7 Non-obvious Trends at SxSW 2018

Each year, I leave SxSW with several titles to add to my "want to read" list. This year, "Non-obvious: How to Think Different, Curate Ideas & Predict the Future" tops that list.

Rohit Bhargava packed his hour with enough information for two sessions. He began by talking about his work as a trend spotter. Sounds like a fun gig if you can get it. As he explains his process, you realize that trend spotting also looks like an amazing amount of work.

He thinks of trend spotting as curation. He curates other people's ideas, but he also insists that we should all find ways to curate our own ideas and thinking.

The result of all this curation is Rohit's annual series on non-obvious trends. During his session he highlighted seven trends: manipulated outrage, ungendered, human mode, light-speed learning, enlightened consumption, disruptive distribution, and lovable imperfection.

I'm, of course, looking for ways the Library can capitalize on these.

"Human mode" seems an easy and logical fit for us. As automation increases, desire grows for personal, authentic experiences. People want advice, service and interaction with real-live human beings. That's us! The Library has always excelled at personalize service with a personal touch, so maybe the real question is how can we do a better job of selling that aspect.

Want to see more? Rohit was nice enough to post his SxSW slides on slideshare.
Rohit Bhargava

Dear Philip Pullman, I Believe I Like You Very Very Much

I have found a new author that I am very much in like with. The author is Philip Pullman and you should run now, quick like a bunny, and read something he has written.

Sometimes, I develop this sort of obsession for a particular author. I go on a jag where I read absolutely everything they have written. This can go pretty quickly for new authors (like Joshilyn Jackson, whom I love, love, love) or it can take years, like the first author I did this with waaaaay back in elementary (Christopher Pike, whom I have long since outgrown, but still holds a dear place in my book-loving heart).

My newest author kick is Philip Pullman, and he is awesome with a side of kick-ass. My Pullman obsession started with the Golden Compass series (which the movie does no justice). On our recent road trip, John and I listened to a short story called "Once Upon a Time in the North" and now I'm wrapping up the first in his Sally Lockheart series.

On his website, Philip (he and I should be on a first name basis, right?) says,
"As a passionate believer in the democracy of reading, I don't think it's the task of the author of a book to tell the reader what it means."

He sounds like a pretty cool guy to me. I can't wait to read all his books and figure out what they mean to me.

Book Recs from SchipulCon '09

Not only did I learn so much my head nearly exploded, I got some very interesting book recommendations at SchipulCon '09. Here what some of the presenters plugged:

From Ed Schipul

• Megatrends
• Primal Branding
• Ren Gen

From Deirdre Breakenridge

• Social Marketing Compass

From Kelsey Ruger

• Think and Grow Rich
• Crucial Conversations

I think I may have broken a record for links in a There's Only Ever One Bonnie post.

Domino's, You Had me at "Free"

Yesterday, Valerie and I went to Domino's Pizza and picked up free lunch. The giveaway was part of a promotion for their new Bread Bowl Pasta. In theory, certain "loyal customers" (read you've signed up for their email list) received notification of the giveaway via email. I actually get emails from Domino's, but I heard about the giveaway from the stupid AIM popup launch page I can't get to go away.

I'd seen a commercial for the Bread Bowl Pasta the day before and actually thought, "ew gross, who would eat that?" Um, yeah, I guess me (and Valerie, too!) if it's free. And you know what? It was delish. It's like a super-thick crust pizza with Alfredo pasta as the topping. And the bread bowl has bread stick seasoning on the edge.

It was totally worth the 15 WW Points for just half the bowl. It was a treat I will remember for a long time. And I'll have to, because for 15 points, I'm never getting one again.

Free does weird things to us. It made me eat a decadent lunch I was actually a bit grossed out by the day before. I found a good summary of "the power of free" here. The concept is discussed in a great book titled Predictably Irrational.

I Can't Wait to Read...

Our next vacation is just 38 days away and for me it can't come fast enough. John is headed to Austin to pick up the NISOD Teaching Award and attend the conference. It's over my birthday weekend, so I'm tagging along.

While we're there, we will be taking in some Austin highlights. But, what I'm most excited about is just getting out of town and kicking back at the pool with a good book, or two, or three. Here are few books I hope to pick up for the trip:
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
This one I am debating whether I want the actual book for poolside or the audio version for the car ride there. Sedaris reads his own audio books and it adds so much to have the author recite his autobiographical tales.

A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
I double plus heart Augusten Burroughs. If your only exposure to his work is the movie version of his memoir, Running with Scissors, you are missing out. Run to your local library or fave book retailer and grab Scissors, now. Then you'll see why I'm so excited to get my hands on this.

Real Vampires Get Lucky by Gerry Bartlett
Disclaimer: File this under guilty pleasure. This is a series (and I adore it!). I save it for trips like this when I want something fun, fluffy, and guaranteed to not make me think. It's a total beach book. It will be perfect for sipping pina coladas under my pool umbrella.

His Dark Materials: A Recommendation Rather Than a Review

Over at the The Fabulous Life of Lopez, I noticed Jaimie's been reviewing the books she reads. I loved the idea because I always like hearing about the books other people read. (Even if it's the kind of thing I'd never read myself, you know know like nearly everything John reads)

So I decided I would review the latest book I've read. Although really I listened to it rather than technically reading it,and really it's a trilogy rather than a single book, and really I'm not going to review a whole heck of a lot because three books is a lot to talk about and the best part of the series is the surprises.

I decided to read His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman after John and I saw the movie based on the first book, The Golden Compass. Initially, we only saw the movie because of all the hype about Pullman being an atheist. We thought it was worth seeing just because so many people didn't want us to see it. If all you see is the movie, even if all you read is book one, the hype won't make sense. The movie itself doesn't have any anti-Christian themes. The book doesn't either, unless maybe you are a super hard-core Jesus freak and then you're used to being offended, right?

Book two has a fair amount of blasphemy. There are several passages that will make you realize why groups were protesting the film's debut. By book three we are in a full-blown interdimensional war on god. If you aren't easily offended by this sort of thing, Pullman's ballsy jab at Christian theology is really pretty amusing (in a oh-no-he-didn't kind of way).

The books are part fantasy, part science fiction. We follow Lyra and her demon (an animal manifestation of a person's soul) Pan on their quest to uncover the mystery of Dust. By way of big surprise number one, we learn that Lyra's world is not the only world. There are 1,000s of worlds and a handful of explorers have discovered various ways to travel between them.

Honestly, I can't remember what happened in which book. By the end they all blend together. The overarching story is so predominant that you'll want to the read the whole thing. The best thing about the series is there are three of them, so you can drag it out for a bit. It's definitely one of those books you are sad to see end.

I'm purposely dancing around the story line. I really think that the slow plot reveal makes the series. The universe Pullman creates is entertaining enough to keep you happy until you figure it all out. There are scholars and pirates, talking bear warriors and witches, ghosts and angels. By the end you think nothing else will surprise you but it does. Each book has some pretty big shockers (the movie was a big departure after about 2/3, so the ending hasn't been given away).