Your Pandemic Reading List!
What a strange and uncertain time that we're in right now! I can think of no other time that the entire country has been shut down and we're all using the new term "social distancing". Well, in the words of Michael Hyatt (one of my favorite leadership go to guys), "what does this make possible?".
Y'all know that I love to read and am like the Johnny Appleseed of books, always giving them away and recommending them to others. But one of the most common things I hear is "I'd love to read but I just don't have time". So guess what? Everyone now has more time! Rather than use all of your #corona time to binge and chill, I encourage you to take just a few minutes every day toward your own development. If the thought of cracking open a 300 page business book is too daunting, just start small. Set a timer and read for 30 minutes. Or just read 10 pages a day. In a month you'll have read the whole thing. Boom! A win!
Ty's recommendations in Business/Development:
Marcus Buckingham "Go Put Your Strengths to Work". One of my favorite books on using your strengths to craft your strongest life.
Bryce Hoffman "American Icon". The story of Alan Mulally's turn around of Ford. Sounds boring but is anything but. One of my favorite role models for leadership.
Jon Acuff "Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done". Such great, practical advice for getting things done. Fun and easy, my two favorite attributes.
Chip & Dan Heath "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard". I love this and use it in workshops. Practical and interesting take on make change happen.
Malcolm Gladwell "The Tipping Point". A classic must read. Fascinating.
Marie Kondo "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". In case you've been under a rock and have missed this go pick it up. Will have you cleaning out your junk in record time (another great use of free time!).
Ty's recommendations in fiction/fun/suspense/drama:
Jane Shemilt "The Playground"
Don Tillman "The Rosie Project"
David Baldacci's series on Amos Decker
Ty's recommendations in biographies/real life:
Sarah Miller "The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets"
Demi More "Inside Out"
Ronan Farrow "Catch and Kill"
Molly Bloom "Molly's Game"
Kimberly Rae Miller "Coming Clean"
And here's what's currently on my nightstand. I'll let you know how I like these:
Brendon Burchard "High Performance Habits"
Michael Hyatt "Your Best Year Ever"
Willie Nelson "It's a Long Story: My Life"
Ty's tips:
There's no prize for slogging through a book you hate. If you don't love it then it’s ok to put it down and try another.
There's also no prize for only reading high brow literature or the latest academic research. Give your brain a break and pick something fun. I like to have both a non-fiction and fiction book going at the same time.
E-readers count, as do audible books. Magazines count. Blog posts count. It all counts.
I hate spending money on a dud book. So I don't. I get the vast majority of books from my library (physical and e-copies). If they don't have it they will order it for you. What a tremendous and under appreciated service! Only if I really like a book will I buy a physical copy.
I like to track what I've read and do reading challenges (#booknerd). I love the Goodreads app for this, and we can be friends on it!
Let me know what you are reading! I love finding new great reads.