I hate mail.
I get so much of it. Not as much as my editor Josh Tyrangiel, who reviews music, or my colleague Jim Poniewozik, who reviews TV, or Lisa McLaughlin, who reviews margarita salt and plastic penguins (judging by her swag).
What I get are business books. Lots and lots of business books.
Have I mentioned that I hate business books?
It’s not that I don’t appreciate the effort. I popped out a psuedo-business title myself last year (about the funeral industry–don’t ask), and I know the blood, sweat and migraines publishing demands. Each of the bound bundles of dead tree were lovingly crafted, I know, by a hard-working, earnest striver out there, desperate only to share his or her knowledge and experience and hard-won wisdom with the reading masses.
The thing is: there must be a market. For so many titles to hit the bookshelves every month, every week, there must be an audience waiting to snap them up. For every book a reader. Right?
So here’s my proposal. Below, I shall list a bunch of the more interesting-looking books currently spilling from USPS crates in my office. Write me a comment and let me know which one you’d like to read, and why. I’ll mail it to you. Then you write me your review.
It’s homework! You got it? No free lunch-read–no, sir. You read it, and you tell me what you think. And then I’ll post your (excellently written, incisive and concise) review. Don’t forget to include an e-mail in your comment so I can contact you.
So here we go. In today’s batch (more to come), we’ve got:
See Jane Lead
99 Ways for Women to Take Charge at Work
by Lois P. Frankel
Frankel’s the author of the bestselling Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office. The back cover includes blurbs by Fortune columnist Anne Fisher and Carolyn Kepcher, Trump’s former foil.
101 Mission Statements From Top Companies
Plus Guidelines for Writing Your Own Mission Statement
by Jeffrey Abrahams
I think the title speaks for itself. Maybe the ideal reader is an entrepreneur looking for purpose.
Recruit or Die
How Any Business Can Beat the Big Guys in the War for Young Talent
by Chris Resto, Ian Ybarra and Ramit Sethi
An HR pro could give me an honest review of this one. Do the tactics work? On the cover art, why is the guy in the suit holding out cash to the job seeker?
Living Into Leadership
A Journey Into Ethics
by Bowen H. “Buzz” McCoy
I offer this one based on the cover blurb by George P. Shultz (George P. Shultz!). And also because the author actually uses the name “Buzz.” And because I cover business, so I think I should care about ethics.
Screamfree Parenting
The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool
by Hal Edward Runkel, LMFT
No, I have no idea what LMFT stands for. This is a bit of a break from my usual haul, but seeing as we talk so much about work-life issues here, I thought I’d offer it up. Also, it comes with a pen. That I don’t want. Because I don’t want strangers thinking I need a pen to remind me not to scream at my kid.
Okay, that’s it for now. More coming. Start commenting, folks.