Say what? They didn't have a class in career management where you went to school? Fear not. Here's a look back at the year's most entertaining workplace books that also have something worthwhile to say.
For the too-nice nine-to-fiver
"Give And Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Manage Success" by Adam Grant
Take the idea that nice guys finish last and throw it out the door. It's simply not true, says researcher and Carnegie Mellon University professor Grant. Winning and losing in today's world of work is largely defined by how we interact with others: There are givers, there are takers and there are the matchers (those who give as much as they get). Who wins the most often? Surprisingly, those who give without expecting to get anything in return.
It seems that neither screwing your co-worker nor "tit for tat" is the best strategy for getting ahead. Instead, there's a new golden rule in business: If you invest in the success of others, you invest in your own success. Take that to the water cooler.
Penguin Group, $27.95
For sales-obsessed stiffs
"To Sell is Human" by Daniel Pink
Whether you know it or not, you're in sales — never mind what your business card says. Think about how you spend your time — pitching ideas to your boss, cajoling co-workers into using your idea, negotiating with a date about what to do on Friday night.
"To Sell is Human" equips non-sales professionals with the tools they need to be persuasive. They go far beyond the slick elevator pitches and "takeaway" closes of yesteryear and to a place where selling is a service.
Pink says that, in this day and age, a sales "win" leaves a customer better off, and the world a better place, as a result of your interaction. There's nothing sleazy about that.
Penguin, $26.95
For social media mavens 
"Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World" by Gary Vaynerchuk
If there's a king of social media, it's Vaynerchuk. The relentless e-connector says effective communication is not about the medium; rather, it's about content, context and catching customers at exactly the moment they're ready to buy. And that's not going to happen by shouting into the abyss over social media — instead, it's about the relationships you create by consistently sharing micro-stories. You can do this by composing your own posts, curating what others have tweeted or pinned, or simply by being funny.
Look around you — this is what almost every successful marketer and relevant celebrity does.
HarperCollins, $29.99
For women of the world
"Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg
Forget about holding back at work, ladies — Facebook COO Sandberg says you need to go full throttle.
That means, for example, not going on maternity leave mentally, waiting until you're actually on hiatus — otherwise, it could cost you career progress. And that doesn't mean you should do everything; instead, focus on what matters and do only that.
These are just a few of the many suggestions — some of which ring unconventional — that Sandberg offers in her tome aimed at career-oriented women. The rest of the book is a bit of a feminist manifesto geared toward motivating ladies to create a world of work in which getting ahead, thankfully, doesn't mean checking your skirt at the door.
Alfred A. Knopf, $24.95
For branding worker bees
"Branding Pays: The Five-Step System to Reinvent Your Personal Brand" by Karen Kang
Everyone has a personal brand — it's what people think of when they think about you. But your brand can be created by others — or it can be created by you. If you choose the latter, "Branding Pays" is your roadmap.
Kang is a master of the medium, and she takes the branding strategy that some of the world's best-known companies use and breaks it down into an easy, five-step process for individuals and entrepreneurs.
For example, using a cake as a metaphor, she writes that your personal brand is composed of your substance (the cake) and your personality (the icing). Both matter: The average worker changes jobs or careers 10 times over a lifetime, so it's crucial to be skilled in developing a brand and putting it forward.
BrandingPays Media, $24.95
For the wired workhorse
"Remote: Office Not Required" by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
The idea that the office is the best place to get work done is a misnomer. Consider the time and energy wasted in commuting and sticking to schedules that constrain rather than inspire creativity. Then there are all the distractions: "The modern office is an interruption factory," say authors Fried and Heinemeier. But working from home does take some adjustment — checking e-mail from bed and working through lunch, for example.
"Remote" offers tips for both workers and their employers on how to make remote jobs work so everybody wins.
Crown Publishing, $23
For Twitter-loving toilers
"Hatching Twitter" by Nick Bilton
We hear all kinds of things about working at startups: the catered meals, the foosball tables and more. What we don't hear is that dot-com founders often have competing interests.
Consider that Twitter-made billionaire Jack Dorsey took fashion classes during the company's early days and that the company's founders made some of their decisions — and, on occasion, became inspired — while blitzed out of their minds on Red Bull and vodka. These are the kinds of details woven throughout Bilton's "Hatching Twitter" in between the story of the company's ultimate success.
The result is as good as, if not better than, most best-selling fiction.
Penguin USA, $28.95
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