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More good reads from Philly's CEOs

Ever wonder what books to read? One of Philly's CEO's had a good idea. She borrowed from Stanford University's must-read list for incoming students. Please Touch Museum chief executive Patricia Wellenbach is posing with Curious George, the mischievous monkey in so many children's books. Not surprisingly, the Stanford list is a little more advanced.

Patricia Wellenbach, CEO of the Please Touch Museum, poses with Curious George at the museum.
Patricia Wellenbach, CEO of the Please Touch Museum, poses with Curious George at the museum.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

So many books, so little time, but here are more suggestions for summer reading from the region's chief executives. Maybe we, as a society, should have much more vacation — paid, of course — so we have more time to read.

Ever wonder what books to read? One of Philly's CEOs had a good idea: Patricia Wellenbach, chief executive of the Please Touch Museum, borrowed from Stanford University's must-read list for incoming students. Wellenbach also likes Curious George, the mischievous monkey who plays the hero in children's books.

Not surprisingly, the Stanford list is more advanced.

» READ MORE: Patricia D. Wellenbach,

Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi – "From the required reading for the Stanford Class of 2021, a story of a family and their history of slavery from the Gold Coast to the Jazz Age in Harlem."

Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward — "From the required reading for the Stanford Class of 2012, about a family living in the South in the 12 days leading up to Hurricane Katrina and how they cope during the pending disaster."

» READ MORE: Donna Allie,

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon – "An all-time winner. So many emotions. Anyone who knows or has someone close to them with intellectual disabilities must read. It will make you happy. I never fail to read the Free Library's One Book One Philadelphia.

Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism, by James W. Loewen – "I couldn't put it down – 456 pages about segregated towns throughout the United States. His book is not for the faint at heart. Some of the testimonies are gruesome. After reading this I am so appreciative of living and working in a city that embraces diversity."

» READ MORE: Bill Graham,

A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable, by Dan Gable — "Dan is an icon in the wrestling world.  He coached the Iowa wrestling team for 20 years and they won 15 national championships and 20 Big 12 championships."

Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan, by Bill O'Reilly – "A good historical novel on the second world war and how Japan was just atrocious with their prisoners of war – 43 percent of [them] died in Japan."

» READ MORE: Nancy Hesse,

Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy, by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Jesus, Life Coach, by Laurie Beth Jones – "This is my daily devotional."

The One-Year Chronological Bible – New International Version – "Friends and I are reading the Bible together over one year."

» READ MORE: Bob McClintock,

Crazy Horse and Custer, The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors, by Stephen E. Ambrose – "Interesting study of both men that puts context, both personal and societal, on the actions of two mythic historical figures."

» READ MORE: Emmett McGrath,

The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light, by Carlos Santana and Ashley Kahn – "Has deep convictions and love for life and music."

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg – "Very insightful, [educates] the reader on understanding human nature and how to unleash one's potential through focus, routine, commitment."

» READ MORE: Carl A. Ortell,

An American Caddie in St. Andrew's, by Oliver Horovitz – "It's part a coming-of-age story and part comedy. Really well done. I think non-golfers would enjoy it as well."

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil de Grasse Tyson

» READ MORE: Jerry Schiano,

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Radiant Angel, Nelson Demille

» READ MORE: Thomas Spann,

Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini – "His book was very influential with Accolade's founding team. Pre-Suasian [explores] how decisions are framed in the moments before a message is communicated."

» READ MORE: Stephen Tang,

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance; The Fractured Republic: Renewing America's Social Contract in the Age of Individualism, by Yuval Levin; Two Paths: America Divided or United by John Kasich; The Purpose Economy: How Your Desire for Impact, Personal Growth and Community is Changing the World, by Aaron Hurst, and Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream, by Andy Stern with Lee Kravitz – "I hope these books provide me with a broad perspective on our city's, region's, and nation's current political strife and socio-economic plight. I hope that knowledge also fuels the Science Center's focus on better access and inclusion in our mission to promote economic opportunity through innovation and entrepreneurship."

Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions, by Richard Harris – "I've become more aware of [how] are scientists are `upping their game' in the high stakes game of scientific discovery and technology commercialization."

» READ MORE: Judith von Seldeneck,

Wild Ride: Inside Uber's Quest for World Domination, by Adam Lashinsky – "This is the story of Uber, its founder Travis Kalanick and his wild ride using technological disruptive innovation and taking it to new levels challenging government and regulators at every turn. It goes to show how some of the most obvious new business ideas can be blockbusters and that this is a great time and a great capital environment to take a gamble on new business start-ups."

» READ MORE: Jeff Westphal,

Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization, by Parag Khanna – A system thinker's view of globalization and the meta forces that are driving the world economy over the long term. I try to find writers focused on the tectonic plate shifts and tides, rather than the waves and occasional storms. Khanna is clearly one of those."

Want more suggestions from Philly's CEOs? Click here