Posts Tagged ‘history’
New Direction… New Energy!
I remember during my Bachelors program, sitting in my academic advisor’s office looking at all of the books on her shelf and thinking to myself, “How can anyone want to read so many boring looking books?” This week I was reading books like Empowered: Unleash your employees, energize your customers, transform your business, The Delphi technique in nursing and health research, and a U.S. government-issued report entitled Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. What was even more strange was I found myself fascinated by their contents! Back then I really wanted to pursue a doctoral degree, but didn’t think I’d ever be allowed to do so. Now that I’m here, I have to chuckle at that young woman who couldn’t imagine spending hours reading boring, professor-type books, much less enjoying doing so!
I spent much of the week getting to know more about the Delphi Method that I am now planning to use. I have learned about its strengths and limitations, but no matter how much I learn about it, the one phrase that keeps going through my head is “This sounds like FUN!” I can’t wait to get started on the recruitment process. However, first I need to get through the proposal approval process. One step at a time…
References:
Bernoff, J. & Schadler, T. (2010). Empowered: Unleash your employees, energize your customers, transform your business. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
Keeney, S., Hasson, F. & McKenna, H. (2011). The Delphi technique in nursing and health research. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
I first heard about this book on NPR’s Weekend Edition in an interview with the author. As weird as this premise sounds, Seth Grahame-Smith makes it work. He writes from the perspective of a wanna-be writer who gets handed the gift of the long-lost private diaries of Abraham Lincoln. These journals start with his ambition to “kill all of the vampires in America” and lays out the tale of how that led him to the White House. Grahame-Smith writes a wonderful story that explains some of the mysteries in American history and how it shaped the country.
If you like to read…
- Pure History: you will like the way this work of fiction weaves real historical fact into the story.
- Vampire Lore: you will like this book because vampires permeate this story. You may need to suspend a bit of belief because some of the good guys are vampires. A vampire purist may not like this yarn because after the first century, vampires can walk in the sun.
- Well written and imaginative fiction of any kind: then you will like this book because it’s a wonderful yarn and will make you say (with a wink and a nod) “Ah, that explains it!”
Have you read this book? If yes, what did you think? If you like history (any kind or era), vampire lore, or alternate history, what books would you recommend? Please feel free to share here. I’d love to hear YOUR recommendations!