Reading is Fundamental – Book Recommendation Contest

August 29th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

Reading is fundamental. Sound familiar? There is a great children’s literacy organization by that name. The statement is a simple yet powerful truth: reading is a fundamental way to learn and grow as a person. It helps to increase understanding of the past and present; it expands your mind and stimulates your brain; it is entertaining; and, it is the gateway to a more creative world that is full of possibilities and other wonderful things.

Reading is an integral part of life in our home. My wife Lori reads at least one book a week, usually for entertainment or to learn new skills for work (personal development, leadership or communication books). I like to read non-fiction, especially biographies, history and true stories. My kids love to read too, and we encourage them to explore books on their own every day.

Lori is a speed reader, but she is able to take things in quickly. I tend to read more slowly, scanning back through important sections of a book, thinking of ways to apply what I’m learning to my life – I read for comprehension more than entertainment. I also enjoy listening to books on CD when driving, so that I feel like I’m doing something productive while sitting in traffic.

I tend to go through the books on CD pretty fast, and Lori has a voracious appetite for books in general. Some of the best books I’ve read have been recommended to me by friends, so when Hachette Book Group offered to do another giveaway of 10 books on my site I thought it would be fun to have a book recommendation contest!

There are 2 ways to enter the Reading is Fundamental Book Recommendation Contest:

1. Leave a comment with your favorite book recommendation from the past year. Include the name of the book, author and why you liked it so much.

2. Get a bonus entry for Subscribing to daily updates from Discovering Dad via Feed or E-mail. Leave a comment letting me know you subscribed for the extra entry.

5 winners will be randomly selected to receive all 10 of these books from Hachette Book Group:

I’ll tell you that John Maxwell is one of my favorite authors, and I also really like The Book of Calamaties by Peter Trachtenberg.

The contest will run for one week, from Friday, August 29th, to Friday, September 5th. The winners will be announced on Monday, September 8, 2008.

We look forward to getting your recommendations!

Popularity: 4% [?]

Apparently I need to write more about this topic.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

On FriendFeed, this post was liked by 0 people and commented on 0 times show

There Are 18 Responses So Far. »

Comment by isabella mori on 29 August 2008:

cool to see one of roger van oech’s books here. do you read his blog?

high up on my “book of the year 2008″ list is josh waitzkin’s “the art of learning”. this world champion both in chess and in t’ai chi has written a fascinating account of his learning these disciplines. i have rarely “met” anyone who so squarely, and without any bluster, refuses to see himself as a victim, even when he clearly gets cheated on. i’ve written about him here: http://www.moritherapy.org/article/josh-waitzkin-an-inspiring-performer/

oh, and i’m adding you to my google reader.

isabella moris latest discovery was..lazy vacation
Comment by StaceyC on 29 August 2008:

You know, I used to read voraciously when I was a kid…walking around Junior High with 1,000 page books like they were newspapers and buzzing through them in a week…especially books by Stephen King, Arthur C Clarke, even the Tolkein fantasies. But, as I got older, and life got in the way, I find myself reading less and less. Unless, of course, the title begins with “Http://”. I am an information junkie; newspaper every day, news sites all day, 9 & 10 o’clock news. But, I found my self unable to sit down and read a book, I never got very far before I found my self off in la la land, fast asleep. I always thought it was because of my hectic schedule. But, then, one day, while talking to a doctor about Adult ADD, one of the questions that came up, was if I feel asleep while trying to read. It shocked me to learn that is one of the markers for Adult ADD. It was good to know there was a legitimate reason, and wasn’t just me picking boring books. That being said, some of my most memorable books were from my youth, particularly Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. More recently, my favorite books have been:

The Creative Leader by Ed Young
The Moment of Truth in Iraq by Michael Yon
Comment by Dad of Divas on 29 August 2008:

Ok, I’ll bite… The book I would recommend is called Education of a WASP (http://www.amazon.com/Education-WASP-Wisconsin-Studies-Autobiography/dp/0299119742/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220011516&sr=8-1)

This book is an autobiographical look at one woman’s journey toward understanding and acceptance of the racism that she was unaware of in her own life in 1960′s America.

I would recommend this book to everyone to read as it is powerful and still as meaningful today as it was when it was first released in the 1970′s.

Dad of Divass latest discovery was..Project 365 (27/365) – A Visitor to The Lake
Comment by Dad of Divas on 29 August 2008:

I am connected to the RSS!

Dad of Divass latest discovery was..Project 365 (27/365) – A Visitor to The Lake
Comment by Lance on 29 August 2008:

I just finished the book “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. It’s a great book about living. Living your dreams, and really experiencing life. And it’s told by a man who is dying of cancer. Sadly, Randy passed away this summer after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. There is a video, as well, floating around the Internet on his actual last lecture. I recommend both the book and video.

Lances latest discovery was..Dreams For Our World
Comment by Antonette on 29 August 2008:

I’m going to be a little different and not tell you about a book I’ve read for myself. Rather, I’d like to share a book that my 3 year old son and I fell in love with.

“Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk. Sam is a mouse that lives in the library in a hold behind the reference section. Every night, after everyone is gone, he hopes out of his hole and reads. He’s not particularly picky either. He hits various genres.

He decides one night that HE is going to write a book, so he does, and then shelves it in the corresponding section. People find his books and the library starts to get regular submissions from it’s “mystery writer.”

Finally a librarian leaves a note on the bulletin board for Sam to find, inviting him to be a guest author and talk about how he gets his writing ideas.

