read Archives - Tara Swiger

read

Explorer’s Club of Book Lovers – May

Hello book lovers! It's time for the book club, but let's change it up!

Last month I picked two books, but we didn't have nearly as much participation as the month before, and I think I know why. Two books is just way too limiting, isn't it? I read a few at once, and I'm a fan of quitting whenever I want. So instead of just picking 2 books for us to read and discuss together, let's just make this a space to talk about everything we're reading.

I'll share (some of) the books I read last month and the books I intend to read this month. You can share your list of books in the comments, or we can talk about any of the books that you want to read along with me.

April's Reads

Icarus Deception.

Amazon | IndieBound | GoodReads

This book was a big YES to everything I feel about my own creative business, and the way I encourage creatives in their own. It directly inspired this post about the Only Work You Have to Do, whose discussion led to this one on connection…which led to these two posts about creating a path of connection for your customer.

Market Yourself.

Amazon | Goodreads

Yes, I spent a good chunk of last week re-reading my own book, to prepare for teaching a workshop on Artist's Portfolios + Social Media. The timing was perfect since Saturday was my Book-iversary! The book launched one year ago! (You can get a signed one here.)

Sunday Morning Quilts

Amazon | IndieBound | GoodReads

I read a lot of quilt books last month, but this was by far the best – both in the I-would-make-that quality of the patterns and in the friendly, chatty beginning.

May's To Read List

I had intended to read Contagious last month…but I had to return it to the library (someone else had a hold on it) before I got to it. But it's all mine now, and I'm one chapter in. What makes this book different from all the other ones about business and social media is that it is well-researched by the author.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up is all about creative nonfiction. What it is, how to write it, and exercises to get you started. Since creative nonfiction is the best definition I can find for what I write, and I'm working on a new project, I'm super excited to read this.

After hearing Father Boyle on On Being with Krista Tippet, I wanted to read his book. I strongly recommend the recording of their conversation. It's funny, heart-breaking, and is the very best I can hope for my faith.

Lean In. Eh, I'm requested this book from the library because I'm curious about what it says to women in the workforce. I've seen a lot of entrepreneurial types saying “You don't need to “lean in” because you should start your own business!“…but while I'd love for everyone to do exactly what they love, I know that's not a choice everyone has, in every situation. Until I read this, I'm not recommending it, because it has the potential to be completely annoying.

Last week my 14 year old brother called me up to say, “I just finished Divergent. It is BETTER than the Hunger Games. You have to read it.” We're going on a family vacation at the end of June, and since 14 year old boys are notoriously hard to have conversations with (without stabbing out my own eyes), I hope to be caught up with where he is in the series so we can talk about it. (Yes, I take recommendations from everyone. And I know we have similar taste (in movies and books, if not in video games.))

I’m an affiliate for Amazon + IndieBound, which means I get soy latte money if you buy through the links I’ve used here. GoodReads is a free tool for tracking what you read. I read all these books via my library, which I strongly recommend!

What are you reading?

Explorer’s Book Club – April

Welcome to the Book Club!

Each month, 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. 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).*

Last month, we started reading The Art of Possibility and Six Thinking Hats. What did you think?

Did it change the way you think about making decisions? Leave a comment to tell me. (That's where I'll be sharing how I'm using Six Thinking Hats in my business).

April's Books

Contagious, by Jonah Berger. I haven't read it yet, but it was suggested by Jessica of Storied Yarns and it just came in at my library. I look forward to reading it along with you!

GoodReads | IndieBound | Amazon

The for-fun pick is Dinner: A Love Story, by Jenny Rosenstrach. More than a cookbook (since I don't eat meat, there's not a lot of recipes from it I'll be trying!), it's a lovely story of getting dinner on the table every day. I especially loved this bit, where she talks about how she and her husband end up “owning” recipes (Jay and I do EXACTLY this):

GoodReads | IndieBound | Amazon

*A reminder: I got both of these books at my library – so try yours! If you buy from IndieBound or Amazon using the links below, I get a tiny percentage for soy lattes.

If you’re joining me in reading these books this month, say hello in the comments! If not, what are you reading?

How to read 100 books in one year.

