By Tish Mousell

The aim of these reviews is to give  2 or 3 suggestions for books to read each month.

 

Good books old and new

There are many many books out there some totally indigestible and some that are a damn good read. Many are great for reference – maybe not to read from cover to cover but good to refer to if you have a specific need.

 

Here goes : July’s offerings

I have just heard about The School of Life’s library, and ordered a couple of books from it. The two I am interested in are ‘How to Thrive in a Digital Age’, and ‘How to Change the World’.  Here is a reader’s review about them.

 

How to Thrive in a Digital Age – Tom Chatfield

Tom Chatfield has written what must be the world’s first self-help book for dealing with life in the digital age. The concept could sound strange. After all, why would we need help in dealing with our smartphones, Facebook accounts and Twitter feeds? Yet, the more you read Chatfield, the wiser you discover his approach is – because he alerts us to ways in which technology makes us fools to ourselves, can cut us off from sources of genuine connection and creativity and can deaden us to experiences. Chatfield admits he adores technology, thinks of it all the time, and yet he’s also aware of its dangers. It’s great to read a book that’s both sympathetic to the gadget lover in us but also knows its dangers.

- Reader review

How to Change the World – John-Paul Flintoff

At first, when I read the title of this little book, I thought the author must be being ironic…….How to Change the bleedin’ World?! But no, J.P. Flintoff is straight up. He’s out for getting everyone to sit up, stop falling into life and start shaping it.

To do this (and so, change the world) Flintoff draws from many sources, including religious, (mainly Buddhist), historical, literary, sociological, environmental, artistic……the result being that he has gathered some of the most inspiring quotes together in these pages, and one cannot fail but to want to a)grow too many veggies, and then knock at neighbours’ doors to offer them round; b)start a non-violent protest and c)use more humanistic language (all ideas, amongst many, offered by the author himself).

Flintoff gives examples of individuals who have contributed to great change and elucidates on how. An insightful and encouraging read to set us on the road to creating a great future.

- Reader review

 

Finally, one of my old favourites ‘Hey Whipple Squeeze this’ by Luke Sullivan. If you haven’t read this, please do! It is written about the ad industry from a great copy writer’s perspective – all with the aim of doing your best creative work. It’s full of pictures, great examples, and a totally gripping easy read. It’s the book I wish I had read when I first started in this business, and although written over 20 years ago, it is in fact still very relevant to today. There is some great anecdotal stuff on being very wary of research, and my particular favourite is Luke’s advice about Account Handlers – ‘Account Handlers, be very afraid. However, if you find a good one, hang onto them.’.