Freebie

I'm using my freebie for this marking period

James Patterson (PB)

James Patterson is my FAVORITE author. He was born on March 22, 1947 in the United States. He is well known for his mystery books. He published his first novel in 1976 called "The Thomas Berryman Number." The novels featuring his character Alex Cross, a forensic psychologist, are his most popular and the top selling U.S. detective series in the past ten years. He holds The New York Times record for most bestselling hardcover fiction titles by a single author, a total of 76, which is a Guinness World Record.

His work is amazing. I have read at least a dozen of his books. He is able to keep the suspense going throughout the entire book. He drops hints as to who the murderer is but the ending always catches you by surprise. I'm one of those readers that does not believe in reading a book twice but his books have tempted me to do so multiple times. He has the type of writing in which you find something new every time you reread it.

One of my favorite books he has published is "Confessions of A Murder Suspect". A teenage female is accused of the murder of both her parents. The content of the book was amazing. The story line kept you intrigued and hooked through the entire reading and the plot was an unexpected twist. However, what I found most appealing about it was how he was able to portray the main character. It was obvious he was able to put himself in her predicament when writing. While reading you could feel the confusion and aggravation she felt for being wrongly convicted, her emotions were nakedly laid out on the pages before you. It takes a great writer to be able to make fiction feel so realistic.

Career Warfare (SSR)

Currently at my internship with Capital One Bank we are undergoing this program called "Building the Brand". As part of the program we are reading "Career Warfare: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Personal Brand and Fighting to Keep It", written by David D'Alessandro . At first I thought it would be a boring book. When it comes to the rules of business, most reads are not that exciting. However, D'Alessandro found interesting ways to get his topics across. He made valid points and always had an example or humorous story to go along with it. 

One example was when he was explaining the qualities of a good boss. He stated that just because the boss held a position of power did not mean he did not owe his workers the same respect they gave to him. The example he chose to speak about was the Boston Celtics. The team had a coach that spoke to them like they were kids and constantly bossed them around the court with no respect, under this coach the team played horribly and did not make it to playoffs for years. Then one year they got a new coach. A coach that listened to their opinions, did not talk down to them and gave them the same respect they gave. That year the Boston Celtics made it to playoffs. What I took out of that scenario was that human beings have to want to be their best for them to actually achieve it. Both coaches had the same players but only one was able to turn them into a winning team.