In 2012, I read 100 books.

That's (almost) 2 books a week.

When I set the goal (in February or March, after I realized I already WAS reading 2 books/week), I thought it was crazy. Way out of reach. But why not? I had a lot of long airplane rides ahead of me (Boston, San Diego, Seattle) and little did I know that I'd be in airports for looooong delays (almost 20 hours in LAX and 12 hours in Charlotte) and would have plenty of time to read.

The real reason I set the goal is that I love to read. Love it!
But I often tell myself not to. Instead, I should be working. Or I should be reading something better (catching up on blogs, news, the latest marketing advice). But after an intense 3 months of non-stop writing to finish the book, I decided to give myself permission to just read. As much as I wanted!

And I'm so glad I did, because I learned more about my self (and my business) than I could have from any single book. Here's how I made it happen:

1. Give yourself permission to do what you want to do.

For some reason, this seems like the most dangerous course of action. What if all I want to do is lay in bed all day in read? What if I never work again? That's the fear, isn't it? That if you let yourself set a desirable, fun goal, that you might give up on all the hard and challenging ones.

But what if that fun thing you want to do is exactly what your business needs? Or what if it's what your self needs so you can have the energy to work? What if it'll just feel great?

Turning simple permission (you're allowed to read!) into a big crazy goal, lifted my passion into something important. It suddenly mattered that I get to read everyday, it was a priority! If I hadn't committed to the big number, I would have continued to question each reading session: shouldn't I be doing something else?

2. Always have books at the ready.

The photos throughout this post demonstrate the ginormous stacks of books I brought home, each week.

The key to reading a lot is to have plenty to read.

It's silly, but I tend to worry I'm going to run out. Of everything. I “save up” the good stuff in life. I like to know I have a reserve. (Gretchen calls this as spending out – I'm glad to know I'm not alone). So I put off reading a book if I think I won't have anything to read when I finish it. And it's not enough to just books at the library, I need them next to me in the house, so I can grab it the moment I'm ready. (This is kinda like packing waaay too much knitting when you travel. You know you'll never get to it, but there is a slime chance, and you can't risk it!)

3. Always be adding.

Having books at the ready is actually a multi-level affair. There's the having the books in my home, but there's also knowing I have even more books that I want to read. I have to know what books to bring home next.

It is absolutely vital for me to have a long list of to-read books and to be adding to it constantly. For this, I use Goodreads. I find new books to read from everywhere – if it looks interesting in a book store, if a blogger mentions it, if the author has an interesting interview on Fresh Air, or On Being, if it's recommended on a podcast, if the book I'm reading mentions another book.

The quickest way to recommit myself to reading, is to add a new book to my list.

4. Give up.

Yep, I'm a fan of quitting. If I don't absolutely love the book, or I find myself studiously not-reading for 2 or 3 days, I pick up another book from the stack. I might go back to that left behind book, or I might just mark it off my list all together. There's no guilt, no pressure. Reading is something I love to do. So if I don't love reading this book, I remember that it's not me, it's the book. So I break up with it.

5. No judgement.

I'm allowed to read whatever I want to read. I know it sounds obvious, but I can't believe the hangups I have about I should be reading, or what I'm embarrassed to be reading. I'd absolutely never pick up 50 Shades of Grey (I'm much too squeamish), but I'm often embarrassed about my hippy-dippy choices of books.

But you know what? I'm the one reading it. No one else. So no one else has to approve, or think it's worthy or even understand why I'm reading it. And I remind myself, as I stand at the check-out counter at the library that the librarians see much worse than me and my stack of yoga, religion, and infertility books.

That's how I read 100 books in a year.

But it's not about reading : these rules apply to everything. Whatever it is you want to do this year (that you really, really want to do, not just because you think you should want to do it), you gotta give yourself permission, keep inspiration at the ready, quit when something isn't working for you, and stop thinking about what other people think about it!

Tomorrow: My favorite books of the year!

If reading a zillion (or even 5) books is your thing, I'd love to talk about books with you! I'm thinking about starting a super-casual book club right here. What do you think? Would you like a monthly creativity/business book suggestion?
Let me know in the comments.