The Seven Books I Purchase Again and Again...

Having grown up in a home with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves spanning long, long upstairs hallways and built into most of the other rooms, I am wary of the habits of book-collecting and book-hoarding. Whenever possible, I borrow books; I buy them used; and give away any books that I suspect I will not read again. This makes it easy for me to know when a book is important to me: I find myself purchasing that title again and again.

At the turn of the year, in prime gift-giving and gift-getting season, I am in full-on possession-shedding mode, and hearing many of those around me set long-term objectives (more fashionably clothed in the language of "New Year's Resolutions"). These seven books I part with readily when a loved one, friend, colleague, student, or client needs it more than I do, but I keep coming back to them, time after time:

1. Getting Things Done: The art of stress-free productivity. David Allen (2001). The principles behind this book are also a staple of such blogs as LifeHacker.com and DavidCo.com; I have frequently given this one away and told the recipient, "This book can improve your life today, and you can spend the rest of your life perfecting the whole of it." Available without ordering in most brick-and-mortar bookshops and very inexpensive at the Amazon Marketplace.

2. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie (Original copyright 1936, numerous editions since then). You know what this is. If you haven't read it, read it. If it's been a while, refresh yourself. For maximum benefit, follow -- yes, actually follow! -- the directions he gives for using the book as a manual. Read it slow, repeat it at intervals. He tells you how to do it, so give it a try and see if it works for you. Available with and without ordering depending on the volume your neighborhood bookshop does; various years can be very inexpensive at the Amazon Marketplace.

3. Nurturing Resilience in Our Children. Robert Brooks & Sam Goldstein (2003). Not just for parents, but for anyone who deals with children: for teachers, coaches, therapists, and childcare providers, this book is a clear-headed and kind-hearted read. It's especially good for starting conversations among faculty at small schools. Many local bookshops will have to special-order this title, but you may be pleasantly surprised; ordering online through the authors' sites supports further program development.

4. The Power of Positive Parenting. Glenn Latham (1990). For anyone who ever thought, "I didn't want to do that... again" or "I didn't want to say that.... again" in dealing with a student, child, or even a supervisee, this book just might do it. Achieves many similar aims to Nurturing Resilience in Our Children, with a few more "cookbook" type suggestions. This one is almost exclusively a special-order, whether at a store or online; the good news is, it's still in print.

5. The One Minute Manager. Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson (1981, 1982, 1994). This was the Who Moved My Cheese from before people were mice. Tiny little allegory; quick and gives three crucial skills to working with others. These skills are based in part on the interpersonal styles advocated in Carnegie's How to Win Friends & Influence People and the behavioral principles described in books like The Power of Positive Parenting. Frequently hard to find in regular bookstores, but quick to order.

6. Unless you are a professional behavior analyst (working in a school setting at that!), you may not want or need the two books I'm collapsing into the same recommendation here. However, by my lone criterion of "Purchasing Again and Again," I must mention two books whose titles I refer to only by their TLA's (three-letter-acronyms) in my everyday life. DTS & VBA are books I purchase and give away on a near-constant basis. DTS stands for Designing Teaching Strategies: An Applied Behavior Analysis systems approach (2002) by R. Douglas Greer. VBA stands for Verbal Behavior Analysis: Inducing and Expanding New Verbal Capabilities in Children with Language Delays by R. Douglas Greer & Denise Ross (2007). For my previous reviews of each, see the pages for each title on Amazon.com. Neither is ever available on a shelf at anything but a college bookstore; both order fairly speedily if required, though.

7. I'll Stop Procrastinating....When I Get Around to It (Richard W. Mallott & Holly Harrison). Congratulations on persevering to the end of the list; now what should you have been doing as you've been browsing this blog? If you're serious about putting any of your new long-term objectives into play for 2009 and have had mixed success in the past, this "course pack" is probably just the thing for you. Unfortunately, this is one that you wouldn't find without a tip. Point your browser to http://dickmalott.com/procrastination/ and follow the instructions. You will have to call a work-study student in Michigan and order the text in a rather unusual way, but it's worth it!

Happy reading!