Author: Robert Pozen

I have a reluctance to pick up any book on productivity because, after reading about it for so long, they end up saying the same thing over and over. The only difference is the viewpoint and, sometimes, the examples.

Why get this one?

It came from an article on procrastination written by one of the foremost researchers of it in the world. This book is the one he kept referencing as part of his suggested solutions to the issue.

He also happens to be a professor in my hometown, which added to the allure of reading just one more book on the subject.

The first four chapters had a neat perspective on timeless productivity strategies, but interest wavered afterward. It is definitely geared more towards the executive or business manager who is already in the midst of their career and looking to get a handle on getting the most out of each day.

The section on email is a must read.

While there are suggestions we should get rid of email completely (a tongue and cheek title, but not too far off the mark), we’re currently in a cultural milieu of having to handle a constant influx of noise.

I would extrapolate this section (which was published in 2012) to everything you do online with a constant stream—social media, news sites, blog posts, etc. When you get to a point where you are in control of the data instead of the other way around, you can actually feel the anxiety (that you may not have known was present) melt away.

Is this extreme productivity?

Not really.

It’s simply Pozen’s answer to the question, how do you fit it all in?

If you want to know and try the ideas for yourself, it’s not a bad place to start.

Author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

I’m a sucker for anything time travel related. The interplay of changes made juxtaposed with the ethical dilemma of the consequences of those changes keeps me intrigued. It can all relate back to the human question that keeps many up at night:

“What if?”

Rusch somehow manages to combine a mystery, thriller, sci-fi time travel novel, told from multiple perspectives–that works really well. The way it’s presented is almost seamless.

I say almost because, without giving away too much, part of the mystery is figuring out who one of the characters is and their purpose. It might take you a few rounds before you understand, as a reader, you’re not supposed to know.

You can tell Rusch is a master of her craft as she handles the obvious issues with time travel paradoxes with ease. On top of which, it was really fun to go along with her thought experiments about what a future would look like with some of those paradoxes in place.

The more you dive into this book, the more you want every strand to be explained.

Unlike other mystery/thriller books where you finish it after the climax just to finish it, in this one you’re glued to the very last word.

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

This is a post-apocalyptic book done differently and done well. The nature of speculative fiction is to wander into territory that the stratus of polite society chooses to ignore, but so much of it isn’t handled with care.

The atmosphere of this book is dark, eerie and slow moving with a gentle prose and compelling story intertwined with each other throughout.

In other words—it’s beautifully written.

St. John Mandel took the time to really explore the human condition directly after a complete societal collapse. Rather than the usual, “Society collapsed and everything went to hell!” motif, it veers toward a, “Oh, I guess this is what people would do.”

Hopefully we never have to live through an event where we find out for sure, but there are no guarantees in life.

Beneath the progression of what people are doing, and what they were doing up to the point of societal collapse, there is also an incredible depth of peering into the human condition. It speaks to the individual on who they are, how they are broken and where they look for redemption.

Perhaps I’m reading too far into it, but I see it as the struggle to find meaning within ourselves in a broken world. Of course, I’m projecting, but when an author can bring someone to that point, they’ve done more than just entertain a reader: they’ve opened the reader up to themselves.

Not sure where this recommendation came from originally, but very glad I picked it up.

Author: John Scalzi

The second book in Scalzi’s The Interdependency series and one I had been looking forward to since finishing the first. What is always appreciated about his work is you can pick up his series from any book and enjoy the ride and this book is no different.

However, there was something reserved about it for the first fifty pages.

It was leaning heavily towards the political sphere of the drama of his new universe, which is fine because that’s where it needs to go, but it wasn’t pulling me in as I expected.

Then page fifty hit and the character of Kiva was re-introduced.

After that, all was good again.

If you follow Scalzi’s blog enough, you know he’s been struggling with his writing in the current political climate of the U.S. It’s obvious a lot of his issues come to light with this particular work, so expect a level of commentary mixed in with the tale unfolding.

Of course, this shouldn’t be a surprise because the role of any writer is to make commentary about the society around them.

