Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read

Read goes through the history of MLMs, multi-level-marketing companies. She starts with Rehnburg and Nutrilite, detailing how the man started in business then started branching out to make money off of his salespeople, rather than off the product itself. Rehnberg was just one of the prongs though, it really took off when he met Meidinger and Castleberry, the latter at a Carnegie course. 
From Nutrilite, she goes through the histories of Mary Kay, Holiday Magic, Costcot, and Dare to be Great. 
Read walks us through the different ways these MLMs started, and how they grew. They might start with vitamins or makeup but then morph into self-help and or leadership courses. 
Woven in with these histories are the stories of women who took the MLM pill. Each one had a different reason for joining. All left, disillusioned. 
An in depth look at a number of MLMs and why they are still succeeding today. A good recommendation from NPR's Best Books.

Four stars

This book came out May 6, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

How to Winter by Kari Leibowitz

I love winter. After a Midwestern fall (yes, very specific to the Midwest) it is my favorite season. This book appealed to me because I thought I'd find ways to love it even more. And that is in there, to an extent, but there is a lot about how the author hates winter. And how she believes that all Americans hate winter. Which, you are allowed to have your own opinions about the season but she talks about it quite often. Quite. Often. 

All things being equal, there a number of good suggestions that fall under the broader categories of appreciating winter (get out into nature, speak positively about the season at least once a day), make it special (use low, warm light, extend the holiday feeling into the new year), get outside (how to dress for the weather, using friends, concentrating on the easy wins.)

Three stars

This book came out October 22, 2024

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

Recent biographies I've led have seemed rather shallow. This, is not one of those. Brady lays out all of her stories and experiences in raw detail, most of it revolving around growing up as someone whose autism went undiagnosed until she was an adult. Even her own family just thought she was an asshole for awhile.

Of course, she grew up in a time when autism wasn't widely diagnosed, and even when it was, it was to a narrow band that she wasn't a part of. After all, as several doctors tell her, she has boyfriends! and can maintain eye contact! and isn't an "unattractive sea monster with no interest in forming meaning ful relationships." Instead, her quirks seem to have gotten her branded as a manic pixie dream girl. But her "quirks" include things like scratching her arms after people touch her and having episodes where she destroys rooms and furniture. Brady is also very up front about using people for housing, attacking someone with a bottle, and her life as a stripper. I wondered about the last as strippers are often touted as having good people skills (and she says several times she doesn't understand social nuance) but she talks about the fact that she was able to do the same routine every night in dim lights. 

There is quite a bit about her time in entertainment as well. I knew her from her season on Taskmaster where she was a bit chaotic but a lot of fun. She talks about that time as a dream job which makes sense because she was allowed, at times, to drop her masking completely.

Highly recommend the audiobook as Brady reads the story herself. 

Four stars

This book came out February 14, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Likeable Badass by Alison Fragale

Though women often talk about power and money, the author says to manage status first. The others will follow. The likeable badass will be the person who can walk the tightrope between warmth and power. Fragale recommends finding autheic, effective strategies to shape how your customers and coworkers see you. 

One strategy is to manage your status, to mold wahat others think of you. She talks about four quadrants that are made up of warm/cold on one side and assertive/submissive on another.  Women have ofthen been slotted as EITHER assertive or warm, which has lead many of us to believe those are our only options. However, Fragale defines "likeable badass" as being in the  warm/assertive quadrant. The more you show up as warm and assertive, the more value you are percieved to have. 

Interestingly, "powerless" speech (uncertainty) can be seen as "warmer", even though we are often told that we shouldn't self-deprecate or admit weakness. Other tools include humor, choosing the chair at the head of the table, helping others, being aware of verbal/nonverbal behaviors, and smiling. However, she notes several times that no one needs to do all of these things, find what works for you.

A little repetitive but I didn't actually notice until I started to pull together my notes which means that she was able to frame her examples in different enough ways to add the repetition needed to teach people without making it overbearing.

Four stars

This book came out September 3, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Say Everything by Ione Skye

A pretty deep look into a life many people may believe they already know. There's more introspection in this book than we get in some celebrity memoirs as well as all of the juicy details of her personal life, including the people she's slept with. 

