Recommended Reading:
What AWAI Masters are Reading Now
We recently asked our master copywriters to tell us about the books they like to read and what they're reading now. Here's what they said:
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Porter Stansberry
Currently, my favorite novel is "Cryptonomicon," by Neil Stephenson. My favorite nonfiction is Paul Johnson's histories (for example, "Modern Times" or "A History of the American People"). I'm currently reading "When Genius Failed," by Robert Lowenstein, a book that describes the collapse of a very large hedge fund.
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Bob Bly
My favorite book is "Death of a Salesman," by Arthur Miller. I'm currently reading "Angry Candy," short stories by Harlan Ellison.
[Bob Bly's written more than 50 books including some of the most popular books on copywriting. I'll include links to a few of his most recent and notable books below –Lori]
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Jen Stevens
I'm trying to read Isabelle Allende's "Daughter of Fortune." But I hold out little hope that I'll see the last page anytime soon.
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John Forde
My favorite? Impossible to choose. In no particular order, these popped into my mind: Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" or "The Snows of Kilimanjaro"; Joyce's "Dubliners"; Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" or "The Moon Is Down"; Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"; Dahl's "My Uncle Oswald"; Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"; Hardy's "Jude the Obscure"; Styron's "Sophie's Choice"; and Dr. Seuss's "Bartholomew and the 5,000 Hats."
Right now, I'm re-reading "Tom Sawyer." I have "Don Quixote" in progress, too. And I plan to read "Bionomics," by Michael Rothschild.
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Kieran Doherty
My favorite book is whatever I'm reading right now – and what I'm reading today is "The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson," a biography of the Royal Governor of Massachusetts in the years just before the Revolutionary War.
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Mike Palmer
Favorite books are hard to choose. A few that come to mind immediately include "The End of the Road," by John Barth, "Catch 22," and John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany." I really like William Styron (particularly his book about being hospitalized with depression, although I can't remember the name of it), Graham Greene, Flannery O'Connor, and Phillip Roth, to name a few.
Right now, I'm reading "Sabbath's Theater," by Phillip Roth (it's excellent); "The Meaning of It All," by Richard Feynman); and "How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling," by Frank Bettger. It's a great sales book, full of real-life tricks, techniques, and secrets that Bettger used to find hidden objections … gain confidence … and close sales.
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Paul Hollingshead
I'm not much of a reader. I always fall asleep when I read – no matter how exciting the book. And with my work, golf, hockey, and a four-year-old, it's tough to find time to read anything. Recently, I read "Abe," a fictional account of the life of a young Lincoln, which was pretty good. But my favorite book is a collection of short stories by my brother Greg called "Roaring Girl." Not only are the stories great, but it's fun to get some insight into a brother I don't know all that well, since he's 13 years older than I and had left home for school when I was four.
Recommended Classics:
- David Ogilvy's Ogilvy on Advertising
- Claude Hopkin's My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising
- John Caples' How to Make Your Advertising Make Money
- Bob Bly's The Copywriter's Handbook
- Bob Bly's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Direct Marketing
- Bob Bly's Secrets of a Freelance Writer
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