52. Talent is Overrated

52. Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin

This is a classic exposition into the Nature versus Nurture debate. Colvin explores many exceptionally talented people in the fields of athletics, art, business and science.

A few years ago I read Talent is Never Enough by John C. Maxwell. While I enjoyed both books, they were very different in scope, structure and purpose. Maxwell's book outlined a step by step process of what people need to do to ensure success.

Colvin took one principle, diliberate practice, and thoroughly explored it as a justification for the Nurture argument.

Colvin raises the point that hard work is not enough. Many people will work diligently at their jobs and never reach their full capability. Thus, there must be something more instrumental than talent, more influential than hard work alone.

Colvin explores practice design, mentorship, creativity, inspiration and leadership among many other topics.

Instead of outlining a step by step process for the reader to mimic, Colvin compiles a book of ingredients and tools for each reader to conduct a self-evaluation and construct a successful practice-module.

Talent is Overrated is a quick and informative read.

Books to Read in 2010...

So, I'll start outlining some of the books that I plan to read for 2010. These lists are subject to change... but hopefully, by next December, I'll have read enough to meet the challenges.



Black Classics Reading Challenge
(I would like to find Black Writings from outside the US prior to 1920... if I do, then I'll replace some of the works on this list.)

1. Complete Writings, Phyllis Wheatley
2. Collected Poetry, Paul Laurence Dunbar
3. Iola Leroy, Francis Ellen Watkins Harper
4. Give Us Each Day, Alice Dunbar Nelson
5. *Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, James Weldon Johnson (re-read)
6. My Bondage and My Freedom, Frederick Douglas
7. Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington
8. Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
9. Education of the Negor Prior to 1861, Carter G. Woodson
10. Philadelphia Negro, W. E. B. DuBois
11. *The Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. DuBois (re-read)
12. The Negro, W. E. B. DuBois
13. A Voice from the South, Anna Julia Cooper
14. ??
15. *Collected Black Women's Narratives

Great Books Challenge
1. *Machiavelli, The Prince(re-read)
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
4. Dante
5. da Vinci
6. Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen
(7. John Milton, Paradise Lost)

Shakespeare Challenge
1. Shakespeare's Sonnets
2. All's Well that Ends Well
3. As You Like It
4. Much Ado About Nothing
5. *Othello (re-read)
6. *Hamlett (re-read)

African Diaspora Challenge (plus the books from Black Classics)
1. *The Icarus Girl
2. GraceLand

South Asian Author Challenge
1. *Midnight's Children
2. *The Satanic Verses
3. *The Namesake

1001 Books to Read Before You Die
1. Cloud Atlas
2. *Kafka on the Shore
3.* Atonement
4. The Corrections
5. Ignorance
6. *On Beauty
7. *Never Let Me Go
8. Everything is Illuminated
9. *Middlesex (re-read)
10. Disgrace
11. *The Hours
12. *Virgin Suicides
13. *Captain Correlli's Mandolin
14. American Psycho
15. *Beloved (re-read)
16. *The Color Purple
17. *Satanic Verses
18. *Pride & Prejudice
19. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
20. *Notes from the Underground
21. Les Miserables

You've Got Mail Challenge
1. Mario Puzo, The God Father
2. *Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice

Romance
I have no idea... I'll get back to you

Erotica
1. *Zane, Nervous
2. *Best Black Women's Erotica 2 (re-read)

Read the Book, See the Movie
1. *Virgin Suicides
2. *The Hours
3. ***Atonement
4. *There Eyes Were Watching God
5. *Beloved
6. Count of Monte Cristo
7. *Pride and Prejudice
8. The Jane Austen Book Club
9. The Road
10. Devil in a Blue Dress
11. *Othello
12. Much Ado About Nothing
13. American Psycho
14. ***The Color Purple
15. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

New Authors (...from what I've listed so far)
1. Lewis Carrol
2. Bret Easton Ellis
3. Cormac McCarthy
4. Karen Joy Fowler
5. Jane Austen
6. Alexandre Dumas
7. Ian McEwan
8. Michael Cunningham
9. Zane
10. Mario Puzo
11. Victor Hugo
12. Salman Rushdie
13. J. M. Coetzee
14. Jonathan Safran Foer
15. Kazuo Ishiguro
16. Zadie Smith
17. Jonathan Franzen
18. David Mitchell
19. Chris Abani
20. Anna Julia Cooper
21. Alice Dunbar Nelson

Reading Challenges for 2010

Since 2006, I've been hoping to read 100 books in a single year. On average I read about 50-60 books. This year, I didn't read any books in January and February so I decided to set a goal of only 50 books, since I began reading so late.

For 2010, I will attempt to read 100 books. Next year, I will have no excuses.

To help me along the way, I've decided to challenge myself in a few different ways:

J. Kaye's 100+ Reading Challenge
...At least 100 books total for 2010.

Lhea J. Love's Black Classics Challenge
...Enthusaist: At least 15 Black classics for 2010.

Cesca's Great Book Challenge for 2010
...Easy: 6 Great Books for 2010.

The Little Bookworm's Much Ado About Shakespeare Challenge for 2010 ...6 Shakespeare Works for 2010.

Brown Girl's African Diaspora Reading Challenge for 2010
...12 Books from the African Diaspora for 2010.

S. Krishna's Southeast Asian Author Challenge for 2010
...10 Books by Southeast Asian Authors for 2010.

Bibliophile by the Sea's Books to Read before I Die Challenge for 2010
...20 Books from the 1001 books to read before you die for 2010.

Literary Escapism's New Author's Challenge for 2010
...25 Authors I've never read before for 2010.

Chunkster Reading Challenge for 2010
...3 books with 450 pages or more for 2010.

Annie's What's in a Name Reading Challenge for 2010
...6 books with a food, a title, a body of water, a plant, a place name and a music term in the title for 2010.

Lesley's 2010 Bibliophilic Book Challenge for 2010
...6 books about books for 2010.

You've Got Mail Reading Challenge for 2010
...Any book mentioned in You've Got Mail for 2010.

The Bookworm's Romance Reading Challenge
...Five romance novels for 2010.

Erotic Horizon's Erotica Reading Challenge for 2010
...Ten Erotica books for 2010.

Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge for 2010
...10 books and their film adaptations

The GLBT Challenge for 2010
...12 books by (or about) GLBT authors.

Needless to say, there will be a lot of overlap.

The Black Classics Challenge for 2010

Welcome to The Black Classics Challenge 2010

2010 will be the first year for The Black Classics Challenge. The purpose of this reading challenge is to encourage people of all ages to read great, pre-modern literature that is not regularly promoted in the Western canon.

Most of the authors that I recommend will be of African decent, but readers are encouraged to read classic non-western authors of other ethnicities.

Challenge Dates: January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010

Click here to sign up and for more information...

Because I know You Don't Read the Newspaper

51. Because I Know You Don't Read the Newspaper by Aaron McGruder

Whenever I finish an Aaron McGruder book, I want to rush to The Black Bookshelf and write a legnthy review of envy and high exultation. Yet when I reach my actual keyboard, often all I can do is shake my head. Last night, I reread Because I know You Don't Read the Newspaper and I admitted once again that this strip is classic. It doesn't matter how much time actually passes, it holds up perfectly.

I would love to tell you what it's like to read The Boondocks, but it's something that you'll just have to experience for yourself.