Book Tag

Here's a simple and fun meme. Mark Goren tagged me. To play, answer the 5 questions and tag 5 people. Its about books.

Up until 15 years ago, I was a lazy reader. There were many books started but few finished. One year I resolved to read a book a month. I figured if there were enough people to have a Book of the Month Club, I should be able to read one a month. You won't believe what happened...the more I read the less lazy I became about reading. The more I read the more fun it became. Along with more fun came that easy feeling. Now when someone asks about favorite pastimes, reading appears near the top of my list - along with cycling, walking and jamming.

The 5 questions are:

1. How many books do you own?
2. What was the last book you read?
3. What was the last book you purchased?
4. What five books are most meaningful to you?
5. What is your most obscure favorite book?

Here are my answers with links to various references about them

1. Far more than I've read. I'm a hoarder and really bad about hanging on to things in general but books in particular.
2. Lately, I've had 2 books going at the same time - one business/professional growth, the other a "diversion" read. The last books I finished were Robin Hood Marketing - Katya Andresen - I love her publishing company Jossey-Bass. This happens to be the current MarketingProfs Book Club selection. The other was The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The link lands on a flash page of one sentence reviews. Currently, I'm reading Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul - excellent example of story telling -and looking for a professional book.
3. The last two were Robin Hood Marketing and Citizen Vince - Jess Walter, a Spokane writer.
4. *** Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary - I have a dozen dictionaries. If you're ever in a pinch for a gift, you can't go wrong giving someone a dictionary. It's the first "book" I ever remember reading. Words - what a concept! *** Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig - touched me at a critical time of growth. *** Be Here Now - Ram Dass - the hippie in me manifests itself...I've worn out a copy and lost a copy. *** Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling. The first in the series was fresh, engrossing and like nothing I'd read. I could not put it down. They've only gotten more fun to read. Wizards Unite! *** A Whole New Mind - Dan Pink. Here's my review.
5. What is obscure to some is not so obscure to others. Charterhouse of Parma - Stendahl. Its a book written in 1839 that stands the test of time.

   "Ostensibly a romantic thriller, interwoven with intrigue and military episodes, the novel also features Stendhal's acute grasp of human nature and psychology"

I was tagged by Mark who was tagged by Troy Worman who was tagged by Phil Gerbyshak - the "Make it Great" guy.

If they care to play, I'm tagging - Robyn McMaster, Mark Van Patten, David Brazeal, Jackie Cameron, Robert Hruzek. And remember - play even if you aren't tagged. I'd love to see what everybody is reading. Just link back to this entry so I can follow.

Art Appreciation Made To Stick

In grade three or four - it was so long ago, I can hardly remember - we had a class called Art Appreciation. Each week we received a post card size print of a noted artist and their work. As we gazed upon the cards, we heard stories of the lives of the artists. We were transported to a different time and place. These three I share today are the ones that are etched into my brain. The first is a wood cut by Japanese printmaker Hokusai called Tidal Wave. I remember the crisp lines. I remember the motion and the action that is illustrated in two dimensions.

The picture to the left is a paiting in oil by Pierre Auguste Renoir's "A Girl with a Watering Can". I believe I could look at this painting for hours. In fact, I probably did. And there are several prints of various sizes in my possession. When I recall first memories of art, this painting is always one of them. Along with this painting comes the artists focus on light, depth and brush stroke. Why is it certain images have such an impact on us? What part of our senses retain this information? One can almost feel the season surrounding the girl. At this time of year, when the roses blossom and the peonies pop - it is this painting that always plays in my mind's eye. Any suggestions Dr. McMaster?



Finally, this fresco by Beato Fra Angelico, Italian Renaissance artist - Annunciazione (The Annunciation) which is housed in the Museo di San Marco in Florence, Italy. I first discovered the symmetry and perspective of this masterpiece - not to mention those groovy wings - in grammar school Art Appreciation class. Then, a few years ago, we were able to take the trip of a lifetime (so far, at least :) and spent a couple weeks in Firenze. Imagine the emotion when I saw this painting - in real - after only seeing it on paper. It took my breath away. The visit to Italy started as a goal almost 20 years ago. It was simple "Before I die, I want to see the Sistine Chapel". We saw much more including the grave of Fra Angelico.

All of this before marketing, before blogging, before branding - these are paintings that stuck. This may be a bit of a stretch - and its art not ideas - but...I'm reading "Made to Stick" by the Brothers Heath (that darn MarketingProfs Book Club). Chip and Dan use an acronym - SUCCESs. Do these paintings meet the criteria? Simple - yes. Unexpected - in their time and even today, yes. Concrete? - I'd say so. Credible - artists carry credibility over time though usually after they die. Emotional? - try looking at them without feeling or emitting a response. And finally, do they tell Stories - they ARE a story.

What is some of the early art you remember? I'd be curious to know. Was it "Made to Stick"?

It ain't Rocket Science - or is it?

I love this - today I didn't have to sign into my Blogger account. It seems Google figured out a way to recognize my initial sign in - for gmail - and apply it to all tendrils of Google that reach to my being. Probably just another form of cookie but I love cookies.

But thats not the why for this post - its here. Granted it's just shy of a month old - and we know how quickly things become stale in todays brave new world. Yet it is chock full of timely info. If charts and graphs are your flavor then this is the spot.

If you prefer the research highlights - click here. This brief rings my bell in light of reading "Citizen Marketers" and MarketingProfs book club extraordinaire. This brief from the Center for Media Research speaks directly to the importance of engaging the customer (item#5) in whatever we do. We all KNOW this and we all TRY to do this. We want happy customers. The question is HOW?

Here is an irony that just struck me. In many stories throughout the book a customer marketing crusade begins with the customer being upset, ticked off, or down right disappointed. None of us want that and yet it seems a common indicator for a crusade. Coke and Surge, Moleskin, Starbucks, Apple and iPod batteries - the authors document and interview individuals and groups who for one reason or another went to the edge and took a leap.

And - the customer does it for nothing but for the fact that they can. The voice of the people - sometimes the one person - makes a difference time and time again. Corporate culture is not easy to infiltrate yet we see a well researched book show example after example.

When the customer speaks, we gotta learn to listen. And do the research!