You might be surprised to know that I don’t just read blogs and e-articles. I mean… I do. A lot. And below is a list of blogs I have been reading pretty religiously this summer, but I also read books. Real books. Sometimes in analog format (you know… paper, ink and whatnot) and sometimes in digital format via my Nook, which is quickly becoming my trusty companion on long trips and the occasional quiet morning on the beach. (At $149 now, it’s too good to pass up.)
So anyway, without further fanfare, in case you were wondering, here is what my summer reading list looks like:
Blogs (long):
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/ by Jeremiah Owyang
http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/ by Geoff Livingston
http://www.conversationagent.com/ by Valeria Maltoni
http://www.brasstackthinking.com/ by Amber Naslund
http://aarongouldagency.com/blog/ by Scott Gould
Blogs (short):
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/ by Chris Brogan
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ by Seth Godin
http://kriscolvin.com/ by Kris Colvin
http://3angelsmarketing.com/ by Karima-Catherine
I read lots of other blogs too, but these are the ones I am visiting most often lately.
Magazines (Print, not digital):
Esquire (UK), GQ (France) and Fast Company (US) – or as I call it, the triumvirate. When I can buy enhanced versions of all 3 on iPad, I’ll know that iPad is ready. Before then… Eh. We’ll see.
Here are links in case you want to subscribe:
http://www.gqmagazine.fr/magazine/ , http://www.esquire.co.uk/ , http://www.fastcompany.com/
Other occasional reads: Wired, Dwell, Men’s Health, Men’s Vogue, Inc., Runners’ World, Triathlete, GQ (US), National Geographic, ID.
News:
I keep it simple. Other occasional sources of news (aside from radio and TV): CNN.com, Yahoo, Google.
Books (Print):
Business: Sally Hogshead’s Fascinate, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s Trust Agents, and Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah’s Inbound Marketing (They’ve been sitting on my desk for a while, waiting to be read. It’s time.)
Fiction: (see images below) Ben Kane’s The Forgotten Legion and The Silver Eagle.
Books (Nook):
William Napier’s Attila trilogy: Attila, The gathering of the Storm, and The Judgement (to be released)
Simon Scarrow’s continuing Eagles series: The Eagle’s Prey and The Eagle’s Prophecy (Not exactly literature, but pretty fun and relaxing beach or poolside reading. Scarrow does a pretty good job with this series. I’m a fan.)
Chuck Palahniuk’s Pygmy: Because a reading list without ChuckyP isn’t much of a reading list.
Mira Grant’s Feed: Zombies and bloggers. Need I say more?
Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games: I hear good things.
See? It isn’t all Marketing and Social Media, is it? (I spend all day working with business stuff, marketing, brand management, communications and Social Media, so when I unwind, I like to unplug from the work stuff and read well-written fiction that has nothing to do with twitter, facebook, customer retention and corporate communications.)
Though to be fair, there’s more to it than escapism: The Attila Series are solid leadership books, and so well written that they are already helping me become a better writer. Ben Kane’s stuff deals with the nature of the human spirit and is also superbly written. The rest, I don’t know yet, but I’m sure each book will inspire me to write a few dozen blog posts at least. And there’s something to be said for just turning off the TV, ungoogling yourself, and sitting down with a good book for a few hours.
I will probably be adding more books to this list, but that’s how it’s shaping up so far. Have a great summer of reading. 🙂
Thanks for the list. Will definitely take a look at it during the weekend. Enjoy yours! Cheers
Confess, books I glance (and highlight) in a very scattered fashion, treat them more like magazines today.
Everything else, online.
Thanks for the recommendations; which led me to ask:
Ur take on GoodReads?
That’s how some tweeps are sharing this kind of material, at least book wise, with the requisite ‘Oversharing’ ‘Twee-st’
… chiming in… happy reading!
Is GoodReads a #hashtag then?
How do you distinguish which books are bought in print and which go on your Nook?
Two ways:
1. Some books, I already had. (Bought or given.) These, I don’t need to buy for the Nook.
2. Some books are too new to be released for the Nook yet. These, I have to buy as real books if I don’t want to wait for the e-reader format.
Can’t wait to hear what you think of Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky.
Perfect timing…heading to the beach for a week on Sunday and need some reading material. I have been looking for some fiction. BTW, I read lots of blogs but yours is the only “long”.
Mine has its own category: Extra Long.
ahhhhhh very good, bookmarked 🙂 keep it up, JusyKassy. http://www.flightsrhodes.org
The fact that you’ve included a pretty good zombie novel on your list simply confirms that you are an individual of discerning tastes. Looking forward to the next installment in the “Feed” series.
Olivier,
I just finished two books that you must add to your list, both by famous book cover designer, Chip Kidd.
The Cheese Monkeys and
http://www.goodisdead.com/index.php?/the_cheese_monkeys/
The Learners
http://www.goodisdead.com/index.php?/the_learners/
Some of the most entertaining fiction I’ve ever read and The Learners has the coolest book cover ever, of course. This is not one to read on the iPad, Kindle or Nook.