Tag Archives: Books

A great book title

Isn’t this a great title for a book? “Does this clutter make my butt look fat?” by Peter Walsh. Although I expected to book to deal with clutter, the sub-title (“An easy plan for losing weight and living more”) indicates otherwise. Walsh was apparently a clutter expert on The Learning Channel’s Clean Sweep show and [...]

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Are you an innerpreneur?

“Innerpreneur.” Isn’t that a great term? I ran across it following a trail from the latest MarketingSherpa newsletter to a book called Karma Queens, Geek Gods & Innerpreneurs, by Consumer Eyes marketing firm founder Ron Rentel. The book identifies the people who are setting the trends for society and influencing our buying habits, and suggests [...]

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Keep your voice

It’s a holiday in Ontario (Simcoe Day, a “celebration” of John Graves Simcoe, who was the first Lieutenant-Governor of what was then known as Upper Canada; it’s also often called the boring “Civic Holiday”) and in between dog walking and yard work I am catching up on my blog reading. I also just finished reading [...]

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Dog with a rap sheet

My dog is known to police. I found this out from a hanging door tag left by the local Humane Society while I was out. “Please call the officer below re: incident involving ‘Jake’,” it said. Uh oh! While I was away one weekend, Jake had stayed with my mother, and she and a neighbour [...]

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Amazon shows how to use confirmation e-mails

The latest Alertbox from Jakob Nielsen refers to Amazon.com‘s e-commerce design (more detailed analysis here), saying: “Amazon.com continues with outstanding use of confirmation email to sustain customer relationships and long-term loyalty. A week ago, I got an email from them confirming that they were going to ship the new Harry Potter book to me with [...]

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On guard for Potter spoilers

Like many households, ours is on Harry Potter alert. The (perhaps) final book in the series is due out this Saturday, and we’ve had it pre-ordered for months. The reading plan has been discussed and settled. Because mornings find Son #1 at work and Son #2 asleep, that’s when I can have a half-hour or [...]

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Nora feels bad about her neck

Just had to share another book that recently showed up at my local library (I was 29th on the “hold” list!): Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. I had read an excerpt in a magazine and found it hugely funny, especially the parts where she laments [...]

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An inspirational book about cancer

When I run across a book that’s highly recommended, I check if it’s available at my local library and put a hold on it. Quite often I have a number of books lined up, so when the call comes in that my “hold” is in, it’s always a surprise to see what’s waiting for me. [...]

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Good advice for writers

Several different sources recently pointed me to a marvellous book on writing, Anne Lamott‘s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, published in 1994. The title comes from advice her father gave to her (then) 10-year-old brother, who was struggling to start and finish a school project on birds: “…he was at the [...]

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