And reading I have enjoyed
Counterclockwise - Ellen J. Langer - applying the theory of mindfulness to health care and health management - a book that should change our attitudes to medical care and ageing
SPARK! - How Exercise Will Improve the Performance of Your Brain - Dr John Ratey and Eric Hagerman - I have always been interested in the biological basis of learning and memory. Some interesting stuff here not just about how we think nerves, hormones, transmitters and brains work but how these processes are stimulated by regular exercise to make brings bigger and work better. Interesting section on the way a school wide exercise programme improved student learning performance.
Mindfulness - Ellen Langer - Ellen Langer in her Theory of Mindfulness posits that choice and variation are powerful attributes for us to take control of the situations in which we find oursleves - supported strongly by the counterclockwise experiment that she conducted to explore the process of ageing. some elegant, simple, hopeful and intuitively obvious ideas in this book.
The Power of Mindful Learning - Ellen Langer - based on the Theory of Mindfulness I found it hard to find anything that I did not agree with in this book - why is current educational practice so mindless? I particularly liked the section on the importance of conditional (as opposed to factual/rote) learning as the key to instilling the spirit of discovery and the development of lifelong learning habits.
Napoleon’s Glance - William Duggan - coup d’oeil the secret of strategy, do you do detail (plans) before you make decision or do you make decisions and then do detail? It is a simple powerful idea that brings a perspective to strategy that we intuitively knew about but couldn’t quite articulate.
What the Dog Saw - Malcolm Gladwell - Bought this in Sydney domestic airport on my way to Canberra - I find Gladwell hard to resist as he is such a great storyteller. This book is well worth a read not least because of the ketchup story and the story on what makes for a better education system.
Teaching with the Brain in Mind - Eric Jensen - How we what we know of how the brain works should influence how we teach and how students learn. Do we take these things into account when we design spaces? - not often enough.
Free - The Future of a Radical Price - Chris Anderson - Interesting insights on using free as part of your business model.
Emotional Design - Donald Norman - Wide ranging discussion of the design of artefacts, from juicers to robots, how we interact with them and how they affect us. Terrific.
The Element - Sir Ken Robinson- Being in your element is key to success - some familair Ken Robinson stories in this book but still well worth a read
Transformative Learning Support Models in Higher Education - Edited by Margaret Weaver - I wrote the introductory chapter in this one. Lots of useful practical info for improving the student experience
The Spirit Level - Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett - Why more equal societies do better - very convincing arguments.
Blind Spots, Why Smart People Do Dumb Things - Madeleine L. Van Hecke - I have worked with lots of smart people and always wondered why they do dumb things
The e-Revolution and Post-Compulsory EDUCATION, Using e-Business Models to Deliver Quality Education - Edited by Jos Boys and Peter Ford- Collection of thoughts on how education could be capitalising on IT. I have a chapter in this one (Where are we now? - which is about how badly we are doing with our use of IT)
Here Comes Everybody - Clay Shirky- seems that everybody has read this one - it gets quoted everywhere. Certainly worth reading for insights on the social web
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell - well worth a read - informative, insightful and interesting.
Origins of Architectural Pleasure - Hildebrand - recommended for all those thinking about redesigning their libraries or learning spaces
The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp - I love this book. Muscles learn and have memories. Yes I think they do.
The Architecture of Happiness - Alain De Botton - Yes, buildings can make us happier
The Happiness Hypothesis - Jonathan Haidt - H=S+C+V
Five Minds for the Future - Howard Gardner - yet another insightful book that looks at the importance of synthesis (as opposed to analysis) and creativity among other things
Sway, The irresistible pull of irrational behaviour - Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman - fascinating book. I read this at one sitting, as you read it you just know its true and you know you knew.
The Singularity is Near - Ray Kurzweil - this is partly why Kurzweil thinks we can live forever. If you can survive in good shape for the next few years when we become one with computers then in your in the game for good.
Fantastic Voyage - How to live long enough to live forever - Ray Kurzweil - I am happy to think that I will not live forever and found this book both informative but also scary on all sorts of health related issues
Experience Sampling Method - Measuring the Quality of Everyday Life - Hektner, Schmidt, Csikzentmihalyi - I really think we have lessons to learn from this book to help us evaluate learning spaces more effectively.
The World Cafe, Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter, Juanita Brown and David Isaacs - Powerful book that describes what the World Cafe movement is and how it can really make a difference.
Fierce Conversations, Susan Scott - Great book - why do we spend all our time having converstaions about things that do not really matter?
The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins - Enjoyed this but also read Religion is not a Delusion, Peter Thompson, Guardian Saturday 11th August 2007.
The Experience Economy, B. Joseph Pine & James H. Gilmore - the path is products to services to experiences, believe it.
The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb - It is the unexpected that we should worry about.
The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda - Beautifully simple.
Digital Convergence - Libraries of the Future - Edited by Rae Earnshaw and John Vince - 29 chapters on different aspects of the library of the future - My chapter in on the Library space of the future
The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg - The original - Ray Oldenburg invented the idea of the Third Place that is becoming increasingly important in the learning society.
