Sweet Salad Saturday #016 (What Are You Reading? Edition)

I’m looking for new blogs and books to read. Plus awesome sweet links inside!

I’ve never received any complaints about this, but you’ve probably noticed that my Sweet Saturday linkage is usually from a core group of about 20 blogs. That’s because I don’t have a huge list of blogs I subscribe to. Everything I link to either comes from my feed reader, twitter, or an e-mail. I don’t go out and purposefully search for links for my Saturday posts. I add them to the list throughout the week whenever I read an article I love.

Which means …

I know I’m missing a lot of great blogs. Today I have a special request of you to rectify that situation (that sounds so formal; like this is an interview; is this an interview?; why am I separating these thoughts with a semi-colon?;). Leave your answers in the comments.

1) What is one of your favorite blogs I should know about? It doesn’t matter if it’s an established blog or a brand new blog with kick ass content. It also does not matter what niche it’s in.

2) What is your one favorite article from that blog? Choose one article only.

3) I’m also looking for new books to read. I’m not a fan of most fiction unless it’s Paulo Coelho, so keep that in mind. If a fiction book doesn’t have me captivated within 30 minutes I refuse to continue. What is one book I absolutely, positively, must read? It helps if it’s available on the Kindle, but that’s not absolutely necessary.

Ever had a sweet salad? Of course you have. Linkssssssssssssssssssssssss …

The Top Idea In Your Mind by Paul Graham

Paul is something of a genius. “I’d say it’s hard to do a really good job on anything you don’t think about in the shower.” I’ve found this to be true. But I also find I do a lot of my thinking while working out (lately, usually a bike ride). Unlike most people, I don’t like to listen to music while working out. Silence + workout = amazing. (OK, that’s a lie, sometimes I listen to Andrew W.K. over and over and over!)

The 8 Core Excuses Standing Between You and Your Dreams by Henri Junttila

I’ve written about these excuses in one form or another on this blog, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fantastic article. Actually, if your life isn’t quite what you want it to be you should not only read this article, but everything Henri writes.

How To Imagine Your Ideal Reality (Because It Matters) by Everett Bogue

Congrats to Everett for taking the steps to getting his “adult passport.” ;)

Something I would offer as advice to Everett or anybody else wanting to do this is: don’t plan too much. 10 countries in 12 months doesn’t sound like a lot, but it actually is. You may fall in love with a city/country and not want to leave right away … but you will leave because you planned ahead and bought tickets to your next destination. What I’m saying is, I definitely would’ve spent more than one month in New Zealand. :)

The Art of Community Building by Tammy Strobel

One of the bullet points in this article is “Live small and think big.” Why didn’t I think of that? P.S. That would make a fantastic book title Tammy. ;)

Bloggers: Do You Give Your Readers What They Want? by Annabel Candy

This article is proof of 2 things. 1) Flattery will get you linked here. 2) Using something you learned from my blog and writing about it on your blog will get you linked here. ;)

33 Things I’ve Never Told You (or, How to Re-Introduce Yourself and Kick Your Watered-Down Self in the Ass) by Corbett Barr

Corbett rules. I love when people open up and show us more of who they are. I’ve spoken to Corbett a bunch of times and I never even knew how old he was. :) And I fully agree with #28. :)

Before I sign off for this week, remember:

“There is no failure. You will mess up, but that’s OK, because it is impossible to mess up.” – Leo Babauta from The Power of Less

Questions/comments/wanna read Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark to each other? You know what to do …

72 thoughts on “Sweet Salad Saturday #016 (What Are You Reading? Edition)”

    1. Thanks Erin! I’m actually familiar with White Hot Truth, but I never read it much. I’ll add it to RSS and check it out for the foreseeable future!

      Cheers,
      Karol

  2. Seeing Leo’s quote at the end of the entry, the following thought popped into my mind: I didn’t go far enough down the F entries in my mental dictionary. I was thinking of my “failures” and allowing them to hold me back, but I realize that the world has just been giving me “feedback.” Thanks for the reading suggestions and for that bit of serendipity!

      1. Karol,
        Thanks for the link. What you said encapsulated the understanding I’ve started to construct about looking at failure. I realize that another “F” word–fear–is lurking even deeper.

        What I learned: To click on the blue underlined words, especially on your site. :)

        Here’s a book recommendation for you: Orhan Pamuk’s Snow. His style, or should I say, the way he’s been translated into English, is not for everyone. However, reading him did broaden my awareness of Turkish culture and society.

