True confessions: I like to read to read books. Sure I read blogs, but a select few. Beyond that, it’s books.
Books give me big picture thinking. I read about one a week and would do more if I had the time. Right now I’m reading The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley. It’s about as big picture as you can get.
Here’s why I like to read and share:
Books are curated quality. In a world of too much information, books represent pure information. This type of information delivery is less common these days and it has real value. Good books are well-written, professionally edited and clean. It’s a good way to spend my precious time. And its how I get new ideas. We all should be reading and talking about great books. Here are some of my posts about books. I can’t review everything but I keep a running list of what’s been on my nightstand at LinkedIn.
Book reviews help authors. Having published and hustled a book I know what it can be like to garner a little love. Will my post really make a difference? Not a big one. But over time the long tail appearance in the search engines will have value. It’s my way of saying thank you to the author.
Big thinkers find me. While it isn’t why I write these reviews, I’ve been contacted a few times by these authors with a thank you. Being on the radar of the world’s big thinkers doesn’t hurt.
What I read tells you about me. These write-ups will help you understand me just a little better. I am what I read. That hopefully connects us a bit.
Book reviews offer a little variety to 33 charts. Variety is good. It helps balance things. And perhaps most importantly, I think it’s fun.
I would love to hear what you read. I trust so many of you and I’m typically dependent upon recommendations in order to know what to read next. I’m honestly discouraged by the amount of reading I see and hear about in my network. Maybe we can change that.
What are you reading?