Joanna Trollope

This morning, while having my cup of healthy green tea, I looked over and found Tom reading a hardback copy of Next of Kin by Joanna Trollope. After the double-take, I asked him where he’d found it and he told me “on your bookshelf.” Then I remembered, all the books on the bookshelf I’ve talked about in my earlier blog are ones that we’ve read and, for whatever reason, have decided to keep. They’re paperbacks, hardbacks, a few legacy books, novels, biographies, travel books, fiction, science fiction (Tom), history, one on gardening that must have been a gift and my book Inside Every Woman published in English, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian and Chinese (Soon to be joined by the Korean version!).

The book Tom was reading came from another set of bookshelves, one in the closet of my home office where I keep a different array of books. The closet contains my law books, my published works on legal nurse consulting, medical references and most importantly, all the books that we haven’t yet read. You know, the ones you get for birthdays, Christmas or just buy and put up to read later. We’re voracious readers and even more voracious book buyers.

I asked Tom what he thought about the Trollope book and he told me it was pretty good – he’d read half the book and he was enjoying it even without a single terrorist being blown up. That made me think, what sort of books are you reading? Do you ever read books outside your own favorite genre? Or do you get stuck in the rut of reading one type of book just like you do with your morning cereal – rarely a change in variety, just different portion sizes.

As Certified Legal Nurse Consultants we’re busy. I know one CLNC^® consultant who reads nothing but murder mysteries and another who rarely reads for fun at all. I believe that it’s essential for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to read a rich and varied diet. Just as you can’t feed a thoroughbred horse a diet of potato chips and expect him to win the Kentucky Derby, you can’t feed your mind a steady diet of nothing but trash novels or People magazine and expect to perform to your best ability. The books we read influence not just our thoughts but our way of thinking, the things we concern ourselves with and where we apply our ultimate energy and efforts.

I have three books on my night stand. One is for my emotional and spiritual development and two are for pure relaxation. My business books are banned from the bedroom and live only in my office.

Take a moment to look at your own bookshelves or your bed stand. What books are in your personal library? Was the last book you read something that enriched your legal nurse consulting business or you personally, something that challenged your mind or just a fun read?

Is it time to stretch your tastebuds?

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