I didn't realize how many things I had watched with Ione Skye in them and that helped draw me in. She definitely had an interesting upbringing and, through some skill, and quite a bit of luck, seems to have avoided the fate of many of the "nepo babies" who she grew up with.

Four stars

This book came out March 4, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Sister Wife by Christine Brown Woolley

I listened to this book right after I finished Becoming Sister Wives. It was really lovely to hear it in Christine's own voice. And, though some of the stories were re-hashed from the first book, they were also sometimes expanded. The story of meeting Meri and Kody, of "dating" Kody, and of meeting the other wives. This also goes beyond the marriage and gives some of the highs and lows in Christine's life. 

It's especially nice to be able to hear her tone of voice and to hear the sunny cheerfulness she (and Kody) say she had before she married him.

Four stars

This book came out September 2, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage Kody Brown with Robyn Brown, Meri Brown, Christine Brown

If you go in not expecting much, this is a perfectly fine book. 

It starts with Kody talking about their first live appearance after the show aired. Of course, this book is 13 (!) years old at this point so it hasn't aged well, many of the stories talking about what a tight family they are.  We do get to see how Kody met all of his wives and some explanation in to how they each fit together but it is all rather superficial.  (with five rotating narrators, there's not much you can fit into a book). 

I did read this right before I read Christine's book and I think pairing the two elevated both. A couple of her stories are repeated but not many. It made for a nice book end to the beginning and what may or not be the end of a popular television series.

Four stars

This book came out May 1, 2012

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Book of Sheen by Charlie Sheen

An interesting listen. Sheen did a good job as narrator and hearing the stories in an author's own voice always makes it a little more real.

We get to hear about his childhood, a little bit about working on various films, and a lot about his drug use. His many varied types of drug use. We also hear about his attempts at getting sober. 

There is also some frank discussion about his... relationships (?) with women. He's up front and fairly honest about who he dated, who he just had sex with, and the scandal in the nineties when he was tied to Heidi Fleiss. 

Four stars

This book came out September 9, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Entitled by Andrew Lownie

An interesting look at the relationship of Prince Andrew and Fergie. There was a lot of information but it felt somewhat surface level (which it probably will be unless you get to interview the people themselves.) I think part of my fatigue in listening is that thewriting followed a specific, rather repetitive pattern that I don't think I would have minded if I had read the book as  a hard copy. It was interesting how much there was about Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein. 

Three stars

This book came out January 1, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

100 Rules for Living to 100 by Dick Van Dyke

A collection of short stories taken from the life of Dick Van Dyke. Some are happy, some are sad, some are matter-of-fact. There are stories of his time on various sets as well as his descent into alcoholism. Overall is an air of sentimentality that is a little saccharine at points but well-deserved by an artist who has lived and worked as long as he has. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out November 18, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

Will outlines his moves throughout the restaurant industry, even working for Danny Meyer who is famous for his own book about hospitality.

Leader's job is to find the strengths of everyone on their team, no matter how buried those strengths might be.

Talks about the 1-Minute Manager

Chapter 7 really speaks to me and my work. Our managers/employees both live and work together so it can be really hard to address problems with people, because you like them and you want them to like you. But suddenly, one small problem becomes a thorn in the manager's side when the employee never knew that the problem was an issue. 

Not everyone can (or should) read their own story, but Will did an amazing job on narrating this book. 

Four stars

This book came out October 25, 2022

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell

I was really expecting more with a subtitle like "Notes on Modern Irrationality." Really, most of this boiled down to concepts that have been around for... quite awhile. Like "Sunk Cost Fallacy" or the "Recency Illusion." Neither are new in the scope of humankind. 

Montell is a good writer but I wish there had been either a warning that this was more memoir than I was expecting or a deeper dive into some of these concepts. Montell generally defines them but doesn't give the same rigor to these as she had in previous books. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out April 9, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff

 This is a really interesting book that I hope to have the chance to read again. I highly recommend getting a copy of your own to be able to really dive into Le Cunff's suggestions.

Too much of our life is centered on "productivity" or "career" where we could be working toward happiness. There are a LOT of examples which dilutes the message a little but I overall enjoyed this book. 

