President Obama is leaving for vacation, and the white house released a list of the books he checked out to take with him. Here’s his summer reading list:

The Way Home by George Pelecanos
Lush Life by Richard Price
Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Tom Friedman
John Adams by David McCullough
Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Obviously, having the president pick up your book is a major publicity boost. I’m sure that these publishers are jumping up and down with excitement.
Now, I’m guessing that Obama doesn’t get a ton of time to read, which is unfortunate. Hell, I barely have time for pleasure reading, and my job …read more

Yesterday, I posted some thoughts about commenting on others’ blogs. One commenter, Brian McLaughlin, had this to say:
I scan quite a few blogs and when there is a particularly insightful item I like to acknowledge them but many blogs make it VERY difficult to comment if you don’t have a WordPress account or don’t choose to provide what seems to be excessive amounts of personal data, just for the ability to leave a note…
He’s absolutely right! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to leave a comment on a blog only to realize that the blogger has …read more

If you write online, you likely read information from tons of websites. I don’t know about you, but I’m quite the surfer at times, both for work and pleasure. And I leave comments – but that’s something that many people don’t do.
Comments are not always the best way to promote your own blog or other writing. Once, I did a blogging experiment where I commented on 100 different times on others’ blogs, using my own URL in the comment form. I didn’t say anything spammy or promoting my own work – I just left good comments on blogs that related …read more

You’ve worked hard all week to meet deadlines, market yourself to new potential clients, maintain your books, and get a jumpstart on next week’s tasks. As tempting as it is to keep working in hopes of staving off an economic downturn in your own life, it’s important to schedule a little fun time.

That’s one reason why we are featuring this weekly column. Maintaining your sense of humor and sanity are important too!
These days, the notion of having fun during your off time probably doesn’t include spending money. Even going to lunch with friends can turn into a $10 event, and …read more

These days managers are getting more and more creative about the questions they ask candidates during job interviews.  Don’t be surprised if you get asked “what do you do for fun” or “what’s the last book you read”.
For the most part these questions are easy to answer and work in the favor of the candidate.
The ”what do you do for fun” question: 
The hiring manager is most likely asking this because they may feel that having a hobby makes the candidate well-rounded and interesting.  The hobby itself can also be very telling.  If you have some strange fetish, keep that to yourself!
I’d answer this …read more