Adventure at Your Library

Since COVID I haven’t emphasized like I did in the past the Library Summer reading programs that go on across the country. A couple of weeks ago I went to my local library here in New Braunfels to renew my library card. It was nice to see a full parking lot. I went in to renew the card and picked up a book to read. I only took one as being a Bookhead I already have a large stack of books to read at home. I then went over to the information table and saw information on the Summer Reading program. This as always brings back to me memories of my childhood in Barberton, Ohio and my mom taking me to the public library for the Summer reading program. I believe that started for me when I was in second grade. Reading captured my attention as being in a poor single parent home I could read about stories from all over the world. The passion for reading helped me academically in school. I have many good memories of the library reading programs and it was a highlight of my Summers. I picked up a free bookmark off the table and it had a theme for the reading program on it. The theme for this year is, “Adventure Begins at Your Library”. This is a wonderful theme. Adventure should be connected to libraries and reading. Culture at large looks at reading and libraries as boring so the theme is an important reframing. With libraries in today’s world they are much more than books, which of course as a Bookhead that is the most important part to me. Yet as I looked at the library calendar they have presentations for adults on self help topics such as creativity, coloring and meal prepping. They have activities for children and teens as well. Then when considering reading, that should be considered an adventure as well. Reading expands the mind in so many ways. With fiction the mind is transported into the story built by another person’s creative mind but the reader gets to also being absorbed into the creativity of the story. With non-fiction the adventure is opening up to new ideas and new information on topics for example I love topics such as psychology and spirituality. Each non-fiction reader has their favorite topics and it excites them to grow in new ways. So I am glad they chose the theme of adventure for the reading program. I am a little behind this year as the librarian said they would be winding down the program soon but he said there was a lot of involvement from all the ages at the library here in New Braunfels. Next year I will be more together and go back to announcing the Summer reading program at the beginning of the Summer. Reflection: How is reading an adventure in your life?

Reading Can Help Build a Better World

Each June I usually focus one blog post on library Summer reading programs. Last week I was at my local New Braunfels Public Library and noticed on their Children’s calendar they were having a Kick Off Party for their Summer Reading Program on June 3rd. I would have liked to have stopped by to see the turn out but that was my Saturday to see therapy clients at the office.

Their theme for the Summer is “Build a Better World”. Here is the link to their reading program page - http://nbtexas.readsquared.com. As I have stated in the past and in my book Living More Than OK it was library reading programs where I began my Bookhead journey as a lover of reading. That was in my hometown library in Barberton, Ohio. Here is the link to the Barberton Public Library Summer reading program - http://www.barberton.lib.oh.us/SummerReadingClub

I noticed that the Barberton library had the same theme of “Build a Better World” so it must be a national theme. I took time to reflect on that theme as to how reading can help build a better world. If you think about it reading is an important tool in improving our world. If we want to build a better world it has to begin with each of us as individuals. The Power of One is very important. We need to understand that in our own personal spheres we can make an impact on bettering the world around us. This is why I am glad when I see the Summer reading programs libraries promote they reach out to all age groups.

How does reading improve us as individuals? Through reading our critical thinking skills are challenged and improved. Our world is not improved through lazy passive thoughts but through active constructive thinking. As our thinking improves we become better problem solvers on the personal level and then we can possibly move on to use our problem solving skills to constructively improve problems we see in society.

Reading also taps into our creative mind and grows the creative mind. Much of stagnated living stems from boredom and passivity. When we are building creativity through our reading it may spur us into opening new doors of creative possibilities in our lives. We may read stories of people’s journeys to other parts of the world and realize why not try doing a vacation there as well. We read a story of someone helping out others and that may spur us personally to move into helping with a local or national nonprofit cause. Creativity opens possibilities to new growth in life.

The library reading programs can be a way as well to build a better world by building up the next generation. So many young children I counsel have a lack of interest in reading as they say the schools just give them boring reading material. One boy called it "old people reading". A library reading program allows the children to find books they are interested in and can then build that love for reading. Most librarians are happy to help a child or teen find books that fit their interests. So if you have children or grandchildren challenge them to be involved with their local library Summer reading program. This is another way you can help in building a better world by building into the lives and minds of children and teens for whom you care.

I also want to mention that in Summers Barnes and Noble stores do an incentive for reading. You can find information about it at their website https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/kids/get-ready-for-bns-summer-reading-triathlon/ Children can pick up a journal at their stores and after reading 8 books they can choose a free book. You can say that is a business gimmick but they still are encouraging reading. I also appreciate Barnes and Noble as they are still out there as a walk in store for books giving another presence in society about the importance of books.

