Very excited for my summer reading series! 🙂 I just finished Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor. I tried to use a few techniques from the book on Bella, Jordan’s mom’s dog, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She was afraid of the clicker. I’ll have to document the process once I find a more receptive puppy.
I started on The Tools and Writing Voice which are both turning out to be instructive and insightful. Hope I can get through all four books by the end of August. Crossing my fingers for a well-read summer!
- The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower — and Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion by Phil Stutz & Barry Michels — The Tools® is a dynamic, results-oriented practice that aims to deliver relief from persistent problems and restore control—and hope—to readers right away. Every day presents challenges—big and small—that the Tools transform into opportunities to bring about bold and dramatic change in your life. These transformative techniques will teach you how to
- Get unstuck: Master the things you are avoiding and live in forward motion.
- Control anger: Free yourself from out-of-control rage and never-ending grudges.
- Express yourself: Learn the secret of true confidence and find your authentic voice.
- Combat anxiety: Stop obsessive worrying and negative thinking.
- Find discipline: Activate willpower and make the most of every minute.
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman — “It is the story of Shadow, released from prison just days after his wife and best friend are killed in an accident—who gets recruited to be bodyguard, driver, and errand boy for the enigmatic trickster, Mr. Wednesday. So begins Shadow’s dark and strange road trip, one that introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. For, beneath the placid surface of everyday life, a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and Shadow is standing squarely in its path.”
- Writing Voice: The Complete Guide to Creating a Presence on the Page & Engaging Readers from the editors of Writer’s Digest — “All writers bring a unique set of skills to their work: One author might write outstanding characters, while another might dazzle with dialogue. You don’t have to master every aspect of the craft in order to succeed, but the one quality required of every writer is a compelling, original voice. Your voice, which is often difficult to define and even more difficult to master, can transform your writing from pedestrian to powerful.”
- Mastery by Robert Greene — “Each one of us has within us the potential to be a Master. Learn the secrets of the field you have chosen, submit to a rigorous apprenticeship, absorb the hidden knowledge possessed by those with years of experience, surge past competitors to surpass them in brilliance, and explode established patterns from within. Study the behaviors of Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci and the nine contemporary Masters interviewed for this book.”
