Part of what it takes to be a successful football player is to study the tapes of other successful football players. Following the same kind of logic, one of the ways that I work to improve my writing ability is to read. I read blogs and websites on a daily basis, but I also make an effort to read more traditional media too and that includes books.
Admittedly, I don’t spend nearly the same amount of time leafing through physical pages as I did in the past. Even so, reading is enjoyable and it helps to broaden my horizons. If you’re looking for something useful to read, I hear that Make Money Online: Roadmap of a Dot Com Mogul is pretty popular. 🙂 So, what am I reading these days?
I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee. As a correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee has a fantastic sense of humor. You could say that this book is a memoir of sorts, but you can fully expect some sharp wit and cutting satire. It may not all be real, but it’ll surely be funny.
Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Departing from the usual fare of text-heavy documents, I decided to take a look at this series of graphic novels after watching the Michael Cera movie of the same name. As a nostalgic gamer geek, I found the film thoroughly enjoyable and I’m having a good time with these graphic novels too. The quirky sense of humor is refreshing.
Priceless Memories by Bob Barker. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been watching The Price is Right. It’s easily one of the best game shows of all time and this is thanks in no small part to the personality of Bob Barker. This memoir follows his career from radio to Truth or Consequences to the 35 years he had hosting The Price is Right. For this, I opted for the audiobook version, which is actually read by Barker himself. He has a great voice.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Having read a couple of Gladwell’s other books (Blink and Outliers), I knew that I had to take a look at this offering too. In it, he talks about how little changes can have monumental effects. Reaching a critical mass, these messages and behaviors can “spread just like viruses do.” It may be “pop sociology,” but it’s still quite fascinating stuff.
Game Change by John Heilemann. I’m not normally too politically-inclined, but the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic Party leadership a couple years ago was quite the drama. What’s even more fascinating are some of the “behind the scenes” stories that we never heard and that’s exactly what you find in this book. Pretty intriguing.
In some ways, you could say that today’s blog post is a bit of a holiday gift guide for the readers on your shopping list. With that in mind, what are you reading now and what would you recommend to someone else?
Interesting reading list Michael. I have to say the Bob Barker book would make for interesting reading for me. I grew up with him in his prime on Price is Right. To read his thoughts would be just fascinating. I even watched him on Truth or Consequences as a kid.
My reading is made up of tech magazines, and blogs. The one book that I am rereading is Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee’s Wisdom for Daily Living.
The Bob Barker books looks like a fun read! I’ve always enjoyed the guy myself, wish he was still doing the show but he did alot as it is, pretty cool that he did an audio version of the book, I wonder how long the tape is?
Till then,
Jean
There are six CDs, each of which is about an hour or so.