Reading List
Community Builder’s Reading List
Section titled “Community Builder’s Reading List”Curated reading for people who build and lead communities. Organized by topic, with brief descriptions of why each book matters for community builders.
Community Building & Networks
Section titled “Community Building & Networks”The Starfish and the Spider
Section titled “The Starfish and the Spider”Ori Brafman & Rod A. Beckstrom Why decentralized organizations often outperform hierarchical ones. Essential reading for anyone building a community that scales through multiplication rather than centralization.
Click: The Forces Behind How We Fully Engage
Section titled “Click: The Forces Behind How We Fully Engage”Ori Brafman The psychology of connection and engagement — what makes people commit to groups and relationships.
Bowling Alone
Section titled “Bowling Alone”Robert D. Putnam The decline of American civic life and social capital. Understands the problem that JuntoGroups exists to solve.
The Art of Gathering
Section titled “The Art of Gathering”Priya Parker How to design gatherings with purpose. Directly applicable to meeting design and community events.
Leadership & Influence
Section titled “Leadership & Influence”Start with Why
Section titled “Start with Why”Simon Sinek Purpose-driven leadership — why the “why” matters more than the “what” or “how.”
Leaders Eat Last
Section titled “Leaders Eat Last”Simon Sinek How great leaders create environments where people naturally work together.
The Infinite Game
Section titled “The Infinite Game”Simon Sinek Building organizations that thrive over the long term by adopting an infinite mindset.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Section titled “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”Robert Cialdini The six principles of influence — reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity.
Decision Making & Critical Thinking
Section titled “Decision Making & Critical Thinking”Thinking, Fast and Slow
Section titled “Thinking, Fast and Slow”Daniel Kahneman The two systems that drive how we think. Essential for understanding why groups make the decisions they do.
The True Believer
Section titled “The True Believer”Eric Hoffer Why people join mass movements and what makes movements succeed or fail. A cautionary companion to community building.
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
Section titled “Psychology of Intelligence Analysis”Richards J. Heuer Jr. Originally written for CIA analysts, but the frameworks for recognizing cognitive biases apply directly to community governance and decision-making.
- Free PDF available from CIA.gov
Philosophy & Ethics
Section titled “Philosophy & Ethics”Meditations
Section titled “Meditations”Marcus Aurelius Stoic wisdom on resilience, perspective, and leading with integrity. Timeless.
Enchiridion
Section titled “Enchiridion”Epictetus Practical Stoic philosophy for daily life and leadership.
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography
Section titled “Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography”Benjamin Franklin The primary source on the Junto, Franklin’s civic projects, and his approach to self-improvement and community building.
History & Civic Life
Section titled “History & Civic Life”The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
Section titled “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind”Gustave Le Bon 1895 classic on crowd psychology. Understand the forces that shape group behavior — both for good and ill.
Public Opinion
Section titled “Public Opinion”Walter Lippmann How media and narrative shape collective perception. Relevant for any community communicating to members or the public.
This reading list draws on recommendations from the IrregularChat community, filtered for relevance to community builders.
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