Today’s guest post comes from Savvy Working Gal, a blogger I’ve been familiar with for several years but just started to get to know better over the last eight months or so. We’ve been emailing back and forth regularly to brainstorm blog topics and ideas and I think her support has helped me feel confident in some big and small changes I’ve made to this blog over that time. Today she’s sharing some books that have been important to her on a personal journey that I think you’ll find enlightening. 

When Kim initially asked if I’d like to write a guest post, I looked through the list of books I’ve read since starting my blog and decided to highlight the books that helped me become a stronger person. This ties in with the strength challenge I created for myself last summer when after having difficulty once again thinking on my feet; I decided to challenge myself to become a stronger person in my 50th year.

Initially I had visions of taking yoga classes and pursuing other physical challenges, but after an injury my challenge quickly morphed into a reading challenge. I decided to read at least one book a month that dealt with an aspect of inner strength such as confidence, communication skills, dealing with difficult people or circumstances, self-knowledge, willpower, etc.

Today I’d like to share the books I’ve read to-date that have made the greatest impact on my strength challenge.

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

This book includes an upgraded edition of the Strengths Finder assessment, an online testing instrument designed to uncover your top five talents. You do need a NEW copy of the book. If you get a used copy, the key provided in the book will NOT enable you to take the online assessment. To take the assessment you go online and with the passcode that comes with the book, register and answer the questions. You are provided with the top 5 themes (strengths) report and 50 ideas for action (10 strategies for building on each of your top 5 themes).

This book’s premise is that you are more productive developing your strengths than strengthening a weakness. I can’t say I was surprised to learn my top five strengths — they are who I’ve been all my life — but I was surprised that these so-called-talents are actually strengths. I felt the assessment was accurate and recommend it to anyone interested in discovering their strengths. You don’t necessarily need to read the entire book, but I found it helpful to familiarize myself with the other talents portrayed in the book and in reading the suggestions for working with people who have those talents. (Amazon)

Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger

I read this book after learning one of the steps to achieving career satisfaction was to know your Myers-Briggs score. Unfortunately, I had taken six different online Myers-Briggs assessments and had received six different scores. This book does not include the assessment, the authentic Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test is copyrighted and available only through organizations, counselors and therapists approved by the Myers and Briggs Foundation, but it does describe each of the 16 personality types in detail along with providing examples.

After a process of comparing my previous six Myers-Briggs scores with the examples in the book along with asking my husband for his opinion I came up with my Myers-Briggs personality profile. As I read my profile I couldn’t help thinking yes, yes that’s me. Throughout the year I’ve re-read my profile a number of times especially when I needed to gain perspective or was feeling stuck. This book is good for anyone at any stage of their career, but especially those who are pondering a career change. (Indiebound)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Won’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Susan Cain has written a well-researched book about what it means to be an introvert, especially in a world that favors extroverts. This book, more than any other book I’ve ever read validates who I am and explains why I can’t think on my feet – I am an introvert. I learned when I am put on the spot I need time, usually alone, to think through my answer. I like to methodically formulate a response, weigh all of my options making sure I give the best or most accurate response and I need down time to replenish my energy after over stimulation.

I can’t help but wonder what my life would have been like if I’d have read this book when I was younger. I know for sure I would have been less stressed in those college classes that required participation because I would have raised my hand and participated early. This book isn’t perfect; I would have preferred more practical applications and it does drag a bit in the middle, but if you are an introvert you will benefit from reading this book. (Indiebound)

The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker

Gavin De Becker is a security specialist based in Los Angeles and the founder of Gavin de Becker and Associates, a private security firm whose clients include Hollywood stars and government agencies. His book explores how fear is a gift that can be used to keep us safe and explains how we can spot even subtle signs of danger—before it’s too late. He teaches us to listen to and trust our intuition. This is achieved by including powerful real life stories that left me chilled knowing the examples actually occurred. This may be the best self-help book I’ve ever read and is most likely going to be one of the most important reads of my strength challenge. I now understand what it means to have street smarts and I know for sure, I will never look at a person who challenges my “no” — a word that must never be negotiated — the same way again. (Indiebound)

Women Don’t Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation — and Positive Strategies for Change by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever

The lesson of this book is that by not negotiating a first salary, an individual stands to lose more than $500,000 by age 60 — and men are more than four times as likely as women are inherently good negotiators. This resonated with me because not only did I not negotiate my first salary, I have never negotiated a salary and have always been underpaid. I learned men are not better negotiators and that women more often than men take a “collaborative” or cooperative approach to negotiation that has been shown to produce agreements that are better for both sides. This book taught me the importance of negotiation not just when negotiating salary, but also with car or home purchases, dividing household duties and against either male or female adversaries. (Indiebound)

