Let’s Pick Up a Book and Grow Together!

By the ERG Council

Have you ever wanted to increase your emotional intelligence, public speaking abilities and foster professional relationships you might not have the opportunity to otherwise? Book clubs may be the golden ticket! According to the Harvard Business Review, “reading is an essential component of leadership development…broad and deep reading habits can sharpen intelligence, make you a better communicator, and improve emotional intelligence, among other things.”

Not sure how or where to join a book club? Our region has a literary program called One Book, One San Diego. Presented in partnership between KPBS, libraries, service organizations and educational institutions, the purpose is to bring the community closer together through the shared experience of reading and discussing the same book. Each year, One Book, One San Diego features one book for adults, one for young adults, one for kids and one for Spanish language readers. This year’s adult book is “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist'' by Judith Heumann. You can check out the book for free through the San Diego County Library.

“Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist'' tells the personal story of Heumann’s lifelong campaign to gain respect and acceptance in a world that didn’t initially recognize the rights of the disabled. Paralyzed from polio at a young age, she became one of the most influential disability rights activists in U.S. history.

Or maybe you want to join your fellow County employee’s book club? The Employee Resource Groups routinely offer free participation in their book clubs. On Sept. 30, you can join the Middle Eastern Employee Resource Group and the County of San Diego Filipino-American Employees’ Association for their book discussion of “Savushun” a Persian novel by Simin Daneshvar.

Or even better, maybe start your own book club. You can find some best practices in the KPBS article, “How to Start a Book Club That Actually Meets.” They cover making a simple schedule, identifying the “why,” picking the right book and even diving deeper into context. Forbes’ Senior Contributor on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion says that “education plays a pivotal role in the pursuit for a more diverse and inclusive workplace, and books can be a very effective and instrumental way to learn more about groups that are seemingly different from your own.” So, let’s pick up a book and grow together.