There is one book that features on both lists: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – which I have here and have not read yet.  It was a book that was both loved and loathed by readers I asked to comment on the chosen books.

Cover of Stephen King

One author appears on lists both sides of the Atlantic and that is Stephen King.  The book chosen this year for the US is Stand, while for the UK it is Misery.

There are books that are well-known in Britain on the US list:

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver

The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold

A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving

As we share a common language – if not spelling – it might be exciting to share the same

books next year on World Book Night.

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The only people who responded immediately quoted somebody in their family.  Everyone else took a few minutes to think about their reply.

Four women immediately mentioned women in their own family.   ” My mum because she is a fab personal and a nice lady”.  Alison Mahoney (memorabilia framing)

“My grandmother because she always told me I was beautiful, and now 30 years later I still remember her every time I have a decision to make, and wonder what her advice would have been.” Jacqueline Rogers (The Athena Network)

“My sister, who was the first female orthopaedic surgeon in New South Wales”, was chosen by Vikki Cook.

“My mother who has always been there for her four children and many grandchildren”.  Alison Sellers

U.S. President George H. W. Bush awards former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Margaret Thatcher was mentioned by quite a few people who had also seen the film The Iron Lady.  Karen Savage (interior designer) mentioned her courage as she was such a leader in politics, Jeannette Warr (physiotherapy clinic) said that she was one of the few business studies students (5 women out of a total of 56) at the same time that Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister;  later when she got her first job for a large retailer women were forbidden to wear trousers.   PJ van Zetten (trevel counsellor) also cited Mrs Thatcher.

The Queen was chosen by Jenny Ojakovoh (homeopath) for her dignity and commitment to her principles.  Nigella Lawson was chosen by Jenny Phillips (Nutritionist) “for her unashamed enjoyment of food”,  Anita Roddick was chosen by Romi Carr (style consultant)  and J K Rowling by Jenny Kay (photographer), Vivienne Westwood by Vanessa Emery (graphic designer) , Julia Margaret Cameron the first British female photographer by Jo Scott (photographer)  Mary Kay Ash the founder of Mary Kay cosmetics by Vanessa Stottor (Mary Kay),  Madonna by Ute Wieczorek-King “because she has reinvented herself so many times”, Joan Collins by Inge Lise Howarth (kinesiologist) because she “looks fantastic and has a great sense of humour, if I look like her when I am that age I shall be happy.”

Who inspires you?

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World Book Night books

However a lot of people wanted to give that away so I was not selected. Not surprising – it has had a great deal of publicity particularly because of the film.

I have been chosen to give away my second choice  “Touching the Void” by Joe Simpson (in the centre of the book covers.)  For me this is armchair mountaineering.  Daring and adventure at second hand while reading safely by the fire.  It is the unlived life as I hever never been mountaineering but I respond to the appeal of the wide open sky, rock, snow and being on top of the world.

It is an easy book to read.  Practical in detail and you can almost believe you are in the mountains with him.  My aboslutely favourite part, however, was when he was in the most horrific experience and all he could think of was that song by Boney M “Brown Girl in the Ring.”  An everyday pop song with a strong rhythm … how unpretentious!

You may know that his line was cut by his fellow mountaineer who effectively gave him up.  I love the non-dramatic treatment of life and death.  It is so often the samll details that contain the drama.

If you haven’t read it find me on World Book Night and I will put a brand new real life paper copy into your hand!

(Or at least let me know in the comments!)

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This is a college professor’s view on “Why you will fail to have a great career“.  Only 15 minutes and worth it to unearth any excuses buried deep.  One of a series of TED talks.

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Image via Wikipedia

I defy anyone to not join in with “9 to 5” – loudly. It is music that is made for sharing and you can pick up the tunes.   “Islands in the Stream” with Kenny Rogers is one of my favourites which always gets me feeling great afterwards.

 The words make sense.  Her songs cover life, death, work sex and all the lovin’ and leavin’ that country music is renowned for with added thinking.  I doubt that the words of Jolene where she begs another woman not to take her man express her true thoughts, but she’s experienced the passive role with the rest of us and has great compassion.

Dolly’s appearance has been – and still is even now – a big focus.  Hourglass figure with a tiny waist and massive blonde hair.  Drama Drama all the way.  She could be the bar owner with a heart of gold in a wild west comic from the 50’s.  There is some fascination that she is actually real underneath it all, and that I – who have no intention of looking like that – am grateful that she is carrying the unlived exotic life so I don’t have to.

The razor sharp honesty and wit.  “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap”, and “If you want to have rainbows you gotta have rain”

“I modelled my looks on the town tramp.”

