A few books that made a lot of sense to me were:

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Covey

Think and Grow Rich - Hill


Some of the novels I have enjoyed reading most were:

The Godfather - Puzo

The Eye of the Needle - Follett

The Master of the Game - Sheldon

One of the most touching stories I have ever read was by O Henry called "The Last Leaf".