3) The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

This has been on my shelf for several years, and I took it down on Monday on impulse. It was a good impulse. This is a great little book, and should be read by anyone who writes for a living or in their spare time, ie pretty much anyone reading this. The one off-putting element for us on this side of the Atlantic is that it proclaims its American credentials loudly, but most of its grammar and usage points are relevant to any English idiom, and the tips on good and clear writing style are relevant to any language.

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Top UnSuggestion for this book: Judge and Jury, by James Patterson

10) Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz

For some reason this was supplied as a freebie with my new Palm T|X from work. (Along with Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors, and a bunch of other less useful stuff.) It's a book about how to network effectively, and so for a compulsive networker like me was absolutely fascinating reading. What I found particularly striking is that the book is aimed at the thrusting, selfish young executive, and actually tells them to calm down, start doing little favours for other people - whoever they may be - and be generally nice to people because it is fun and good for you, and also will help your business and your career. It is an interesting combination of exhorting people to altruism by playing on their self-interest; being friendly doesn't cost you anything, in fact it can benefit you a lot.

Suggested tactics include such glories as the "deep bump" - how to conduct a meaningful but efficiently brief conversation with someone you meet at a conference or similar networking event (though Ferrazzi loathes the concept of "networking events"), ending with a concrete proposal of how you can be useful to each other. Oddly enough last night I was out for dinner and found myself sitting beside a bloke from America who I hadn't met before. He conducted a meaningful but efficiently brief conversation with me, ending with a concrete proposal as to how we could be useful to each other in the future. I realised with an inner grin (even as the conversation was going on) that I was being "deep bumped". But in fact the process was a sensible use of both our time, and I probably will take him up on his offer next time I am in New York.

There are some problems with the structure and repetitiveness of this book (which shows signs of an editor attempting to make sense of a stream-of-consciousness manuscript) but the other thing I liked was the occasional historical asides. I will think of Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin in a new light now. A thought-provoking read.

3) Getting Things Done: How To Achieve Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen

I rushed out and got this on a sudden whim last week, partly because I was disappointed with the last couple of self-help books I bought, partly because I spent several days last week clearing the decks before I went on holiday, mainly because I'd really like both less stress and more productivity. My self-image is of a laid-back kinda guy who doesn't work particularly efficiently, and it sometimes comes as a shock to reaclise that some of my colleagues have precisely the opposite impression. It would be nice to bring the two perceptions into closer synchronisation with each other and with reality (whatever that is). Anyway, this was really preparatory reading to help me decide if this is the system I should start trying to implement in my own life. At first glance, it all seems to make sense, so I'll try it when I get back later in the month, and report back here in due course.

6) The Rules of Management, by Richard Templar

I like to buy the occasional personal development book, and this was a) cheap and b) the best-selling such at Heathrow Airport so I bought and read it pretty quickly. It's simply 100 top tips for managers, each explained in one or two pages, not in fact very well structured except that the first third are things to do with your team and the rest are things to do with your own work habits. A couple of ideas that gave me pause for though, but I must say the other books I've read in this genre were much more potentially useful.

2) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

I've got into the habit of buying and reading a self-help book every year or so - especially since I became a manager, an important role for which I have had no formal training. I must say I've found this to be one of the more useful ones I've tried; it goes far beyond the simple questions of running an effective office and concentrates on how to lead a more rewarding life.

The 7 habits are:
1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think win/win
5. Seek first to understand, rather than to be understood
6. Synergise
7. Sharpen the saw

My own biggest difficulty has always been #3, the art of prioritising, but I found the reflections on the other points reinforced a lot of my own approach to personal development and offered some helpful further thoughts. The book is not too loaded with timeconsuming exercises - basically one short one at the start of each chapter. It is, however, a little repetitive.

Anyhow, I've found the author's website and am downloading the planning software for a free trial - will report back on whether it works for me or not.

A good set. (via brisingamen)

My own New Year Resolution is to have another crack at learning Russian.

5) The Procrastinator's Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now by Rita Emmett

I got this last night from FictionWise as a means of putting off the tasks I've been putting off for weeks, and wow, what an excellent book. The patterns of behaviour it describes are me exactly. I've been buying these sorts of self-improvement books off and on for a few years now but this is the first one that really seemed to me to get to the heart of my particular problem - untidy desk, projects delayed, personal finances not up to date, not enough exercise. Lots of little homework exercises which I think I'll update on LiveJournal as I do them. $2.50 well spent (I hope). I may even go out and get a paper copy.