It’s just, with Scalzi, you get it with a ton of expletives, an engaging plotline, fun characters and a story that accelerates until the final page.

The payoff is worth it and I look forward to the next in the series.

Author: Garth Nix

This book was donated to my ever-growing classroom library, along with the rest of the series, from a friend who promised it would be enticing to my students. However, he suggested I read it first before putting it on the shelf.

The suggestion to read it first was not a filtering mechanism, but he knew I was a lover of fantasy and would enjoy this as much as any other I’ve read. Fifty pages in, I wasn’t convinced.

That’s the usual point in the book where I turn it in and move on to something else. However, this was written in the nineties and I had to remind myself to get into the mindset of that era where fantasy was a slow grind with little, if any, payoff.

It wasn’t uncommon for a book to go nowhere for five hundred pages, but the world kept you in (cough Robert Jordan cough).

The worldbuilding on this one was fantastic and the background to the story was interesting, not to mention it had a strong female lead. All things that would’ve hooked me for that time.

Powering through, I finally hit a point in the last third of the book where things accelerated. It felt like, “Yes, this is what I came for now reward my patience.”

Unfortunately, it accelerates into the second book.

When relaying my frustration to my friend, he replied that yes, this is a sloooooooow burn, but when it ignites, it goes crazy. I saw some of that here, but I wish I could’ve seen more.

However, I’ll still make my way through book two.

Author: Mortimer J. Adler

All good advice cycles back.

In 2004, our professor informed the class this was the most helpful book he’s read. Considering it was written in the 1940s, advice that was still relevant for almost sixty years should’ve been a signal to me to read it then.

Alas, I learned it slowly, in bits and pieces over a much longer period than the few days investment this book would’ve required.

The crux of the book is to turn a person from a passive reader to an active reader. In an information age where we are quickly being transformed into passive recipients and instantly forgetting what we consumed (or manipulated into taking it at face value), heeding the teachings of Adler adds a powerful aid to the toolbox.

There is a stream of advice suggesting we learn how to speed-read, which was also the advice of a previous presidential administration in the sixties, but speed-reading only gets you through the text. An increase in speed, even if you believe it can be done with the equivalent increase in comprehension, won’t do anything for your mind.

It’s the same as watching a sitcom that happens to come on, but you don’t feel like changing the show or getting up. So you watch it until the end. The time has passed and you may have gotten some mild entertainment out of it, but that’s where it ends.

The irony is being an active reader naturally quickens your reading speed. You read slow to finish books faster, with more comprehension and springboard into other books.

If you’re not familiar with engaging with a text, arguing with the author, making notes in the margins, throwing away your highlighter and putting down a book to let certain points sink in, this book can be your guide.

Author: Seth Godin

Seth Godin writes simply, but his message is layered with incredible depth. Think of a chef who serves you a simple steak and potato dinner, but cooks it so well it tastes like something beyond you’ve had before.

His daily blog posts have been on-par, or ahead, of the times. It’s really what inspired me to keep going with my work even if only a few (or nobody) follows it.

For me, here’s the summary of the book I walked away with:

Find the smallest possible audience who will care about your work, who needs to hear it, see it and have it, then focus on just them.

However, there is a lot more going on in this book and each read through will provide another layer of insight. What’s amazing, though, is that Godin manages to stay relevant after talking about marketing for close to (over?) 20 years!

There were many points in the book where I yelled out, “Yes! This! This!!”

While I did feel he was somewhat repeating himself, or rather, hammering home the same message in different ways, I attribute this to the lens in which I was reading. If you don’t understand the nuance of a field, anything will sound like repetition when looking at it in broad strokes.

From a customer, and business, point of view, he gets it… but he’s always gotten it. It just might not be as flashy as the latest fad.

Author: Gordon Korman

No word of a lie, Gordon Korman is the reason I’m a prolific reader.

While I spoke about my love of him in my Slacker review, I can’t stress enough how wonderful he’s been for getting young people to read. I’m currently hooking one of my colleague’s sons on reading by sending him my library of Korman books.

