By: Natalie Ebel

Summer Reading List: Instructor Favourites

If you’re looking to get a little more learning out of your summer reading this year, we’ve got you covered. See what top reads Western Continuing Studies instructors recommend for Summer!

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

by Simon Sinek

Project Management Essentials Instructor Andrew Murray recommends global best-seller Start with Why, by motivational speaker Simon Sinek who is devoted to helping people become more inspired at work and, in turn, inspire their colleagues and customers.

“This is a great book that helps us understand our own internal motivations and how to use that to inspire others,” says Murray. “It’s a fun read with enough real-life examples that there’s something for everyone.”

Shut Up & Tweet

by Phil Pallen

Social Media Fundamentals Instructor Melissa Cheater recommends Shut Up & Tweet, written by brand strategist and Western alumnus Phil Pallen. This 100-page book will guide you in stepping up your Twitter game.

“It’s a very quick and fun read,” says Cheater. “A great way to break the ice and get onto Twitter, or to revive your Twitter efforts.”

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Non-Profit Management Instructor Trevor Hunter often recommends Zero to One to his students. Thiel is a contrarian and successful entrepreneur who argues against the current university process and even goes so far as to offer a prize to students who drop out of school to start businesses.

“He is somewhat controversial to say the least, but his thoughts have transformed the way I teach,” says Hunter. “He firmly believes that the notion of a generalist (i.e. what most liberal arts/social science universities try to make) is dead and that only through specialization can someone succeed, innovate and make change.”

Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition

By Dennis N.T. Perkins, Margaret P. Holtman and Jillian B. Murphy

Occupational Health and Safety Instructor Sasha Finley had no hesitations in recommending Leading at the Edge.

“This is absolutely the best leadership book I have ever read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is striving to be a leader on a team, at work or just in general,” says Finley. “It is an amazing story of life and death and the ultimate survival of a team in the harshest condition imaginable because of one man and his incredible leadership.”

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

by Anne Lamott

One of Writing Instructor Mary Ann Colihan’s current favourites is by author Anne Lamott, whose passion lies in writing, love and family.

“Anne weaves her passions into this highly instructive book on writing down the bones of great fiction,” says Colihan. “Her father once told her brother to take a nature writing project slow - bird by bird. And that is her focus as she shares the building blocks of writer's craft in this slim masterpiece.”

Megaprojects and Risk: An Anatomy of Ambition

by Bent Flyvbjerg, Nils Bruzelius, Werner Rothengatter

Project Management Instructor Darya Duma recommends a captivating read for those interested in big infrastructure projects.

“Bent presents theories for why these projects tend to be over budget and behind schedule,” says Duma. “He requires the reader to consider the factors that contribute to project success.”