Us Jammers are avid readers. Not a week goes by when we don’t compare notes on what to read next. So we jumped for joy when we happened upon a recent article on the subject by Michael Hyatt.
Hyatt, an authority on business and leadership, focuses on how reading can make you a better leader – a result of the thinking, people and communication skills that books provide. We’re inclined to agree. But we also think that reading makes you a much better PR person too and here’s why…
–Through constant reading you gain a vast range of knowledge. As specialists in both consumer and B2B PR, we actively make sure we keep up to date with the latest news and trends for our clients, reading absolutely anything we can get our hands on. The more you read, the more you learn, which benefits our clients as we are able to identify possible PR opportunities.
–As PR professionals, words are our bread and butter. It’s important that we succinctly and effectively communicate to both journalists and the public. What’s brilliant is that whether you’re ploughing through a trade journal for work or getting stuck into the latest best seller at home, everything you read is helping expand your vocabulary. Meaning you will write better copy and be more eloquent when selling in to the media.
–In the world of public relations nothing you read is ever a waste. At the time you may think it’s of no use but you never know when an article may spark an idea for a possible press release or feature. It could be the smallest and simplest thing that inspires the best campaign.
–Scientists have found that reading is an effective relaxer and de-stresser. And however much we love our jobs no one can deny that PR can be very stressful. So it is important that we take the time to switch off and re-charge our batteries. In a recent study by the University of Sussex have compared reading to other stress relievers like walking, listening to music or drinking a cup of tea. Reading came out on top – lowering heart rates and relieving tension in as few as six minutes.
Here’s the Jammers’ current reading list:
@Rachel_1999 – Still Alice, Lisa Genova
Alzheimers is not most uplifting or obvious of subjects for a book, but Still Alice manages to be both moving and funny at the same time. Written from the perspective of a 50 year old University lecturer who finds out she has early on-set Alzheimers, it provides an amazing (and scary) insight into how this terrible disease turns worlds upside down. A must read!
@NiamhMcKenna2 – The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton
I’m one of those stubborn readers who, unless it’s really horrendous, will force themselves to finish a book even if they’re not really loving it. I’m currently struggling through The Miniaturist; set in Amsterdam, following a young woman who mysteriously receives miniatures for her dolls’ house, that appear to foreshadow the future. If that brief summary piques your interest, I’d say go for gold. Fantasy isn’t really my cup of tea and I’m definitely not doing justice to what, by all other accounts, is meant to be a literary masterpiece.
@AnnaRose_89 – Marching Powder, Thomas McFadden
I am about to begin reading this book. It’s the true story of Thomas McFadden, a small-time English drug smuggler who was arrested in Bolivia and thrown inside the notorious San Pedro prison. I’m not expecting any deep literary prose, but the criminal underworld of South America is fascinating. A good friend recommended this book to me – she read it after visiting Bolivia last year.
@JaimeGee – The State We’re In, Adele Parks.
Chick lit’ at its finest. Despite a megalomaniac male lead and a desperate woman looking for love (aren’t they always in these books?), Parks’ writing is exemplary. Her short, punchy and witty text draws you in and keeps you coming back for more. I’m hooked!