The main emphasis here today is the local library. Another important reason for encouraging the young children and teens in your life to do these reading programs is that it gets them involved in hopefully a lifetime relationship to the local library. Since my early years when my mother took me to the Barberton library for the Summer reading program libraries have been a vital part of my life. So be involved this Summer with your local library reading program and start in helping to “Build a Better World”.

Reflection: In your opinion how can reading help in building a better world? What is one of your favorite library memories?

Encouraging Readers to Seek Flow

This being National Library Week I thought I would continue on discussing reading and Flow. At our New Braunfels Public Library I came across a book, Going with the Flow: How to Engage Boys (and girls in Their Literacy Learning.) It was written by Dr. Michael W. Smith an education Professor at Temple University and Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm an English professor at Boise State University. Although the book was written in 2006 to this day both authors still show a passion for encouraging reading and literacy. I am thankful when I read about people such as these men who encourage reading.

This book is based off of research that came out of a previous work they did, Reading Don’t Fix No Chevy’s. Their work revolved around trying to encourage young boys in reading which talking to teachers is a struggle more these days. I know in counseling clients when working with children I have found girls are more often open to reading than boys. At the college level I see the same phenomenon that it is the girls that tend to enjoy reading more. Smith and Wilhelm point out how in education studies that girls tend to outperform boys in reading. That seemed to be one driving passion in their research.

What I found interesting in the book was in their interactions with the boys they found a connection to Dr. Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory. As mentioned last week, Flow is the experience in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does with a sense of enjoyment. The authors found that the boys outside of the “prison of school” (some of the boys perceptions of school), had flow activities they enjoyed. Some of these activities were rapping, sports, video games and art.

They found that the boys were not totally against reading as a number of them read outside of school but often on subjects that they enjoyed such as the sports and video gaming activities. Part of the thinking on encouraging reading in boys was to keep encouraging them to read things they enjoy. I thought as I read the book it was that encouragement that could help the boys connect elements of flow to their reading. They point out near the end of the book that “We found that the five features of flow experience that we discuss in this book -- a sense of competence and control, an appropriate level of challenge, clear goals and feedback, a focus on the immediate, and the importance of the social – explained why our boys liked to do the things that they did. We found that these five features were equally explanatory of the boys’ literate engagement, both in school and out.” (page 171)

I haven’t crunched the numbers from my flow assignment with my college students but those seem to be the core elements of flow that my students felt would apply the best to college studies and flow. I have had students who were taking remedial reading at the college level and they made statements similar to the boys in the book. They would say they enjoy reading things they like but the struggle was reading material they did not like in classes. I would often reply that was hard for me to relate to, as being a Bookhead I enjoyed reading what I liked to read but in school I always enjoyed textbooks as well. I would often tell them I am crazy that way. I agree though that to build the habit of reading we need to encourage people to focus in on reading what they enjoy reading and branch out from there.

One other point I fully agree with is their thoughts on the emphasis on mandatory testing in schools. I have heard from stressed out teachers over the years how they hate teaching to the test. In counseling children many get very stressed out over the Texas state mandated tests. I have asked sometimes to an overly stressed child do the teachers appear nervous about the testing? Several times I have had the children reply in the positive that yes, they notice the teacher nervous about the testing. So if the teachers are stressed out how can we expect the children to perform well? The authors rightly point out how the emphasis on testing makes the emphasis on doing school, rather than learning to enjoy learning and mentally growing. “Our worry is that the more we overtly prepare students for tests, the less our assignments are for the enjoyment of doing them, or for the immediate power of application in the present. Increasingly, what students are asked to do in school is for the instrumental purpose of passing a test, often one in the distant future, instead of doing something for immediate purposes that provide intrinsic satisfaction.” (p. 160) Our test emphasis is counterproductive in building flow into students’ lives. No wonder so many drop out or lose their love of learning; which in the world we live in we should be building students who love learning.

So this National Library Week stop by your local library and support the work they do in encouraging reading. Continue to build the flow of reading in your own life and encourage it in others.

Reflection: Pick up a new book to read in an area of personal interest at your local public library.

Slow Reading as Part of Our Reading Regimen

from foter

One part of reading I miss as I am immersed in my Phd studies is leisure reading. I was reminded of this as I was reading a segment in Louise DeSalvo’s book, The Art of Slow Writing. In it she has a chapter on slow reading. Growing up slow readers were considered those who had trouble reading. Her chapter takes an important look at a type of reading – reading slowly. I find myself with my classes for my doctorate having to speed read through journal articles. Of course my statistics book I read slowly as I am not keen on numbers, so I need to take my time to learn the information. That is a part of what she is getting at but there is more to slow reading.

