To me, summer isn’t only 90-degree weather or going to Jazz in the Park. Summertime also means summer reading. Ever since elementary school, I have always read during my summer breaks. Before the official day of summer (which for me is the first day I hear Will Smith’s Summertime playing on the radio), I write out a list of books I want to read and then go place them on hold at the public library.
In recent years, I have begun writing out two lists: a personal book list and a professional book list. My personal list consists of books by my favorite authors or suggested by friends. My professional list is of books I have found either mentioned on Twitter and blog sites or heard about while attending a conference.
This year, I asked for input from colleagues at MGA, other public relations professionals and searched online. Based on their suggestions, here are some of the books I plan to read between now and Labor Day:
- Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares the lessons he has learned in life and business. He shares stories such as how he went from starting his own worm farm to running a pizza business and working his way up to his current role. The underlying message is that by concentrating on the happiness of those around you, your happiness will grow.
- Measure What Matters: Online Tools for Understanding Customers, Social Media, Engagement, and Key Relationships by Katie Delahaye Paine
I’m very interested in social media, and Paine is one of the most well-regarded experts in measuring communications efforts. In Measure What Matters, she explains how to measure customers, social media reputation, media and influence with a step-by-step guide.
- The Power of Unpopular: A Guide to Building Your Brand for the Audience Who Will Love You (and why no one else matters) by Erika Napoletano
This is the first book by Erika Napoletano, a well-known blogger and consultant based in Denver (and recent emcee at the PRSA Colorado Gold Picks awards dinner). In Unpopular, she discusses, bluntly, the importance of identifying the right audience for what your brand has to offer.
- Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional by Deirdre Breakenridge
In Social Media and Public Relations, Breakenridge outlines eight new skills PR professionals need to help build brands and engage their target audiences in a social world. The book includes how to respond to consumers who want more control over their own brand relationships, how to more effectively combine communications with technology, how to become the go-to person on social technology decisions at your organization, and more.
What is on your summer reading list?
