Sunday, July 08, 2007

Why I'm not Reading... Part Deux

So in my last post I talked about why I no longer read business management/leadership books in print. It occurs to me that there are two other areas of learning where I'm not reading anymore to get my knowledge and I thought I'd share them with you just in case any of you aren't aware of these very different audio and video tools.

Both have to do with NOT wanting to go back to school. Don't get me wrong - I loved school, it was fun, the people were great, and I learned some great stuff. But I've never wanted to go back in a serious way.

Then last year I discovered a service that's really amazing: The Great Courses. See, in addition to Business, in my youth I also studied Classical History. And although this knowledge isn't something I use on a daily basis, I still like to keep my hand in. And I've been taking courses via - yes, again - my trusty iPod. History, Science, Literature, Mathmatics and more - they can be downloaded via MP3 and suddenly I'm learning from the Ivy League, Standford, Georgetown and other top Professors the world has to offer. A great way to pass the drive to San Diego or time on the treadmill!

The other is much more well-known, and is one of my favorite late night hobbies - training on Lynda.com. Lynda is the guru behind the popular FlashForward conference, and has some of the best instructors and video training on the planet. I am currently working through Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional - and am having a blast. If you want to learn Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, and dozens of other cool software skills this is a great place to start.

Again, both of these services allow you to sample a course for free so that if you DON'T think it's cool or fits your lifestyle, then you don't lose anything trying something new.

So what AM I reading? Well, like I said - just the stuff that I find entertaining. A few of the recent titles for me have included:

And like everyone else, I've been re-reading the Harry Potter novels looking forward to Book 7.

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