The weather is getting warmer and warmer here, so I’ve been spending a little more time in the air conditioning with a good book. What happened to mild weather? I feel like I missed it somehow. I always have dreams of lounging in my backyard while working or reading, but the weather is never quite right. Oh well. Maybe it will cool off enough to do that soon. Or maybe I am stuck with this unbelievable heat forever. We shall see.

Now let’s get to the good part…

Reading Social Media News

Google has been doing oodles and oodles of updates. The latest is Google AI Overview. All of these updates can be scary for content marketers, as PR Daily outlines. The idea that the answer to a search can be found right within the search instead of by clicking on links? Oof. But it’s not all gloom and doom. Creating great content is becoming more important than ever and being intentional with that content will still get you far.

Sword and the Script shared survey results from CMOs this week that are just depressing. They can’t afford talent, so they’re putting money behind old content and relying on AI to fill impossible goals. That’s just not what anyone in marketing wants to hear right now. But in an economic downturn, it’s not shocking. Downturns aren’t forever. We may never get to those high budgets we used to have, but things will get better. So all we can do now is make ourselves as marketable as possible.

Reading Books, Books and More Books

Past

Ellipses by Vanessa Lawrence was just not my favorite. First off, it’s a well trod story of someone with little to no power connecting with someone who has power. Eventually they find their own power and throw off the reigns of the powerful. I’ve just read this story too many times. In this case, the writer seemed really angry and there were diatribes on current issues that just seemed out of place within the confines of this story. I don’t know how this possibly made it onto any must-read lists. Good publicist, maybe? I would totally skip. Score: C-

Present

I’ve seen Doris Kearns Goodwin speak twice and it was just thrilling both times. She is one of our country’s best storytellers. She makes history come alive in ways that make my heart pitter patter. I remember hearing her say that the giants of history walked the streets of Cincinnati and then skipping around the city myself thinking, “I’m walking where the giants walked.” I thought I was so cool and frankly I was. This book is a slight departure as she is telling her husband’s story. He was a giant in his own right and affected countless policy initiatives. I am definitely learning a lot as I make my way through this book and it’s calling me to move slower than I normally would. I think that’s a good change of pace for me.

Future

Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes looks super light and like something I wouldn’t normally read. I try to read as varied as possible to help me understand the world a little bit better. But regardless, a light book seems to be the right stop after reading a DKG book. We’ll see if I’m right.

So what are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?