March 21, 2011
You know that phenomenon in which something catches your attention – a word, a concept, a name – and suddenly it’s everywhere you turn? Over the last few weeks, several new and soon-to-be-released books seem to be popping up in dinner conversations, blog posts and conference presentations. I’m taking the hint and adding them to my reading list. Here’s why.
Reality Is Broken
Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
By Jane McGonigal
Building on her stand-out 2010 TED Talk, Jane has some serious social and old-school media buzz going for her first book. Well deserved. She pushes past the trends and goes deep in exploring what makes games powerful and how to tap those active ingredients for the greater good. And she does it all with a sense of humor and style. For a taste, flip through the slides from her recent talk We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges: How to Reinvent Reality WITHOUT Gamification at the Serious Games Summit at the 2011 Game Developers Conference. I’m soaking it all in as inspiration for HopeLab’s work with Zamzee and the next version of Re-Mission. If Jane’s preaching, I’m singing in the choir.
Flourish
A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being
By Martin E. P. Seligman
The field of research into what makes us (and keeps us from being) happy seems to have blown up like a party balloon in recent years. Is there a science to being happy? What’s the formula for well-being? (At HopeLab we’re sifting through lots of the literature for insights and inspiration as we launch our Joy Campaign to celebrate our first 10 years.) But Dr. Seligman’s upcoming book promises to explore what lies beyond momentary happiness to uncover the conditions that help us flourish. He’s even come up with a simple acronym: PeRMA – Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment. I’ve put in my pre-order.
KaBOOM!
How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play
By Darell Hammond
We all know the power of play, whether your frame of reference is team sports, video games, or that favorite swing you raced to as a child at your neighborhood park. Darell has dedicated his life to preserving play for kids and communities, and his new book explains why. Part personal history, part call to action, KaBOOM! the book is worth adding to your reading list.
Poke the Box
By Seth Godin
I’ve got my eye on this one for a couple of reasons. First, marketing guru and best-selling author Godin is breaking from traditional publishing, in spite of his traditional-publishing success, to pioneer new models for sharing his ideas (check out his Domino Project - a courageous experiment worth watching). Second, the book itself poses (and presumably answers) the question, What would our world look like if more people started projects, made a ruckus, and took risks? That’s a view of the world I’d love to see.
(
+3 rating,
3 votes)
2 Comments
