Nicole Schlinger’s Pandemic Reading Part Deux

If you’re just stopping by today, I’ve been going through a few books I picked up during the pandemic. You can check out an old post here or stay current on my Medium page.

 

Anyway, the next few surprised me – in some good, and not so good ways. Nicole Schlinger Why We Sleep

 

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker

It’s rare that I would read a non-fiction book about a topic other than business or human psychology. Basically I need to know how to run my business or deal with the people who impact it. But the surest way to surrender my own reasoned choice is not to get a good night’s sleep. So I thought there would be value in this book, and indeed there was. Up to a point.

This book was chock full of great information, and Walker is one of the country’s leading experts on sleep. But as the book wore on, his constant judgments and dispersions were just too much. Perhaps his copy editor did not get enough sleep on the day he had to tell Walker what to cut.

https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams-ebook/dp/B06ZZ1YGJ5/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=why+we+sleep&qid=1593901700&s=digital-text&sr=1-2

Nicole Schlinger Tiffany Blues

Tiffany Blues: A Novel by M. J. Rose

This was a surprisingly good book. This was a fictional account of two female artists who were selected to spend the summer as Tiffany fellows in the summer of 1924. While the story of Jenny Bell and Minx Deering is fictional, the Tiffany fellows program, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and his son, Oliver, are all indeed real.

When you read a lot of fiction in the same genre, you can often guess how a story will end halfway through. This one kept me guessing almost until the very end.

https://www.amazon.com/Tiffany-Blues-M-J-Rose-ebook/dp/B077YXC96N/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1H069Z9LN4XXA&dchild=1&keywords=tiffany+blues+by+m.j.+rose&qid=1593901730&s=digital-text&sprefix=tiffany+blues+%2Cdigital-text%2C151&sr=1-1

Nicole Schlinger Dreamland

Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau

When Fiona Davis called this book a “rollicking ride,” I assumed it would be one of my favorite books of the year. WRONG!

Dreamland is the story of one of America’s wealthiest families and the summer they spent on Coney Island.

Young Peggy, who thinks she’s not spoiled because she worked at a bookstore, falls foolishly in love with an immigrant artist who sells both paintings and hot dogs at Coney Island. Her sister is engaged to an ogre of a man who was originally after Peggy.

The male members of the Batternberg family are either sexually deviant, harboring secrets, or just mean. Strangely, the sexually deviant one has no bearing on the plotline or the ultimate resolution of the story. So why bother?

The characters were not only unlikeable, they were utterly unbelievable. At least it was free with Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/Dreamland-Nancy-Bilyeau-ebook/dp/B07ZL5ZBCQ/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=dreamland+nancy+bilyeau&qid=1593901771&s=digital-text&sr=1-2

A Welcome Diversion

Here we are again – another round of book reviews. As a reminder, you can check out my first post here.

The second quarter of the year brought a return to reading fiction.

I’ve recently grown frustrated with most business books. They seem to fall into two categories:

1. They are published by business coaches trying to broaden their reach and win new clients.

2. They are university professors who know exactly what you SHOULD do, but of course they’ve never done it themselves. Both come across with the same result.

They are SO preachy … as if you would just immediately change everything to do it their way, and it would result in an unprecedented windfall of profit and employee happiness. And frankly, if you are going to be that bossy, at least you should have something useful to say. Too many times, it’s a rehash of the same old thing.

Thus, my return to fiction, and a welcome diversion from everyday challenges.

Here are my next 5 books from 2019. Read my full reviews over on my medium page. 

Nicole Schlinger Better Than Before Nicole Schlinger Wartime Sisters Nicole Schlinger That Churchill Woman Nicole Schlinger Marilla of Green Gables Nicole Schlinger Daisy Jones & the Six

Thanks for reading,

Nicole Schlinger, President of Campaign Headquarters

Nicole

Better Than Beach Reads

Well, I know I’ve been keeping you all waiting – it’s been a while since I’ve come at you with some book reviews. In my defense, I’ve taken on some heavy reading this year, favoring quality over quantity with just 19 books under my belt.

