People often ask me what I am reading. I’m happy to be asked. And I will keep a short list here of the books that have given me great joy and/or valuable food-for-thought. Most often, I buy my books through Amazon (Kindle). If a book I am reading is for sale at Amazon, I will make a link to it here.
• A non-fiction book by Michael Neill called:
Supercoach: 10 Secrets to Transform Anyone’s Life
I do not like the use of the word Supercoach, but I forgive M. Neill for using it because I find his ideas intelligent and practical. As with many of the “ways to be happier” books, Neill also makes some claims about what life is – that make me shake my head. But overall, I think his book is a very helpful tool for those of us who know that we sabotage ourselves daily with limiting ideas and thoughts. His approaches to and tools for creating a more joy-filled life are easy to understand and put to use. I’ve gone back to his book (and others of his) several times to remind myself of some really good techniques that have helped me to stay more balanced and clear.
• A novel by Cat Larose called:
Any Color but Beige: Living Life in Color
I know Cat Larose from my (latin) dancing days in Montreal. We often chatted after Salsa dance classes. I found her a very smart and classy woman. She had an interesting job – “selling color” – she told me one day. She traveled a lot. And she was about to spend a few months living in Italy. So I was not surprised to find her first novel a lot of fun with some profound insights about relationships, love, and intriguing ways to live a color-filled life while remaining true to one’s self. The book is sexy, funny and Cat Larose shares some deep insights into the joys and sorrows of love relationships.
• Be Excellent At Anything – by Tony Schwarz
The Book Is At This Link On Amazon: It costs about $10.00.
Be Excellent at Anything: The Four Keys To Transforming the Way We Work and Live
I’ve been reading this book over the past week or so. I bought it on a whim at a nearby book store while I waited to meet a friend for coffee.
Because I am always in search of good ideas about how to live better, work more efficiently and with greater pleasure, the title grabbed me – even if the overtly RAHRAH! look of the book gave me some pause.
Still, after reading some intro pages, I found that I liked the tone of the book, and I expected to come away with some new approaches that I could use for myself (as a singer and writer) and with my singing students.
But this book has been a surprising combination (a treasure trove!) of excellent research plus practical suggestions about specific actions to take in order to improve whatever it is that you are doing with your life.
While the book has a lot to say about people who work for companies and those who lead those companies, there was more than enough information for me, as an individual, to absorb and use.
Three examples… Read more of my thoughts on this book!
SHANTARAM
I recently finished reading the book, Shantaram, written by Gregory David Roberts. This is a big book – 943 pages. I would never give a book of this size to my mother-in-law, Olga, who is 94. She could not lift it!
However, reading a book like this with a Kindle makes the size a non-problem. And in any event, this novel does not seem long. Shantaram, which takes place for the most part, in India, is a love story. Or to be more accurate, it is a story about many different kinds of loves found in unlikely places. The setting is Bombay – often, in the slums. The writing is masterful. The story is richly textured. The people and situations are unusual and compelling. (The only passages that seemed a little forced were the few sexual situations in the book. I found them a bit frilly. But that is in no way a deterrent.)
This character-rich story is deeply moving. I recommend it highly.
Roberts writes on his web site that pretty much anything of value that is created must have LOVE as a integral part of the creation process.
“How do we measure the qualities of surpassing excellence and artistry? For the purposes of this discussion, I will confine the very long answer to this profound question to the nature of art itself. In my view, art can be defined as: any creative human expression involving work, skill, coherence, and love. Proceeding from that definition, a work (that is, a creative human expression) of surpassing excellence and artistry is one that exhibits profound manifestations of work, skill, coherence, and love.”