There’s only one thing more powerful than a book, and that’s a real life expert mentor.
But you can’t order a second-hand mentor with second-day shipping from Amazon for the cost of a grande mochachino. Mentors also don’t take kindly to dogearing.
And if you devour a mentor in one sitting, you’re liable to end up with a wicked case of indigestion.
Books, on the other hand, lay out everything in a clear narrative, are easy to refer to, extremely portable, amenable to highlighting, dog earing, and writing “!!” in the margins. You can read a book over and over without driving it crazy. You can fall into an impromptu nap using a book as a sweet-smelling eyemask.
And there’s always more.
Now that I’m back on US soil, I’m having a field day on the Amazon marketplace.
If you ever wanted a peek inside my book brain, here’s your chance.
Books I’ve Just Ordered: Biz-Related
I’ll read anything, no matter how cheesy or sleazy it may seem. I have my own beliefs and ethics to guide me, so I’m not afraid of cheese or sleaze.
You never know when you’re going to find a gem hidden under a layer of grime, a gem nobody else will find because they’re too busy being huffy and superior.
So here’s what I’ve been buying lately:
- Raving Fans
- Service Magic
- Predictable Success (a term I use myself, and used before the book was published — fun!)
- Strategy Safari (another book that uses a term I use, Safari… which is half the reason I bought it)
- The Eureka Effect
- Sun Tzu: The Art of War for Managers
- Creating Your Future
- Earning Serendipity
- Burn Rate: How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet (a truly awesome book, and remarkably evergreen — this is just a replacement for the copy I left in Vienna, since it was big & heavy and $0.01 on the used marketplace!)
- Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs (one of many books I have on presenting/speaking/storytelling… always looking to up my game)
- IKEA: The Book (combo sexy design book / fascinating corporate history)
Thassalottabooks. (And doesn’t even include the ones that aren’t biz-related, sheer mountains of cheesy novels and narrative non-fiction.)
You can clearly see current topics I’m most interested in: customer service, customer service as marketing, making a successful workplace with employees (we’re growing!), strategy and insight:
Books I’m Reading or Just Read
And, of course, the newly done or in progress list:
- Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business (finished: nothing new for me, a veteran content marketer, but I highlighted a few sections to for ideas to use when teaching others)
- Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers (finished: light, fluffy, fun, inspiring, with a few good ideas I’m going to turn into a work sheet to help keep my writing & content fascinating)
- The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working (finished: excellent! felt like I highlighted half the book; am going to reread to take more notes and make solid plans for what to do in our own working lives/company/office)
- Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It (started but lost steam, it’s not a page turner; but the authors have coined & implemented Results-Only Work Environments & I’m interested in making one too, will fight thru it for the gems)
- Today We Are Rich (a touching story — and the premise hits home, but I’m already a believer in “giving like you’re rich” & have read more inspiring versions of it)
- Double Double: How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less (about a third of the way thru… jury’s still out)
- The Optimistic Life, Or, In The Cheering-Up Business (partway thru… I love vintage self-help and Marden is a forgotten master who has coined a lot of obscure terms I love, so I’m going to work my way thru his ouvre)
My Top 10 for Freelancers, Soloists & Hired Guns
Oh, and, if you’re a freelancer, consultant, or agency owner — or are thinking of becoming one — you definitely want to check out my top 10 list of great books for you. I wrote that one from experience.
It’s over on the Freckle Time Tracking blog.
What Are YOU Reading?
What’s your biz book habit look like? What topics are you currently investigating or trying to improve upon?
