Title: The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
Author: Sir Ken Robinson
Genre: Creativity, Motivation, Non-fiction
Why The Element is a Red Hot Read: To get a flavor of Sir Ken Robinson, you can check out the videos of his TED talks – Do Schools Kill Creativity? and Bring on the Learning Revolution. He’s probably one of the few humorous Brits I’ve ever been exposed to. He lives in Southern California now, which may have helped him become even more laid back 
. Regardless, Robinson is considered an expert on creativity and innovation. In The Element, he discusses why it’s important for each of us to work to discover our own “element.” Although many of his examples are about the big and famous folks, he gives the common woman hope that she too can find and excel in her element.
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Today is My Way Day, so don’t take crapola off anyone. Order your Starbucks coffee exactly the way you want it, no matter if it takes 15 minutes to outline all the skinnies, talls, grandes and extra syrup.
Title: The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education
Author: Maya Frost
Genre: Non-fiction, Education, College Guides
Why The New Global Student is a Red Hot Read: If you have a child in middle school or above and you’re panicked about college, set aside a few hours to read this book. The Frost family did the entire high school and college thing way out of the mainstream, moving their daughters to South America during their final school years. If this sounds a little extreme to you, Frost also provides some amazing tips for study abroad opportunities that don’t involve uprooting the whole family. As for me? I’m dreaming of taking off for Buenos Aires.
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Today is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day. What is it with all the food days, anyway? Hey, I’m not complaining, but I’ll just wait for Turtle Brownie Day—you cannot go wrong with chocolate, caramel and pecans. Cannot.
Image from www.liztalleybooks.com
Title: Vegas Two-Step
Author: Liz Talley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Why Vegas Two-Step is a Red Hot Read: If you enjoy contemporary (or any) romance, and you haven’t yet picked up a book by Liz Talley, I highly encourage it. She publishes under the Harlequin Super Romance imprint, which releases books monthly, but you can always find them in e-format, even if you miss them in the stores. I loved this book because it’s set in a small, Texas town and the heroine, Nellie, is a Texas gal who loves books (hmm…sounds vaguely familiar ). And who can resist a hero who moves cross-country to pursue a relationship with the right woman? Throw in a secondary character named Bubba, and you have all the makings for several hours of pure reading confection!
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Today is National Carrot Cake Day. Normally, I don’t like to mix vegetables and dessert, but for carrot cake, I make an exception.
As for the add-ins? Raisins? No way. Pineapple? Doubtful. Coconut? Possibly. Nuts? Pecans in the cream cheese frosting are non-negotiable!
If you’re looking for a good carrot cake and don’t want to bake one, try your nearest Luby’s Cafeteria. In fact, skip the meal and just grab the cake.
Title: We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle
Author: Celia Rivenbark
Genre: Humor, Essays
Why We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle is a Red Hot Read: I’ll admit that southern girls might get the biggest kick out of Celia Rivenbark’s collections of essays. But if you don’t find these books funny, well face it, you’re dead. The author is from North Carolina (one of my fave states) and can string together words in a way that’ll have you howling. Any woman who can write books titled like the one above, Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom, or You Can’t Drink All Day If You Don’t Start in the Morning is a friend of mine.
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Today is National Chocolate Cake Day, and who can find a damn thing wrong with that? If you’re lucky, one of these days, I’ll post my mom’s chocolate sheet (or sheath if you’re from Texas) cake recipe. Sure to give you a chocogasm.
Title: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
Authors: Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Genre: Business, Organizational Behavior, Self-Improvement
Why Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard is a Red Hot Read: Most of us think of business books as the boring tomes we read in college. Switch is a business-ish book that’s such an accessible and down-to-earth read you won’t want to put it down. Really. Change is inevitable, but boy howdy, do we fight it. This book presents strategies for initiating both organizational and personal change. And who on earth can’t use advice on one of those topics?
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Today is Penguin Awareness Day. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been aware of (and enthralled with) penguins for many years now. If you haven’t seen the movie Mr. Popper’s Penguins, this would be a great day to indulge!
