Her library had a tree house. A TREE HOUSE! With nooks, crannies, and crevices perfect for a second grader to hide. Amy loved reading as a little girl, and being read to, too. Every night, she couldn’t wait to curl up and cuddle up in bed and listen to her parents read her the next chapter of some great adventure. Or turn on her lamp and go on an adventure herself. Jordan loved books, too. When he was a little boy, he shared a room with his younger brother; and, most nights, once his parents had tucked him into bed and turned out the light, he would sneak into the closet or even sit in the empty bathtub with blankets and the light on reading his books and listening to cassette tapes on his Fisher Price recording device (Did any of you have one of these?!) His parents knew he was sneaking out of bed to read. Well, his mom did anyways. But she didn’t stop him. Reading was a value in both of our homes growing up and our parents encouraged us to be readers from an early age, which is something we are so grateful for.
Reading was a value in both of our homes
This week, we’re in Virginia. On Saturday night, we were sitting in a friend’s living room, sitting on the couch, eating dinner, and doing a combination of working and talking. We were reminded of a book we’d been meaning to read, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. At first, we got disappointed, because we knew we wouldn’t be home for about ten days and couldn’t get to our local public library, so we’d either have to pay full price for the book or not read it at all.
But those weren’t the only two options.
Our public library system in Phoenix works with a free service called OverDrive.com. It’s an app for your phone or tablet that allows you to rent e-books and audio books from your local libraries collection of e-resources for free, no matter where you are. Sound too good to be true? It’s not!
Here’s how it works:
1 Visit OverDrive.com and search for YOUR local library.
2. Once you’re sure that your local library works with OverDrive, create an OverDrive account.
3. Then, you can search your library for title and download them straight to your phone or tablet!
4. The online rescues AUTOMATICALLY check themselves back in on their due date. There are NO late fees.
We truly believe that, as Dave Ramsey says, “The next five years of your life will be determined by two things: the people you meet and the books you read.” We also know that money doesn’t grow on tress, people are busy, and we’re living in an online, in-demand, Netflix world. This solves all of those problems!
In case you’re curious or need some help choosing your next business-related book, the three most current ones we’re reading that we’ll share reviews on this summer (hopefully!) are:
1. Essentialism by Greg McKeown
It’s about finding your highest purpose in life and clearing out distractions to you can focus on that.
2. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
What we (or others) perceive to be our greatest weakness might actually be our greatest strength.
3. Contagious by Jonah Berger
Why some things catch on, others don’t, and why social media (instead of word-of-mouth) may not be as important as we think.
Also, here’s a post with a full list of some of our favorite all-time business books and some tips on how you can grow your business in 15 minutes per day!
Happy Wednesday, friends!
If you’d like to read some of our other tricks for traveling (and hosting!) you can find more here:
5 Things to Always Leave in A Guest Room
5 Tips for Photographing Your Vacation
5 Gear Essentials for Traveling Photographers
