I am so delighted by your response to the book club idea! Before we jump into it, a few of you have asked over the last year what my favorite books have been, and while I find this oh-so-hard, here are my picks. Each book is linked to it's Goodreads page.
Books I didn't expect to like, but did:
Born to Run
Decoded, by Jay Z. Seriously! I could quote this all day.
Books I can't believe I hadn't already read:
Life Together, by Deitrich Bonhoeffer
The Bourne Identity – completely different than the movies, but that same kind of action and fun!
Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury. – “Like what YOU like!” Indeed!
Most engrossing:
The Magicians
Gone Girl – there's a reason it's a bestseller and it will leave you gobsmacked
Wolf Hall (and the sequel) – my lifelong love affair with historical fiction was deeply satisfied
Everyone should read…
All of the Nora Ephron books. It might be because I watched When Harry Met Sally for the first time when I was 16 on February 14th (after being grounded and missing my first Valentine's Day with a boyfriend), but Nora Ephron is the voice in my head. To get her work is to understand me.
Quiet. Whether you think you're introvert or not, you're in some relationship with one. Especially important if your kid might be introverted! Fascinating and encouraging and reading passages out loud to Jay has totally changed the way he understands me, and our relationship.
Daring Greatly. I talked more about why I loved it (and needed it) here. I gave it to my mom for Christmas and want to give a copy to everyone who lives in the world!
Steal Like An Artist.
Please Understand Me: Temperament, Character, and Intelligence. Ignore the lame-o title and read this to understand yourself and your loved ones better. Even if you're not a personality psychology obsessive (like moi), you're going to like it. Another book that I read Jay, leading to epiphanies about everyone we're connected to.
(Want more? Here are my fave books of 2010 and you can see all the books I read in 2012 here. )
Explorer Book Club
We're going to keep this little club super-simple. Each month, near the beginning, I'll suggest 2 or 3 books that you might like to read – one will be a biz-explorer pick (something to help you in you navigate your business) and one will be a general fun (or creativity) pick. If I fall in love with a piece of fiction, I'll share that. I'll provide links to Goodreads (so you can easily add it to your queue), IndieBound (buy from your local bookseller) and Amazon Kindle (if available).*
I'm an affiliate for Amazon + IndieBound, which means I get soy latte moneye if you buy it through the links I've used here.
At the end of the month, I'll open a discussion on the books, both here and on Facebook. You can chime on what you read and if you liked it, or suggest other books we might like to read.
Sound good?
This month's books:
The Art of Possibility, by Rosamund Stone + Benjamin Zander. I have clients whose entire businesses have been shifted by this book. (And another who insists all of her clients read it before they work together.)
Goodreads | IndieBound | Amazon
6 Thinking Hats, by Edward DeBono. It's an old-school business book (from the 80's!) but has a great system for making decisions or thinking through possibilities (an absolute must-have skill for an entrepreneur.) I just finished it this morning!
Goodreads | IndieBound |Amazon
If you're joining me in reading these two books this month, say hello in the comments! If not, what are you reading?
*This low key approach is inspired by Gretchen Rubin's book club. If you like reading about happiness, you can join hers here.
