chrisbrogan.com » books

Little BIG Things – Tom Peters – Video Book Review

chrisbrogan — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:30:43 +0000

I love Tom Peters. He’s gotten me in trouble for years. Well, his books have. I finally got to have lunch with him, and then see him keynote. The affair just grows and grows. And now, Tom’s done the whole “compile some good blog posts into a better book” thing. It’s awesome. His new book, The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE (amazon affiliate link), is just outright wonderfully STUFFED full of Tom Peters-ish things about pursuing excellence. Some of it is so simple you’ll kick yourself for not doing it already. The rest of it is thought-provoking and heart-felt. You’ll get something out of this book. And it’s HUGE. Almost 400 pages. Just a big giant helping of the man himself. Thanks, Tom.

Direct link to the video

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Publishers And Authors- Some Thoughts

chrisbrogan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:35:26 +0000

I had the pleasure of speaking with Mac Slocum at O’Reilly’s Tools of Change event in NYC. Here’s what I told publishers and authors to consider:

What do you think?

Give Your Speech Change the World – Video Book Review

chrisbrogan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:30:22 +0000

My friend, Tim Sanders sent me this book by Nick Morgan, Give Your Speech, Change the World: How to Move Your Audience to Action (amazon affiliate link). I admit that as a pro speaker, I wasn’t sure what I’d take from it. Well, I took tons from it, and you might, too, either as a beginner or someone with some speeches under your belt. Here’s a quick video review:

Direct link to the video

Anyhow, it’s a keeper. Thanks Nick, and thanks Tim.

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

Linchpin by Seth Godin – Video Book Review

chrisbrogan — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:30:34 +0000

Are you indispensible? That’s what Seth Godin asks in Linchpin, his new book about the future of work, the break with our industrial past, and what we need to do, individually, to measure up. It’s a Seth Godin book, so of course it delivers. It’s much more meaty than Tribes and more actionable than Meatball Sundae, and every bit as eye opening as his other books.

Here’s a quick video:

Direct link to the video

Drive – Video Book Review

chrisbrogan — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:30:48 +0000

I really enjoyed Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (amazon affiliate link), by Daniel Pink. Dan’s got a great style about him, and this book really shows off his storytelling-meets-research style very well. As you’ll see in the video, I took lots of notes while reading the book. It’s interesting that I wrote equally as many notes about the book’s points as I did ideas for New Marketing Labs. Anyhow, check out the video:

Direct link to the video

New Job New You – a Book Review

chrisbrogan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:30:24 +0000

Here’s a review of Alexandra Levit’s new book, New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career (amazon affiliate link). I really enjoy Alexandra’s style. She’s published many good books in the career space, and this is a very timely one for the displacement era that we find ourselves in. In the video, I mention also Pam Slim’s Escape from Cubicle Nation, because I could see this book pairing well with that one. Levit’s is tightly written and focuses strongly on helping one think through a career change. It’s a great read.

Direct link to the video

Business Stripped Bare – Book Review

chrisbrogan — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:33:12 +0000

I love love loved Richard Branson’s Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur. It resonated with me as the owner of a small business, and also as someone who’s helping big businesses develop. His storytelling style is great, and the ideas that the book gives you are immediately applicable. I took tons of notes and have already started implementing them into how I do business. It’s much better written than Branson’s first two books, and has the benefit of time, too. Definitely worth reading.

Sorry for how I look in the video. This was yesterday, just before I realized I was coming down with a cold.

The Opportunities Authors Might Miss

chrisbrogan — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:59:41 +0000

Over Christmas, I blazed through and finished the incredible steampunk book Leviathan (amazon affiliate link), by Scott Westerfeld. I loved it. It’s an alternate fantasy/sci-fi telling of the events of World War I, from the perspective of two young people. Technically, it’s a “young adult” book, meant to be read by teens. (Don’t let that discourage you. The best fiction seems to be coming out of this genre.) What came next is the part I want to talk about, and also the part that authors need to think about in the current world.

The first thing I did after finishing the book was rush to see if Scott had a blog. (Obviously, he did). Second, I checked to see if he had a Twitter account (Obviously, he did.) Third, I went to see in both places whether he engaged with people. (He did).

The Opportunity for Authors

Things have changed. Fans are no longer silent onlookers in the experience of books (or art of any kind). They are participants. At the 2009 Tools of Change conference, Bob Stein came up with this new definition of a book: A book is a user-driven media where readers and sometimes authors congregate.

Let that sink in. A book doesn’t have to be a rectangle of paper. We know this. Trust Agents isn’t just paper. There’s an audio download, a kindle ebook version, etc. But that’s just one facet: the media.

If a book is a media where readers and sometimes authors congregate– CONGREGATE –it means that authors get the opportunity to build relationships in a whole new way with readers. It means that the stories don’t have to stay linear, that the ideas don’t have to stay on one side of the page, that the experiences don’t have to end at the edge of the page.

Not all authors won’t want to interact. Several are already trying their hand at the Twitters and Facebook Fan Pages of the world. Some are just trumpeting their book’s virtues. Others are interacting and making relationships happen. Some authors just want to bury themselves in their writing and produce content. That’s not a bad choice, as such.

But the opportunity to empower your audience to actually be a community is a huge one, and shouldn’t be shrugged off without consideration. Not only could authors create differently, should that be of interest, but at the very least, they have the chance to build relationships of value, that will work in their favor for future projects.

I see that when I see how Scott Westerfeld and Paulo Coehlo interact with people on Twitter. I see several other others taking the opportunity to make relationships happen. And then, I see several who either use the tools to simply crow about their books, and/or I find several who don’t bother with the tools at all.

Seems like a missed opportunity to me. What about you?

Oh, and I strongly recommend picking up Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. It’s a really well done book. I can’t wait to read book two, but then, I see he’s been out researching its setting on his blog, so I know I’ll have a while to wait.

Confessions of a Public Speaker- Video Book Review

chrisbrogan — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:18:14 +0000

While at Web 2.0 Expo, I was handed a copy of Scott Berkun’s great new book, Confessions of a Public Speaker (affiliate link). I’ve seen Scott speak a few times before, and he knows his stuff. Add to this his sense of humor, plus the fact that pretty much everyone can stand to learn some new ideas about speaking, and this book is a MUST for your collection. Here’s the video interview. (Click here if you can’t see the video.)

Thank You Amazon-Thank You Friends

chrisbrogan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:28:27 +0000

Yesterday, Trust Agents was named a Top 10 Book by Amazon.com, thanks in great part to YOUR kindness by ordering it. In just over two months, the book has made the New York Times Bestseller’s list, the Wall Street Journal Bestseller’s list, the top 5 sellers on Audible.com, and now the Top 10 Business & Investing books of 2009, according to Amazon.

I consider every one of those successes to be yours. You did all the hard work. Julien and I just typed. Thank you for what you’ve done to make the book successful, and for believing in us.

For those of you who haven’t yet grabbed up a copy of Trust Agents for your friends and colleagues yet (I know you have your copy), this week’s a great time to correct that oversight. (Okay, just kidding.)

Thank you. So very much.