“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde. “

“I never let a rhinestone go unturned”

She has a wonderful sense of rhythm and comic timing and can laugh at herself which is unexpected in someone with her looks.
Sense of values.  Dolly Parton is married and has been so for a long time.  She has kept her private life private which is refreshingly professional and must have been tough to accomplish.  Her childhood was poor not rich so nothing has been handed to her.

“I still close my eyes and go home – I can always draw from that. “

Business woman.Dolly Parton has sold 100m records but she is also a business woman and has used her celebrity to create a bricks and mortar asset called Dollywood.   This must be a bigger challenge than the more obvious choices for female entrepreneurs and singers of selling a line of fashion items or makeup.

Dollywood is a 150 acre site in Texas where children and families can have fun.

She has a hard-work ethic.   “I have always been a firm believer in working hard for what is right and for making your own breaks if you want things to change.”

Dolly Parton is a woman who inspires me with her glamour, sense of fun, talent, humanity and strong values. An excellent role model for International Women’s Day.

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Each year around the world, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Thousands of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

If every International Women’s Day event held in 2012 includes girls in some way, then thousands of minds will be inspired globally.”

The most powerful role models are often in the public eye, but the ones who make the most difference are often the mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, daughters or neighbours we know. Becoming inspired to do be or have what you want is much easier when you have a role model to show the way.

This year I will share my top ten women who inspire me, and hope you will contribute with your own thoughts.

The first is Mary Portas. What inspires me about her?

Her appearance and style.  She wears clothes which accentuate her long lean appearance rather than playing safe and looking more “normal.”  She wears mildly crazy things  – I remember a pair of absolutely killer boots in Mary Queen of Shops.  She dares to look strong.

In all her TV appearances you see her driving herself (in a nice sports car) rather than being taxied about.  She seems to get her hands dirty and do things.

She is not afraid of letting her weaker side be seen.  She has been in tears on TV (I can think of an occasion in the charity shop), and when the sales targets for the House of Fraser were going higher by the minute she was quite obviously alarmed and not afraid to show it.

She is realistic about what can be achieved.  Some of the smaller shopkeepers she visited were a far cry from her work with Harvey Nichols but you felt she understood that even small changes could make a big difference.

Mary has a team to get the creative ideas into reality.  It is her own company, so she walks the talk about having an idea and making it happen. ( A lot of consultants can spot the problem but then walk away without fixing it.)

She stands up for small businesses… and small businesses on high streets which contribute to the community we live in.   (Definitely good in my book!) It is not where the power and the media attention usually goes.

I want to put the heart back into the centre of our High Streets, re-imagined as destinations for socialising, culture, health, wellbeing, creativity and learning. Places that will develop and sustain new and existing markets and businesses. The new High Streets won’t just be about selling goods. The mix will include shops but could also include housing, offices, sport, schools or other social, commercial and cultural enterprises and meeting places. They should become places where we go to engage with other people in our communities, where shopping is just one small part of a rich mix of activities.”

See more on The Portas Report either in full or her 28 recommendations.

She has a business brain as well as a heart.  Before each of the Mary Queen of Shops programmes there was information on the size of the market, the closures of that type of shop, so you realised the business side.

Best of all she seems to be a real person with personal boundaries. We see photos of her on holiday on her Facebook page, she has come out about being gay, about her childhood, but there is never any sense that she is using any aspect of her life to make herself look better.

So she has style + personality (authentic brand) plus passion and a can-do approach.

An excellent role model not straight out of the box!

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1.  Yes the commitment to half an hour a day – in the day – has been easy to maintain.  In fact it has been a bit of a revelation!  I have given myself permission to read at times when I would not normally read.  Because it is a “good” book that I “ought” to read and I have the time limit, it has been easier to do this every day than I imagined.Setting the boundary at 30 minutes has helped me to concentrate, and make consistent progress, which I don’t think I would have achieved if I had just read when I want to, or when I “have time.”

2.  Am I enjoying the book?  Yes – and sometimes I end up laughing out loud.  Knowing that I am keeping to a promise I made to myself to read it could be helping.  The book itself is a bit of a bonus!

3.  What is it like reading on the Kindle?  You can alter the font size to suit you – which I have done.  As the Kindle is not a screen but a type of ink it is much easier to read than a computer screen what ever position you hold it in.

The Kindle is much much better than reading a book with poor paper.  Often the classics are reproduced on thin paper, with small print, or alternatively on thick paper where the ink nearly disappears into the page.  (Which I hate!)

But I am missing having the context of the book.  You end up having a more myopic view and you can’t (of course) tell how much you have read simply by touch.  I hadn’t realised this would matter but at the moment it still does.

