jersey Mike’s IPO filing 

Jersey Mike’s S-1 filing shows founder Peter Cancro’s stepson, Phillip Sivolobov, collected $50.5 million in compensation between 2023 and 2025, while relatives John Cancro and Daniel Powers earned $21 million and $31 million, respectively, over similar periods. The filing also disclosed a $41 million aircraft transferred to a Cancro-controlled entity as the chain seeks a roughly $12 billion valuation on the NYSE under ticker “JMKE.”

The markets

S&P 500 futures are down 0.10% this morning. The last session closed up 0.81%. The STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.03% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.12% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.20%. South Korea’s KOSPI was up 2.52%. China’s CSI 300 was down 1.96%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.60%. India’s NIFTY 50 was up 1.02%. Bitcoin was up to $64K.

Around the watercooler

Meta releases latest update of AI model Muse Spark as tech giant accelerates AI push under Alexandr Wang by Ben Weiss

Trump cheers Gwynne Shotwell as Elon Musk’s SpaceX No. 2 gives $325 million in stock to Trump Accounts by Mia Osmonbekov

49% of young adults live at home, up 12 points since 2019. An economist says the fallout will reshape marriage, kids, and home-buying by Catherina Gioino

Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts by Emma Burleigh

CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.

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https://fortune.com/2026/07/10/summer-reading-list-busines-books/


Diane Brady

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