Welcome to Summer! 😎 4 non-fiction book recs & other things to do.

Let’s ease into the season of heat 🔥

👋 Hey there! New to Mind the Beet? This week is a recap of a lot of former posts, so it should give you a good feel for the newsletter. Subscribe now, it’s free!

Summer!

And wow is it being felt here in the Pacific Northwest:

Who decided brown was > than red? (Regardless, over 100 F for the first time in my time living here 😲). 

If you are new to the Pacific Northwest, a must follow for all news weather, wind, snow and smoke related predictions and explanations is Cliff Mass’ Blog.   He’s got the latest on the science behind the unusual heat.

We are trying something new this week – a short post that highlights some of our previous content from the past few months under a central theme: Welcome to Summer!

Things To Do & Buy

😎 Product Recs for an Epic Summer. If you are looking to beat the heat or just enjoy time out on rivers and lakes, look no further than this post on how we, over the years, have found great products to stock up our cabin for the summer.

🌴How I Approached a Recharge Week.  Taking time off or need to destress?  See how I did it a few months ago.

⏲ A Calendar Audit.   With its vacations to disrupt the routine, Summer is a great chance to take stock of how you spend your time.  See here how I approach managing my own time at work.  Consider making it a resolution to come back from vacation and take better control of how you spend your days.

👙 A Beach Body & Yoga Mind. See some tips from Helen on diet and wellness.

🎁 The Gifts We Hope to Give.  This is my favorite Mind The Beet post that I’ve written.  I figured I’d include it as scoring hot days makes it easier to have frayed nerves and this post at its heart is about generosity and relationship building.  If you are looking for a philosophy on how to think about being a generous leader or parent, let me know your thoughts on this one.

Things to Read

📰 Newsletter, Newspapers, Podcasts, and Current Events. Check out my Information Diet.  

🌌 7 Modern Science Fiction Books.  Recently published science fiction books that are mind expanding reads but also page turners.  All by diverse authors.   Great for the 🏖.

🧒 5 of our Favorite Children’s Books.  These are cherished in our household.  All deal with modern themes and are fun for the parent as well as the kid. 

📚 Non-Fiction.  We haven’t discussed our non-fiction library yet on Mind The Beet.  So this is a great post to do so.  I have 4 books currently queued up to read by the pool or on those hazy hot afternoons:

I prefer dead-tree books for non-fiction instead of a Kindle.  I can consume them quicker – my brain was trained during those formative 18-22 year old years to crunch info that way.

Working Backwards.  It’s a detailed look by practitioners at the product culture at Amazon and I’m reading it along with several of my work colleagues so we can share notes.  There seems to be a competing “culture of Amazon” book just published as well, but that was by a journalist.  I chose the ones who were directly in the arena.

Empowered.  This book is the sequel to Inspired, the #1 book that I recommend to anyone looking to get into my profession (product management).  Inspired examines how to be a great product manager and Empowered examines how to be a leader of product managers and culture setter.  I’m excited.

Lights Out.  This is one of Bill Gate’s recommended summer reads.   It’s about the abject failure of General Electric in the post Jack Welsh years.  Who doesn’t like “fall of the empire” cautionary tale?

Passages.  I’ve seen this seminal work mentioned in The Economist several times over the years.  It’s over 30 years old now and it’s by a psychologist/sociologist who has examined the stages of adult life with as much rigor as child development stages have traditionally been.  The “Trying 20’s” where you leave the home.  The “Catch 30’s” where your illusions are shattered and it’s time to make, break, or deepen commitments.  The “Forlorn 40’s” where your dreams of youth demand reassessment.  I feel like the pandemic has more of us than normal planning for life’s milestones.

Stay 🧊 everyone!

Coda on Privilege

We end every Mind The Beet post with a reflection on privilege and sharing some concrete examples of how we give back.   With our cabin out in the mountains, we’ve seen how the local fire and rescue operation has a direct impact on the community, and how stretched they are with more visits from weekenders and AirBnB rentals.   From scary wildfire seasons to hiker rescues to just having to cover a wide geographic area, these agencies are often understaffed and rely on community donations.   Take a second to consider one close the areas of the world you cherish.