Books have always been a place of refuge for me. They take me on new adventures, challenge my thought process, and expand my knowledge base. There’s something uniquely powerful about cracking open a new book and consuming every word. I love extracting facts, quotes, and snippets of wisdom and adding them to my personal bucket of knowledge. So it comes as no surprise that I chose the profession of evaluation, which affords me opportunities for continuous learning about programs, policies, methods, and research. To help spread more knowledge and to celebrate National Book Lovers Day (August 9), here are some of my recent and all-time favorites related to evaluation: Consulting

• Building Evaluation Capacity: Activities for Teaching and Training (Hallie Preskill)
• The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success (Jim Dethmer)

Data & Data Analysis

• Asking Questions: The Definitive Guide to Questionnaire Design – For Market Research, Political Polls, and Social and Health Questionnaires (Norman Bradburn, Seymour Sudman, & Brian Wansink)
• Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (Andy Field)
• Everydata: The Misinformation Hidden in the Little Data You Consume Every Day (John Johnson & Mike Gluck)
• Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (John Creswell)

Data Visualization

• Data at Work: Best Practices for Creating Effective Charts and Information Graphics in Microsoft Excel (Jorge Camoes)
• Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data (Stephen Few)
• Presenting Data Effectively: Communicating Your Findings for Maximum Impact (Stephanie Evergreen)
• Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations (Nancy Duarte)
• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (Edward Tufte)

I would love to hear from you! What’s on your evaluation bookshelf?