Electronic Specifier has reached out to its network to ask: what books would you recommend reading in 2026? And the responses did not disappoint.
From personal journeys to business advice to fiction – there is something for everyone to enjoy. So sit back, put on some cosy socks, and get lost in these book recommendations for 2026.
The 5 Graces of Life and Leadership, by Gary Burnison
In this book, CEO of consulting firm Korn Ferry explores leadership, emphasising the five kinds of grace that leaders absolutely must have to lead their teams in today’s evolving workscape. This book shows how the best leaders make their teams feel comforted, safe, and secure and that they’re headed in the right direction.
Power Up: An Engineer’s Adventures into Sustainable Energy, by Yasmin Ali
In this personal journey, readers take a behind-the-scenes tour of the energy system and the struggle of climate change.
Journeying across the globe, Ali reveals the bigger picture, from solar farms in the desert to power stations in the mountains. Learn where we get energy from, how it is moved, and how it is used around the world, and why understanding how the whole system works is essential in the transition towards a clean, green future.
Valued at Work: Shining a light on bias to engage, enable, and retain women in STEM, by Lauren Neal
This book is inspired by real-life stories from someone who has been there and experienced the frustration of navigating a traditionally male-dominated technical sector.
Neal has developed tried-and-tested approaches that male-dominated organisations can adopt to motivate and retain women.
Building Women: How everyone in construction can win, by Faye Allen
Talking about the problems that both men and women face in construction, Allen writes a call to action – showing how everyone can work together to promote gender equality, improve the culture in construction, and make things better for everyone. Based on research with over 1,000 participants, this book highlights women’s lived experiences and workplace challenges and offers tangible solutions to bring about change.
The Mentor’s Journey: From Learning to Leading, by Bamidele Farinre
Following Farinre’s journey from childhood to mentorship, this practical book explore mentorship power to transform personal and professional growth. Using her own experiences and research, Farinre explores the ways that mentorship can shape character, guide emotional intelligence, and help individuals to navigate through the complexities of their careers.
HER ALLIES: A Practical Toolkit to Help Men Lead Through Advocacy, by Hira Ali
The practical book offers men the tools they need to become powerful advocates for gender equality. Inviting men who are willing to take the first step to transform good intention into meaningful action, asks those men with the courage to read the book to embark on a journey that ends only when women are offered the same opportunities, recognition, and respect that men already have.
Take Your Career to the Next Level with Practical Advice and Inspiring Stories, by Tarah Wheeler
In this book, startup CEO Wheeler interviews professional women about the obstacles they have overcome to pursue what they love. These inspiring tech-focused stories offer career advice on salary negotiation, successful tech interview techniques, mentorship, how to start your own company, and lots more.
Beyond the Pipeline: Redefining Value, Success, and the Future of Women in STEMM—Together, by Cassie Leonard (ed) et al.
This book brings together the stories and experiences of 17 women in STEM. Setting out to dismantle the myth that women in STEMM fall out of careers because of a leaky pipeline, this book explores the systemic pressures that force women to question whether or not they remain in tech.
Making Flex Work: Defining Success on Your Own Terms, by Wendy Cocke
How does flexible work and how does it work for you? This book looks at how to reframe your professional life to consider customising a schedule that works for all areas of your life. Using simple engineering principles and psychology, this book helps you to redefine professional boundaries so you can be the best version of yourself possible. Both at work and at home.
Women in Engineering – Gender, Power, and Workplace Culture, by Judith Mcilwee and J. Gregg Robinson
This book looks at the women who because engineers in the 1970s and 1980s and studies how they fared in the most male-dominated profession in America. Looking at the lives, experiences, and attitudes of engineers, it seeks to the unequal patterns of career development for women and provides insights into improving women’s careers in traditionally make-dominated occupations.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg
Lean In draws on Sandberg’s own experience of working in some of the most successful global businesses and explores what women can do to help themselves, and make small life changes that will have a big impact.
These inspiring true stories recount the women code breakers who helped to win WWII. During the war, women played an active and pivotal role beyond the typically associated roles of nurses or secretaries – they actually held top-secret jobs and were integral in supporting the Allied effort. This is a collection of stories about these inspirational women.
The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu
We move now from non-fiction to complete fiction in this recommended Sci-Fi. The Three-Body Problem is set during China’s Cultural Revolution, where the protagonist witnesses the brutal murder of her father. Decades later, police ask a nanotech engineer to infiltrate a secretive cabal of scientists and his investigation leads him to a mysterious game and immerses him in a virtual world ruled by the intractable and unpredictable interaction of its three suns.