She starts off the chapter discussing Bill Gates, reading habits. She mentions how he regularly takes reading retreats each year. I looked into what she was saying through an internet search and found out Bill Gates is an avid reader. Most articles mentioned the week away is called a “think week”. This is where Mr. Gates secludes himself from his family and workplace in a restful retreat setting for a week. He uses the week to read papers of ideas from his employees and other readings. I like both terms but I prefer how Louise DeSalvo describes it as a reading retreat as he is secluding himself away for the purpose of reading. Of course “think week” is a good term as well as he takes breaks from his reading to think and reflect over what he reads. The idea is very appealing to me as a Bookhead.

The idea of slow reading fits well with the retreat idea. Taking the time to savor what is being read be it a novel or nonfiction work of literature can be beneficial. I miss too often having a relaxed time to sit and read among my reading for studies and reading for my work as a professor and counselor. Thankfully I am down to just a few classes and my dissertation left on my Phd in psychology. That should free up time for enjoyable slow reading. Of course I do enjoy my work and study reading as I am a Bookhead. Any reading is enriching but I do look forward to more free time to read books I really want to slowly immerse myself into the material or story.

Louise DeSalvo mentions that writers should be readers. In the short chapter on slow reading she shares thoughts from the author, Henry Miller. She shares how Miller was a proponent of slow reading in that he took about a year to read Thomas Mann’s, The Magic Mountain. Her comments about him makes me want to read his, The Books in My Life. Reading slowly allows us to delve into the minute details and truly ponder and meditate on what the author is trying to say. The best thought she shared from Miller about reading is a quote from him that leisurely reading opens up, “a new life, (filled with) new fields of adventure and exploration.” One way to enjoy a better spiraling upwards life is through slow reading so as to learn new ideas for new life directions.

from foter

I can imagine the benefits of slow reading from even being more relaxed and allowing the body to be calm from the day’s pressures. Taking even 30 minutes for a slow reading break with a book you enjoy can help ease the tension of the day.
Going back to the idea of the reading retreat, how much could we improve our lives is we took a mini reading vacation to expand our mind and thinking.

Do you need to take a full week like Bill Gates? I know I like the idea and can see myself trying it out in the future. I even foresee myself using breaks between my Phd classes to do a reading retreat on my dissertation research articles I have accumulated. Also make use of your local library for a reading retreat. Many libraries have reading study rooms. Maybe take a reading retreat day at your library. Reserve a study room and select some reading material to work through for a day. See what new adventures in your mind and life occur from savoring your reading in this way.

Reflection: What do you think about Bill Gates’ “Think Week” concept? How would you do a reading retreat? What are some books or reading materials you would use on such a retreat?

Improving Good Thinking

from Foter

In this early part of the New Year improving our thinking is one way to keep growing on our Living More Than OK journey. The quality of our thinking aids in our enjoyment of life and personal successes. Richard Paul and Linda Elders in their book Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life state this of the need for sound thinking: “There is nothing more practical than sound thinking. No matter what your circumstance or goals, no matter where you are, or what problems you face, you are better off if your thinking is skilled. …in every realm and situation of your life, good thinking pays off. Poor Thinking, in turn, inevitably causes problems, wastes time and energy, engenders frustration and pain.” (page 7)

If we look at the problems and difficulties of our lives and are honest we can see where most our negativity can be traced back to faulty thinking. In the Living More Than OK life we want to live more of our time spiraling up to abundant living instead of spiraling down into stagnation and problems. Each of us can find room to improve in our thought lives.
Improving our thinking begins with a choice to continually learn and improve our minds. We need to take time to make time to do things to improve our thinking. Take mental growth breaks during the day or on the weekend. Paul & Elders in the aforementioned book reveal that critical thinkers need to work on building intellectual habits and traits into their thought lives. The traits they mention are: “Intellectual integrity, Intellectual humility, Intellectual sense of justice, Intellectual perseverance, Intellectual fair-mindedness, Intellectual confidence in reason, Intellectual courage, Intellectual empathy, Intellectual autonomy.” (page 19) Look over those terms and first reflect over which areas are you already strong in and which areas do you need to grow in at present time.

How can we grow in these areas? Probably no surprise to you my first response is to tell you to go to your local library and select a book on Critical Thinking. I highly recommend any of the writings by Richard Paul and Linda Elders. Their writings are sound and also practical. There are other good writers on critical thinking but those two are my favorites. My book, Living More Than OK, has one chapter on the need for critical thinking. So this Bookhead is telling you books are one of the best ways to grow your mind and thought life. For reading material you can also go to www.criticalthinking.org and click on their Library tab and read various articles about critical thinking.

