For those who don’t know, I’m an avid reader.  I used to pour through countless traditionally printed books (which, I do miss), but the past several months I’ve moved over to eBooks using the new NookCOLOR.  I love it!  As an avid reader on leadership, creativity, project management, and post-modernism, I thought I’d share a few of my most recent reads, as well as a couple of my favs.  So, to read or not to read, that is YOUR question!  Oh, please pop me any ideas on other books related to the themes you find below — if I haven’t read them already, I’m certain to check them out!

CREATING MAGIC:  10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney

By Lee Cockerell

On his way up the career ladder to become Executive Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World Resort, Cockerell freely admits he was such an autocratic young hotel and restaurant manager that he was hit over the head with a beer bottle by an employee he’d treated poorly. This and other incidents (including a bashing with a clipboard) convinced Cockerell to study leadership, which he proceeded to do with gusto throughout his stellar career, ultimately creating the Disney Great Leaders strategies. The author’s engaging storytelling brings life and infectious energy to this entertaining and inspiring book, which outlines the processes and rationale behind Disney’s employee-driven ethos. Each chapter expounds on the Disney Formula for Success, which Cockerell sums up as “great leadership leads to employee excellence, which leads to customer satisfaction and strong business results.” Cockerell’s willingness to use his management gaffes as examples not only makes him a likeable narrator but also a credible leader, offering up a mesmerizing view of a career devoted to excellence in customer service, employee empowerment, organizational improvement and responsive leadership.

THE IMAGINEERING WAY:  Living a More Creative Life

By The Imagineers

Famed for making dreams come true, the Disney Imagineers are world renowned for their incomparable creativity and their ability to turn fanciful ideas into reality. How do they do this? By approaching all projects, problems, and questions with the knowledge that they will undoubtedly accomplish the task set before them.

THE DISNEY WAY:  Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

By Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson

The original edition of The Disney Way was awarded a coveted “Best Business Book of the Year” by Fortune magazine. The world’s foremost experts on Disney, Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson revealed Walt’s secret success formula that propelled his company into the highest echelon of business, creativity, innovation, and success.

Now this fully revised edition profiles a new set of diverse organizations-from The Cheesecake Factory, Ernst and Young, and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, to Griffin Hospital, John Robert’s Spa, and Men’s Wearhouse-that have redefined their businesses by embracing The Disney Way. Walt’s “dream, believe, dare, do” credo is a powerful foundation that will support any business, drive any team, and guide any leader to newfound levels of success.

LINCHPIN:  Are You Indespensible?

By Seth Godin

This is by far Seth’s most passionate book. He’s pulling fewer punches. He’s out for blood. He’s out to make a difference. And that glorious, heartfelt passion is obvious on every page, even if it is in Seth’s usual quiet, lucid, understated manner.

A linchpin, as Seth describes it, is somebody in an organization who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced—her role is just far too unique and valuable. And then he goes on to say, well, seriously folks, you need to be one of these people, you really do. To not be one is economic and career suicide.

INNOVATE THE PIXAR WAY:  Business Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Corporate Playground

By Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson

In movies from Toy Story to The Incredibles to WALL-E to Up, Pixar Studios continues to set new standards for commercial and critical achievement. Pixar is a place where collaboration sets the tone for “artists and geeks” to work side by side in a spirit of mutual respect and trust. The key lies not just in who–writers, animators, directors, tech wizards, and others–makes Pixar outstanding, but in how Pixar creates the ultimate haven where creativity overflows.

In this eye-opening book, Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, authors of The Disney Way, reveal how Pixar has reawakened the innovative spirit of Walt Disney. They explore how president Ed Catmull and chief creative officer John Lasseter and the rest of Pixar’s brain trust have built an organization on the simple philosophy that quality is the best businessplan. It makes no difference if you are making a movie that takes four years or serving a customer that takes four minutes, you have only one chance to deliver that magical, magnetic, enchanting experience for your customer.

THINKERTOYS:  A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques

By Michael Michalko

In hindsight, every great idea seems obvious. But how can you be the person who comes up with those ideas? In this revised and expanded edition of his groundbreaking Thinkertoys, creativity expert Michael Michalko reveals life-changing tools that will help you think like a genius. From the linear to the intuitive, this comprehensive handbook details ingenious creative-thinking techniques for approaching problems in unconventional ways. Through fun and thought-provoking exercises, you’ll learn how to create original ideas that will improve your personal life and your business life. Michalko’s techniques show you how to look at the same information as everyone else and see something different.

With hundreds of hints, tricks, tips, tales, and puzzles, Thinkertoys will open your mind to a world of innovative solutions to everyday and not-so-everyday problems.

8 ATTRIBUTES OF GREAT ACHIEVERS

By Cameron C. Taylor

8 Attributes of Great Achievers is filled with inspiring stories from the lives of great achievers past and present including Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, The Wright Brothers, Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, Warren Buffet, and others.