Reading Better to Write Better
Most writers will tell you that, to become a better writer, you have to become a better reader. I can tell you writing a book certainly makes you read more. While considering the topics I wanted to cover in my 2022 memoir, Jack in the Box, I knew I needed additional information, deeper insight, credible statistics and diverse opinions.
When the book was finally published, it contained more than 15 pages of resources I’d consulted and that I felt were important to share, not just to back up what I'd said in the previous 230+ pages but to provide links that readers might like to explore.
Books have provided the “higher learning” that helped me navigate the working world, particularly in my entrepreneurial phases (creating a new magazine, running a modeling and talent agency). Through them, I’ve learned more than I might have in a college degree program. I continue to be inspired by the ideas writers have put forth, especially the ones that have made me stop and think about my position on those issues or how I might address the same challenges.
Here are some of the books I recommend for those of you pondering the world outside your box.
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach; also, Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Talking to Your Kids About Sex: turning “the talk” into a conversation for life by Laura Berman
The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People by David Barash and Judith Eve Lipton
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
Are You the One for Me? Knowing Who’s Right and Avoiding Who’s Wrong by Barbara De Angelis
Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision to Be Free by Wayne Dyer
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be An Atheist by Frank Turek
The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It by Michael Gerber
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
All Men are Brothers [Life & Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as told in his own words] compiled and edited by Krishna Kripalan
The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution by Elisabeth Lloyd
Dancing in the Light by Shirley MacLaine
Real Hope, True Freedom: Understanding and Coping with Sex Addiction by Milton Magness and Marsha Means
The Politics of Public Health in the United States by Kant Patel and Mark Rushefsky
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Million Dollar Habits: 10 Simple Steps to Getting Everything You Want in Life by Robert Ringer
The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell
Love, Medicine and Miracles: Lessons Learned about Self-Healing from a Surgeon’s Experience with Exceptional Patients by Bernie Siegel
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy
Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book 1 by Neal Donald Walsch