Beyond reading you can also search on YouTube or Ted talks for video lectures on thinking and critical thinking. Here is an example of a short video of Richard Paul on thinking from YouTube -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNCOOUK-bMQ . You may also want to look into Continuing education courses at local universities and colleges. Find an area of mental curiosity or interest to you personally, and take a course in that subject.

from Foter

Growing in improved good thinking will add value to your life. The process may lessen the number or intensity of problems that you may be facing. By growing our thinking it helps keep the mind open to possibilities and new solutions to adversity and new areas of growth. Give improving your thinking a try in this New Year.

Reflection: Go to the Library link of the critical thinking website http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/index-of-articles/1021/ and read one article of your choosing. Take time to reflect over the message of the article you chose.

Encouraging Reading to Create Booklovers

At the recent Texas Book Festival in Austin I found myself conversing with a librarian and a sales rep for Penguin Publishing while waiting in the long line for Crepes in the outdoor food court. Part of the discussion was the decline in reading in the country especially among young people. The reality of our discussion I read in an article I found online where Jordan Weissmann speaks in The Atlantic (2014) about the decline of reading. He pointed out that recent research showed that about 25% of American adults had done no book reading in the previous year. He pointed out a Gallup study that showed in 1978 that 42 % of adults read 11 books and then a recent Pew study showed that percentage had declined to 28%. He correctly points out that a major difference is that in this modern era there is an increase of technological gadgetry to sidetrack from reading. Students at the college level that I speak with in classes agree that most of their technology time is spent watching videos or chatting through texting not reading.

Weissmann is optimistic in his article, in that he shows that the statistic of readers had stabilized so he is not seeing further decline. Myself I would like to see the 28% go back up to 42%. His article ends with bar graphs in response to a question “How many Americans Read a Book for Pleasure Last Year?”. The years reported were 1992, 2002, 2008, and 2012. The last two years showed a stable mid 50s percentage. One problem I have is the question is stated in the singular “book”. How about working on getting people involved in their local library reading more than one book a year? I think that can happen if we encourage the importance of reading. That is why I promote reading in the classes I teach to college students.

I also came across a column by Dr. Howard Gardner back in 2008 he makes good points that even in our digital age that literacy will continue to grow. He doesn’t worry because “it’s essential to read and write fluently.” That is a point I discuss with my college students. They do get it. They will tell me they prefer just watching videos to entertain themselves and an easy way to get information. Yet they admit the work it takes to read pays off in a stronger thinking capacity and better creativity.

Gardner brings out important differences in our modern quick hi-tech media. One is that it limits authors’ ability to organize complex arguments that takes time for the reader to work through. He uses Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason” as an example due to what he calls “The Web’s speedy browsing.” I see it more that the web makes the mind lazy in that everything has to be written in short sound bites of low mental fluff. I have actually had students admit to that point that the quick information and videos make them mentally lazy. That is why I encourage building up the mind with critical thinking skills.

Gardner also looks at another aspect of reading that is changing with technology and that is the solitude of reading where an individual would spend hours alone being absorbed in their book reading. I remember as a child enjoying hours of reading in the Summer. He points out rightly that young people today because of social media cannot enjoy solitude, but need to be continually connected with checking social media with their network of friends. I question whether this is really a good thing? Isn’t there a benefit to encouraging a break away from the connection to staring at the tech gadgets that control so many lives? Why not encourage a balance between using social media and web surfing to also include a 30 minutes a day of reading of a book?

I was encouraged on a recent Sunday evening at a Bible study where a young couple walked in and their little girl was holding several children books. She is just a one year old but they are incorporating books into her life by reading to her. They told the group about the 1,000 book challenge. It is a program to encourage parents to have their children starting at age 1 to be involved in reading to their child and having the child read up to 1,000 books before kindergarten. That sounds like a positive way to be creating future booklovers. If you want to know more information on the program here is the website for the organization behind it -- http://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/

Reflection - How can you encourage others around you to read more? Do you enjoy reading a book in solitude? If you have difficulty finding time to read start out with reading a book just 30 minutes a day or even every other day.

References

http://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/


Gardner, H, (Feb. 17. 2008) The End of Literacy? Don’t Stop Reading. In the washingtonpost.com

Weissmann, J. (Jan.21.2014) The Decline of the American Book Lover. The Atlantic.

The Importance of Being an Engaged Critical Thinking Reader

from foter.com

Last week I considered the importance of reading for pleasure in building inner creativity. For developing our overall mind we need a diversity of reading. Reading for learning and self-development should be an aspect of our weekly reading habits. In this reading we need to activate our critical thinking. The activation process begins with an intentional choice to be engaged with a habit of reading.