        Thanks and have a good weekend.
        Greg

        1. Thanks Greg. Downloaded a sample of Snow. Forgot I can do that with Kindle and it really helps when reading fiction. :)

  3. I always admire the usage of the semicolon. I am always uncertain if I am using it appropriately, so it’s usage always denotes courage in my mind. Way to go, Karol!

    Blogs… One of the other few blogs I follow is unclutterer.com. If you are looking for practical minimalism, this is a good place to look. Erin Doland blends whit, wisdom and new ideas into a very entertaining mix. Check out her “System for Living an Incredible Life” here : http://unclutterer.com/2009/07/10/ask-unclutterer-having-it-all/

    It is tied for my favorite post with her “workspace of the week” post where I got picked. Check out that gratuitous self-indulgent post here: http://unclutterer.com/2009/07/03/workspace-of-the-week-office-away-from-the-office/ Heh, heh, heh, I’m such a glory hound.

    1. haha, thanks Glenn. I’m actually pretty sure I was not using the semi-colon correctly … I just wanted to use it!

      Thanks for the links! I haven’t read unclutterer regularly for a while, but it’s great.

    1. Thanks Nicky! I had not heard of The Sartorialist. Giving it a trial in my RSS reader!

      As for The Prophet: not available on Kindle. :( But I will check it out eventually, thanks! :)

  6. I love your blog! I get it on a feed on my netvibes homepage :)

    Anyway, here’s my other favorite blog: http://zenhabits.net/
    And the article “50 Ways to Be Romantic on the Cheap” just makes me smile everytime I read it, an account of some of my best dates were found on this list. A little cheesy, but eh, most girls swoon over the same romance movies again and again, so that’s human.

    1. Thanks Natalie! :)

      Leo’s blog is one of my favorites as well. I even quoted him at the end of this article!

      I will have to check out the 50 Ways article as I don’t think I’ve ever read it. It sounds good!

  8. Even though you said you aren’t into fiction I am going to challenge you with one I feel you may like. (basically my favorite book) It is called “Replay” and is by Ken Grimwood.

    It is much more than fiction though, The basic premise is the guy dies and lives his life over again, and again and again. Fully concious of his past lives. He learns somewhat from his mistakes, and for me it is important because it shows how who we are inside can change your direction and increase growth.

    A good fun read, but also has some insight.

    1. I’m always willing to give fiction a chance. What I usually find is that it’s boring beyond belief. But I keep trying. I know there is lots of good stuff out there. So thank you for the suggestion! It’s not on Kindle, but I put it on my Amazon Shopping List to remember it. :)

    1. Thanks Joel! After only a few minutes I already love Nate’s blog. :)

      As for A Million Miles: purchased! Will be a bit before I read it (have a couple other books in line), but I’m excited.

      1. Nate’s legit. Guy has a lot of exciting stuff planned this next year.

        Glad you got A Million Miles – You won’t be disappointed. [I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, whenever you finish it].

  10. Hi Karol, well, that was a most unexpected bonus of writing the article. Mainly I wanted to thank you and give you some linky love:) Thanks for sending it back again! It’s so important for bloggers to share their super readers with each other and help each other grow. I’m really excited to be featured here along with you and some other top bloggers in the making:)

    I think my post was a useful follow up on your how to build a survey so hopefully if adds some useful info for bloggers and business builders – and certainly proof that your tips work:) Thanks K:)

    1. Hey Annabel!

      I hope everybody gets a lot out of your article as well. It’s cool to see ideas in action from different perspectives.

      Cheers,
      Karol

        1. Right! Tha’ts what I was going to suggest too. Another good one by Douglas Adams is Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Seriously, (Although I think Adams would give me a banana for using a word like serious in relation to him) Douglas Adams is awesome.

  12. Hey Karol! Thanks for the shout out. It was fun sharing a bunch of things about myself that I hadn’t talked about before. The response was really awesome.

    Speaking of, to think I had been reading your blog and talking with you all this time without knowing how tall you were. 6’5″ ? Not that it matters, but I don’t know too many people that tall. I have a friend who is 6’6″ and he has a little trouble with doorways and small cars.

