Books have played a crucial role in Jeff Bezos' life, in more ways than one. There's the obvious reason: The company that made him a multi-billionaire originally started as an online book retailer. He's also spent his career changing the way books are published and sold, devouring many small bookstores in the process. But the Amazon founder and CEO also has an abiding love of reading, and it has played a key role in forming him as a leader. In biography "The Everything Store," author Brad Stone describes how books shaped Bezos' leadership style and way of thinking. In fact, according to the book, there is a list of books Amazon employees refer to as "Jeff's Reading List." It includes autobiographies, business and technology reads and even a novel, and according to Stone, many Amazon executives have made their way through these volumes. How many of these have you read? 1. "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ishiguro's novel is a first-person narrative told by a butler who recalls his time serving in the army during the first World War. Stone writes that it is Bezos' favorite novel. "Bezos has said he learns more from novels than nonfiction," Stone writes. 2. "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies" by Jim Collins

This famous management read explains how companies that succeed build environments where "employees who embrace the central mission flourish," Stone writes.

The key thing about a book is that you lose yourself in the author's world. Jeff Bezos founder and CEO of Amazon

3. "Creation: Life and How to Make It" by Steve Grand

"A video game designer argues that intelligent systems can be created from the bottom up if one devises a set of primitive building blocks," Stone writes. "The book was influential in the creation of Amazon Web Services, or AWS, the service that popularized the notion of the cloud." 4. "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don't" by Jim Collins

Author and business consultant Collins briefed Amazon executives on many of the principles in this book before its publication, according to Stone. It explains how "companies must confront the brutal facts of their business, find out what they are uniquely good at, and master their flywheel, in which each part of the business reinforces and accelerates the other parts." 5. "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen

In this book, Christensen argues that companies improve by embracing disruptive innovation. Michael Bloomberg, founder and CEO of the eponymous company, once described the book as "absolutely brilliant." "An enormously influential business book whose principles Amazon acted on and that facilitated the creation of the Kindle and [Amazon Web Services]," Stone writes. "Some companies are reluctant to embrace disruptive technology because it might alienate customers and undermine their core business, but Christensen argues that ignoring potential disruption is even costlier." 6. "Sam Walton: Made in America" by Sam Walton

"In his autobiography, Walmart's founder expounds on the principles of discount retailing and discusses his core values of frugality and a bias for action — a willingness to try a lot of things and make many mistakes," Stone writes. "Bezos included both in Amazon's corporate values." 7. "Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation" by James Womack and Daniel Jones

This book explores how major American, European and Japanese companies applied a series of "lean thinking" principles in an attempt to cut costs and boost efficiency to survive the 1991 recession and grow over the rest of the decade. 8."Memos from the Chairman" by Alan Greenberg

"[The book is] a collection of memos to employees by the chairman of the now defunct investment bank Bear Stearns," Stone writes. "In his memos, Greenberg is constantly restating the bank's core values, especially modesty and frugality." 9. "The Mythical Man-Month" by Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.

"An influential computer scientist makes the counterintuitive argument that small groups of engineers are more effective than larger ones at handling complex software projects," Stone writes. 10. "The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvements" by Eliyahu Goldratt

"An exposition of the science of manufacturing written in the guise of the novel, the book encourages companies to identify the biggest constraints in their operations," Stone writes, "and then structure their organizations to get the most out of those constraints."

11. "Data-Driven Marketing: The 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know" by Mark Jeffery

"[This is] a guide to using data to measure everything from customer satisfaction to the effectiveness of marketing," Stone writes. "Amazon employees must support all assertions with data, and if the data has a weakness, they must point it out or their colleagues will do it for them."

12. "The Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb