It has been a long time since I have done a book roundup post. That has not stopped me from reading. I am at almost 70 books for the year so far. You can track my progress at my Goodreads Challenge, but here are some of the books that have made an impact with me in the past couple of months.

Up first is Born to Create: how creativity sparks connection, innovation, and belonging in our new world of work by Anne Jacoby. This book had such absolute perfect timing that I hated it just as much as I loved it. This is the book I would write (if I had a theater background). It is all about the connection between psychological safety and creativity in the workplace. What?! That’s the TEDtalk I was schedule to give when I discovered this book. While Jacoby and I may take different routes to demonstrate our theories, there is so much overlap. She even talks about the research done by Edmondson on Psychological Safety and on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. There is even a section about Shawn Achor and Brene Brown! Gratitude and vulnerability! The theme of the TEDx is “Yes, and…” and that is also an improv technique she discusses in the book. The timing just had my mind blown. At least I know I am on the right track with my own stuff.

Next is The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer. OMG this book was so amazing! The book was inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Only it is a writing factory and the game is to win the only copy of the last book in a popular children’s series. Oh, and the players are adults. The book tackles difficult topics such as abuse, foster care, illness, death…and sharks. A main theme is how books can help us cope with our worlds and give us hope. They give us something to wish for and if we are very brave (and patient) those wishes will be granted. This ties in so well with the concept of bibliotherapy.

The Libby app gave me a suggested list of Agatha Christie read-a-likes. So I put The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley on hold. I absolutely loved it. Flavia de Luce is quite a character. In many ways she reminds me of young Sheldon. Very precocious and a little too smart for their own good. It also reminded me a little of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. There is a puzzle that must be solved and nothing else matters than solving that puzzle. I had no problem seeing an 11year old as that smart and also a little too focused on facts rather than emotions. I had more trouble picturing an eleven year still in pigtails. While it seems that Flavia is a child very much alone, I didn’t see it that way. She has found family in Dogger and her sisters do love her in their own way. I will definitely be reading more in the series.

One of the last books I read in 2023 was Uptime: A Practicle Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing by Laura Mae Martin. At first I did not think much of the book because it seemed to be echoing a lot of the Franklin Covey philosophies to time management and productivity (and unattributed at that!). She even talks about sorting gravel and rocks! But the more I read, the more I realized the value in reading all the tips again. Plus, if you don’t know The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity, then this would be a good guide for you. It doesn’t touch exactly on all the habits. It is Martin’s recommendation of the steps she refers to as the What, Where, When, How, and While. Martin works for Google, so there is a lot of reference to using your technology to help you succed. While she specifically mentions some Google Workspace products, she does allude to there being other products out there helping in these areas too. There is actually a lot of advice on how to work in a hybrid environment. Some of her advice I actually found a bit redundant because of the advantages of using Microsoft Teams and 365 instead of Google, but she has to stay true to her brand. Still, I found myself trying to apply her advice to my emails and calendar late Christmas Eve. Sadly, I don’t think they are iOS app friendly and I had to wait until I was back using my work computer to finish tweaking things. I did a lot of highlighting and screenshots. She talks a lot about flow states but does not mention Csikszentmihalyi which was disappointing since it is his theory and he did practically teach university in Google’s backyard. She does make reference to more modern researchers and authors like Shawn Achor (Orange Frog!) and Daniel Pink. The book also sparked some training ideas that I will be implementing next year. Even though I felt iffy at first, I actually gave the book five stars in Goodreads. I am excited to try implementing some changes to my workflow and time management. I know my supervisor will be happy to hear me saying no to things at least.

The book Brag Better by Meredith Fineman had been on my TBR list for awhile. When it was a recommended read from Tara Schuster’s Instagram (the “F*king Lillies” author!), I knew I needed to stop delaying and read the book. Basically, it is about how to talk about yourself professionally without feeling like you are being a show off or “bragging”. Well you are bragging, but you are doing it a step better. There is nothing wrong with bragging if what you are saying is a fact. Facts trump opinions. The book is all about lifting up what Fineman refers to as the Qualified Quiet, this includes marginalized voices. If you feel awkward talking about yourself, I recommend you read this. For our weekly gratitude whiteboard prompt at work, we did one of the exercises asking coworkers to share what they think are one of our best attributes and listed all the staff names requesting people write something under the names. The things staff wrote on our whiteboard were so uplifting as a whole, not just what was said under my name. Though I do love that someone put down that I am motivating!

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin was so good. If you are excited about the news of a new Knives Out movie, then this book is for you. It really fit with my current obsession with modern Agatha Christie-esque tales. It is also very much “girl-detective” though the characters are all for the most part adults. The premise is that 17yo Frances receives a morbid message from a fortune teller foretelling her betrayal and murder. She spends the next sixty years obsessing over the message and everything she sees as being a sign of it coming true. In current day England,budding mystery author Annie has just learned she is the new heir to her Great Aunt Frances, but before she can meet the woman, the fortune comes true. Frances is found dead in the library and her will states her heirs must solve her murder. Annie is assisted in this case by the clues left behind by Frances such as files detailing everyone’s motives and her very own murder board. It is very much murder in a small village where everyone has a secret and everyone is a suspect. The book already had a movie adaption in the works before it was officially published. The book features diverse characters, lots of puzzling motives, as well as glimpses into the late 1960s through Frances’ journal entries. It kinda makes me want to watch some Miss Marple Mysteries.

Of course, there have been so many more books. What is on your shelf right now that you recommend?