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PAUSE – 10.19 – Summer Reading

REFLECTION:
July is on our doorstep and summer awaits. One of the great joys of long, sunny summer days – especially when some of them are wide open ‘nothing planned’ vacation days – is the chance to curl up with a good book or two.
If you’re an everyday literary hunter and gatherer, you’ve probably got your supply on hand. They’re stacked up and backed up  – hunkered down on that shelf in your office, loitering on the floor next to your living room chair, and languishing on your bedside table.
If, on the other hand, a trip to Chapters or a visit to Amazon are in your immediate future, I’d be glad to offer a couple of suggestions for recent books on life balance, focus and renewal that might spark your interest.
ACTION:
Pat’s recommended summer reading short-list to help you step back, take stock, and create an even more compelling and satisfying future includes:
* Do More Great Work – by Michael Bungay Stanier (Workman Publishing 2010). Lighthearted and meaty all at the same time. Lots of exercises to help you surface  your preferences and map out a future of significance. Michael playfully challenges you to puzzle out answers to questions like these. What are you like at your best? What’s calling you? What’s broken? What’s possible?
* The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working – by Tony Schwartz (Simon & Schuster 2010). I’ve followed Tony’s work since he first authored The Power of Full Engagement a number of years ago. This new volume offers an air tight case for building in time and space for renewal – as individuals, teams and organizations. Grounded in research and tested by the organizations that have used and shaped his ideas, he offers practical suggestions (and compelling reasons) for making renewal a part of everyday personal and business life.
* Here are a couple of other books I’ve referenced in earlier Pause messages that are also definitely worth a read:  ‘Find Your Focus Zone’ by Lucy Jo Palladino and ‘What Got You Here Won’t Get You There’ by Marshall Goldsmith. And, of course, if you haven’t already read it, I have to recommend ‘Press Pause…Press On’ by yours truly (Check Pauseworks Shop for details: http://www.pauseworks.com/shop/)
PS Does your summer reading taste run more to fictional escapes? If so, I recommend The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. And although I have yet to read it, so can’t give you a personal recommendation, on the suggestion of a handful of friends I’ve packed Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen for my get away fiction reading. I’ll let you know what I think of it.
_________________________
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Books can be dangerous.  The best ones should be labeled “This could change your life.” – Helen Exley
It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. – Oscar Wilde
(Sheesh, Oscar – I really had to think about that one for a while!)
_________________________
RESOURCE OF THE WEEK:
Often worth exploring are Michael Bungay Stanier’s blog and website at: http://www.boxofcrayons.biz/
_________________________
READERS WRITE:
Last week’s Pause message, The Not So Classic BMW, generated quite a number of insightful replies from readers – too many to include here in the e-zine. I’ve posted a compilation of responses on my blog, so that you can explore them as well. Here’s the link to that post: http://www.pauseworks.com/wp/?p=1206

Books Pat Katz -wREFLECTION: July is on our doorstep and summer awaits. One of the great joys of long, sunny summer days – especially when some of them are wide open ‘nothing planned’ vacation days – is the chance to curl up with a good book or two.

If you’re an everyday literary hunter and gatherer, you’ve probably got your supply on hand. They’re stacked up and backed up  – hunkered down on that shelf in your office, loitering on the floor next to your living room chair, and languishing on your bedside table.

If, on the other hand, a trip to Chapters or a visit to Amazon are in your immediate future, I’d be glad to offer a couple of suggestions for recent books on life balance, focus and renewal that might spark your interest.

ACTION: Pat’s recommended summer reading short-list to help you step back, take stock, and create an even more compelling and satisfying future includes:

* Do More Great Work – by Michael Bungay Stanier (Workman Publishing 2010). Lighthearted and meaty all at the same time. Lots of exercises to help you surface  your preferences and map out a future of significance. Michael playfully challenges you to puzzle out answers to questions like these. What are you like at your best? What’s calling you? What’s broken? What’s possible?

* The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working – by Tony Schwartz (Simon & Schuster 2010). I’ve followed Tony’s work since he first authored The Power of Full Engagement a number of years ago. This new volume offers an air tight case for building in time and space for renewal – as individuals, teams and organizations. Grounded in research and tested by the organizations that have used and shaped his ideas, he offers practical suggestions (and compelling reasons) for making renewal a part of everyday personal and business life.

* Here are a couple of other books I’ve referenced in earlier Pause messages that are also definitely worth a read:  ‘Find Your Focus Zone’ by Lucy Jo Palladino and ‘What Got You Here Won’t Get You There’ by Marshall Goldsmith. And, of course, if you haven’t already read it, I have to recommend ‘Press Pause…Press On’ by yours truly (Check Pauseworks Shop for details.)

PS Does your summer reading taste run more to fictional escapes? If so, I recommend The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. And although I have yet to read it, so can’t give you a personal recommendation, on the suggestion of a handful of friends I’ve packed Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen for my get away fiction reading. I’ll let you know what I think of it.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK: Books can be dangerous.  The best ones should be labeled “This could change your life.” – Helen Exley

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. – Oscar Wilde

(Sheesh, Oscar – I really had to think about that one for a while!)

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: Often worth exploring are Michael Bungay Stanier’s blog and website .

READERS WRITE: Last week’s Pause message, The Not So Classic BMW, generated quite a number of insightful replies from readers – too many to include here in the e-zine. I’ve posted a compilation of responses on my blog, so that you can explore them as well. Here’s the link to the Responses To The Not So Classic BMW .

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Category:
Life Balance, Life in General, Overload & Overwhelm, Pause E-zines

4 Responses to “PAUSE – 10.19 – Summer Reading”

  1. Jackie Kehoe

    I have to agree with Oscar Wilde. I enjoy reading a variety of books – from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, to Brian Greense “The Elegant Universe” and everything in between. Some of choices may seem peculiar to people who do not know me, but I can snuggle up with Carl Sagan just as easily as David Eddings or Agatha Christie, with a few Elizabeth Peters and Laurie R Kings thrown in for good measure. But the true measure is when I open a true classic like the Iliad, or Beowulf. These are slow, sometimes painfully slow, and very hard to read. When I am finished I have learned more about myself and some modern classics – The Hobbit and The Lord of the Ring series by Tolkien, actually make a lot more sense. Both older and more modern classics give us a glimpse into the past and help us decipher the present. Where would the SciFi genre be without Jules Verne? or Mystery without Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie. Everything builds on something done before.

    Let there be books and someone to read them forever. (A bibliophile – with over a thousand hardcover books)

    Jackie

  2. Pat Katz

    Ah, Jackie. A true book fan. Read on, my friend.

  3. Diane Phillips

    Have read both “Memory Keeper’s Daughter” and “Water for Elephants” via our book club. Both ended up being a favorite of all members. We’ve been together about 4 years, reading approximately 1 book per month. Finding a great group of women to read with has been one of the many great joys of my life.
    As a new recipient of your newsletters, Pat, I’m looking forward to further good reads!
    Sincerely,
    Diane Phillips

  4. Pat Katz

    Glad you enjoyed them, too. Lots to mull over and talk about with both. Glad to have you on board as a reader. Enjoy and have a great summer.

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