Purpose Plus: What Really Matters at Work by Amy Shenot

While other career guides are dry and focus on purpose alone, the funny on-the-job stories in this short book illustrate what else really matters at work.

Amy Shenot’s mother wanted her to be a comedian, and for years Amy’s career was a joke. She worked several odd jobs before studying and practicing career counseling and better judgment. Since the advent of the web she’s been authoring and teaching online courses.

180 Seconds by Jessica Park

Some people live their entire lives without changing their perspective. For Allison Dennis, all it takes is 180 seconds…

After a life spent bouncing from one foster home to the next, Allison is determined to keep others at arm’s length. Adopted at sixteen, she knows better than to believe in the permanence of anything. But as she begins her third year in college, she finds it increasingly difficult to disappear into the white noise pouring from her earbuds.

One unsuspecting afternoon, Allison is roped into a social experiment just off campus. Suddenly, she finds herself in front of a crowd, forced to interact with a complete stranger for 180 seconds. Neither she, nor Esben Baylor, the dreamy social media star seated opposite her, is prepared for the outcome.

When time is called, the intensity of the experience overwhelms Allison and Esben in a way that unnerves and electrifies them both. With a push from her oldest friend, Allison embarks on a journey to find out if what she and Esben shared is the real thing—and if she can finally trust in herself, in others, and in love.

Call it Kismetby Heather Hummel Gallagher

From the New York Book Festival award-winning author of Whispers from the Heart comes Call it Kismet, a powerhouse of speculative women’s literature…

A quarter-million dollars. Two possible futures. One woman looking for direction…

Ithaca, New York. Lucy Brown feels most alive behind the lens of a camera. Orphaned just before college graduation, she yearns to ease her lonely soul through making art. So when she wins a substantial sum in a copyright-infringement suit, she finds herself on the horns of a difficult dilemma – go to law school to defend other photographers, or travel the highways photographing America.

Pulled in two directions, her only clear choice is leaving Ithaca. But when she’s attracted to a handsome contractor and falls in love with a puppy, she’s not sure if she’s met her destiny… or just a bump in the road.

Will Lucy choose the journey that reveals her true self?

Call it Kismet is a powerhouse of speculative women’s literature. If you like complex characters, a touch of magical realism, and considering what could have been, then you’ll adore Heather Hummel Gallagher’s swerving story.

Honorable Professionby Andy Kutler

Honorable Profession: A Novel of American Politics is a compelling, hopeful story of a cynical former Secret Service agent and his idealistic daughter as they follow a longshot candidate into the perilous arena of presidential politics.

After resigning from his agency under an ethical cloud, 46-year-old Dan Cahill commits himself to rebuilding his relationship with Megan, the college-aged daughter in Las Vegas he has long neglected. She persuades a reluctant Cahill to join the student-led campaign of a popular professor competing in the Nevada presidential primary against impossible odds. As they face powerful forces conspiring to clear the field, Cahill’s deep-seated disdain for electoral politics collides with Megan’s higher ideals. Each of their faiths are tested by political allies and adversaries, all desperate for victory, no matter the costs.

Crafted by award-winning author Andy Kutler, Honorable Profession is an absorbing, modern-day political drama filled with authentic and indelible characters, each struggling with their own loyalties and principles as they duel with unscrupulous rivals and the meaning of public service.