Since Peli posted about something on his reading list, I thought I would follow suit, only I want you all to give me something to read.

Here's the deal:

I don't really care about business. I REALLY don't. Most of the time, when I read business articles, it's a struggle to keep my eyes from rolling back into my head. Mergers, acquisitions, tax-dodging shenanigans, etc....ugh.

You might be saying to yourself, "why is this chick going to business school? And why on earth did they let her in?'

Well, first, I never told them how much I don't care. Second, I really do want to learn these skills -- marketing, negotiation, leadership, accounting, finance, etc. I want to learn them and then apply them in my world, 'cause lord knows most nonprofits need a little management help. (Or big-bad-biz needs some help being a little nicer.)

I compare it to taking the bicycle repair class I took a few years ago. Mostly, I was broke and wanted to know how to patch my own tubes, change out my hubs, and adjust my derailleur. It's useful knowledge, and I am still friends with the people I met in that class. However, I don't talk about bikes or how they work and I couldn't care less about buying fancy parts. I certainly don't read magazine articles about 'em either.

As you can imagine, I am a bit worried about getting immersed into all of this stuff and being so bored I want to poke out my own eyes with the prongs of my laptop's power cord.

So can you guys recommend anything to read that might interest me? Might make me want to learn more?

(And don't yell at me. I know. I'm not saying that what you do isn't valuable, it's just that it doesn't light me up.)

I really liked Friedman's "Lexus and the Olive Tree." His writing is really engaging, even if I thought he WAY oversimplified things.

One sociology prof I know says that the best literature in sociology is coming from journalists; maybe it's the same with biz!

that's a great rec, Johnny. I'm gonna check it out. I feel like I gotta do something....I'm sorta dreading this.

Yeah, he was on a local radio show here....I didn't catch a lot of it 'cause I was in and out of the room with the radio, but he sounded interesting and readable.

Though I have to say, I am less worried about econ; I love econ, especially macro stuff. I think I'm actually most worried about finance. Do you guys ever read Allan Sloan? He writes a biz column for Newsweek, and most of the time I think he's speaking ancient Greek. Huh? What? Sometimes I even try really hard to follow the mechanations of what he's describing, but I usually give up.

OK, fess up. How much are they paying you? You LOVE those guys and give 'em props all the time...

Following on agreeing with the two guys above.

The economist is excellent - very brief on everything, but carefully written so that it isn't just surface information.

Books and that are for what you are interested in more for me. So, quite often have zero MBA relevance (Simon Reynolds works are especially popular)

That's a good rec too, Darren. Thanks.

As for reading speed, I wonder how your speed is in Vietnamese. I am wicked-quick in English, but am super-duper slow, painfully slow, in French. I think slow reading in a second language just goes with the territory.

I think the best way to improve the speed of your reading is to stand by the side of train tracks and try to read the ads on the trains as they whiz by. In time, you'll be able to read very quickly.

Just kidding (was that even funny?) If you're a quick reader in your native language then I assume your slower reading speed in English isn't because you don't have the right technique, but rather you haven't read anyhwere near the volume of material in English that you have in Vietnamese. That said, there are techniques taught in many speed-reading courses (such as looking at words in large "clumps" rather than just one, two, or three at a time) that may help.

I would suggest reading a book by Norman Lewis. I think the title is "How to read better and faster". I read it a decade ago during college. The title is quite cheesy and sounds like a video professor title on home shopping network. However, the tips and techniques suggested helped me develop lifelong good reading habits.

Economist is a very good recommendation.

This is not necessarily aaudetat-specific; just some recommendations..

File this under the category: Serious reading

The Innovator's Dilemma -- Clayton Christensen

What Smart Executives Fail -- Sydney Finkelstein (I think he is at Tuck)

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid : Eradicating Poverty through profits -- C K Prahalad

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time -- Greg Mortenson

I also like to get my biz news analysis from websites such as http://www.tompeters.com

Yes, I should have mentioned the Goal.

If you are interested in another fun operations based novel, you may consider "The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean Turnaround" also.