Last year, I posted twice about the materials on my summer reading list. If you missed them, you can find those posts HERE and HERE. I decided that I would continue the trend with a post on this year’s summer reading! I always snap a picture of each book I read as a reminder. Here is a rundown of the books that kept me turning the pages from Memorial Day until Labor day:
In a previous post on “Audacious Goals” (if you want to check it out, you can link to it HERE), I mentioned that my friend Doug Parsons had turned me on to an author by the name of Darrin Donnelly who has done a wonderful job probing mental skills through fictional stories. I started by reading his book “Think Like a Warrior”. I was so impressed with this book and Darrin’s writing, that I bought the entire series. Each one would take me only one to two days to read as the stories were so compelling and the messages so clear. I started out the summer finishing up the series starting with:
Followed by
And
and finally
I thoroughly enjoyed these books and highly recommend them. These as well as all books discussed in this post can be found on amazon.
From there, I moved on to another book loaned to me by Doug Partson:
This book, a translation from the original Dutch (which made it a little challenging to read for me) introduced the concept of “friendly eyes” – a mindfulness-based set of tools to improve performance. While I enjoyed the material, I did have to work at it a bit to digest it all. If you are really intrigued by mindfulness based approaches, you might enjoy this. Just be prepared to work a little harder to grasp the concepts!
After this one, I moved away from sport psychology into more of a general psychology mode with this book:
I had high hopes for this book based on the description and ratings on Amazon, but ended up reshelving the book into my library after getting about ½ way through it. This one was just not speaking to me! I will pick it back up another day and start where I left off! Sometimes things just need to incubate a bit! I take full responsibility for the inability to get thru this book.
I decided to head back to territory that was more familiar and picked up a book back in the field of sport psychology:
I had written a post on this book back in August. You can find it HERE if you have interest.
Always on the lookout for books on improving self-confidence, I turned my attention to this one:
I had also written on post on this book – check it out HERE
Next, I read a really interesting book on perfectionism:
I am NOT a self-described perfectionist. In fact, one of my favorite phrases is “don’t let PERFECT be the enemy of DONE”. However, I do know others that tend towards the perfectionism end of the spectrum, and for that reason, I wanted to learn more about it. This is really a self-help book geared towards those with perfectionism tendencies. It that describes you, then you might get some useful insite out of this book.
One of the most fun books I read over the summer break was:
This is a thoroughly enjoyable introduction to philosophy. If you want to learn about some of the important philosophers over the centuries, this would be a great place to start. The surprise ending was worth the time spent reading it!
Next came this wonderful book on how to influence thought processes:
This book will really make you think twice about how you and your fellow humans make decisions.
That got us up to the 2nd week of August where I read:
This book takes the reader through a seven step process of self-improvement using examples from the author’s own like. If you need a little boost on moving forward with your goals, this might be the book for you!
My next book was loaned to me by my daughter’s boyfriend:
I probably would not have picked this one out on my own volition, so was happy to have it dropped on my desk! What struck me is how true sustainability is not really possible. Once you take a resource from the earth, it really isn’t possible to put it back! Looking at the experiences of the company Pantagonia helps to show what is possible and what limitations may hinder efforts along these fronts.
Back to my “normal” realm, I turned to this volume:
This book gives an alternative view to the “Bobby Knight” type of toughness and resilience. Good for those who coach or parent! I hope this approach to toughness takes root!
How could I forget the next book (ha ha)?
This was one of my favorite books of the summer! It gives a very clear explanation of the current understanding of how memory works. It is chocked full of useful information. For example, she discusses the importance of sleep in making memories set properly – so if you go out and learn a new shooting technique, you would be well served by making sure you get a good night’s rest that night to allow the new information to properly be converted into the neural circuitry that will allow you to access it and use it again in the future. She also provides information to help the reader to determine if they are experience normal aging or are on the road to dementia. For example, if you occasionally misplace your keys, that is probably not much of an issue, but if you find your keys in the refrigerator, or don’t know what keys are for, then you most likely are dealing with an issue! She ends the book with a fantastic summary that I know I will be returning to many times in the future. I highly recommend this book!
Sticking to how the mind functions, my next book was written by a Hypnotist!
Her take on how to use the sub-conscious mind was a little different on other books I have read on the topic. She includes sample exercises to help the reader. I did not come away with any take-aways I could implement in my own routines, but I did find it an interesting read. It’s always good to entertain different points of view and different methodologies. I may go back and leaf through this one again in the future.
The mindful coach was written well before mindfulness had become more of a mainstream idea!
The author provides detailed step-by-step approach of how to implement a mindfulness based coaching approach. I found the information interesting especially in how “what was old is new again” in applying mindfulness in sport coaching. If you are really into mindfulness-based coaching, you might enjoy this historical perspective.
Next, I picked up the 80 / 20 principle.
This is a must-read book to help the reader really streamline all that they do into the really essential result-based activities. You can achieve immediate results in virtually all aspects of your life if you apply the pareto principle!
The next book is the epitome of a “can do attitude”. If you are looking for a little motivation, this might be the book for you.
The author takes you through several projects he was involved with (such as providing 3D-printed functioning arm prosthesis to kids in war-torn Africa). Fascinating stuff to show what we humans are really capable when we set our minds to accomplishing the impossible.
Next up was “leadership and self-deception”
This book really shows how flaws that crop up in our own self-image can inhibit good relationships with everyone we deal with (spouses, kids, work associates, friends, etc). This book will really get you thinking! It is very well written with lots of easy to understand, concrete examples. Really good stuff!
And finally, the last book I read before the labor-day holiday was one that I probably would not have picked up had it not been loaned to me!
This book allows the reader to experience the life of a national park service ranger from his outpost in the Utah desert. The book was written half a century ago before the advent of the internet. If the author were still alive today, he would be even more shocked by the lack of appreciation we have for nature and its beauty and the magnetic draw of the cell phone instead of all of the natural beauty surrounding us. Interestingly, some of the proposals that he made so long ago have finally come to fruition such as limiting car access in parks such as Yosemite. A good book to remind the reader of their place in the world!
So, there you have it! 21 books read during the short summer months! I hope this synopsis has spurred some interest in a book or two!
And please, I am always looking for more books to add to my reading list. Please share your summer reads!