Traveling Mercies

I’m heading to my favorite city, New Orleans, in a few weeks for a conference. If you find yourself heading to the Big Easy for work (or play), check out some of my favorite things. Layout of the City A very wide street, Canal, separates the French Quarter and the Central Business District. This is a landmark as you look for restaurants and hotels that are in one place versus the other. There are many tourist sites on Canal Street and lots of shopping, some of it upscale. The French Quarter is the oldest area of the city; you can visit the City and never leave the Quarter. There are plenty of opportunities for seeing musicians and artists perform on the streets. You may want to keep some small bills in your pocket. If you see street art such as a magician or a live person dressed as a “statute”, you’ll need to offer a gratuity if you take a picture or enjoy the show. The New Orleans street artists are friendly, but they will typically let you know performances are not free. ...

“So many books, so little time.”   Frank Zappa In 2017, I set a New Year’s resolution – a reading challenge to read 30 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved my goal plus some – 38 books read. Here is the list of books I read in 2017, along with a few closing reflections. Business Mentoring 101, John C. Maxwell The End of Membership as We Know It: Building the Must-Have Association of the Next Century, Sarah Sladek E-Lawyer: A Guide to Legal Practice Leadership in the Internet Age, Adam Newhouse The Lawyer’s Guide to Succession Planning: A Project Management Approach for Successful Law Firm Transitions and Exits The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career, Reid Hoffman Fiction Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult Vanishing Acts, Jodi Picoult Second Glance, Jodi Picoult Salem Falls, Jodi Picoult Winter Street, Elin Hilderbrand Winter Stroll, Elin Hilderbrand...

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”   Lemony Snicket In 2017, I set a reading goal, to read 30 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved my goal plus some – 38 books completed. You may remember I set my first reading challenge in 2017, to read 52 books in a year. I accomplished that goal, but decided to scale back in 2017 to allow myself a few more options with my reading that I didn’t feel I had while trying to read a book a week. Here are a few insights from my favorite books. Recommendations My favorite types of books to read include memoirs, political, self-help, spiritual and business books. Of course, I enjoy fiction, so let’s start there. My favorite book of fiction this year, “The Barrowfields”, was from a new author, Charlotte lawyer Phillip Lewis. Phillip tells an exquisite story about complicated characters that stayed with me after I finished the book. Charlotte lawyer Sonya Pfeiffer wrote a beautiful review of Phillip’s ...

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”   Dr. Seuss In 2017, I set a reading goal, to read 30 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved my goal plus some – 38 books completed. You may remember I set my first reading challenge in 2017, to read 52 books in a year. I accomplished that goal, but decided to scale back in 2017 to allow myself a few more options with my reading that I didn’t feel I had while trying to read a book a week. Tracking my Reading Challenge I use Goodreads, a mobile app (and website) that includes book reviews, recommendations, social sharing with friends and the ability to create a catalogue of books you have read, are currently reading or want to read. I use the app’s Reading Challenge to track my progress. It is also nice to have one place to track recommendations I receive from friends or books I read about that I want to add to my reading list. Another way I used technolog...

I enjoy talking about my favorite podcasts. These podcasts represent my favorite legal podcasts, as well as new podcasts I discovered in 2017. S-Town. S-Town is an investigative journalism show created by the producers of the award-winning podcast, Serial. The host, Brian Reed, created S-Town in seven chapters and unlike the common form of releasing a chapter a week, released all seven chapters at once allowing followers to binge listen. The podcast was downloaded a record-breaking 10 million times in four days. Reed lets us in on a secret; S-Town is actually a euphemism for “Shit Town”, the colorful name bestowed on the town of Woodstock, Alabama by the show’s even more colorful protagonist, John B. McLemore. McLemore sends an email to Reed, a staff member of This American Life , asking him to investigate a murder in Woodstock. The journey Reed and McLemore takes is breathtaking with shocking turns of events. If you have ever lived in the rural south, you will recognize...

“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”   Ralph Waldo Emerson In 2016, I set a New Year’s resolution – a reading challenge to read 52 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved my goal plus one – 53 books read in 2016. I discussed the challenge in Post 1 and Post 2. Here is the list of books I read in 2016, along with a few closing reflections. Biography Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail, Ben Montgomery Business The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts, Richard Susskind Lawyers at Midlife: Laying the Groundwork for the Road Ahead, A Personal and Financial Retirement Planner for Lawyers, Michael Long Personal Branding 101: How to Develop Your Brand With Ease, Katy Goshtasbi The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars, Joel Glenn Brenner Internet Branding for Lawyers: Building a Cl...

 “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.”   Stephen King ,   On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft In 2016, I set a New Year’s resolution – a reading challenge to read 52 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved my goal plus one – 53 books read. The Technology of Tracking the Reading Challenge My colleague Warren Savage introduce me to Goodreads, a mobile app (and website) that includes book reviews, recommendations, social sharing with friends and the ability to create your catalog of books you have read, are currently reading or want to read. I use the app’s Reading Challenge to track my progress. It is also nice to have one place to track recommendations I receive from friends or books I read about that I want to add to my reading list. The Numbers Goodreads also provided statistics about my reading challenge. In 2016, I ...

“I'm a slow reader, but I usually get through seventy or eighty books a year, most fiction. I don't read in order to study the craft; I read because I like to read”   Stephen King ,  On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft In 2016, I set a New Year’s resolution – a reading challenge to read 52 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved my goal plus one – 53 books read. I thought I would share with you some of my insights on reading 52 books in a year, as well as some of my favorites. The Challenge First, a book a week is daunting. When the New Year began, I was reading a book about the building of the Panama Canal by David McCullough. At over 800 pages, I quickly realized I’d have to put this book back on the reading pile. As I looked at my stack of books, I realized many of my upcoming reads were heavy on history and biographies that were hundreds of pages. These would best be read in a year that didn’t include a 52 book reading challenge. As I continued to...