  14. As for a favorite blog, http://www.raamdev.com is near the top of my list. His life is changing right before his readers eyes and he’s on an incredible mission to help spread some positive change. He’s just an overall great guy and every post he writes forces me to re-think my own views.

    And I highly recommend “A Primate’s Memoir” by Richard Sapolsky. It’s definitely a random book, but it’s non-fiction and a fascinating (and amusing) scientific study/travel tale written by a primatologist who spent years studying a troop of baboons in Kenya.

    1. Hey Earl,

      Yes, I’m familiar with Raam’s work. :)

      A Primate’s Memoir sounds awesome! Unfortunately it falls into the category of Kindle books I don’t support. (Make that stupid publishers I don’t support.) The Kindle edition is more expensive than the paperback. :( I had a fun discussion on twitter about this. One way to stop it is to make it known that we’re not going to support it. And even then, because most Publishers (like Record Companies) are clueless, it may fall on deaf ears until bankruptcy. :)

      Cheers,
      Karol

      1. That’s certainly understandable that you wouldn’t support that. I don’t actually have a Kindle so I wasn’t aware that some publishers are that stupid!

        Hopefully they’ll come around…at least there are hundreds of excellent books from smarter publishers to read!

  15. Must read: The Beach – Alex Garland. It’s fiction I know, but I guarantee you that you won’t be able to put it down. You’ll probably know the film of the same name with Leonardo Dicaprio (comes from this book). You will love it infinitely more so because you’re into travel, non-conformity and searching for something different.

    Enjoy.

    1. Thanks Jason! I’ve never actually seen the movie and the book isn’t available on Kindle, but I’ll add it to the “to check out some day” list. :)

  17. I read so many blogs, none is sticking out at the moment. Like you, I can’t read much fiction. So, I’ll recommend the latest book I read. It’s called Whip Smart by Melissa Febos. It’s a great bio of a former addict/dominatrix. It’s well crafted and will keep you interested. Enjoy!

  18. Hey Karol,

    I’m about 3/4 through Tony Hseih’s ‘Delivering Happiness’. He’s the CEO of Zappos, and the information he provides is invaluable. For entrepreneurs and casual readers alike, the book is sure to inspire, captivate, and motivate. If you’re not already reading it, I hope you pick it up!

    -Casey

    1. Thanks Casey! It’s on my list! Tony Hseih rules and although I’ve only bought from Zappo’s 3 times it is always a fantastic experience.

  19. Hmm… favorite blog that isn’t mine: http://www.deadlinedames.com
    favorite post: http://www.deadlinedames.com/?p=3561

    favorite blog that *is* mine: http://antheastrezze.com/blog
    It’s hard to pick a favorite post, but I figure you can’t go wrong with zombies ;-)
    http://antheastrezze.com/blog/2010/05/23/the-last-day-of-school/

    Most of the books I read are fiction, but you might enjoy either Sunshine by Robin McKinley or Resonance by Chris Dolley

    Now to look through everybody else’s links!

  20. I’ve cut back a lot on my blog reading, it was getting hard to keep up with and still have time to do my everyday stuff, right now I’m using thedailybrainstorm.com and just clicking on anything that gets my attention. (In the long run this is much less to follow than I was)

    As for books though, I’ve been reading Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzche, and it is a beautiful read. I also highly reccomend The Element by Sir Ken Robinson, The Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu and Ghandi’s autobiography. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already read a few of these, but I think they should be included in any great reading list.

    1. Thanks Justin. I already read a lot of the blogs on daily brainstorm. :)

      Of the books you mentioned I’ve only read the Tao. Thanks!

  21. I’ve been reading your blog for about 6 weeks. Thanks I’ve gotten a lot of useful information!

    I LOVE to read. Non-fiction recommendations: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.

    1. Woohoo! Thanks Melissa. Three Cups of Tea is in my queue. (that is, my Mom owns it and I’m looking forward to reading it when I visit the US in October) I’ve been meaning to check out Bryson’s stuff forever. It’s about time, methinks. :)

    1. Thanks Tammy! Haven’t heard of Twelve by Twelve, but just downloaded the Kindle sample. :)

      Thanks for the book list link. :)

  23. Hi Karol,

    I’ve been reading your blog for about 2 months and I’m really enjoying it!

    I just started reading (about half way through it) – the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. If you haven’t read it already, I think you’ll really enjoy it. The first part (which I have read) is an introspective look at yourself as an individual. The second part appears to be on how to interact in public.

