I am a techie wanna-be with a very limited tech knowledge. There is “follow” button on the right-hand column on my blog, but it may be that you have to have a google account to use that function???. If you have any problem subscribing, let me know.

Yes, I would love to tweet more on what I do also and share our knowledge and passion. That's what the Internet is about after all!

I need to Tweet with you more! Your research is my passion and I'd love to learn more. I just checked out your blog… interesting stuff. I love what you are doing! I don't know much about Japan but like you foreign cultures and social norms that are different than mine are simply fascinating!

I tried to find a place to subscribe to your blog? How do I do so?

Thnx so much for your input and recommendations!

Thank you for the great post. As an avid reader and aspiring (fiction) writer, I read your post with great interest.
I read quite a lot for my work as a researcher at a consulting firm. I research not only business trends but also social trends, so I read a wide variety of books for my work.

There was time that I did not read any books outside my work, because I spend 12+ hours at my office every day on average. It was so limiting, and I decided to set aside time for reading MY books every day even for a little bit. I am like you; I read more than one book at any given time. Currently I am reading The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt and The Art of Facilitation by Dale Hunter.

I read books, because, first of all, I would like to keep expanding my perspectives; I am only one person, and perspectives that I can gain from my own experiences are limited. Therefore, I hope to learn from other people's perspectives and experiences.

Second of all, I read books because I believe that in order to enrich your life and fulfill your potential you have to keep learning. Reading is a great way to learn, just as valuable as interacting with other people and consuming other media.

Third of all, I read books to give myself time to reflect on my life, my world, and my self. A book is a cold medium, so it gives opportunities to not only input new information but also to actively engage, inquire, go deep inside your mind, and to cultivate insights that have not existed before. I need the kind of time to be whole as a person.

My recommendations at the moment are as follows:

1. Hardwiring Excellence by Quint Studer
2. When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
3. Cluetrain Manifest by David Weinberger and others
4. Linchpin by Seth Godin
5. Letters to A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
6. Twitterville by Shel Israel

I know I am missing something, but this will have to do.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by jkellie: i2o update: Only 39% of Americans read? Really? http://goo.gl/fb/MUnS...

Don't know if Jess has told you this or not but the kids are always ecstatic about getting their books from you. It's like Christmas… they immediately disappear to their rooms and aren't heard from for at least an hour. Peace and quiet time for Mom and Dad.

Folks I HIGHLY recommend connecting with Justin if you haven't already. He's very personable and is one of the few people in the twitterverse who actually cares about what you are doing, then takes the extra step and does everything he can to help.

He is truly a Leader4hire and I couldn't say enough about him to do justice.

Thanks Justin for all you do!

If you guys haven't checked out Ivana's videos please visit. I especially identified with her video on reading books. I was happy to find out I'm not the only one that uses stickers to mark pages I learned from.