Meryl's Notes Blog

Here are the best books I’ve read in 2006 in no particular order. Beware that not all of these books published this year, but rather they’re books I read.

• Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things: I haven’t written this review yet as I just finished it. Reading Norman’s follow up to Design of Everyday Things makes me want to read the original, but got other books that have priority.

• Next to Me is a lovely autobiography about a British businessman who happens to have Parkinson’s.

• Book Yourself Solid is a solid book that prompted me to make changes to my marketing efforts.

• Metaphorically Selling shows how to take a fresh approach to giving presentations and selling.

• The Corporate Blogging Book contains everything anyone needs to know about business blogging including making the business case and case studies.

• Writing White Papers helped me feel more comfortable about doing white papers.

• Blogging for Business is an easy flowing read that also educates people about business blogging.

• The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class refreshed my memory on facts I vaguely recalled and provided details on things I didn’t know much about.

• The Street-Smart Writer provides me with security so I know where to go if I run into problems in the writing biz.

• Tie (Fiction) Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is one of few fiction books I read this year. The book enlightened me on the Chinese culture in an absorbing story. You Could Do Better is a chick-lit style story that makes a great beach read. What I liked about it was the author’s attention to detail on TV history and trivia.