☀️ You're invited to Steph's Business Bookshelf Summer Book Club! (Plus, September wrap)
Oh hi!
Last time I dropped into your inbox I teased SBB SBC (Steph’s Business Bookshelf Summer Book Club). And today, it’s time to go live…
You know what it’s like. After a long slog through the year, you finally get into holiday mode. That magical time when you’ll suddenly read all of those books you’ve seen people talking about all year.
Except there’s one problem…
With eleventybillion books to choose from, you spend your limited time (and brain function) trying to choose the damn books, instead of actually enjoying them. Urgh.
Enter Steph’s Business Bookshelf Summer Book Club. Doing the choosing so you don’t have to.
If you’re taking a bit of time off over the summer and want someone to pick your reading material for you, this is the book club for you. You can read however fast / slow you want, in whatever order you prefer, with no deadlines (nobody needs that negativity in their life).
The books will all arrive together in late November, so you won’t need to cancel your summer travel plans to wait at home for them to arrive.
Here’s the deets…
📭 3 October: SBBSBC opens for pre-order
📫 21 October: SBBSBC pre-order closes
📦 Late November: books sent out / recommendations sent
📚 December - February: read, read, read
🎉 February: SBBSBC virtual book party
You can choose whether you want me to do ALL the thinking for you, or if you want to pick up some specific types of recommendations / books. And I haven’t forgotten my friends overseas doing some Winter reading, or those of you who prefer audio/ebook options, there’s an option for you too!
Needless to say, this would also make a great gift 🤶🏼. Wink wink.
Doors close on 21 October, so get in and secure your spot 👀
Things I’ve enjoyed
Here’s some things I’ve enjoyed since we last spoke:
Film - See How They Run: this is an excellent comedy / farce that’s so Wes Anderson, it’s almost inconceivable that it’s not actually made by Wes Anderson. Really clever scripting and acting, full of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it comedy moments.
Film - Elvis: I took a Friday lunchtime solo cinema trip last week and FINALLY caught this film (I was amazed it was still on). It’s so sad, and in true Baz Luhrmann style it’s over the top, loud, and heavy on the music. I did wonder how much of Austin Butler’s moody, drawling style in every scene was realistic?
Article: Adam Grant’s Autumn Reading List: Another excellent list of interesting looking reads from Adam Grant. I’ve added Platonic, Megathreats, Virtual Society, The Rise of the Rest, and A More Just Future to my Kindle wish list. Read the full list.
Netflix - Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga: you know by now that I love a good financial scam/scandal documentary. This new Netflix release goes into the 2020/2021 GameStop share price explosion, and the Reddit users, short-sellers, and brokers who were tangled up in it. It’s narrated by Guy Raz and it’s FULL of b-roll and memes, which I’m not sure how I feel about, but it’s still very watchable and interesting.
TV - Great British Bake Off: GBBO is back! I love love love Bake Off. With all its silly skits, bad jokes, awkward laughing, and carb-based drama. Noel Fielding is my favourite. I love that the producers have stuck to the format and haven’t tried to over-do the tension by manufacturing the sorts of unnatural situations you get on so many other cooking/baking shows. So wholesome (or is that wholemeal….)?
Music - Life Is Yours by Foals: I’d missed this new release until my wonderful friend Rachel (who amongst her many skills and characteristics, has excellent taste in music) nudged me towards it. I’ve not been as inspired by Foals more recent albums, but this one is great, I can envision it being on high rotation over the summer. Listen.
Music - Cool it Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s been a long time coming for a new album by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but it’s finally here. It still packs a punch in places, but definitely isn’t as gutsy as 2009’s It’s Blitz. TBH, I’m not in love with all of it (yet), but I can’t get enough of Spitting Off the Edge of the World, Burning, and Wolf. Listen.
What have you been reading/listening/watching/enjoying recently? Pop a comment to this post, hit reply, or just tap the little heart button if you liked something you read.
Packing away the vitamin D supplements,
Steph
PS. To borrow from Austin Kleon (and everyone else who borrows this from Austin Kleon), this newsletter and the podcast are 'free but not cheap'. You can support their ongoing creation by buying me a coffee as a one off 'thank you', or leaving giving the podcast a (five 😉) star rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Thanks!
What I read in September
At the end of each month I am very grateful for my Storygraph giving me all my top stats for the month. Here’s what I read last month…
👀 BOOKS I READ WITH MY EYES 👀
Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One of the best single-topic ‘management’ books I’ve read, I love how it flips the topic of feedback on its head to focus on receiving feedback. So much of it makes sense and put great, practical language and frameworks around the experience of feedback - and why it sometimes sucks. This should be taught everywhere, at all levels.
This book was last week’s podcast episode. Check it out.
This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I didn’t know what to expect from this book, but I didn’t expect it to be this. Ultimately this is a book about the fact that women are expected to ‘grow out’ of stuff they’re into, whereas men are allowed to keep having passions/interest, and be into them forever and ever. It’s a fun and provocative read and there’s lots still buzzing around my mind even a couple of weeks later.
👂🏼BOOKS I READ WITH MY EARS👂🏼
James Acaster’s Guide to Quitting Social Media by James Acaster
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Full of James’ signature quirky humour, this is his (spoof) guide to quitting social media but replacing all of the *weird* stuff we do online with equivalent things in real life. It’s very funny if you enjoy dry British humour with a dose of surrealism.