I used to talk about books a lot here, but I stopped for some reason, and I can't remember why.
I remember we did 12 for 12 on the blog in 2012, which involved 12 books, 12 films, and 12 albums. That was a great idea and a lovely thing to read back to.
Perhaps I'll get to 25 for 25 next year (note to self).
A couple of things I've been on recently, though, as you go away for your summer holidays that you might want to pick up and take with you or listen to on audiobook in some way or another.
The first one is Slow Productivity by Cal Newport.
I've read everything Cal Newport's ever done. Although this is not his best book (Deep Work is his best book), Slow Productivity is a lovely exploration into why it's not really necessary to get super stressed out about your daily task list every single day and all the time.
It applies more to self-determined people than to people who work in a hierarchy, but there are tricks, hints, and tips in here to make your life tons better, not least the tip to tell people when you're available to chat face-to-face during the week and when you're not.
That's definitely one that I will be bringing in in one way or another to our work.
Cal Newport is the guy who taught me the sender filter on my emails, which is the thing that changed my life the most (The out-of-office reply that says I only answer my emails twice a week, but in truth, I only answer to them once a week now).
He is clever, and he knows what he's doing.
Slow Productivity encourages you to get better, to slow down, to work at a natural pace, to look for quality, not quantity, and to understand that it's possible that you're not the centre of the universe and if you get your work finished now or a little bit later, it probably doesn't matter.
It's really useful and a really good holiday book.
You'll get things from it that you want to take.
You'll come back from holiday energised, and whether you can put it into place is up to you.
The second is a ridiculous retro recommendation.
Many years ago, one of my patients bought me To Kill a Mockingbird because I'd never read it.
Believe it or not, she was an extraordinary woman who was a staff writer for The New York Post and friends with Clint Eastwood.
She bought it for me, and I read it, then I read it again, then reread it, and recently I picked it up again.
She told me it was not possible to be a parent without reading To Kill a Mockingbird without understanding how Atticus became a parent.
And so I read it again and realised that there is no book that is more relevant today than To Kill a Mockingbird.
It sold over 30 million copies; it should sell another 300 million.
If you'd forgotten about it, go back; if you've never done it, shame on you. Get it and take it on holiday.
P.S. While you're on holiday, go see Deadpool & Wolverine. It's a joy.
Blog Post Number - 3888
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