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Two Great Books I Recently Read

gary-books-0816I wanted to share with you a couple of great books I recently read that I thought you might like. If you know me, you know that I read about social media marketing and new media technology all the time — whether it be books, magazines of a dozen or so websites that I frequent daily. I guess I am sort of obsessed with it all. I am intrigued at how quickly we’ve all become purveyors of information and how quickly one random person can communicate (and even help) another random person. It’s staggering to think that we’ve come so far in such a small amount of time — considering that it used to be a world where when the President came on TV to speak, there was nothing else to watch as all four TV stations carried it live and there was no fifth station.

So, with that in mind, here are two amazing reads that you should consider — one is a business book and the other is a novel:

1. First the Novel: THE CIRCLE by Dave Eggers: The book’s description nails it: When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world—even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.

2. The other is a business book: The Art of Work by Jeff Goins: The path to your life’s work is difficult and risky, even scary, which is why few finish the journey. This is a book about discovering your life’s work, that treasure of immeasurable worth we all long for. It’s about the task you were born to do. As Jeff Goins explains, the search begins with passion but does not end there. Only when our interests connect with the needs of the world do we begin living for a larger purpose. Those who experience this intersection experience something exceptional and enviable. Though it is rare, such a life is attainable by anyone brave enough to try. Through personal experience, compelling case studies, and current research on the mysteries of motivation and talent, Jeff shows readers how to find their vocation and what to expect along the way.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. And, when and if you do read them, let me know what you think of them by commenting below!

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