Read Across America: Not Just for kids

While Read Across America Day celebrated Dr. Seuss by encouraging children to read, grown-ups are also in need of motivation to pick up a book.  According to a 2010 Rasmussen Reports national survey, only 58 percent of American adults said they had recently read a book for pleasure, down from 69 percent in 2006. 

The easiest way to get back into the reading habit?  Visit your local library, where librarians can point you to gems such as these:

• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Steig Larssen

This debut thriller—the first in a trilogy—has caught fire across Larssen’s native Sweden and the United States, with a Hollywood version of the movie currently in production.

• “The Power of One” by Brice Courtenay

In the story of a British boy’s lonesome childhood in World War II-era South Africa, the most divisive lines are not between races, but between the boy and his Dutch peers.

• “Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In” by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury and Bruce Patton

The authors’ simple and straightforward five-step system for negotiating can work for any situation, from prodding your kids to finishing their homework to settling million-dollar lawsuits.

• “Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything” by Geneen Roth

An avid student of food compulsions, Roth explains how our relationship with food mirrors our feelings about love, fear, anger, God and more.

• “10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea” by Suzy Welch

Welch, whose mega-successful husband Jack Welch is the former chairman and CEO of General Electric, offers her top five tips for making “10-10-10” decisions: How is this going to affect me in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years.