My Recommended Reads for September

Lately I have been on human relations/communication theme in my reading. Usually, my habit is to jump around in different subjects; however, this time I read 3 books back to back in this subject. It wasn’t planned that way, but one of the books arrived via Amazon right away which I began to read. Soon after the other 2 both became available on my library hold account at the same time. So, I had three informational books to power through, two in a short period of time. Additionally, I purchased an Amazon First Reads for $1.99. On a side note, I am really loving Amazon First Reads and highly recommend it! Back to the recommended reads. It’s not often that I read four great books back to back, but it does happen sometimes. So, here are my recommended reads for September.

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. The first read and probably the best, this book is how to make gatherings more intentional and purposeful. Priya Parker challenges the effectiveness of traditional gathering practices and why they need to change. As someone who tends to lean strongly towards traditional practices, I found her arguments compelling and worth thinking through. The author has an impressive career in organizing events worldwide and the results speak for themselves. She seeks to have people interact with each other on a more real level and leave feeling like they’ve benefitted from being there. Her practices are widely applicable in all gatherings whether it’s a dinner party or a business conference. Her passion for bridging people together in a meaningful way shines here and she clearly does it well. If you are looking to boost the quality of your gatherings, then you will enjoy this read.

Because Internet, Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch. This is another very readable book on how the internet has changed language and why adapting is important. Coming from a community of strict online grammarians this book challenges everything I hold dear. However, the author makes a good case in establishing the whys and hows in our linguistic evolution including a lot of background history. For example, how emoticons came about and their importance in communication. Most importantly, her book highlights why miscommunication is so frequent online, making clear the need cooler heads. Her book gave me more than a few points to think about next time I want to get super picky about that comma or misspelled word 🙂

Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle. In this book the author is fighting to reclaim something that is disappearing: conversation. Sherry Turkle has a three-decade career in studying the effects of technology on people. What she presents in this book is a sobering picture of the new relational landscape with the internet. She is not anti-technology, but she argues for restraint so as not to lose our humanity. The new trends in relationships and communication should make us think long and hard about the role of technology in our lives and its very real addictive nature.

A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean. In a previous post I said I would read more by this author and did. Amazon First Reads had another new book by Julianne MacLean out last month, and I decided to pick it up. In this book, she dips into historical fiction with the story of twin sisters during WWII. One of the sisters is strongly suspected of being a spy due to her affair with a high-ranking German soldier. Caught in the middle, the other sister must choose between loyalty to her husband, an English official or her sister. The backdrop of this book is a modern day setting with a granddaughter looking for answers in her family history after learning that grandma is hiding a whole lot of secrets. This is a perfect weekend book or travel read; not heavy, but very enjoyable.

Have a great week and make sure to pick up a book to read!