The Art of Non-Conformity Set Your Own Rules Live The Life You Want and Change the World by Chris Guilleabeau

The Art of Non-Conformity Set Your Own Rules Live The Life You Want and Change the World by Chris Guilleabeau

The contents of this book like the books title suffers from excess verbiage.  The message of the book could have been written in half the number of pages.  This makes the reading a bit distracting.

The Art of Non-Conformity starts with a series of exercises focusing on what you want to do with your life. Then it has no written exercises until the end of the book.  This creates a book too focused on telling you what to do, but not showing you how to do it.  This is a bit disappointing.

Chris Guillebeau spends most of the book talking about his own life and what he did to make himself able to live free from punching the clock.  His life is interesting and has some examples of how to be different; however it is more about telling you how he lived differently than showing the reader how to do it themselves.

The chapters on how to build a following on the internet and self education are quite good.  This book is designed to motivate you to do something different.  The motivation would work better if the book was shorter and more focused.

I learned something new, but would have been more satisfied if the book was shorter,  more focused, and showed you how to change, instead of focusing too much on the authors life.

Daily Thoughts 10/22/2010 (The Art of Non-Conformity, Acquisitions)

"The Chap Book--Thanksgiving no." "Art nouveau illustration showing two women holding trays of food.", 1895 by Will Bradley

Daily Thoughts 10/22/2010

Today has been quite quiet.  I did a little weeding in the oversize books, checked on the displays and looked over a few things which needed to be done.  I am going to be meeting with BWI this afternoon.  I am also going to be talking to Ingram next week.  Ingram offers a discount of 5% on video games which other vendors don't offer.  I am also planning a visit to a technology center at another local library with a colleague.


I also did some more reading through Booklist this morning for things to order and read the email newsletter Shelf Awareness which is interesting.  Shelf Awareness is well worth subscribing to http://news.shelf-awareness.com/signup.jsp?appid=411 


The BWI visit went well.  We cleared up some issues and the sales representative offered us their free alert service for childrens and young adult books.  I put holds on I live in the future & here's how it works : why your world, work, and brain are being creatively disrupted by Nick Bilton and The master switch : the rise and fall of information empire by Tim Wu.

The book, The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger came in for me to read. If you are interested in biographies in graphic novel form, there is a book called Ethel and Ernest A True Story by Raymond Briggs which is a very sweet tribute to the authors parents.

I spent some time reading from my Fundamentals of Acquisitions class.  I learned that there was an Association of Subscription Agents and  Intermediaries http://www.subscription-agents.org/about-asa which was kind of interesting.

On the ride home, I read some more of The Art of Non-Conformity.  It has slowed a bit.  Some of the things he says are on target.  I especially like his view on self education often being more important than a university education.  He skipped out of high school and started community college when he was sixteen.  I tested out of high school when I was seventeen and went into community college. I don't regret it at all.  Right now, I am reading about how to gain followers and lead. It is a slightly different take than usual.


Web Bits 

Library Inc. From the Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/article/Library-Inc/124915

Booksellers on owning a cafe bookstore. http://bit.ly/dnLD2H