What I'm Reading...The Simple Home

Architecture, design and decorating books often catch my eye when I am browsing the bookstore or my Amazon recommendations.

I am not into any sort of high style, but I do appreciate these photos of simple and beautiful places. I nearly always find great ideas to implement in my own home.

The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough by Sarah Nettleton

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• What I'm reading...All you need is a good idea (welchwrite.com)
• What I'm Reading...ThinkerToys by Michael Michalko (welchwrite.com)

What I'm reading...All you need is a good idea

I recently picked up this book at the local library and I am working my way through it. It passes my basic criteria of a good book already, which is that it makes me stop and think. More later.

From Amazon.com...

Product Description
In All You Need Is a Good Idea, Jay Heyman shows you how to create powerful marketing and advertising ideas that will dramatically increase sales for your business. Perfect for entrepreneurs and small business owners?or operators of any size business, for that matter?this valuable marketing resource will help any business stand out in the marketplace, build bigger market share, gain publicity, and scare the pants off the competition. This book is the perfect guide to creating truly powerful marketing messages.

From the Inside Flap

If you're not in marketing at a big corporation, you probably don't have the luxury of hiring a big ad agency, or have the big budgets often required for successfully spreading your message far and wide. But how do you make your business grow without the resources of a bigger firm? Fortunately for you, all you really need is a good idea.

Jay H. Heyman's All You Need Is a Good Idea! shows you step by step how to create powerful marketing and advertising ideas that dramatically increase sales without having to invent new products, increase sales forces, find new distribution channels, or spend a ton of money you don't have. No matter how small your business is, this insightful resource will teach you how to stand out in the marketplace, build bigger market share, garner high-exposure publicity, appear larger than you really are, and make your competition extremely nervous.

Informal, conversational, and totally practical, All You Need Is a Good Idea! guides you with simple, easy-to-follow principles that stress fun and creativity. It takes the mystery out of building your business, providing unique, hands-on marketing guidance, from generating the first fuzzy notion to perfecting the final idea, and includes informative, relevant case studies of actual marketing campaigns.

If you're a marketer, business owner, or entrepreneur who wants real bang for the buck, All You Need Is a Good Idea! presents the ins and outs of creating truly effective, powerful marketing messages that will propel your business to the next level of growth and success.

Book: The House of Lords by John Wells

After watching some friends move out of a long term rental house, both Rosanne and I got the de-clutter bug again. My first attack was at the bookshelves in my office. We all have books that make it to our shelves, but never seem to make it off again, I ended up clearing nearly an entire shelf of un-wanted or un-needed books, which were dispatched to our school's flea market day and other charities around town.

One book caught my eye, though -- The House of Lords by John Wells. I purchased this book in a store on Kensington High Street during our only trip to London, back in 2000. It seemed an appropriate book to read while I was wandering the London Streets, walking by Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Whitehall. I read it quickly while on this mini-grand tour that eventually took us to Paris, Rome and, finally a re-meeting with the relatives in Sicily.

It has been so long since I first read the book, that I feel like I am reading to anew. The House of Lords has a fascinating history and fights for its very existence still today. Like all politics, the story is filled with quirky figures, deadly intrigue and amazing eccentricities. Just a day after re-discovering the book, I am almost halfway through it.

If you have any interest in Britian and its history, I highly recommend picking up a copy of The House of Lords by John Wells. You will most likely find it through a used bookseller on Amazon, as it has been out of print for some time.

Technorati Tags: book, books, read, reading, toread, uk

On hold at the library: Living: In Small Spaces

I came across mention of this book, Living in Small Spaces, on MoCoLoCo and immediately wanted to request it from the library. Unfortunately, they don't yet have a record in the system, so I will have to put it on my list of books to re-check in a month or so. I am always intrigued by "living small" ideas and this sounds like it should be a good look and read.

While looking at the book's entry at Amazon.com, I also came across this book, Living Large in Small Spaces, and another, The Very Small Home: Japanese Ideas for Living Well in Limited Space, which both sound similar and interesting.

Living: In Small Spaces

I'm intrigued by this title, due out later this month, for two reasons, 1) it's by Loft Publications, who've got a good track record and 2) for the book description in Amazon; "Is a large canvas really necessary to paint a masterpiece? The obvious answer would be that the size of the canvas and the brilliance of a work of art bear no relation. Does this also apply to interior design? Is a creative, elegant and cozy design possible in a 30-40m2 apartment? This book proves that it is... The final result is a philosophy of life based on the small, flexible and adaptable. Not only has the size of our apartments changed, but with it our lifestyle.". Urban nomads take note. Living small requires a surprisingly large number of pages, this paperback edition has 356 pages, all no doubt well illustrated, for $23.07 at Amazon.

(Via MoCoLoco.)

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What I'm Reading...

Not living without goals entirely, just not letting them dictate your life.

The latest book I am reading.


You can find more books in The WelchWrite Bookstore.

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What I'm Reading...

A man both pious and scandalous -- brother of famous author Harriet Beecher Stowe and son of one of the most prominant Calvinist preachers of the era, Beecher rose and then fell into the depths of a vicious sex scandal.

I am finding it a great source for this particular era of American history, one that I didn't know much about. I especially like that much of it takes place in Ohio, my home state.




The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More Can you really make money off the nichification of the marketplace? This book has become the darling of the Internet marketing set. I'll finally get a chance to see what all the hubbub is about.



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Screenwriting/Television Writing Book Recommendations

Today must be the day to update all online book lists.

I realized the my wife, Rosanne's book recommendations for screenwriting and television writing had never been put on her part of the site. So, you can now check it out using the link below.

Link: Screenwriting/Television Writing Recommended Books

Technorati Tags: creativity, learning, education, toread, read, reading, performance, book, television, writing, screenwriting

What I'm Reading....

Readymade is from the folks over at Readymade magazine, a great monthly available via subscription or on the newstand.



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