Happy weekend, readers, and happy Labor Day weekend to my fellow U.S. Americans. I hope you’re all able to get some down time this weekend, unless you, like me, are taking part in Jami Attenberg’s Mini 1000 writing exercise this weekend, in which case, I hope your labors are fruitful.
If you’re in need of some fresh reading material to wind down your summer and move into fall, here are five goodies I’ve selected just for you:
Continue reading “Friday Five: Labor Day weekend reads”Five things that caught my eye recently:
Image via Pexels.
Why Steve Almond’s new book about the craft of writing is worth a read.
I’ve read my share of books about writing in my time, and most of them have given me at least a nugget or two of wisdom or inspiration. A new entry to the craft genre by Steve Almond, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories, which came out in April, is one of the best I’ve read in a while.
If you’re a writer, you should read this book. Here are five reasons why:
Continue reading “Friday Five: Thoughts on Steve Almond’s ‘Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow’”“Indeed, I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.“
Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own” (source)
Today is the first Monday of Women’s History Month, held each March to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women throughout U.S. history. Reflecting on Virginia Woolf’s comment, and how women have long been overshadowed in the world of literature (among other fields), I’m using today’s post to highlight a few of the women writers whose work has influenced my writing and thinking in recent years.
Continue reading “Celebrating women writers”Inspired by this list of 11 marketing books for summer reading, I thought I’d share what’s on my marketing-related reading list for the summer:
Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action, by Rohit Bhargava. I’m about two-thirds through this book about the importance of building trust in our marketing. Look for my review of this book soon.
Happy Customers Everywhere: How Your Business Can Profit from the Insights of Positive Psychology, by Bernd Schmitt, a business prof at Columbia University. I’ve been getting more interested in positive psychology movement since watching Shawn Achor’s TED talk, The Happy Secret to Better Work (highly recommended). In Happy Customers Everywhere, Schmitt talks about the latest positive psychology research and how it can help organizations build stronger connections with their constituents.
What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and China’s Modern Consumer, by Tom Doctoroff. Now that the campus where I work has started building a new university in China, I thought it was high time for me to start learning more about this powerful player on the global scene. This book looks like a promising introduction to modern China and its marketplace.
Empathetic Marketing: How to Satisfy the 6 Core Emotional Needs of Your Customers, by Mark Ingwer. More psychological insight for marketing.
18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, by Peter Bregman. This one comes highly recommended by Karine Joly, one of the most productive bloggers I know. Read her 1-1-1 review of this book.
I hope I get through all of these over the summer. Maybe I should read that productivity book, 18 Minutes, first.
What’s on your list? What are your recommend summer reads for marketers? (Or if you’re tired of marketing books, you might want to take a cue from Dave Van de Walle and take a break from marketing books this summer.)
Flickr photo: Beach Reading by aafromaa.