Our level of engagement in reading begins when we are young. I read an article recently by Brozo, Shield, & Topping, (2007) on the engagement in reading. They were focusing in on a study by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) done back in 2000 & 2003. It was discouraging to see overall reading scores of American 15 year old students behind that of Finland, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Korea, Japan and Sweden. In the particular area of reading engagement the U.S. was in 20th place. Sad to say from what I see on the college level and within the populace I would say it is lower today.

The PISA definition of reading was stated as: “the capacity to identify and understand the role that reading plays in the world, to make well-founded judgments and to use and engage reading in ways that meets the needs of the individual’s life as a constructive , concerned and reflective citizen.” Wouldn’t the country be better off if we had a populace engaged in that type of reading?
The importance of engaged readers are seen in the study that shows that better readers have improved comprehension skills, improved vocabularies, do better in testing and have higher high school grade point averages than those who are not interested in reading. Of course this reading does not have a payoff just for young people. Engaged readers continue as readers in their adulthood as well keeping their minds active. The engaged reader as seen in the study reads a diversity of material, magazines, fiction for pleasure reading, non-fiction for learning, as well as reading on the web for learning and enjoyment. Sounds like the creation of a Bookhead, which my daughter calls me.

foter.com

So the choice to be an engaged reader aids in a reader who reads a diverse style of reading. Within non-fiction and magazines, for the purpose of learning from reading, requires what Elder & Paul term “Close reading”. This is purposeful and reflective critical thinking reading. They make an important statement, “Every book we read is a potential teacher… When we take the core ideas of those readings into our minds through careful reading, we can productively use them in our lives.” (Elder & Paul). I have mentioned in my book how lifelong learning is a part of the Living More Than OK lifestyle. Learning from reading is vital to lifelong learning.

Critical thinking in reading is reading driven by seeking to understand what the author is saying and engaging in a conversation with the author as you go through the book. With this close reading approach the mind is not wandering over the pages but is reflecting and thinking while reading. You may not agree with the author on everything but reading critically allows for understanding another’s point of view and realizing where the author is coming from with his or her worldview.

Close reading is the mind being active and not passive. Many people I believe think books are boring as they were taught to passively “just read the words” instead of actively reading for ideas, concepts, and observing the creativity of the story. It is the active engagement that moves the act of reading into an activity to impact and challenge the thought life of the reader. As you read have a mindset of what can I take away from this material to improve my life in some manner. I know that is my hope as people read my book, Living More Than OK, that they gain some positive take-aways to improve their lives.
Think through your level of engagement in reading. Do you have a library card from your local public library? If not stop what you are doing right now and go to your local library and get one. Ok maybe I am being too pushy. Read the rest of my blog then go get it! It is just that a local library is an excellent place to provide a way for the family to be engaged in reading. Going back to the initial PISA study, they found that access to students having diverse reading materials at home was more important than the economic level of families. This reminds me of the story of Dr. Ben Carson. He grew up poor in the Ghetto area of Detroit. They did not have plenty of reading materials at home so his mother had him and his brother go to the library each week to pick out books to read. That was one turning point key in his life. You don’t have to become a full bookhead even though I wish more people would. Still understand there is no better way to improve the mind and keep an active mind; so do build some diverse reading into your weekly schedule.

foter.com

Reflection – What is your level of engagement in reading as a weekly activity? Do you see reading as a passive or active activity? Check out your local library and see what books are available in interest areas that are important to you. Encourage young people in your life to see that reading is an active activity for their good.

References -
Brozo, William, Shield, Gerry & Topping, Keith, (2007). Engagement in Reading: Lessons Learned from Three PISA Countries. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 51 (4) 304-315
Elder, Linda & Paul, Richard (2004). Critical Thinking … and the Art of Close Reading. Journal of Developmental Education. 27(3), 36-37

Personal Healing Found in Reading

There are different reasons to read such as enjoyment, relaxing, and education. A book that has been out for a number of years, Reading to Heal, by Jacqueline Stanley adds to the reasons by showing how reading can help us in overcoming personal problems and inner healing. She rightly points out that bibliotherapy is not for everyone and in various cases should be overseen by a professional counselor.

In her Forward she is open about her love of books from her early childhood. She proceeded to bring out how some of the reading she did was for her personal growth before she ever heard of the word “Bibliotherapy”. As I read the book I assumed she was a professional writer or a librarian or possibly a English professor. I was surprised to find she is an attorney in North Carolina. She has made use of her writing skills in a number of books on legal issues.

