Resources I Love and Use Often

May 28, 2006

Let’s try this again, shall we?

The following links are to books and products that I love and use often. I would’ve said daily, but I don’t use some of them every day.

The 8th Habit — Dr. Covey’s 7 Habits was a big seller in the 1990s. I think the 8th Habit is a great re-telling of the best of the habits, but also a great new structure around which to consider all the lessons. The latter 1/3 of the book gets spiritual and religious, and that’s not for me, but the first bunch is really worth it.

Re-imagine! — Tom Peters is DANGEROUS! When you read him, it makes you want to do subversive things, like demand the best from your organization and yourself. It makes you want to rush out and be very effective. Read this book at your own risk.

Core Performance Essentials — Mark Verstegen’s fitness book is not a beginner’s fitness book. However, it’s got all kinds of really great exercises that are for flexibility, core strength, agility, and all in a very holistic way. It’s a great book for picking up really effective exercises to get things done for you and your fitness.

Story — This is a new favorite of mine. I only recently purchased it, but it’s already replaced my previous favorite writing books of all time. In fact, I gave away all my other writing books after getting through only the first 70 pages of this. It’s a great tool for understanding how to write fiction.

The Shipping News — One of my favorite fiction books of all time. I refer to it often for its use of language. Proulx writes short sentences. She is an influence. I write short. Because Annie wrote short.

Eating Well for Optimum Health– Dr. Weil’s book is excellent at giving you as much science and medicine as you can handle while learning why to eat which foods. It’s a little dry at times because of this (the audio got me through), but it’s a fascinating read, and worth your time. I use the book often to remember glycemic index numbers and the like.

Rise of the Creative Class– This is kind of a “bible” book to what I believe with regards to people and their work lives. So much so, in fact, that I think Florida’s book will inspire the book I write about working my way in the 21st centure. This is a great read and a must-own for all the times you’ll want to point it out to people.

Podcast Solutions– Since taking up podcasting, I’ve needed this book almost every time I’m ready to mix down. I met the author, Michael Geoghagen, and it makes it all the better. Great for someone interested in breaking into podcasting.

Business 2.0 Magazine — One of only three or four print magazines I actually still need in print. Business 2.0 in print features all the great graphics of XPLANE, not to mention articles that I often rip out and refer to daily for weeks at a time. I often find myself poking my finger at a certain line over and over, nodding, and saying, “Now that’s what we’ve gotta do.” (Never is it what I REALLY end up doing.)

Apple iPod Nano (2GB)– My generation-one iPod finally died. :( (Poor Lazarus). I got a Nano (as a father’s day gift) after trying to endure the radio for only four days. I listen almost 100% to podcasts, and this made it much nicer to get back to my babies. If you want podcast suggestions, I’m building that into a wiki, to be revealed shortly.

Wacom Intuos 3 Graphics Tablet - I use this for drawing the stuff you see on Drawbox, and I use it as my primary mouse these days, too. (I actually own the Intuos 2, but you can’t get those new any more, sadly). If you’re into art, I’d recommend this and a cheap scanner (as pen/pencil and your hand are still the best starting point).

The purpose of the list was just to tell you what kinds of things I use as resources in a given day. I guess when I look up at the list, I should add a million-ty-two websites, like bloglines.com, lifehack.org, most of your sites, etc. But let me put that in another post. Chew on this for a few.

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