Tag: books

Categories
Miscellaneous

Audio Books

I was always a bit sceptical when it comes to audio books. I didn’t think I’d enjoy listening a book as much as I would enjoy reading it. Plus, there’s always a question of the reader’s voice. Would I like it? Or would I hate it? However, there is a benefit of not having to put more stress on my eyes since I am spending quite some time in front of the computer.

All in all, during my long flight to meet my colleagues in Nashville, I decided to give it a try. I installed the LibriVox app and I downloaded Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I think it’s been more than 2 years after my wife told me it’s one of those must-read books but I was just waiting for the right moment 😎

Nevertheless, it was a really great experience! I loved the voice of the reader and I loved the book. It was so profound and meaningful, full of life stories and teachings. It’s been almost a week since I read listened it and I am still thinking about it. Definitely a recomendation! And while I am writing about Hesse’s work, I’d also like to recommend Demian, an incredible novel of his.

On a related note, I believe I got addicted to audio books now. Hah! 🤣

What about you? Do you like audio books? If you don’t, why is that? And if you do, which app do you use? Share! 😎

Categories
Customer Happiness

Should We Hug Our Haters?

Near the end of 2016, my colleagues and I decided to read a book called Hug your haters. The book was recommended by a colleague in whose taste in books I trust after reading this one 😀

Was the book good? Yes. Would I recommend it? Definitely! The book doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it shows practical examples of how one can improve their business by embracing their haters and answering to every single complaint. I’ll share my favorite takeaways:

  •  With haters, we don’t have a problem. We have an opportunity to improve an experience.
  • Overcommunication is a myth.
  • Outlove your competition.
  • Every onlooker is a potential customer. If a customer calls you on the phone to complain, surely you wouldn’t hang up on them. And not responding in social media is akin to hanging up on them, only worse, because there are actually other people watching and listening.
  • Hugging your haters doesn’t mean the customer is right; it means the customer is answered.
  • The ability to predict a complaint or problem and solve it before the patrons notice is customer experience sorcery of the very best kind.

Have you read Hug your haters yet? What are your favorite takeaways? 😁

Categories
Miscellaneous

The Witcher Saga

During the absence of internet last week, I took the opportunity to read a few books. Among them, I read the first two books of The Witcher series. I had them on my shelf for quite some time and decided to bring them with me to Greece.

When I started reading the first book, I was completely pulled in from the start and I read both The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny in a couple of days. Needless to say, I will definitely read the whole Witcher saga! Five more books to go!

If you are into fantasy books, I recommend checking The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski. You won’t regret it!

Categories
Miscellaneous

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

A long time ago, a friend of mine recommended this book to me. I am not sure why but I was always reluctant to start reading it. However, a few days ago, a fortuitous turn of events led me to buy the book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. 

Continue reading “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”
Categories
Miscellaneous

Empire of Dragons

Every once in a while, I enjoy a good read or a good video game.  For quite some time, I didn’t have the time nor desire to play a video game, but I definitely got a need for reading books like I used to when I was younger.

The last few books I read were closely related to Customer Happiness, one of my great passions. I even wrote key takeaways for one of them, just in case someone wants to take a look at what they can expect from this book called Strategic Customer Service.

However, if my memory still serves me well, the last book I read that didn’t have anything to do with Customer Happiness or WordPress (my other great passion 🙂 ) was Living with the Himalayan Masters. I highly recommend reading it, it can change your perspective on life completely.

Empire of Dragons

Two days ago, anxious to receive certain news, I took a look at my shelves with books and I realized that there are quite a few of them standing there, just collecting dust, and I haven’t read them yet. I slowly browsed through them and the title of one of them caught my eye – Empire of Dragons, an adventure novel by Valerio Manfredi! I read the brief summary which got me intrigued already and I was determined to give it a shot! I couldn’t even remember the time I was reading adventure books, it was probably in late elementary school, early high-school. However, Empire of Dragons got me at the first page and less than 48 hours after I read the first few paragraphs, I finished all the 350 pages of the book.

If you enjoy reading books and if you like adventure, history, Roman Empire, and a plot with twists, I highly recommend reading Empire of Dragons by Valerio Manfredi. I had lots of fun reading it and if you find some spare time, give this book a chance. And I’ll definitely check other books of this author in the future 🙂