I can see how a counselor can gain insight into bibliotherapy by reading over her book suggestions to help their clients. Yet when I look at her overall purpose it is to look at what she calls the art side of bibliotherapy. She wants to help readers to be their own therapists by understanding the positives of reading that can build up and improve their lives. This is seen in her stating the many ways that reading helps us:

Reading builds up a feeling of accomplishment
Reading builds up feelings that you are not alone in your problem
Reading builds up a bulwark against boredom
Reading builds up an outward focus in understanding others
Reading builds up our critical thinking skills to overcome problems
Reading can build up personal self-worth

An important thought about bibliotherapy reading versus reading for mere pleasure, is that bibliotherapy reading is more reflective. For the most part you will be reading the book in short segments to give you time to let the ideas sink in. I have had several people who have read my book, Living More Than OK, state they went through it slowly. That is also why I recommend in my book to make use of a journal or diary in reading through it to write down personal reflection thoughts. Jacqueline Stanley reminds her readers to ask questions as they read through books they are using for bibliotherapy. Writing notes in the book is another helpful idea she provides.

One of the best parts of the book is her reading plan idea. I won’t give it fully away so as to encourage you to find her book at a library or on line and read it yourself. The idea is to start with a short book on a topic and divide the page numbers by 21. For example let’s say you find a book with 200 pages and divide that by 21. You would have a little over 9 pages to read a day. That is very doable. Then in 21 days you have the book read. She gives a wide variety of book suggestions on topics such as Simplify, Chronic Illness, Family Matters, Stress, and other topics. Or simply go to your local public library and use the catalog to search for topics on growth areas you wish to read to improve your life.

Now as we are in Spring and moving towards Summer think of reading as enjoyment of course. Know as well that there is healing and growth to be had in the pages of books. You just need to dedicate a portion of your time each week to reap rewards of personal growth in the areas you desire to grow into for living a more than ok life!

“All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books.” Thomas Carlyle

Reflection -- What is one growth area of your life that you would like to improve through reading? Search online or at your local library for books in that particular growth area.

Become A Difference Maker

In a recent USA Today issue, they listed a Pew Research poll on how readers got their most recent book. Borrowing from a library was listed as 14%. I would like to see that number grow higher as libraries are a wonderful place to pick out books that interest you. Today I want discuss a book I borrowed from my local library in New Braunfels, Texas. The book is Making a Difference by Being Yourself by Gregory E. Huszczo.

One reason I wanted to read it was that perusing through it, I noticed the author was focusing in on the MBTI, (Myers-Briggs Type Inventory). Although personality inventories have received a bad rap from some I do believe from taking them and studying them, they do offer helpful insights in understanding ourselves better. The author helps in this book to show how the personal insights gleaned by knowing our personality type can help individuals grow in their work relationships and personal relationships.

Think over the phrase “making a difference”. In living a life more than ok, having an attitude of making a difference is a motivator to move us beyond just existing. The author brings out in the text, that starting with the desire to make a difference helps in giving meaning and fulfillment to our lives. As he states in the book, “The More we notice opportunities to make a difference and push ourselves to rise to the occasion, the better we will feel about ourselves as well as life in general” (Page 7). Living this way gives our lives meaning and purpose.

The book discusses how making a difference is based on three parts in our life: our abilities, our motivation, and opportunities that come up in our daily lives. The more we know the unique elements of our personality type we can understand how to use our abilities in our interactions to make a difference. The primary realms we can make a difference is in our work and in our relationships. It is all about how we touch other people’s lives. That is how we make a difference.

Think over how we can help make a difference. In the book the author gives a list of ways we make a difference in work or relationships to help the reader brain storm other ways they have or can make differences in lives around them. Here are some items from the list: solving a problem, being a role model, motivating others, resolving a conflict, team building, caring for others, reducing stress in a situation. As you consider the list of items you can probably think of other ways of making a difference.

As we understand how our unique personality traits work we can be effective in making a difference. Based on our personality type we all attack problems differently, we care for others differently, we team build differently. The key word is different. Personality is not about right or wrong it is about our unique strengths we each bring to the opportunities in dealing with things in life differently from the next person.

We can only imagine how better life in the world would be if each of us took the viewpoint of making a positive difference in our workplaces and relationships. It would create a more giving environment instead of a passive, “I’m sure someone else will do it” or worse yet, the victim mentality we see too often today of “why doesn’t someone help me. It’s not fair!”. Difference makers seek to improve other people and situations around them. The positive paradox is that the more we give and serve the more we will find our lives more fulfilled rather than empty.

I encourage you to explore the author’s book website -- www.makingadifferencetype.com and look for his book at your local library or local bookstore.

Reflection: This is based on one of his reflections in his book. Write down on a piece of paper several examples of when you have made a difference at work. Then Write down on a piece of paper several examples of when you have made a difference in personal relationships. Think over these times. How did they make you feel? How did these experiences affect those around you and yourself in a positive manner?