As this is a complex book with a large cast of characters it would be useful to quickly flip back to the beginning and see the cheat sheet on who they all are.  But I don’t want to lose my place and it feels a bit tiring to find it again.

The other disconcerting thing is that there are no page numbers.  I have altered the font size so suppose that it is too complicated a process to realign page numbers.  At the bottom I can tell what percentage of the book I have read.. which at the moment stands at 17%.

So there are definitely things I am having to get used to.  So far so good, though.

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Reading Bleak House to celebrate Charles Dickens anniversary

Now is the time to read his work again.  Hey, it is his birthday!

My book choice is one I have never read before.   “Bleak House” is the Dickens book that I and my book group have chosen to read.  It is a massive door stop of a book but I am reading it on the Kindle so won’t be daunted by the size of the book.  It is the first fiction I have read on the Kindle.

In honour of Charles Dickens I will make sure I am not tired when I read, and will give him half an hour a day. I say this because I looked at it last night, and fell asleep quickly!

Sue Townsend (of Adrian Mole fame) told me that reading is the way to improve writing – whether for business or for creative purposes. I have always loved reading but not picked up a “classic” for a good few years.

It is important to spend time away from work – especially if you run your own business, so I am making the commitment to half an hour of “Bleak House” each day until finished. Will keep you posted!

Are you using the Charles Dickens’ anniversary to read his books?

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Friends I have talked to have found it almost impossible to understand that books are given away.  They are not chosen fromyour own bookshelf but provided by the individuals, publishers and sponsors who want to spread a love of reading.

Here is a list of World Book Night sponsors:

Patrons

The Patrons of World Book Night are:

• Damon Albarn
• Margaret Atwood
• Sir Richard Branson
• Nick Cave
• Tracy Chevalier
• Roddy Doyle
• Carol Ann Duffy
• Dave Eggers
• Sir Richard Eyre
• Colin Firth
• Richard Flanagan
• David Gilmour
• Antony Gormley
• Seamus Heaney
• Damien Hirst
• Lewis Hyde
• Howard Jacobson
• Nigella Lawson
• Andrew Motion
• Mary Portas
• Philip Pullman
• Dame Gail Rebuck
• JK Rowling
• Polly Samson
• Gil Scott-Heron
• Ali Smith
• Sir Tom Stoppard
• Tilda Swinton
• Dominic West

Sponsors & Supporters

World Book Night are grateful for the support of the following in making World Book Night happen in 2011

Apple
BBC
Booksellers’ Association
Clays
FMcM
Foyles
FSC
Google
HiBrow
Holman Paper
Innocent
National Express
Nielsen Bookscan & Bookdata
Publishers’ Association
Redbox Digital
Sony
Stora Enso Publication Paper
The Book People
Waterstone’s

The Publishers
Our thanks go to the publishing houses that have supported World Book Night, and especially to those who provided the titles for World Book Night 2011

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Sir Richard Branson will speak at business 2012

How is your business going to develop in 2012?

Learning from experts like Sir Richard Branson who have created great success is one of the best ways to get inspired about taking your business forward.

Business 2012 is a free conference with over 500 events where you can listen to business gurus such as Sir Richard Branson,  Lord Sugar and many many others.  All topics are covered and are aimed at areas that are of vital importance whether you are a start up, and sme (small to medium sized business) or a medium sized business.

This is an important event for the UK.  It is sponsored by Blackberry, (smartphones) Regus (serviced offices) and the Daily Telegraph Business Club (inspiration and how-to for smaller businesses).  Take advantage of what is offered and plan a trip to the O2 from Sunday 18th – Tuesday 20th March.

You can listen to keynote speeches, attend seminars and go to workshops.  The website is a joy – simple and well laid out, and you are encouraged to plan your visit.  This is of course best practise and ensures you get to hear the people who interest you.  The other aspect that is important is to be clear what you hope to gain from being present.

Tactics are most likely to be covered in practical workshops where you can take what you learn and apply it to your business. Strategies for the direction of your business may be more likely to be revealed in seminars, and inspiration and motivation from keynote speeches.  The other gain from listening to well-respected experts is that you will gain credibility with your clients.  You can pass on ideas in newsletters and blog posts, and position yourself more strongly simply by mentioning in conversations that you heard them speak.  Your name becomes associated with the well-nown name in the mind of your client or prospect.

I have heard quite a number of the speakers and am looking forward to hearing what they have to say for 2012.  the economy is unlikely to improve quickly, so it is our responsibility to make our own economy as good as possible.

Secure your tickets for Business 2012 now. When planning your visit bear in mind that the first day – 18th March – is Mother’s Day.

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