For several years, I started or participated in a monthly poll on the USA Amazon Kindle discussion boards asking people a simple question: what are you reading on your Kindle? Unfortunately, the discussion boards on Amazon have gone away and I have periodically hosted something similar on our website.
I’ve received some great tips with past polls, finding out what others are reading on their Kindle, and found some “new” authors I generally wouldn’t have found using my hunt-and-peck method. While I have certainly enjoyed the “mainstream” author suggestions over the years, I’ve also enjoyed a lot of independent authors from each month’s poll I never would have heard of previously.
If you are reading this on the blog’s free email subscription, the blog’s free reader app for your Fire tablet or Android device – or anywhere other than the blog’s website – and would like to check out the poll and find some new things or, better yet, tell others what you are reading, just click here or type in https://geni.us/919poll into your web browser, scroll down to the bottom of the post, and start typing away in the comments section!
Here’s how this works – on the blog’s website (using the link above) list a book you are currently reading or just recently read on your Kindle, whether you would recommend it, did you get it free, and anything else you would care to share.
As I type this up on Tuesday night for publication Wednesday morning, I just finished Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis; Jim Mattis is a retired marine general and former Secretary of Defense. As I mentioned in my review of the book, this is one of those I believe should be read by most people in business, as it has lots of great advice on how you lead people in order to achieve an objective. Sure, the examples here were military and war-based, but business has many similarities to warfare. I enjoyed the personal tales of what worked and, most importantly, a candid observation of what Mattis’ failures were and how he leveraged those experiences for the next time. I was reminded many times history repeats itself with his references to past battles and comments from military leaders’ books he had read.
If you’re looking for a Trump-bashing book, this isn’t it. If you are looking for life lessons from someone who actually had the experience vs. a fulltime consultant, I would highly recommend this book.
Finally, here’s my standard continuation of each request for prior participants in the poll: if you like or dislike a title you have read, in addition to telling us about it in this informal poll, how about writing a book review on the Amazon website? The review will certainly last and be visible a lot longer than this poll will. If you’re like me, you look at the customer reviews in order to see if you want to investigate a book further. Since we are all a little community here, and while I realize each review is each person’s opinion and we may not like the same thing, I know your friends and online discussion neighbors would appreciate your honest assessment of the likes and dislikes without providing a spoiler – I know I would!
Your reviews don’t need to be a long dissertation of the book, I like to keep them short, sweet, and hopefully to the point (some people think I am too blunt on things I dislike, but I am at least giving you my honest opinion!).
We’d really like to hear what you’re reading right now – I, for example, may find something interesting from your list I want to read (It’s been known to happen!). If you are reading this on your Kindle – or anywhere other than the blog’s website – and would like to check out the poll and find some new things or, better yet, tell others what you are reading, just click here or type in https://geni.us/919poll into your web browser, scroll down to the bottom of the post, and start typing away in the comments section!
Anyway, that’s all for today. Have a great rest of the week!
Michael