Enjoying Summer Reading as a Bookhead

Being the Bookhead I am, I enjoy seeing an emphasis on reading during the Summertime. Even if we are working during the Summer there is change of pace that opens up time for more reading. I noticed that our local library does not only have Summer reading programs for children but also for adults. Many magazines and newspapers have suggested reading lists for the Summer. Oprah’s Magazine in the July issue has a variety of books to read. The Writer magazine in the June issue has 25 suggested books from editors and writers. Here also are a few websites that also have good ideas for selections of books:


Harpers Bazaar
http://www.harpersbazaar.com/magazine/feature-articles/designer-reading-lists-books-0512#slide-1

GoodReads
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/summer-2012-reading-list


The Blaze’s Summer Reading List
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/blaze-magazine-top-10-new-books-for-summer-reading/

Books for children and teens
http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/forparents/tp/summer_reading.htm

Also if you have children find creative ways to encourage reading. While traveling recently I came across the Summer issue of MASK magazine, maskmatters.org . They had some tips and information about Summer reading for children. The article spoke of the issue of summer brain drain that children can lose up to two months worth of reading skill during the Summer if they are not doing any reading. This makes sense as in any discipline – use it or lose it. So they suggest, which I fully support, being involved with your children in Summer library reading programs. They had some creative ideas as well, such as if you are taking a vacation have the children read up on the area you are traveling to. Or as new movies come out see if there is a book related to it and read the book together with them and discuss both. Also make use of electronic media such as e-readers. That keeps them reading in a format they are used to if they enjoy being on the computer.

During the Summer do reacquaint yourself and your children to your local library. I encourage supporting your local bookstore for books you really like and want to have in your collection. Unless you are rich you can’t buy all the books so that is a great thing about the library. On the receipt on my library printout, when I check out a book, it reminds me of how much money I have saved. Plus as you go through the shelves of books you can come across new books to expand your mind in new directions. Whichever direction you go in your reading this Summer put trying to be a Bookhead in your schedule.

Reflection: Look through a few lists of Summer reading lists. I give you a few list ideas above. See if there is a book that peaks your interest. Try reading something new from your regular style. Visit your local library and read a book from a new author or a non-fiction topic that is new to you.

Supporting Our Local Libraries

As a dedicated bookhead, I believe part of living more than ok is supporting my local library. When we moved to New Braunfels a trip to the library to obtain library cards was one of the first things we did as a family. As I was taking some books back a couple weeks ago, on the library door I noticed a sign promoting a Book and Author Luncheon. Since I had finished teaching my classes at the College I decided to purchas a ticket and go.

I was glad to see it was a fundraiser for renovating of the Children’s Room at the New Braunfels Public Library . This made an inner connection with me. I thought back to when I was in second grade during my Summers at the library in my hometown of Barberton, Ohio that my love of reading began with the Children Department’s Summer reading program. Programs like that is where creating bookheads begin by encouraging children to read. The children’s department was on the second floor and very bright and cheery. I remember the librarians were always positive and encouraging as they would ask what the books were about that I took out to read.
On the day of the luncheon they had a full house. The community support for the library says good things about New Braunfels. They had a display of how the new children’s room would look like, a silent auction, tables set up for the authors, and a bookselling table for the author’s books.

I was interested in hearing from the authors who spoke during the luncheon. Let me introduce you to the authors I heard. Each of their stories varied as to what moved them into writing.

Coert Vorhees has been a journalist, teacher, Fulbright scholar. Most of his writing is for middle and senior high school students. If you are a teacher you must check out his grammaropolis.com website to help youngsters with grammar. I like how he told me he made it to help the vegetables go down. How true, even college students do not enjoy going over grammar basics.

Earle Martin is a retired Episcopal Priest and psychotherapist. He shared with us his new book The Boy Who Saved My Life . The story is about his relationship as a grandparent with his autistic grandson. He shared how his grandson helped pull him out of a time of deep depression. It is a compelling story to encourage people in their relationships with special needs children in their sphere of influence.

Diana Untermeyer spoke of how her experience as a diplomat’s wife opened up an opportunity to write her first book about the country of Qatar. The title is Qatar: Sand, Sea, and Sky. It has amazing photography work in it.

John Demers was the most prolific of the featured authors with 37 books to his credit. With his stories of growing up in New Orleans during his presentation and his being a food editor it was no surprise that his non-fiction and fiction books relate to the world of food. You may want to check out his blog Delicious Mischief.


Dwight Edwards was the last author to present. He is a pastor in the Houston area and president of Highoctaneforthemind.com which encourages people to live at peak performance. His latest book is A Tale of Three Ships : Charting Your Course In Life. If you are looking for a gift for a high school grad or college grad this book has a positive message for them. Of course I believe it can help anyone at any stage of their life journey.

