What Do You Read?

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. [Philippians 4:8]

What do you read?

We can’t be better than the ideas with which we surround ourselves.

Immerse yourself in the bible and you’ll get closer to God. Listen to people who ponder issues of spirit, faith, character, courage, and integrity, and you’ll have a chance to raise the bar in your own life.

Or … a steady diet consisting solely of reality TV and celebrity gossip will turn your brain to a mush of inane, irrelevant trivia.

Spend hour after hour listening to partisan political bickering in which talking heads hash and re-hash the same tired rhetoric, often while yelling and interrupting, and you can actually begin to believe that twisted truth, personal attacks, and rude behavior are acceptable forms of discourse.

Some claim that reading is dead, strangled by computers and the Internet. I see it differently—I see much more information than ever before, in different forums and formats for sure, but I think many folks are reading more than ever.

I don’t read as many books as I should, but I do read a lot every day. In addition to news sites, I follow a number of online sites and blogs that relate to my new endeavors as writer and speaker.

A number of people have asked over the past few weeks about how to get started with writing and/or speaking or where I get my inspiration and information. So I thought I’d share my daily reading list, for what it’s worth. I use Google Reader to aggregate my favorites in one place—if you’re not familiar with this tool (just Google it), it’s a simple, convenient way to keep up with a number of sites.

Heck, you could even add Bouncing Back to your list (that’s a hint).

I’ve tried to categorize and prioritize. I almost never miss the top sites—I read and study them carefully. Further down the list I’ll skim or even skip depending on workload and time constraints.

People who challenge my thinking about Jesus

These are on my personal “must read” list. No matter what else is happening, I try to spend some time with these every morning. I highly recommend them.

300 words a day (Jon Swanson) Jon writes about faith in simple, non-religious language that brings Jesus’ message into the reality of daily life. He’s so generous that he’s even let me guest-blog a couple of times.

Donald Miller Don is an incredible writer, a man of great faith who’s not afraid to share his own doubts and failures. He’s the best-selling author of Blue Like Jazz and A Million Miles In A Thousand Years.

Publishing and business

These three guys get it—they understand that business is about people and relationships. I learn a lot every day from their thoughts.

Seth Godin Seth has a way of looking past the surface junk and seeing what matters. He’s a master of identifying the big, unifying ideas that make organizations tick.

Chris Brogan Chris is a social media guru. We don’t always agree, but he understands the human side of business and communicates his sometimes radical ideas in a way that makes you think he’s sitting across the table.

Michael Hyatt Michael is CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing. I especially learn from his thoughts on Christian leadership.

Alternative lifestyle and business

These folks are looking at combining work and life in unusual ways. Since that’s sort of what I’m doing, their experiences help me a lot. They’re also good writers who aren’t afraid to poke at sacred cows a little.

The Art Of Noncomformity (Chris Guillebeau)

Escape From Cubicle Nation (Pamela Slim)

Tim Ferris

The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin)

Presentation and design

Presentation Zen (Garr Reynolds) I’ve learned a ton of good stuff about presentations from Garr.

Writing and blogging

Cec Murphy’s Writer Cec is an amazing Christian writer who’s published or co-authored a number of best-sellers, most notably 90 Minutes In Heaven. He teaches me a lot about the craft of writing.

Daily Blog Tips There are many blogs about blogging—this one offers a lot of useful and practical ideas.

If you check out any of these sites, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Also, do you have any favorites to share?