What's Reading?

In addition to all of my fabulous hobbies, like running, going to the gym, surfing the interwebs, being a news junkie, drooling over JCrew merchandise, collecting shoes, self-educating with marketing and public relations blogs, tweeting, at least once daily visits to Dunkin' Donuts, and eating more fruit than the average person should consume (this happens only during the summer months), complaining about Boston and the not so fantastic weather, daydreaming about D.C. and Virginia, AND missing my Hokies, just to name a few, I also find time to read.

So now that you know all of my hobbies, big and small, I thought it might be fun to keep a list of all of the books I'm reading and have read recently. If I can remember to, I'll even report on how they are going, my thoughts about them while reading, and my thoughts after finishing the book.

Now, here's my take on reading: it's good for you. That pretty much means I read almost anything and everything. Yes, that means I read mindless chic lit sometimes too. But if you put it in front on me chances are I'll read it, or at least give it a try. I have to disclose one thing when it comes to reading though. During a visit to the New Bedford, MA whaling museum a few summers ago my dad purchased me a copy of Moby Dick. I never had to read it in school, but apparently the rest of the world did. I gave old Moby one hell of a try, but after about 50 or so pages I gave up. I couldn't get into it and I just couldn't go on any further. Maybe one of these days I'll dig it out and try again.

Anyway... these are the following titles that I'm currently reading, and yes, I'm typically reading more than one book at a time as I try to balance pleasure reading with self-education reading.

1. Dreams from My Father, by the man himself, Barack Obama. First thing I have to say about this book is, it's not at all what I expected and I wish I'd started reading it at Christmas when I got it. Not only is Mr. Obama a fantastic writer, but I keep forgetting that this is actually a real story of someone's life and not just another fiction read. I'm only about a quarter of the way into it, but it pulls you in and I'd recommend it to anyone.

2. World Wide Rave, by David Meerman Scott. This is a book I'm reading for self-education/career field reasons. I'm trying to keep up on all of the emerging PR and marketing tactics. Like Dreams from My Father, I've been meaning to read this book for months as well. I only started the book Monday, but so far the book is fantastic with all kinds of advice, tips, and full of stories from PR/marketing folks who've successfully created WWRaves. Scott also wrote The News Rules of Marketing and PR, which in my opinion is a must read for every marketing/PR professional.

3. I just finished Quentins, by Maeve Binchy which I borrowed of our communal bookshelf down in my apartment's entry way. It was a decent book and I used to read a lot of her stuff back in high school. Always set in Ireland, I find her books give you a view of life outside of your current surroundings. The naivity of the main character annoyed me a little bit, but the book ended well and it was an enjoyable read.

4. In the spring I also finished Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss. It's a funny little book about punctuation. Good to read if you want to brush up on such.

I think that covers everything I'm reading at the current moment and the titles I can remember having finished recently. Up on the docket I have Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. Seeing the movie inspired me to reread the book. It was great the first time around and I'm excited to read it again. I've also have One Fifth Avenue, by Candace Bushnell, the author of Sex & The City, so obviously this one's going to be good! My next self-educating book is going to be Puting the Public Back in Public Relations by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge. It's about social media reinventing and changing PR. And last but I'm sure not least, I want to reread the 6th and 7th Harry Potter books. If my 59 year old dad read them, I figure it's ok for me to do so too!

Phew, so that's what I've got for now. If you can't find me at work or pursuing one of my hobbies, then you'll find me with my nose in a book.