Books have been a hot topic of late. Maybe Amazon’s release of the Kindle has gotten us thinking about exactly how important (or unimportant) aesthetics are in the ole’ book reading experience. Or maybe we’re all just scrambling for Christmas gifts and books make wonderful stocking stuffers.
Whatever it is, I’ve seen a lot of conversations floating around the web on Authors, Books, Writing, Reading, Buying, Bum Rushing…..and now Drew McLellan has added me in on a meme.
So here we go!
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Reading books is a passion of mine. I am very much addicted to the knowledge that they hold.
How many books do I own?
It’s surprising, but for being such an avid reader, I actually own less than 20 books. I’m a library man myself. (OKC has an awesome library system.)
Last book I read
Elements of Persuasion (Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman)
Zag (Marty Neumeier)
QBQ! The Question Behind the Question (John G. Miller)
I finished all of these books up over Thanksgiving. (I yanked QBQ! from my father-in-law and gave it a quick read. It has some great stories in it.)
Last book I bought
Join the Conversation, which I purchased during Joseph Jaffe’s Amazon Bum Rush
What I’m currently reading
Join the Conversation (Joseph Jaffe)
What I’ll read next
Rules for Renegades (Christine Comaford-Lynch) and Getting Things Done (David Allen)
Picked them both up today as a matter of fact.
What’s on my wish list
Ogilvy on Advertising (David Ogilvy), Good to Great (Jim Collins), Citizen Marketers (Ben McConnell), The Future of Management (Gary Hamel)
5 Meaningful Books (to Me)
1. The World Is Flat (Thomas L. Friedman) – This book changed so many of my personal views.
2. The Brand Gap (Marty Neumeier) – Finally someone has put my inner recognition of the “marketer vs. designer struggle” down on paper, and shows the power of these forces working together to boot.
3. Purple Cow (Seth Godin) – My introduction to Seth Godin.
4. The Guru Guide to Marketing (Joseph H. Boyett) – When I entered, what I will call, “the real world” of marketing.
5. Bill Peet: An Autobiography (Bill Peet) – This book from my childhood still makes me smile. It’s possible that I read it more than 50 times. (Drew you would like this. In part of the book Peet describes his experiences meeting and working for Walt Disney.)
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Alright, lets send this baby where we are sure to get some different points of view:
- Kelly Beall
- Jen Montgomery
- A Representative from Marker
- Jarkko Laine
- Nicky & Oliver (Food books anyone?)
Chris,
Thanks for playing along! Agreed on the lure and power of a good book. Your list had a notable work focus.
Are those your pleasure books too or are you just on a marketing jag? I get in a groove and will burn through a bunch of business books and then crave a good mystery or 3 (or visa versa).
I’m going to check out Bill Peet’s book — thanks for the suggestion.
Drew
Drew,
Thanks for inviting me in on this. It’s been a lot of fun.
I think part of my choice in books comes from my drive to catch up and stay up with the big boys (and girls) in the business, but I read them for pleasure as well. Every once and a while I will run across a business book that is more of a chore to read than it is enjoyable, but that is very rare.
The beauty of our profession is that you could read just about any book and come away with great marketing/design/conversation/storytelling lessons.
That’s amazing – I’ve been needing something new to read for the last couple of weeks. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Rachel,
Great! I’m glad I could help. If you want some more ideas check out my Facebook Visual Bookshelf. I use it as a place to remember what books I’ve read and what I want to read. There’s a lot more there.
This is one of my favorite
Funky Business by Ridderstråle and Nordström
http://www.andreavascellari.com/blog/?p=157
Andrea
Thanks Andrea. I will put it on my list.