    The other recent read that I enjoyed was Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. It talks about what makes certain people successful.

    Also, I have a recent film recommendation (even though you didn’t ask for it – I thought it was worth mentioning :) ). It is Man on Wire (2008) and it is about Philippe Petit. Philippe decided at 18 to walk on a tightrope across the WTC twin towers in the 1970s. I found it to be an inspirational story about someone who accomplished an amazing vision, worked hard to attain it (6 years of planning), and who appears to really live life to the fullest. I feel that it goes in line with the theme of your blog. Philippe has written a book, To Reach the Clouds, about the experience which is on my list to read too.

    Ryan

    1. Thanks Ryan. 7 Habits, Outliers, and Man on Wire ALL ROCK! :) (When I was doing my slakkline walking I kept thinking about that movie. hehe)

      I’ll have to check out Philippe’s book as well.

  24. Hey Karol, nice post :)

    As for the blog, I recently became hooked on this one:
    http://tonbogirl.blogspot.com/

    In words of the girl writing the blog, it’s “personal visual diary of all things beautiful” and she mostly covers streetstyle, people, flea market treasures and the like. And she really puts her heart in it. As for the single favourite post, I guess it would be this one:

    http://tonbogirl.blogspot.com/2010/07/treasure-hunt-at-red-rock-castle.html

    Enjoy :)
    Tomas

  25. I’d say that Penelope Trunk’s blog is one of my favorites. She is funny and informative and a very smart lady. Check out “How much money do you need to be happy? Hint: Your sex life matters more” http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/08/03/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-be-happy-hint-your-sex-life-matters-more/

    Reading a great book right now by Sir Ken Robinson titled, “The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything” Robinson’s ideas about changing the way children are educated are wonderful! Its a good read whether or not you have found your passion(s).

  26. One of my favorite books is “The Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff. It never gets old.

  27. Hey Karol!

    A book I’ve recently enjoyed reading is “Slowing Down to the Speed Of Life”. Actually, Leo Babauta recommended it in a blog post.

    Hope you’ll like it :)

  28. Hi Karol…I’m late to the party on this post but wanted to recommend a book for you. Since you aren’t a big fan of fiction I think this will be a good starter book. It’s based on historical events, but with a fiction story thrown in. I think it will be a nice middle ground for you. The book is called Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It’s on Kindle for less than the print version. The book is about the murders that took place during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. I couldn’t put it down. The historical info about Chicago and how the Fair changed the world was amazing.

    Thanks for all the great info on your blog. I’ve become a huge fan in the last month.

  29. Btw., when talking about fiction, I can’t help – I have to mention Dune. And by Dune I mean the original 6 books written by Frank Herbert (the latter books by his son Brian are, imho, trash). Granted, it *does* seem to be sci-fi at first, but that is really just the surface. I have never found another book combining profound insights into philosophy, history, politics, religions, sociology, human interactions, their search for power, truth, prosperity and far too many other topics for me to enumerate here – all of that with a pretty good storyline.

    Sure, it might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I read all the 6 books many times over and I keep coming back to them – and I dare say I learned a lot of things I applied in my daily life. As I said – damn good books :)

      1. Karol, it indeed is. The thing is, Frank Herbert managed to look at many topics from an angle most people never would – and he doesn’t give so much answers as he stirs and provokes reader to try and think for himself, to reassess many things we think we know and understand. And it reads well :)

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  31. Hey there! Just discovered your blog & I have to say I love the domain name. Definitely got my attention. I’m venturing to guess that you’re familiar with Chris Guillebeau’s site, but here’s a link anyway just in case- http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/

    As for books- try The Medici Effect – Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures by Frans Johansson. It’s a brilliant, succinct presentation on the potential of combined creative forces. (I’m always bursting with recommendations, being the bibliophile I am, so don’t hesitate to ask for more!)

    Off to poke around your site now :)

    1. Thanks Tessa! I’ve been following Chris’s blog since 2008! ;) Great stuff.

      As for the book: never heard of it. Thank you for the rec!

  32. Books
    1000 miles in a million years. I began it under duress and have since bought and shared copies with several other friends. It’s delightful and insightful. And no, I didn’t try to get that to rhyme.

    1. Thanks Katiebean! That was actually already recommended in the comments and I bought it! :) Still haven’t started reading it. I think it’s next in the queue though. Great to know it comes so highly recommended.

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