Book

[update 2011-05-06 I believe my tone in this posting is unjustly harsh and debated (with myself) whether to remove it or not. I’ve decided to let it remain and write a new, more appropriately toned post. Why the change in heart? I’m reading Sieler’s Coaching to the Human Soul (2005). My questions arising in Flaherty’s (2010) book are being answered in Sieler’s. I’ve also just finished reading Brock’s dissertation (2008) which addresses the history and lineage of coaching. Brock is said to publish Sourcebook of Coaching History later this year, now on my future reading list.] Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others by James Flagherty ...

I read a paper some time ago–but for the life of me cannot remember where–presenting study findings on student recall and comprehension. The irony of not recalling the details of a paper on the subject of recall spurred me to examine my own recall in other areas. I may have forgotten the source but the gist of the paper… that I remember: The best way to improve comprehension and recall is to write an essay. I’ve long believed that writing develops a concept more fully (Galbraith, Torrance & Hallam, 2006) but the lost paper suggests that essay writing on a new subject internalizes the content. ...

I travel. A lot. Not as much as I used to but it’s still a bit. When I travel, I take a stack of unread books. The stack I bring is always one or two books more than I believe I’ll finish. For example, my last trip to Delhi lasted two weeks. The reading list for that trip… ...

Peters, Tom. Talent: Develop it, Sell it, Be it. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2005. I picked Talent up in the Hong Kong airport last month. I thought I would read it on the flight to Delhi but found the format too annoying. The colored text on colored pages was simply too trying. ...

I read a fair amount. I wouldn’t say a lot only because I don’t really read that fast. Well, that’s not true. Fictional and biographical works I cruise through fairly quickly. It’s non-fiction that slows me to a crawl. It was a decade ago that I realized the obvious. Just because you start reading a book doesn’t mean you have to finish it. I can still remember the book that broke the spell: The Vermont Papers If I’m reading a book for my own enjoyment and edification, if I can’t relate the book to my life, if I’m getting nothing out of the book, it’s history. Ciao, baby. The Vermont Papers was my last “I’ll finish the book simply because I started it” experience. When I finished that book, I said, “What a waste of my time.” Currently, I’m reading Battle for the Mind. This book I will finish and read again. ...