The themes of books I choose read each year vary by whatever projects or interests I have at the time I order the book. A benefit of e-books is that they are usually less expensive than print books.
1. From Word to Kindle: Self Publishing Your Kindle Book with Microsoft Word (Aaron Shepard)
I purchased this book specifically to assist me in publishing e-books on the Kindle platform. There is a lot of detailed information in this e-book, and it is worth the $0.99 to download the Kindle version.
2. Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered (Austin Kleon)
3. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Austin Kleon)
Both of Austin Kleon's books are fast reads and inspirational. His goal is to encourage your creativity.
4. Mindfulness, 25th anniversary edition (Ellen J. Langer)
There are many definitions of mindfulness. This classic book addresses the psychological construct of mindfulness, referring to alertness and situational awareness.
5. Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. I. (John L. Stephens)
The author explored Central and South American between 1839 and 1842. This book, the first of two volumes, chronicles his many adventures and explorations.
6. Manga Crash Course: Drawing Manga Characters and Scenes from Start to Finish (Mina "Mistiqarts" Petrovic)
I can barely draw a stick figure, but I still aspire to be a better artist. I like the manga style, and found this book to match my level of interest and ability.
7. 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love (Rachel Aaron)
In conducting research for my book, 60,000 Words in 6 Weeks, I came across this brief e-book on strategies to boost writing output.
8. 20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them (Ronald B Tobias)
The majority of stories in the history of storytelling feature similar plots. In this book, the author provides sufficient detail of 20 plots to help you craft stories of your own. There are many examples of each plot.
9. Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Steve Krug)
If you design websites or create websites, you need to read this book. The writing style is comfortable, and the steps to better web usability will improve the experience of visitors to your website.
10. Where Do You Get Your Ideas?: A Writer's Guide to Transforming Notions Into Narratives (Fred White)
This is a book designed to assist writings in finding ideas and building them into stories, both fiction and nonfiction.
11. Lean For Dummies (Natalie Sayer)
12. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles for the World's Greatest Manufacturer (Jeffrey Liker)
For a work project, I need to review the basic concepts of the lean manufacturing philosophy. Both of these book cover the basics. Since Toyota developed lean, The Toyota Way is essential reading.
13. Six Thinking Hats (Edward De Bono)
In this book, the author walks you through his process of organizing analytical thinking into six categories: neutral and objective, emotional, careful and cautious, sunny and positive, creativity, and organizing thinking.
What books did you read in 2015? What books are on your list for 2016?
Title image created in Canva. Photo credit: Barta IV "1800s Library"
No comments:
Post a Comment