I am glad I took time to support my local library with this Book Author Luncheon. Just hearing the author’s stories I received much more back than the initial ticket price. Of course I enjoyed winning a door prize of Marble Slab Creamery ice cream as well. If you ever have a chance to attend a author luncheon try it out. If your local library is doing a fundraiser be a supporter to encourage reading in our culture.

Reflection: Think back to your experiences with libraries. What memories do you remember? Write these down in your journal. Take some time to visit your local library if you have not done so recently.

Reading Impacts Your Self-talk Programming

Previously I brought up the issue of our self-talk. For the next few postings I want to look at a few factors that shape the programming of our self-talk. Being a Bookhead I want to look at reading first of all. Books, whether fiction or non-fiction, are expressions of ideas, concepts, facts, and stories. These ideas can have a positive impact on our mental attitude in our inner programming. Working with students I have seen the power of stories in getting ideas across to them.

Building a habit of reading is important in keeping the mind active and growing. Your reading can be a positive influence on your mental attitude. Beginning with reading topics of interest, helps in understanding and gaining new insights in your areas you enjoy. No matter how good we think we are in a certain area there is always room for improvement. When I do classroom assessments that have a rating scale 1-10 I remind students never give themselves a 10 as there is always room to grow during our journey in this life.

Reading about new topics may open new ideas to your life or challenge your viewpoints. By challenging our thinking we can think through and confirm on a deeper level what we believe and why we believe it. Read material from opposing points of view as that helps understand where others are coming from in their emotions and logic, (or lack of logic), on particular areas. Looking at life as a Christian, I have read Bertrand Russell, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Eric Maisel’s works promoting atheism. Reading their works has actually helps bolster my faith. Their arguments did not win me over and in certain cases their hatred for those who believe in a religious Worldview turned me off.

Magazines and newspapers are reading materials that offer news reporting and information on a wide variety of topics on a smaller scale than books. Reading these are a great way to keep informed on what is going on in the world. As with books if you have a personal area of interest, like flowers, traveling, cars, or cooking find a magazine related to your interest. If magazine subscriptions are too costly an idea is to put in your weekly schedule a time period to visit your local library and relax and read in their magazine room.

Once a student in my Student Success class mentioned to me that he did not like reading books but he researched a lot of his interests about computer networking and news information on the internet. He asked me if that was ok. We live in a computer and internet world. He had a deep passion for computers and I knew he devoured information off the internet. I mentioned to him and the class that there is a lot of bad on the internet but also a lot of good, (like my blog!). In thinking of our reading as part of our mental self-talk programming be questioning of any source be it paper or cyber based. Glean out the positives that will help you improve where you are going in your life journey.

I know electronic books are becoming more popular but I believe I will always be a hard copy book person. To me there is nothing like sitting at my desk turning the actual pages of a book as I read. Likewise, searching for books at a library or bookstore, being able to pull the book off a shelf and leaf through it, is much more satisfying than viewing a virtual image on a computer screen where you can only look at the two pages the publisher allows you to look at.

In thinking through how books and authors affect us, I appreciated a book in my library, More Than Words: Contemporary Writers on the Works That Shaped Them, by James Calvin Schaap. The editor compiled essays from 21 writers on the favorite authors that impacted their lives. The book helped me to think over the books that have shaped my life during periods of doubt and periods of growth in my thinking. I also in preparing this post looked through the internet searching for lists of influential books. I came across a number of interesting lists and websites. One website that may be of interest to fellow Bookheads, is Good Reads, http://www.goodreads.com/about/us. Goodreads is a social network of reading lovers sharing what they are reading and forming book groups. I am not a member but I fully believe in their mission: Goodreads' mission is to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world.

I will close off with my list of ten favorite influential books in my personal life, (outside of the Bible which is a regular source of reading in my life):

1. Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis http://www.cslewis.org/

2. The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck, M.D. http://www.mscottpeck.com/

3. What’s So Amazing About Grace? Philip Yancey, http://www.philipyancey.com/

4. Who Are You Really And What Do You Really Want? Shad Helmstetter Ph. D.
http://www.shadhelmstetter.com/

5. Choice Theory, William Glasser http://www.wglasser.com/

6. Man’s Search For Meaning, Victor Frankl http://www.viktorfrankl.org/e/indexe.html

7. What Color is Your Parachute? Richard Bolles
http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/

8. The Success Journey, John Maxwell (now titled Your Roadmap For Success)
http://www.johnmaxwell.com/

9. Write is a Verb!, Bill O’Hanlon http://www.billohanlon.com/

10. Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life, Richard W. Paul and Linda Elder http://www.criticalthinking.org/

Think over the books you have read. Which are books that have been influential in your life? Have they positively helped in your positive mental programming? Take time to write down a list of your top five or top ten favorite books.