This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kay Mills

I am including this biography of Fannie Lou Hamer not because it is an amazing story – which it is, but because it is an excellent example of someone who lived through enormous hardship and poverty and still overcame obstacles to become a leading figure in the fight for civil rights.  How did this woman who risked everything including her life become so fearless? Kay Mills provides a study of the factors contributing to Fannie Lou Hamer’s strength — her mother, her faith, love of her country, music, anger and her ability to lead and organize all of which helped her carry on despite so many obstacles, setbacks and ill health. Fannie Lou Hamer’s inner strength came from knowing her strengths and building on them. (Indiebound)

As the 1st anniversary of my inner strength challenge approaches I am happy to report I’m heading in the right direction. I’m calmer, more confident and yes – I feel stronger. I contribute this new found strength to the books I’ve read, the lessons I’ve learned and a better understanding of who I am. I plan on continuing this challenge for at least another year since building inner strength is a lifelong task. Do you have any future book or topic suggestions for my reading challenge?

I would like to thank Kim for giving me this opportunity to guest post on Sophisticated Dorkiness. I hope she is having a marvelous time on her much deserved vacation. You can find me at http://savvyworkinggal.blogspot.com. I am a book lover and occasional book blogger; I tend to read mostly nonfiction with an emphasis on books for women. I’ve used my blog to help set goals for myself such as “BE strong, making sense of the world and making women count with the ultimate goal of attempting to inspire women to be more a little bit more savvy one post at a time.

Today I am excited to welcome Jennifer Hartling of The Relentless Reader to the blog with a really fun post about discovering (and re-discovering, and re-discovering) a favorite nonfiction author. Like me, Jennifer lives in a small town in the Midwest and loves to write about nonfiction (among many other genres). She’s a relatively new-to-me blogger, but I absolutely love her succinct, GIF-filled reviews. I hope you’ll visit her blog too!

First, I have to thank Kim for asking me to guest post here today. Kim is my nonfiction guru. The fact that I get to take over her blog for the day is an honor.

Recently I had a fantastic bookish moment. It took some meandering to get there but when I did I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. Let me explain.

I have a bit of trouble remembering author’s names. (Could it be because of my age? NO. It could not.) This fact is important and pertains to the rest of my little tale.

You may have heard the buzz about the new book The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. I first heard of it here on Sophisticated Dorkiness. As soon as I read Kim’s review I zipped on over to Goodreads to add the book to one of my lists.

As I was perusing the author’s page on Goodreads I noticed one of my all time favorite nonfiction books, Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. Well look at that! Hey, it’s by the same author of The Boys in the Boat!

Then, a few days later Historical Fiction Notebook reviewed a nonfiction book about the Donner Party. I left her a rambling message raving about another Donner Party book that I’d read and fallen madly in love with years ago. I couldn’t remember the author (surprise!) or even the title.

After a little searching I found it. It is called The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride. The author? None other than Daniel James Brown! My bookish moment! Hooray! Here is where I realized that DJBrown can do no wrong and that he has a backlist that I must explore.

I’m not sure what the moral of this story is. That Daniel James Brown is one of the finest nonfiction authors out there? That I should really keep better track of what I read? One of those.

Today’s guest post comes from a reader that I admire a lot, Mark, who blogs at Maphead’s Book Blog. Mark and I have pretty different tastes in nonfiction, but I admire his throughout reviews and  his ability to write about serious nonfiction on serious topics in a way that makes me add to my TBR pile. Enjoy!

Years ago, while attending community college (and before I was kicked out for poor academic performance, proving that yes, a person CAN flunk out of community college) I had a classmate who, in his spare time liked to teach what he referred to as “ground floor karate”. These were very basic lessons he had specially designed for people who had no previous experience with karate or other martial arts. Looking back on that fruitless period of my life I can remember very little. But I do remember his use of the term ground floor to denote a basic level of study.

But even before flunking out of community college, I spent a lot of time in the evangelical church. Like some evangelicals, after going away to college (yes, I eventually did get my act together, academically speaking) and living on my own I slowly drifted away from the church. But as I did, I discovered a whole new world of books about the Bible and religion that looked at things from a scholarly and critical eye.

Every so often I encounter people who might have left their church, or are thinking about leaving. I’ve also met folks who are happy being in their church but would like to get another perspective on the things they’ve been taught. Of course, I’ve also met people who are not religious, but nevertheless would like to learn more about such subjects. To help point all those people in the right direction, I’ve put together a list of five books (and a few follow-up ones) that I think work well for this purpose.

God: A Biography by Jack Miles — In this 1995 book Miles analyzed God in much same way a literary critic would analyze a character in a work of fiction. When I read this book over ten years ago such a method came across as entirely new to me. For a follow-up book I would recommend Harold Bloom’s Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine.

