Ok, so I love more than movies and TV, I kinda really like books too.
In my mind, heaven is a super-duper big library with books full of knowledge and answers to all we have been seeking here on earth. I even have a picture in my mind's eye of this library. It looks like the library of my first-grade elementary school. An old beautiful school that was set up high on a hill. The library was large and had tall columns and cozy window seats and old books. I loved that library. Not that I ever met a library I didn't like. I spent many years of my childhood in Madison, WI. A fairly larger city with several libraries. After, I read out my local branch, I would hop the city bus (unbeknownst to anyone that may have been put in charge of me) and travel to other branches, spanning further and further out as I sought out new material to read. And, the BookMobile, did you have one? Cuz' that thing was awesome, I'm sorry if you know not of what I speak!
Anyway, as a kid, I read to escape. As an adult, I still do a bit of that but now I read to enjoy but mostly to learn. Learn what? Anything, everything.
For personal enjoyment, I read fiction. Lots of suspense (King is a favorite) and I have read almost every Oprah book club book (Lamb, Oates, Kingsolver, Hamilton come to mind). I also enjoy reads that inspire (Morrison, Angelou) and even those that confound (Cormac McCarthy) and those that paint beautiful visual pictures with their words (Marquez) and I even enjoy a frivously light read now & again (Binchey, Charolette Harris). And last but not least, I have read and been helped by PLENTY of self-help books (Toxic Parents, Co-Dependent No More, etc.)
But the point of this post is to discuss what I read to encourage and educate myself professionally. I read business books with all different sorts of focuses. From entrepreneurial books, to marketing, to sales technique, to managerial etc. I also like to read biographies and auto-biographies about people that have had great success in their life or even great learned-from-failures. There have been hundreds of books but I will list some that have made the most impact on my business life:
In my mind, heaven is a super-duper big library with books full of knowledge and answers to all we have been seeking here on earth. I even have a picture in my mind's eye of this library. It looks like the library of my first-grade elementary school. An old beautiful school that was set up high on a hill. The library was large and had tall columns and cozy window seats and old books. I loved that library. Not that I ever met a library I didn't like. I spent many years of my childhood in Madison, WI. A fairly larger city with several libraries. After, I read out my local branch, I would hop the city bus (unbeknownst to anyone that may have been put in charge of me) and travel to other branches, spanning further and further out as I sought out new material to read. And, the BookMobile, did you have one? Cuz' that thing was awesome, I'm sorry if you know not of what I speak!
Anyway, as a kid, I read to escape. As an adult, I still do a bit of that but now I read to enjoy but mostly to learn. Learn what? Anything, everything.
For personal enjoyment, I read fiction. Lots of suspense (King is a favorite) and I have read almost every Oprah book club book (Lamb, Oates, Kingsolver, Hamilton come to mind). I also enjoy reads that inspire (Morrison, Angelou) and even those that confound (Cormac McCarthy) and those that paint beautiful visual pictures with their words (Marquez) and I even enjoy a frivously light read now & again (Binchey, Charolette Harris). And last but not least, I have read and been helped by PLENTY of self-help books (Toxic Parents, Co-Dependent No More, etc.)
But the point of this post is to discuss what I read to encourage and educate myself professionally. I read business books with all different sorts of focuses. From entrepreneurial books, to marketing, to sales technique, to managerial etc. I also like to read biographies and auto-biographies about people that have had great success in their life or even great learned-from-failures. There have been hundreds of books but I will list some that have made the most impact on my business life:
- WishCraft by Barbara Sher ( a "What Color is your Parachute" type of book for those trying to figure out what they really want to do)
- Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers (title speaks for itself)
- Manifest your Destiny by Wayne Dyer (took the principles of this book on as a personal philosophy)
- Clicking by Faith Popcorn (trending for the 21st century)
- Specialty Shop Retailing by Carol Schroeder (this is by a local retailer that I admired and took all her advice in this book to heart when opening my first store)
- If Life is Game, These are the Rules by Cherie Carter-Scott (this was a life-changing book for me personally, but it comes in a "success" version too, so I included it in this list)
- Leadership by Rudi Guiliani (I really admire Guiliani's leadership principles)
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin (this man is a marketing genius)
- Now, Discover your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham (you may have seen him recently on Oprah)
And for my new #1 favorite business book of the year 2008......
- The Answer by John Assaraf & Murray Smith. (I love, love, LOVE this book! It is kind of a combination of "The Secret" meets "Business Principles 101". It is written in two parts. The first part by one partner who explains the science or brain activity behind the Law of Attraction. The second part by the other partner who couples the first part with real-world, practical business principals and advice).
3 comments:
hmmmm...I'll print this post and go find a few of these books.
Thanks for the heads up.
A couple of good books off the top of my head;
The Poisonwood Bible
Charlottes Webb
Jane Eyre
but these are just a dollop from the memory.
OK YOU TWO I CRY DOUBLE FOUL!!!!!
How do you manage to find the time and general peace and quiet to read???? Sigh I am lucky to read a page out of the newspaper while in the ahemmm (little girls room)
Rho,
Charlotte's Web & Jane Eyre makes me think of another old classic I love....Little Women
Paula,
I spend lots of time on the road, makes for lots of reading time :)
And hey! Toilet reading is the best!
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