The Long Tail, How Endless Choice is Creating Unlimited Demand, Chris Anderson - Although this labours the point a little it does give food for thought about the deep socio-economic impact of new connected technologies and makes you think about the possible consequences for your industry.
Presence, Exploring Profound Change In People, Organization and Society, Peter senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, Betty Sue Flowers - Like no other management book that I have read. Humanising and connecting are two key themes that made me reflect on how badly, in management generally, we do things now and how we could do it better. Well worth reading.
Dialogue and the art of thinking together, William Isaacs - This is an insightful book on communication that fits with curremt thinking on conversational learning. Great book.
Nanotechnology, A gentle introduction to the next big idea, Mark Ratner, Daniel Ratner - The coming thing - well worth reading
How Buildings Learn - What happens after they are built, Stewart Brand - A great book full of insights and highly readable.
The Clock of the Long Now, Stewart Brand - Covers some key ideas about preservation and the need to establish some degree of balance between speed and longevity, froth and substance, and the importance of cultural transmission into the future
Information Anxiety, R.S.Wurman - I read this ages ago. If you are worried about, or perplexed or terrified by the torrent of information we are subjected to then read this. It might help
Out of our Minds, Ken Robinson - critiques current educational provision and emphasises the importance of creativity
Making Sense of Strategy, Tony Manning - really concise and great on strategy.
Images of Organization, Gareth Morgan - Classic text on organisations.
Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras - Great book on what makes organisations endure.
Good to Great, Jim Collins - Good is not good enough
Creative Destruction - From Built to Last to Built to Perform, Richard Foster and Sarah Caplan - Good on the balance between disruptive and constructive change
It’s Alive, Christopher Meyer & Stan Davis - Considers the convergence of Information (technology), Biology, and Business. Interesting and thought provoking.
Jamming. The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity - Great title with some good ideas and new perspectives.
Funky Business, Ridderstrale & Nordstrom - great ideas, good fun
Circle of Innovation, Tom Peters - I have not read much Tom Peters but this is a great fun book full of endless truth and sound advice.
Re-Imagine!, Tom Peters - and this builds on COI in some ways but has a much broader content. Great book with stimulating layout.
Leadership, inspire, liberate,achieve, Tom Peters - If you are not doing it and cannot find time to go on that leadership course then read this - NO better still go on the course and read this or just read this - it is very short and very angry.
Strategy Safari, Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, Lampel - Really good on the variety of ways of conceptualising strategy
Simplicity, The New Competitive Advantage, Bill Jensen - Simplicity, if only we could. Lots of practical advice.
Finding Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - I really like the ideas in here
Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - and here
Good Business, Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - and here applied to business
Creativity, Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - and here in relation to creativity
The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Christensen - insights into why organisations find innovation so difficult
Oversold and Underused, Larry Cuban - good critique of why we have failed with IT in education
The Flickering Mind, Todd Oppenheimer - highly critical of the use of computers in education
Personalizing Learning, Transforming Education for Every Child, John West-Burnham & Max Coates - I saw a glowing review and recommendation of this book by Tim Brighouse in the TES. It gives a great summary of the case for personalized learning and is good on IT in education too.
The Design of Everyday things, Donald A. Norman - Great book on the ubiquity of design and its importance
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, Richard P. Feynman - some of the thoughts, lectures and writings of Feynman. Full of useful insight.
Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell - I think everybody must have read this now. The way the book connects information and ideas is great.
Blink, Malcolm Gladwell - I always thought I trusted my intuition too much but not according to Gladwell. Great to have the reassurance.
Einstein’s Dreams, Alan Lightman - Great title. Explains some of Einstein’s ideas in a fun and understandable way.
The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz - All we hear about is more choice nowadays but apparently its not good for us.
The Medici Effect, Frans Johansson - Majors on interdisciplinarity and in particular the greater chance of insight, innovation and discovery at the intersection of current knowledge domains. Well worth a read.
The Imagineering Way, Ideas to Ignite your Creativity, The Imagineers - The way it is done at Disney.
Six Thinking Hats, Edward De Bono - If you have not read this then do. It can give you the power of multiple perspectives.
Simplicity, Edward De Bono - He does simplicity simply.
New Thinking for the New Millennium, Edward De Bono - You need to read this.`
Breakpoint and Beyond, George Land and Beth Jarman - Emphasises the importance of being driven by your envisioned future rather than forensic examination of the past.
Teacher Man, Frank McCourt - Another Tim Brighouse recommendation. Great human story on the trials and tribulations of teaching
Parallel Paths to Constructivism, Susan Pass - Examines the work and lives of Piaget and Vygotsky and compares their theories and beliefs
The Development and Education of the Mind, Howard Gardner - This is a career long collection of selected words by Gardner. If you have always wanted an insight into his theory of multiple intelligences and did not know what to read then this would do the job
Intelligence Reframed, Howard Gardner - This would also do and it extends some of the ideas into leadership and business
Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson - Fascinating book about the power of metaphor and its centrality to our understanding
The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki - I always thought I knew better than the rest. Looks like I was wrong collectively everybody knows better than anyone.
Unleashing the Idea Virus, Seth Godin - What is behind viral marketing. Good read.