A Short History of Christianity by Martin E. Marty — A good buddy of mine attended a Lutheran high school and this was one of his many assigned textbooks. Lucky for me he held on to his copy and years later ended up loaning it to me. This was the first book I ever read that chronicled Christianity’s evolution as a religion. Originally published back in 1960, this short and modest book easily manages to pack a wallop, just like prize fighter punching above his weight. For a follow-up read I’d recommend Christianity: A Global History by David Chidester

A History of God by Karen Armstrong — Armstrong’s book is another great one that shows how Christianity evolved over the centuries. Armstrong, who describes herself as a “freelance monotheist,” in her 1994 book treated Judaism, Christianity and Islam equally, devoting the same amount of attention to each of the three Abrahamic faiths. By doing so, the reader can see how all three are related to, have interacted with and have influenced each other. As follow-up reads I’d recommend two of her later books: Islam: A Short History and The Bible: A Biography.

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels — As a result of Christianity’s evolutionary process, certain things were left behind and later forgotten. With her 1995 book Pagels looked at early Christianity’s Gnostic beliefs. Like the other authors on this list, she took material known mostly to scholars and made it accessible to a popular audience. For a follow-up read I would recommend Bart Ehrman’s Lost Christianities.

The Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible by Robin Lane Fox — When I share this list I usually reserve the and final fifth spot for Richard Elliott Friedman’s Who Wrote the Bible? While Friedman’s book might more succinct and better written, it only covers the Hebrew Bible and not the Christian New Testament. The Unauthorized Version covers both. It’s probably the most comprehensive but approachable book out there when it comes to modern Biblical scholarship. As far as follow-up books besides Who Wrote the Bible I would probably recommend John Shelby Spong’s Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World.

All of the books mentioned above are great “gateway” books for those seeking a readable but still scholarly look at God, the Church and the Bible. They are all accessible and can be found in most, if not all public libraries or can be purchased from just about any bookseller. If, after looking at my list you would like to embark on such a journey, I wish you the best of luck. Happy reading.

Today’s guest post is from one of my dearest blogging (and thanks to blogging, in real life) friends, Leslie from Regular Rumination. This summer, Leslie has been taking on a project I really admire — growing a balcony garden at her apartment in New York City. She’s also been reading a lot about food and farming, the topic of today’s post. Please welcome Leslie to the blog!

Before this year, the only way I really could be close to gardening and growing food was reading books. Now that my boyfriend and I have our own garden balcony, though, my taste for nonfiction about food and growing food hasn’t changed. Here are just a few books that I’ve read that are my favorites. They’re all very different: from a memoir in comics about a passion for food, a memoir about a small, organic blueberry farm, and a long-form expose on the state of big tomato farms in the US.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley — This slim memoir told through comics will take you only a few hours to read, but it’s one that sticks with you. Relish is about Lucy’s love of food and where that came from: her parents and their friends. She worked in restaurants with her parents, worked on a farm and at a farmer’s market, and grew up to do the same. After each chapter, there is a quick recipe with illustrated instructions. Lucy’s love of food comes through on every page and it’s just such a wonderful book to read.

The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family by Jim Minick — Jim Minick and his wife knew that they wanted to change their lives. They were both burnt out teachers who were tired of the daily grind and frustrations of teaching, and they wanted a life that gave them more time to pursue all their interests. Jim’s family had a hobby blueberry farm in Pennsylvania, so Jim and Sarah quit their jobs and moved to a rural Virginia farm to cultivate a “Pick Your Own” blueberry farm.

This memoir, told in quick vignettes, is just a joy to read. You learn early on that at the time he wrote them memoir, Jim and Sarah no longer owned the farm. Seeing them go from wide-eyed, ambitious young farmers to slightly more jaded, experienced, and certainly still in love with the land farmers was a more realistic view than most of these “back to the land” memoirs present, and I appreciated its honesty. But it’s unfair to say that this book takes a bleak look at small, organic farming. It definitely does not. Minick is a lovely writer and I felt like I connected with him as an artist who is struggling to find a way to incorporate his art and his passion for the land.

Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook — Tomatoes are one of my favorite foods, but it’s true that the tomatoes you buy in the grocery store, unless they’re organic/heirloom tomatoes, are mostly mealy and gross. No wonder so many people dislike tomatoes. But I’ve tasted some amazing tomatoes in my life and it’s possible to find them, but they aren’t coming from the big agricultural farms that are everywhere in Florida and California.

Tomatoland describes the history of the tomato and how we got to this point and also how tomatoes are grown in the US. It’s a horrifying look into how the tomato industry treats its workers, especially when it comes to pesticides that are affecting workers and neighbors who live around the farm. Those same workers often don’t have a way to accuse their employers because they are often undocumented and have to protection. Estabrook does a much better job revealing the, frankly, deadly dangers of buying a cheap tomato. It’s also a fascinating look at how to grow tomatoes across the spectrum: from small organic gardeners to the big agriculture. You’ll definitely know more after finishing this book than you did when you started!