Summer is when authors often release their “beach reads” … otherwise known as books that don’t require much brainpower. I encourage you to take the road less traveled and read something that will make YOU better this summer.

I’m rolling these out 5 at a time over at my Medium page. 

Here are the first 5:

Nicole Schlinger At the Wolf's Table Nicole Schlinger Elizabeth I

Nicole Schlinger Private Lives of Tudors Nicole Schlinger on Being 40 Nicole Schlinger Digital Minimalism

Leave a comment and let me know which books you’ve read and which ones make your wish list and stay tuned for more updates or follow along at my Medium account. 

Happy reading,

Nicole Schlinger

Fun Friday – What I’m Into Lately

We made it through another fun-filled week – congratulations!

For this Fun Friday post, I thought I’d share a quick look at a few things I’ve been into lately. I like to share a few of these from time to time – most seem to revolve around books, purses, ABC’s Shark Tank or politics. This list covers most of those bases.

Here’s what I’ve been into:

Nicole Schlinger America's First Daughter

Stop whatever you’re doing and read this book. You’re welcome.

 

Nicole Schlinger Shark Tank

A minor rant here – I cannot believe this. Shark Tank has jumped the shark. This is a legit business with 1. Actual Sales and 2. An owner who knew ALL of her numbers.

She has actually made money and had a plan for what to do with the investment. Kevin O’Leary even said, “you’re a good operator.” And YET … NO INVESTMENT! Lori Grenier said she “doesn’t like cookie dough.” Lies. She invested in “The Cookie Dough” bar on Season 5. Mark Cuban says he’s “worried about obesity.” Really? Does the snack bar at the Dallas Maverick’s arena only serve lettuce? Seriously.

<steps off soapbox>

Nicole Schlinger Julia Child

I’ve been thinking this myself lately, but Gretchen Rubin of course puts a much finer point on it. Thanks for saying what I was thinking. An updated take on TR’s Man in the Arena. You can always laugh at him (or her) … but you’re the one on the outside who did nothing and accomplished nothing.

Have a great weekend,

Martha Waffles and Nicole Schlinger at another event.

Nicole

The Best Thing to Happen to Productivity

You may have heard me talk about Bullet Journaling, especially if you’ve been following along over on my Medium page, where I’m documenting my current reading material.

I’m not sure why it took Ryder Carroll so long to write this book, but I’m glad he did.

Essentially, Ryder Carroll wants you to use colored pens, recopy things when you migrate from one notebook to the next, take time to decorate and set up your notebook so that your mind can truly soak in and process all of the information.

The Bullet Journal method encourages you to just put everything in one place and keep it there.

Need more of a push to get you started?  The New York Times recently posted an article titled, “The Case for Using a Paper Planner.” 

 

From my experience, over the years, taking the time to gather and put those ideas in a special place I can reference again and again is priceless.

Now, I take issue with his belief that you must use a fixed notebook, in which you do not add or remove pages. I carry detailed, permanent reference materials and logs in my notebook that would take hours to recopy (at no real value).

Nicole Schlinger’s actual bullet journal

I’d encourage you to give it a try, or at the very least, give Ryder Carroll’s book a read.

Thanks for following,

Nicole Schlinger, President of Campaign Headquarters

Nicole

Check Me Out

Have you been following the updates over on my Medium page? I’ve continued posting my book reviews – sharing a quick overview of the book and some of the things I found most fascinating during my reading.

 

You can check out the full line up on my page.

 

Here are a few of my most recent highlights:

This was one of the most anxiety provoking books I’ve read in the last few years. So why would I recommend it? Find out!

Published in 1994, this short gem of a book will change your perspective on marketing in a single afternoon.

 

Hetty Green was a trailblazer, but not necessarily a role model. Intriguing, right?