
Randy Recklaus has served as the Village Manager of Arlington Heights since 2014. Previously, he held positions with the communities of Clarendon Hills, Batavia, and St. Charles, DeKalb County as well as the private sector. He lives in Arlington Heights with his wife and two children, and his two cats, Claudius and Pip.
Dune
By Frank Herbert
This series of books have been favorites of mine for many years. I am an unapologetic sci-fi fan and love how the genre helps illuminate our world in a way other books can't. Dune challenges the reader to think hard about leadership, politics, religion and human nature and the difficult tradeoffs that leaders and societies always make in the name of progress. I reread them every couple of years and use them to remind myself of the unforeseen and unintended consequences of any decisions.
Meditations
By Marcus Aurelius
The meditations were the private journals of Aurelius and were never meant to be published. I've always found that they reach across the centuries in a relatable way to show how he worked at being a centered and good person in his everyday life despite being an absolute ruler of a huge empire with huge problems. It reminds the reader that no matter who we are or when we lived, we struggle with the same issues in our daily lives. This book has always helped remind me to try harder to be humble and improve myself in small ways every day.
Bluebeard
By Kurt Vonnegut
I think everyone can relate to the story of writer Rabo Karabekian. He is an elderly artist who is trying to keep his true self hidden from the world as he runs away from intimacy in the later years of his life. It is a story of personal growth and redemption and always reminds me it's never too late to learn and change.
The Aubrey–Maturin Series
By Patrick O'Brian
These are 20 (and a half) historical fiction novels that follow the careers and friendship of Captain Jack Aubrey and his best friend Doctor (and sometimes spy) Stephen Maturin over two decades. On top of being great adventure stories, they are great books about leadership, friendship, and the comedy of how people can be very successful in some parts of their lives and utter failures in others. These books are great stories of how eccentric and flawed human beings can work together to achieve great things