Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

subtitled: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.

Not what I expected. Didn’t realize the Joy of Sex would play so heavily into what I thought was a cooking memoir. Also, I wanted to know more about Julia Child and wasn’t satisfied with the letters interspersed. However, there were more than enough funny anecdotes to keep me entertained.

I wanted to read this because I want to see the movie, and I’m interested in how the book will be translated to the big screen.

Tribes by Seth Godin

A slight departure from the usual marketing inspiration Godin usually produces, this is a tiny, inspiring book about leadership. It’s a call to leadership really. Written like a series of inter connected blog post, it is a book to dip back into time and time again for inspiration and courage as you begin to lead.

I find him to be inspiring, thought provoking and challenging.

The Power of Less by Leo Babauta

subtitled: the fine art of limiting yourself to the essential in business and in life.

I love this little book. It’s simple, much like Leo’s posts at zenhabits.net, but it’s thought provoking. Totally came at the right time for me.

I also like the set up of the book, first the author describes the principles in detail and then the second part provides tips for implementing them in your life.

The Myth of Multitasking by Dave Crenshaw

subtitled: how doing it all gets nothing done

This is written in the business fable style popularized by Who Moved My Cheese.

In 100 pages and one quick exercise Crenshaw manages to convey why multitasking (which is actually switchtasking) is not as effective as people believe. My only complaint is the author didn’t really explain how background tasking (watching TV while folding laundry) can be effective. However, I think the point is that really 90% of what people consider multitasking is actually something called switchtasking, which is where you’re switching rapidly between two tasks, which is neither efficient or effective. The key is to schedule the interruptions you can control (such as regular meetings with key staff, only answering/responding to email or the phone at certain times) and to minimize your passive interruptions (the times you need to get up, think to look something up) and just focus on the task at hand.

This is a small book with a big impact. And I highly recommend it to everyone who juggles multiple things.

Organzing Your Day by Sandra Felton

subtitled: Time Management techniques that will work for you

Sandra Felton joins with Marsha Sims to offer a small book packed with tips on time management. They frame their discussion around 10 choices, and offer anecdotes and brief chapters with some good general advice. Having not read anything else by either, I found their take on time management interesting and informative. I also liked the brief chapters, and the questions which did lead to a few ah-ha moments. The best tip for me was the project plan worksheet.

10-10-10 by Suzy Welch

I first read about this idea in Suzy’s column in O Magazine. This slim volume is engaging and provides more detailed look at her 10-10-10 decision making process  and how it applies to all areas of life, including work, relationships and parenting. Basically you pose a question and look at the outcomes based on 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years. I like how it applies a rational framework and can work in so many situations.

Bringing Elizabeth Home by Ed & Lois Smart

Subtitled: a Journey of Hope and Faith

This was the “true crime” pick for book group. We didn’t find it to be very much true crime. No details about what happened to Elizabeth were revealed, as they want to give her the option to tell her own story.

Also, it assumed prior knowledge about the case.

I didn’t enjoy this at all.

Mommywood by Tori Spelling

In honor of Mother’s Day weekend . . .

This was not as much of a “tell-all” as her last book, but I enjoyed her insights into motherhood and raising kids in Hollywood. This book confirmed what I thought after the last one: Tori’s smart and she’s building her brand. I’m sure she’ll write again.

This basically picks up where Stori Telling left off . . . but with more anecdotes about being a hollywood mom than her history.

Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox

Subtitled: observations of an incurable optimist
I enjoyed his first autobiography so I picked this up. It’s slightly different in format with four sections Work, Politics, Faith and Family and memories as related to those areas. This didn’t seem to have as much meat to it, since it only covered the last eight years, but I admire and respect what he’s done to move research forward for Parkinson’s disease.
I learned a lot about stem cell research and enjoyed the family section the best.
A thoughtful memoir.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

This was an interesting perspective of concentration camp survival. Frankl is/was a psychologist and told of camp life through this perspective. The second two parts introduce logotherapy – which is his theory, where man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life. I skimmed the second parts, but found the entire work to be inspiring and interesting.

Makes me want to read Night by Elie Wiesel