Will Kelly

It’s almost summer – the traditional time of year when I read a lot – so it is time to put together my reading list for beside the pool. Except for magazines, I am staying true to reading as many books as I can on either my Kindle or iPad. My plan for reading this summer includes a bit of leisure, rejuvenation, and professional education. So here is my Summer 2011 Reading List, it’s just a start and a bit eclectic. Managing Writers by Richard Hamilton. While some may call me negative about the state of  the technical writing profession, I do have respect for true thought leaders (those who actually work in the field, and do the real work) versus the academics clouding and diluting the technical writing body of knowledge.  It’s been a long time since I’ve worked in a technical writing group (and I hope to keep it that way for the time being) but still want to know the latest.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe. I saw an interview with Rob Lowe one day when I was on the elliptical at the gym and it made it sound like his bio would be an interesting read. After all, the man was in Saint Elmo’s Fire .

Drive by Daniel Pink. This is a book about motivation which seems like it would be good reading now my thyroid surgery is behind me and I am debating some personal and professional moves. I liked his book Free Agent Nation and hope to learn a few things from this book.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. World War II is one of my favorite times in history and everything I’ve read and heard about  Louie Zamperini’s story as told in this book makes it sound like a great book to read this summer.

Pro Project Management with SharePoint 2010 by Mark Weinstein. I am pro-SharePoint and realize its many benefits for project teams and project managers. The focus of my SharePoint reading is about SharePoint 2010 since documenting a SharePoint implementation is on my Technical Writer Bucket List and I am sure to be working with it in the near future.

Workflow in Microsoft Office 2010 by David Mann. I’ve been interested in the workflow possibilities in Microsoft Office for a while now but it wasn’t until the release of Office 2010  did I think that organizations will start seizing upon it. My hope is to dive deeper into the topic as I expect to be encountering Office 2010 in the wild in the near future.

I expect this list to grow as the summer goes on. What is on your Summer 2011 Reading List?