Sam is terrified of being around many people, so he “visits” in a surprising way, showing people that there is a writer in ALL of us.

The story not only encourages reading, but finding the writer in each of us. The illustrations are beautiful, and my son had me read it every night for a month.

Here’s a link to its Amazon.com page. http://tinyurl.com/6n5ftw

I’m also a subscriber to your feed.
Comment by Matt on 29 August 2008:

Best book I read in the last year was “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight” by Thom Hartmann. Its a great book that presents a shocking perspective regarding what is happening to our world, and what will continue to happen to it through our children’s lifetime. The subhead on the cover reads “The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It’s Too Late”. That about sums it up.

Everyone who has children should read it, even if you happen to be from the “science will save us” camp.

PS-I have been subscribed to your feed for about 3 months…how about an entry per month?

Matts latest discovery was..Should I Let My Daughter Take Drugs?
Comment by Alyce on 30 August 2008:

The best book I read this summer was “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield. I liked this book so much because it drew me into the story quickly and the characters were fascinating. It was the first book that I was tempted to stay up all night reading since I’ve had my kids and become more responsible (sleep deprived).

Alyces latest discovery was..Lit Flicks Challenge
Comment by Alyce on 30 August 2008:

I subscribed to your feed.

Alyces latest discovery was..Lit Flicks Challenge
Comment by yessenia on 30 August 2008:

my favorite book that i read last year was the cider house rules by john irving i was sad that i hadn’t read it before, it was sooo amazing. i loved all of the characters especially homer wells and fuzzy stone awwww i just love this book so much it has everything i could ever look for in a book –great writing, unforgettable characters, love, sadness, friendship- everything is just perfect in this book! if you haven’t read it, i highly recommend it! : )
Comment by Wendi B. on 31 August 2008:

One of the best books I’ve read so far in 2008 was Into Thin Air by Jon Krakaur (yes – I’m a bit behind the masses reading this book). The author writes about his 1996 trip up Mount Everest that ended in disaster for many climbers. He shares his memories of the events, and his mountain climbing experiences. It was a very eye-opening read, and let me just add that I never plan to climb a high-altitude mountain – I believe climbers climb them not for enjoyment (hard to enjoy when you are sick, cold, and hurting) but for some personal goal.

My husband also read it, in fact, he was the one who recommended it to me. As a result, we have had many family discussions about the happenings written about in the book.
Comment by Jeremy on 1 September 2008:

Great recommendations – thanks! Lots of books added to my reading list!
Comment by Mark David Gerson on 1 September 2008:

One of my least favorite things is answering what my favorite is — of anything!

As an author, I often get asked to name my favorite author or favorite book. I never know what to say. For me, it’s such a situational thing. What I might respond in one moment might be totally different from what I might respond in the next. So I usually skirt the question somehow.

In most situations, of course, it would be highly and inappropriately self-serving to reply by naming my own books. But Jeremy has insisted that in this situation, it’s entirely okay! So (with apologies for the shameless self-promotion), here goes:

The MoonQuest: A True Fantasy — a story about a land where storytelling is banned and storytellers have been banished or put to death. Although it wasn’t intended as such, it’s a great metaphor for creative blocks/awakenings and a cautionary tale about the dangers of arts and arts-education cutbacks. It’s also disturbingly autobiographical (also not intended!) and has won several awards.

The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write — a nonfiction book of tools, tips and inspiration for writers and writer-wannabees. If we teach what we need to learn (certainly true in my case), it’s a constant reminder of all I still need to integrate and assimilate about my own life and creativity. (Turns out that the precepts that apply to being creative also apply to living creatively.)

I suppose the best way to answer Jeremy’s original question is that my favorite book is the one I’m reading!

Mark David Gersons latest discovery was..Freedom’s Dream
Comment by VegasDad on 2 September 2008:

I’m a huge fan of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch crime novels, so my favorite this year is “The Overlook.” I actually have all of his books and look forward to his new one coming out in October, just in time for my birthday.

My second is actually one that I won from one of your contests. It was Marcus Luttrell’s “Lone Survivor.” That book was quite impactful. Although I come from a military family and support our troops, I have new found respect for their fearless efforts after reading that book. Also, I never realized how grueling Navy SEAL training was.

VegasDads latest discovery was..sometimes people can be nice
Comment by Karen Putz on 3 September 2008:

The book that captured my heart this year: “Three Weeks with my Brother,” by Nicholas Sparks. Sparks weaved the tale of his childhood into a trip that spanned three weeks abroad with his brother. While the book was non-fiction, it had me thinking about ways to tighten the bond among my kids so that they have a great friendship forever.

Karen Putzs latest discovery was..My Son, The Football Player
Pingback by 10 Sites to Discovering this Weekend - Sept 5 | Discovering Dad on 5 September 2008:

[...] Today (Friday, Sept 5th) is the last day to enter the Reading is Fundamental Book Recommendation Contest. All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite book that you last read. Very easy, [...]
Comment by Amy on 5 September 2008:

My fave this summer was David Sedaris’ When you are Engulfed in Flames. Hilarious!

Amys latest discovery was..A Very Shallow Recipe Review
Pingback by Reading is Fundamental Contest Winners | Discovering Dad on 7 September 2008:

[...] to everyone who participated in the Reading is Fundamental Book Recommendation Contest. I was impressed at the quality of books recommended, and I was happy that so many people [...]