That last point is really important to me as a reader. As someone who consumes a lot of information and is consistently juggling multiple projects that demand my time, unfortunately even when I have the best intentions, I don’t ever get back to the book I highlighted, the magazine article I ripped out or the blog post that I starred in Google Reader. This is never the case with Seth’s books. I read them as soon as I get my hands on them, highlight or write all over them and continually look back at them. And Poke the Box followed that same pattern.

I downloaded it on Kindle as soon as it launched and on my flight down to Austin, TX for SXSW 2011 I was able to read the book in about an hour or so. At 83 pages with a lot of spacing on the pages, the book is a short, quick read. I think this is because the book then takes you another 2 hours to fully digest as you quickly scribble down thoughts, make plans and focus on shipping something. For me, after I was done reading and taking some notes from the book, I immediately opened up Evernote and wrote another 1,000 words for the next edition of Facebook Marketing, drafted the initial thoughts for my next newsletter (are you subscribed yet?) and began writing a couple blog posts.

The official book description explains it all:

If you’re stuck at the starting line, you don’t need more time or permission. You don’t need to wait for a boss’s okay or to be told to push the button; you just need to poke.

Poke the Box is a manifesto by bestselling author Seth Godin that just might make you uncomfortable. It’s a call to action about the initiative you’re taking-– in your job or in your life. Godin knows that one of our scarcest resources is the spark of initiative in most organizations (and most careers)-– the person with the guts to say, “I want to start stuff.”

Poke the Box just may be the kick in the pants you need to shake up your life.

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Seth’s new book.

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Photo Credit: Jeff Hester

I have been fascinated with Zappos for the past few years because of their focus on doing right by their customers and team members which has translated into an amazing company culture and a strong base of super-fans and repeat customers. I’ve also had the opportunity to hang out with Tony since we share a lot of the same friends and he has also been gracious enough to host several awesome parties during many of the big conferences that take place in Las Vegas.

All of this built up anticipation to read the behind-the-scenes story on Zappos and this book doesn’t disappoint. I shot a video review to share my thoughts on the book.

If you can’t view this video, you can head over to my YouTube channel.

Have you read Delivering Happiness(affiliate link) yet? Thoughts?

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I really enjoyed Rework and found myself making lots of highlights inside of it to go back and reference. It also provided a nice jolt of motivation and gave me some ideas for my current and future business endeavors. This is the type of book that I will be passing on to a couple folks that may be in a rut lately and/or who are getting ready to launch new businesses.

For more of my thoughts on the book, here’s a quick video.

Have you read Rework yet? What were your thoughts of it?

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First up is a video review by Chris Brogan:

Next, here are a few other reviews that you may find interesting:

• Tim Peter – Facebook Marketing by Justin R. Levy (Book Review of the Week-ish)
• Valley PR Blog – Book Review: Facebook Marketing
• Deidre Breakenridge – Book Review: Facebook Marketing
• iMedia Connection – 6 Beach Books for Marketers
• Get Social PR – Facebook Marketing 9-Part Series

If you’ve written up a review of Facebook Marketing, please let me know in the comments.  I will keep this post updated with more reviews as I find them.

If you have already read Facebook Marketing, would you mind leaving a rating and review over on Amazon?

Most importantly, thank YOU for all of your support since the book launch!

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Based on interviews with their current and former employees, competitors, professors, and friends, Brandt details their early lives, the origins of their idealism, and the strategies underlying Google’s relentless expansion.  He explores misconceptions about the company’s culture, especially its motto, ‘Don’t be evil,’ and rule number one, ‘Focus on the user and everything else will follow.’

I really enjoyed how Brandt structured the book and I learned a lot about Larry, Sergey and Google that I didn’t previously know.  This book is definitely worth picking up if you’re fascinated with Google, their culture, their growth and the way in which they view the world.

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Jonathan Alter received access to senior level officials within the Administration.  That access helps this book to give you the feeling that you were sitting in the Oval Office while major discussions and decisions were being made from the once Obama won the election and was the President-Elect through his first days in office and onto everything from health care legislation, the auto industry bailout, the recession, the two wars and everything else that President Obama has juggled over the past year.

I really enjoyed the book especially because I had previously read David Plouffe’s book about the campaign so it was nice to tie both together.  Here are some more thoughts that I had on the book.

If you can’t view this video, head over to my YouTube channel to grab it.

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Well, Derailed (affiliate link) by Tim Irwin takes the exact opposite perspective but that’s what makes the book so great.  Derailed reviews the decisions, personalities and eventual derailments of six high-profile leaders.  Irwin finds that:

deficits in authenticity, humility, self-management, and courage become more dangerous as we take on more leadership, and can cause us to ignore glaring signals that might otherwise save us from catastrophic demise

It is from these derailments that Irwin puts together a list of five lessons can we can all implement into our lives to avoid current or future failures in leadership if we’re currently in an executive position or seek to obtain a position in the future.

Catch more of my review in this quick video review.  If you can’t see the video, you can grab it over on YouTube.

Note: Apparently there was some background noise from my washing machine, or who knows what.  Sorry for the little annoying hum.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Have you read the book?  What were your thoughts on it?

Disclosure: This book was provided as a review copy.

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The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory

Want some more explanation?  David Plouffe was the campaign manager and chief architect of the Obama presidential campaign.  Over the course of 2 years the campaign raised more than $750 million, had a staff of almost 6,000 people and an army of volunteers that totaled into the millions.  The Audacity to Win (Amazon affiliate link) takes you closer than any other account of the Obama campaign has.  There are many business, marketing, community development and time management takeaways in addition to the granular level detail of what it takes to run a presidential campaign.

As usual, I shot a quick video with my thoughts on the book.  If you can’t view the video, check it out over on my YouTube channel.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

As you’ll be able to tell from my video book review, I really enjoyed this book.  It’s easy to consume, fun to read and you can extract all sorts of tidbits of information as well as a ton of great quotes to help keep those creative juices flowing.  This will definitely be a book that I re-read on a regular schedule.  Oh, and if the text of the book wasn’t enough, Hugh fills the book with tons of business card-sized drawings to help illustrate his points.

I really hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did.  I’m already planning on sending a few copies around to some people I know in my life that could use this boost.

If you can’t view the video below, you can also find it over on my YouTube channel.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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I definitely think it’s worth picking up, especially if you’re new to Twitter or still don’t quite get what everyone gets so excited over it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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