What Today’s Professional Ladies Are Reading
Your average nine-to-five requires eight (plus) hours of up close and personal screen time with your laptop. Meanwhile, you check your phone for emails, updates and friend requests at lunch (breakfast, and dinner). Sometimes your eyes need a rest. To unwind and unplug, nothing is better than a good book.
So whether you’re looking for a new paperback to pick up, or some daily motivation, here’s what some of today’s professional ladies are reading in their spare time.
The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
Recommended byCaitlin Banks, a Government Contractor with Xcelerate Solutions.
What caught her eye about this one? “The reviews said that the author addresses that we need to be happier and appreciate more of what we have on a daily basis. I feel so fortunate, but sometimes I get bogged down in the day and fail to fully appreciate the moments. This book is a great reminder to be present.”
She typically reads books on positive, self, and professional improvement.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed
Recommended by Julie Eades, VP of Global SMB and Commercial Segment Marketing at VMware. (Eade’s is currently on sabbatical.)
What caught her eye about this one? “To me Wild is all about personal motivation and inner purpose that some people possess. Her inner strength and ability to work through adversity can teach us a lot about what we are capable of.”
She typically reads magazines and articles, specifically Bloomberg, Inc. and Wired. She also uses Twitter for article scouting. “When Twitter first came out, I really didn’t get it but now I love it. I follow a lot of news feeds and media outlets vs. people.”
Should others read it? She says yes. “Books about strength and a pursuit of something larger than life always leads to a little thought process about our own lives.”
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg
Recommended by Rhiannon Burch, Director of National Accounts at an outdoor power equipment manufacturer, Excel Industries.
What caught her eye about this one? “As the COO of Facebook, Sheryl has walked in the shoes of every woman who struggles to find that balance between work and home: the proverbial “having it all.” She challenges women to lean in and prove what we can do rather than dwell on what we can’t do, or wish we could do.”
She typically reads everything and anything. “I love books. Period. I gravitate towards books that challenge the norm and overcome adversity. Whether it’s the story Zelda Fitzgerald struggling with mental illness and her relationship with her husband, or a study of human genetics and the science of athletic performance, so much of the fabric of who we are can be found within the pages of a book.
Should others read it? “If you have XX chromosomes” the answer is definitively yes. “It doesn’t matter if you are single, married, a mother, heading for the boardroom, or just happy to keep your head above water for another day, this book offers great advice and practical tips from a woman that has lived through the same experiences. At some level we all struggle with closing the gap between what is expected from us and what that little inner voice pushes us to do. Sheryl does an amazing job of reconciling the idea of who the world wants a woman to be and the woman we are destined to become.”
Bonus – Sony recently got the rights to Lean In, and is planning to bring it to the big screen.
Tell us, what book are you currently reading?
TAGS: books Lean In Sheryl Sandberg