Thanks to some recent changes in my schedule, I’m finally finding the time to rekindle my love affair with reading. It’s been half a decade since I read a novel, but get me a list of good marketing reads or autobiographies and I’ll flock like the salmon of Capistrano. With books on the brain, I thought I’d compile a quick list of my five favorite marketing books that I think every marketer should read. There is a good chance you have read some (or all) of them, but if not, stick these on your list:

1) Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
A book about ideas. Creating ideas. The kind of simple, powerful ideas that make you go, “Geez, why didn’t I think of that?” I’ve got a printout of the key points from this book (the SUCCES model) in my office and refer to it constantly.
http://www.heathbrothers.com/madetostick/

2) Switch by Chip and Dan Heath
When I read Switch, almost without fail I’ll arrive at the end of each chapter with my jaw on the floor and my head swirling with connecting dots, realizations, and new ideas. Beautifully written and organized, the topic is getting people to change when change is hard.
http://www.heathbrothers.com/switch/

3) Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Purple Cow is a succinct essay on how to be remarkable and stand out in a world full of cookie cutter products and businesses. Seth makes some great points and doesn’t waste your time with fluff.
http://www.sethgodin.com/purple/

4) The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
The whole “immutable” thing turned me off from reading this book for way too long, because the straightforward way these fundamental patterns of marketing are presented made a lot of sense and changed the way I thought about a lot of business practices.
http://books.google.com/books/about/22_Immutable_Laws_of_Marketing.html…

5) Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Similar to Purple Cow in concept, Blue Ocean Strategy wasn’t the most pleasantly written piece in my opinion, but I love the way the present the idea that when it comes to trying to wrestle out a corner of a market in an already bloody ocean, sometimes the best plan is to find new, uncharted waters.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.