I'm on a few publishers' lists as someone that reviews books, works with SQL Server, and in general might help them sell copies of books. A number of friends from SQLServerCentral, and other sites, have written books as well, and often send me copies.
Just the other day I received a copy of the MCTS SQL Server 2008 Prep from Mark Horniger,someone I've known from SQLServerCentral for some time. That's after getting a package of 2 Apress books, which was preceded by 2 packages from WROX with a total of 7 books on various aspects of SQL Server.
I'm not a full-time DBA, and I have a number of other commitments, so I'm not sure I'll even get through most of these books, let alone all of them, but I'm looking forward to diving into a few of them.
The one on spatial is first on my list, since I've not really worked with that technology before, and I'm curious to see how it works and what applications might exist for me. Beginning Spatial with SQL Server 2008 is by Alastair A and it’s interesting. In going through the first few chapters, there’s a lot of information to absorb about what exactly spatial data is and how it’s encoded, not to mention even used. I’ve never worked with spatial data, so this is all new to me.
So far I think it’s a very informative book, and it’s helping to get me up to speed on this new technology in SQL Server 2008. Look for some interesting spatial Questions of the Day sprinkled throughout the new few months.
I’ll try to read through some of the other books, but if you’re interested in any of them, let me know if I should slide one further up my stack of reading material. The list is:
I'm embarking on another book project. Not writing this time, but tech editing again. I tech edited a book last year, and that was very interesting and exciting. I learned quite a bit as I tested code and worked on SQL Server 2008's Integrated Full-Text Search.
This time it's a new book being written about encryption, a subject that I'm interested in and find fascinating. I'm looking forward to the material, and get ready for some new questions and blogs on encryption in the coming months.
This was one of the first books that I grabbed on my Kindle at the Business of Software Conference in 2008. I had a number recommended, and got samples during the conference, but since I’ve been blogging a lot, and have enjoyed lots of what Robert Scoble has done, I decided to get this book.
I've followed some of Robert Scoble's writings at Microsoft and since, and I think he has interesting things to say.I'm not always thrilled with his delivery or interviews, but he makes me think.I think a lot of his presence comes through in this book, and I found that it really made me rethink what I was doing with my blog. It gave me ways to think about my audience, think about what I was writing as more than just a "about me" space, and moving me more into a"consider the audience" type of mode. I still write what's interesting to me, but I am looking to grow and expand that to grow my brand. That's not for everyone, but it does make you think.
The book is divided into sections, talking about different aspects of blogging, and there are lots of stories about how blogging has helped grow a number of businesses. By explaining what benefits they've seen from blogging, they reinforce the idea that blogging can really help you. In talking to Andy Warren, friend and business partner at End to End Training, didn't seem to like it as much as me, and he thought that the examples were of "first movers", people that got in first in some area, or grew to be the biggest and that you couldn't necessarily compete with them.
There's some truth to that, but I think there isn't one big audience in any space. There are lots of audiences, and they overlap. Multiple people can grow their brands, and gain a following, especially in this new era of RSS feeds.
The book definitely pushes corporate blogging and talks about how bringing a more human face to your company, getting away from the Press Release/ controlled communications can help you. I tend to agree since there is so much information out there, and you can't control your image as you could in the past before we were so highly connected. Adding a blog, in addition to formal communications, helps people to better understand who you are.
I definitely recommend this book for business bloggers, but I'd also for people that want to grow their personal brand. Think of yourself as a company, your products are your skills, think about how to talk about them.
I saw this book (It's Your Ship) in a Barnes and Noble and the title and cover attracted me. So I picked it up and read the back, thought it was interesting, and later grabbed it for the Kindle. I do still buy books from B&N, but for friends and family. I prefer my books on the Kindle.
As I started reading this book, I thought this was a book that everyone in management should read. And everyone that is a worker should recommend this to your managers, directors, VPs, and especially C-level people.
That thought hasn't wavered and now that I've finished it, I think more than ever this is a great management book that really describes well how you can lead. In the military or in business.
This is the story of Captain Michael Abrashoff's tour on the USS Benfold. He took over this ship, his first command, and a ship that was below average in many ways. After he received the command, he turned around the ship, making it the highest rated ship in the Navy. And not just in terms of getting people to perform as qualified sailors, but he reduced turnover, getting almost all of his sailors to re-enlist, he improved morale, lowered accidents, and really built an amazing group of people.
In many ways this reminded me of how great JD Edwards was to work for, though I think I recognize more flaws in their operations that Captain Abrashoff points out.
The book covers a variety of aspects of leadership, usually with stories about issues and problems encountered and how the Captain worked at it. Granted the job on a ship is different than a company, but with more serious consequences, however there are a lot of similarities.
There two big things I've gotten from the book. One is that you should empower your people, trusting them to make decisions, which is an old idea, but one that many managers overlook. The second is that you need to act quickly and decisively on issues, not letting them fester. In your actions, you have to show that people have to take responsibility, but that they also deserve a second chance.
Too many managers and attempted-leaders try to control workers, telling them what to do but not sending the message with their actions. Captain Abrashoff illustrates where he found ways to show people he meant what he said and I liked that.
I would have liked to hear more about things that didn't work since those mistakes can really help us grow, and there is a little at the end where he talks about problems he created with his policies, but they are problems with peers, not problems with his decisions. It's a motivational book, so I understand some of that, but it would have been a great learning experience to see mistakes being made and how they are corrected, or you back out of your actions.
I highly recommend this book.
The book is actually Big Brown: The Untold Story of UPS and it was written by a retired UPSer that spent his whole career there. I picked up this book after being on the Underground Tour in Seattle. As an aside that was neat, but the guide mentioned UPS was started in Seattle delivering drugs (I never knew either one of them).
While we were in Seattle at a Barnes and Noble, I saw this on the shelf and took a picture of it on my phone. I don’t mind supporting Barnes and Noble, but I also don’t want to carry more books than I have to and this was a reminder to get a copy on my Kindle later.
The book starts with a bit of the author’s career and how he came to work at UPS and love it. He definitely shows his enthusiasm for the company and culture and his admiration for the way that the company is run.
From there it goes back and talks a bit about Jim Casey, the founder of the company, or one of the founders and how he got his start as a kid in Seattle delivering packages for retail stores at the beginning of the 1900s. Some interesting things I’ve learned:
I recommended this to my business partner, Andy Warren, and he wrote a review as well. He didn’t like it as much as I did (I think), but it’s a good read and I think it’s a good company. I’d like to build a company like UPS, though not exactly. I’m not sure I completely agree with all the things said about the company, but they have done things the right way from what I’ve seen.
The book isn’t all a rah-rah book on UPS. There are definitely some issues and the author does a good job of bringing them out, showing that he doesn’t like it, but it’s a part of the history.
I know my delivery guy loves the company and I need to see if he’s read the book.
