Reads

After an injury that ended her ballet career, Maggie Austin enrolled in the L’art de la Pâtisserie program at the French Pastry School in Chicago and discovered a passion for creating sugar flowers. When she posted her original cake designs online, the photos quickly went viral, leading to features on the Today show and HGTV, along with baking gigs for high-profile events like Hollywood shindigs and White House Christmas celebrations. In her book, Maggie Austin Cake: Artistry and Technique (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), the baker lays out step-by-step instructions on how to create sugar frills, rosettes, and blossoms, and includes incredible detail shots of her work-of-art cakes.

Caterer Peter Callahan, a BizBash innovator, is widely credited as the force behind the mini-burger and bite-size comfort-food craze. In his new book, Peter Callahan’s Party Food: Mini Hors d’Oeuvres, Family-Style Settings, Plated Dishes, Buffet Spreads, Bar Carts (Clarkson Potter), the renowned New York caterer reveals the lessons he’s learned in his 30 years of entertaining, with stories and photos from past events and ideas for show-stopping tablescapes, buffets, seated dinners, and bars. The book, which will be available this month, also offers tips and recipes for creating Callahan’s signature whimsical mini hors d’oeuvres, allowing readers—from novices to seasoned hosts—to master the art of memorable parties.

Marco Giberti and Jay Weintraub’s new book, The Face of Digital: How Digital Technologies Are Changing The $565 Billion Dollar Events Industry (Lioncrest Publishing), sounds the alarm, saying that technology is in the early stages of disrupting the industry—in the same way that it’s roiled retail and publishing. But Giberti and Weintraub’s ultimate message is that tech is an event planner’s friend, not enemy. The authors walk through the many ways that technologies such as mobile apps, smart wristbands, beacons, and virtual reality can create better experiences for attendees, aiding rather than eliminating their face-to-face interactions.

Bonus: Listen to our interview with Giberti.

Last year, Facebook boasted more than one billion active users. But marketer Nicholas Kusmich believes that the key to using the massive social media platform is to be seen by the right people at the right time. In Give: The Ultimate Guide to Using Facebook Advertising to Generate More Leads, More Clients, and Massive ROI (Lioncrest Publishing), Kusmich explains his strategy for targeting Facebook ads and writing content that’s less about selling and more about giving an audience something they value. The tome includes a case study that focuses on using this strategy to drive ticket sales for a live event.

“The bottom line is if you’re really good at what you do, you have the freedom to be who you really are.” That’s one of the Sam-isms, or little messages of wisdom, in entrepreneur Sam Zell’s memoir, Am I Being Too Subtle? Straight Talk From a Business Rebel (Portfolio). The self-made billionaire tells the story of how he honed his deal-making skills and created a culture where his employees stay in their jobs for decades. Zell also goes into the “creative, mind-stretching” events he throws for his colleagues and friends—from treasure hunts in limos to Elton John concerts.