Four stars

This book came out March 24, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Find Your Why: A practical leadership book to bring purpose to your team by Simon Sinek, David Mead, Peter Docker

This is a companion book to Sinek's "Start with Why." This book helps you to define and refine your why. It's a long process (estimated needing at least 3 hours for individuals, 4 for teams.) It starts with stories and discovering what themes are in the stories you remember the most, what gives you pride or regret. This is best done with a facilitator and there are notes throughout the book to help them. 

One thing that stuck with me is that people's whys may sound the same on the surface and that's okay. Hows and whats will provide variety to everyone. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 5, 2017

Connect to Start with Why

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher, Stephanie J. Block (Narrator)

There are very few people who are mononyms and Cher is possibly the most famous. She has had hits that span multiple decades, had a hit TV show, and won an Oscar for her movies. This book covers a bit of her grandmother's story, some of her mother's, and then into her own birth. 

She had a peripatetic childhood, moving with her  mother as she married and divorced and married and divorced... quite a number of times. At one point, Cher was even left in an orphanage for months after her father ghosted the family.

Her story is fascinating and she is an incredibly strong woman to have made her way through so many hardships in life. I'm looking forward to Part Two. 

Four stars

This book came out November 19, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Smart Brevity by Roy Schwartz, Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen

Write less, get more readers. Basically the theme of this book. And it's true. I especially liked the admonition to never have more than 20 words on a PowerPoint slide. My organization tends to present with walls of text that are thoroughly unhelpful. I also liked the info on how to run a short and effective meeting. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 20, 2022

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Don't Be Yourself Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead) by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

I've always thought that the admonition to "just be yourself" doesn't make sense in the workplace context. Chamorro-Premuzic agrees whole-heartedly. There are definitely some... interesting examples given in this book. 

And a lot of these examples do make sense. How showing up authentically as a leader is a proof of privilege or how authenticity can be lost if a diversity program is not set up correctly. The author also tells us about the four authenticity traps and how to avoid them. 

Overall, the end of the story is not to be inauthentic but to show up as your best self. That may mean faking it some days. He argues that focusing on emotional intelligence will help you more and that if you learn to understand your coworkers, it will create a better work environment. 

Three stars

This book comes out October 7, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Harvard Business Review Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

A coworker mentioned reading this book but that she was having a hard time getting through it. I've been on a streak of business-related books and the parts that she described sounded interesting. 

I totally get it what she means about the slog. It took me a long time to get through this book. It's not just the fact that this book is almost 20 years old and that life has changed so much. While Ferris has a number of thoughts that sound good on the surface, it's like listening to a car salesman. It's all too good to be true. Ferris has a giant blindspot in regards to his own privilege that makes it hard to think that everyone could follow his suggestions and get to where he is. 

Is anything imminently wrong? No, but hindsight (and probably even a bit of thought at the time) shows that most of his suggestions aren't going to work in the ways that he is promising.

Two and a half stars

This book came out January 1, 2011

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

Sinek argues that we think of too many things in life, including life itself, as a finite game. As if there is a goal to get to and then you're done. He argues that we should, in fact, be thinking as if there are things in life that are infinite, that we are going to be continiually working towards goals that may be moving. 

This is a typical business-type nonfiction book with stories carefully picked to ensure that they are going to support the author's versioni of how we should be working. An interesting read and somewhat atypical in that it's not asking businesses to set a specific goal but it is another in a set of books that could have been done as a Ted Talk and didn't need to try and force an expansion.

Three stars

This book came out January 1, 2017

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

Shari Franke’s face was known to millions of people as her mother’s vlogging channel took off on YouTube. For a lot of her life, Shari’s most humiliating moments were taped and then broadcast to the world. But behind the scenes, there was a lot of turmoil. She and her five siblings were physically and emotionally abused, especially once her parents (whom she refers to as Ruby and Kevin), fell under the spell of a con artist. 

The book skims the surface of what happened to Shari. She only tells her stories and a few of her brother Chad’s, not wanting to be yet another adult who makes money off her younger siblings. The writing was pretty good although the editing was not great (a lot of spelling mistakes that took me out of the story.) 

Four stars

This book came out January 7, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own