He’s loving them and asking for more.

Korman’s books always have a fun flair to them and a silliness that wraps itself in a lesson about taking life in good nature. The Unteachables, however, really strikes a nerve with the teaching profession.

Especially for me.

Especially this year.

There have been moments when I’ve hit the end of the day and asked myself,
“What’s the point?”
It’s been a tough year and I’m feeling burnt out.

Along comes this book and it starts with a teacher who once had a passion for his work, now grinding it out until retirement. As added punishment for his apathetic attitude towards teaching, he is sent to teach a sectioned group known as the Unteachables.

Think the worst classes you’ve heard of, been in or seen and that should give you an idea.

The book jumps perspectives every chapter, with each one being unique and actually feeling like you’re getting a different perspective on what’s happening.
Right there is a sign of a master author at work.
It was the first scene when our protagonist teacher, Mr. Kermit, dumps a mug of coffee on an open flame started by the students that got me to smile. Then it jumps to the student perspective where all he does is sit at the desk drinking coffee and handing out worksheets never expecting them to be done.

All I could think is, ‘I get why this teacher got to this point.’

There’s some obvious development and growth that happens with all the students, and Mr. Kermit, which had me closing the book and reflecting on why I joined the profession.

Then I realized any book that has me reflecting on my own life is top notch and I’m thankful to have read it when I did. It did more for me than any other motivational blog/video/teacher instruction manual with “ra-ra” chapter.

Thank you Korman.

You did it again.

Author: Hans Rosling

A lot of the non-fiction I read is out of personal interest and, aside from the niche people like myself who would enjoy it, I’m particular about those I recommend them to… if any.

However, sometimes, a book comes along that after reading it, you not only feel smarter, but compelled to tell the world they need to read it.

Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, is one such book.

This book is another.

If you haven’t seen any of Rosling’s TED talks where he takes data and shows the actual state of the world (not just perceived biases skewed by poor media coverage), you know this doctor is a treat.

His work is not only outstanding, but he’s also entertaining to listen to. This book captures the essence of his life work and his speaking style to present a factual state of the world today.

I dread reading non-fiction from traditional publishers because of their demand to the author to hit a word count. Unless the author is verbose in their argument and research, you end up getting a lot of filler material.

Not here.

Every chapter is the perfect length and you finish each one feeling smarter and more informed. If anything, I wish the book was longer because I could listen to and read him all day.

Unfortunately, Rosling passed away in February, 2017.

This book represents his last great effort to inform the world of what the world is really like, where we really need to focus our attention and how to think critically.

It succeeds in all accounts.

Author: Melissa Maker

Let me clear one thing up: I enjoy cleaning.

Like writing, it’s a meditative act with something to show for it in the end. I also grew up in a household where the floors were so clean you could eat off them at all times (I think some of my friends tried).

My wife pokes fun at how my family gets excited about cleaning products.

However, one thing always irked me—I was really bad at it and couldn’t figure out why. This frustration recently coupled with my limited time to do it and I finally had enough.

In desperation, I turned toward the resource that millions of people use every day: YouTube.

After spending some time separating the wheat from the chaff (some videos are well produced with weak information, other videos are badly produced with great information and some videos are just bad), I came across Melissa Maker’s Clean My Space channel.

Intrigued with her gentle approach, I opted to pick up her book rather than sift through the entire video collection.

I’ve always maintained a non-fiction book is worth the price if it can give you at least one insight that will change your perspective. Maker did that here in spades for me.

After reading her work, I was able to identify why my cleaning looked like a three year old wiped things up with her snotty sleeve and how to clean effectively with the limited time I have in a day.

She takes you step-by-step, room-by-room and product-by-product (including recipes to make your own) on how to clean your place. In speaking with my cleaner, a veteran of 30+ years in the industry (and a marriage saver the last few years), her advice is pretty on-point.

The most important thing she did for me, however, was getting me to see my cleaning habits from a different perspective.

For that reason, it was worth picking up.

If you’ve visited my house, or been in my car, the last few years, I apologize. I know better now and excited to show you the turn-around.