Month: October 2010

I’d meant to readThe Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possiblewhen it was published in 2007, but never got around to it. It was published during the whole stretch where my grandfather died, I started writing a book and went through a crushing breakup. Reading a book about the Bible wasn’t exactly on the top of my priority list.

But I’m glad I finally got around to the book where A.J. Jacobs tries to live according to the Bible for a year. It’s silly in parts, like him not shaving for a year, wearing all white, and the whole rules about how he’s not supposed to share a bed with his life when Aunt Flo’s around. It’s more serious, though, than I expected and Jacobs is really changed by the experience. Even though he remains agnostic (not really a spoiler, so calm down), his view of the world has changed, and he seems to reach a spirituality that has little to do with God but more with seeing the world in a different way and appreciating why people believe […]

I was surprised at myself when I bought Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purposeby Tony Hsieh. I’m not that big into business books. I shop at Zappos.com (of course), but I wouldn’t call myself a devotee.

But I like what they do – which included giving me a credit for a pair of gloves that had fallen apart three months after purchase – and a few people recommended the book, so I gave it a read while going to and from New York today.

Not a bad read. It explains a completely different business point of view than what I’m used to, especially now that I have ended my career as a full time freelance writer. Hsieh writes that by focusing on the people who work at the company, and having a core set of company values, your business can really take off WITHOUT maximum profit being the bottom line…though those moves certainly help grow a business.

When I was freelancing full time – up until about two months ago – I felt like a commodity that had to be “bought” at the lowest price possible. Editors and publishers cut word counts, cut rates, treated me worse […]