Read 30 books in 2007

I started reading this some time last December, so I’m going to include it here anyhow. Yes, as I said before, I’m all about technical loopholes.

I enjoyed reading this though it felt like a much longer version of text book from my Corporate Strategy course. Still, very entertaining and provoked a few thoughts here and there. The business cases quoted are fresh and timely, so I was able to relate to the events described adequately.

Highly recommended for those wanting to learn about how success seduces businesses into a false sense of security or permanent greatness.

At the least few pages of this book, I had to fight the urge to cry. It felt oddly cathartic reading this book as it describes some of my worst fears where love and longing is concerned. Very vivid and descriptive, verbose and rich in imagery and wonderful detail. If only all of us could have the endings like the one penned for Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza.

This book was written in parable form. Essentially it teaches the key concepts of Engaged Leadership which consist of the following:

• Directional Leadership
• Organisational Leadership
• Motivational Leadership
• Character Core

I found this very relevant since I’m encountering some challenges related to employee engagement. Am hoping to see how I can convert the key learning points into action items which can be practised and facilitated amongst the managers. All in all, a timely read and hopefully this leads to a feasible and effective implementation.

This book was recommended to me by one of my colleagues. I’m glad I picked this up. Very interesting and thought-provoking. The whole change management topic, which can be very dry at times, was described in a very delightful manner, complete with cute illustrations. The narration was witty and concise, which made this book a very quick read. I finished it in three seatings, within 2 days.

Highly recommended for everyone who deals with change, especially the change agents who are responsible for making things happen.

^{p/s: Doubt I’ll make it to thirty books by 31 Dec, but am trying my darndest best.. :p}

A collection of short stories containing bits and pieces from history, leadership tributes and poignant quotes. A nice and easy read, simple to digest and pretty thought provoking.

Like other Picoult books, this one combines a mix of intrigue, family drama and unconditional love.

Mariah White finds her cheating husband in bed with another woman. Not for the first time either. He world unravels fast but everything goes awry went her daughter, Faith develops an imaginary friend. Not just any friend, she claims that her friend is God. If that wasn’t enough, Faith starts quoting passages from the bible, seemingly able to heal the sick and began bleeding stigmata-like.

This story chronicles the bond between mother and child, the dividing line between beliefs and disbeliefs and that miracles happen in everyday life.

I thought this book was pretty neat, packed with practical ideas I could implement right away. One particular tip was the “Law of Three”.

• Always make sure you interview at least three candidates before making a hiring decision
• Always get at least three people to interview the candidate
• Interview the candidate at least three times, ideally at different locations each time

Looking forward to sharing this with my peers and colleagues.

Like Haddon’s previous work, this was an easy read. Light and entertaining. The storyline takes some time for one to follow. There are many colourful characters one had to contend with.

George, the father thinks he has cancer and fears dying. Death preoccupies his thoughts and he believes he is going mad. Jean the mum is trying her best to maintain her secret love affair.. well, secret. Katie the daughter wants to marry Ray, or does she? Jamie the son falls in love properly for the first time, but doesn’t think the family is ready for Tony, his boyfriend.

No family is ever what you think they are and this book testifies to the typical tale of a dysfunctional family. I suspect sometimes, this applies to mine too. But don’t let my parents know I said that.. ;)

^{November already and I have 7 more to go.. not sure if I’ll end the year with 30..sigh..}

Despite all the controversy surrounding this book, I can confidently say it is a great read. As the blurb said, it narrates the account of Frey’s battle to overcome drugs and alcohol addiction at a treatment center. It describes quite graphically the struggle of weaning out drugs from his system, the mental anguish he goes through as well as the kind of support he gets from friends and counselors there. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Took a while to get used to the writing style though. The sentences he formed to depict the tics of an addict, I found them quite disturbing. I think the angst rubbed off on me at some point, every three sentences in my head would be peppered with an expletive.. which was not good.

On the whole, this was a worthy read, no matter what the critics say.

This is a true gem. I have found a wealth of ideas and insights within its pages. HR topics covered including recruitment, retention, development and benefits, among others. But what I really love about this book was the simple and direct style employed. The advice on discretion and keeping confidence struck a loud chord in me. I dog-eared many pages which I hope to share with some of my colleagues (and boss, hopefully) later on. Definitely worth re-reading from time to time.