I have been reading a lot of books lately. I am searching for new ideas. With books, the writer has room to expand on a thought and give it substance. I am finding I don’t retain much from the popular snippet style of journalism in most newspapers and magazines.
The next problem I run across is which books to read. The number of business titles published in 2002 was in the thousands (8000?). I don’t have the money or the time to get through all of them. I am sure many of you have the same problem.
Here are my thoughts:
- I buy almost everything from Amazon. The reviews give you an idea of what people think about the book. As they get to know me, they start to give better suggestions for other things I may like. I also like that I can purchase either new or used books. Check out the best biz titles for 2003 as rated by the editors and the customers.
- Check out Jack Covert Selects from 800-CEO-READ. This Milwaukee-based company specializes in business titles for corporations and individuals. I find Jack’s reviews are through, honest, and outside the mainstream. This month he recommends:
- Every Move Must Have a Purpose: Strategies from Chess for Business and Life by Bruce Pandolfini
- American Still Life: The Jim Beam Story and the Making of the World’s #1 Bourbon by F. Paul Pacult.
- If you are a regular reader, you’ll know I am partial to Fast Company. They started a book club in October and each month they let readers vote on five books. Here are the choices thus far:
- October – Authentic Leadership by Bill George
- November – The Simplicity Survival Handbook by Bill Jensen
- December – Gray Matters – Rosner, Halcrow, and Lavin
Also, John Moore posted a Best of Marketing Books list for 2003 on FC Now.
- Check out All Consuming. The site is a combines of data from Technorati, Amazon, Weblogs.com, and Alexa to show the popularity of books on blogs. Since business blogs are still relatively new, there isn’t a ton of feedback yet. I think it will grow into another word of mouth source for recommendations.
- Finally, I hope the Business Blog Book Tour becomes another trusted source for reading suggestions. We have lined up a great set of stops for the tour. I plan to annouce the first author after the holidays.