by Jennifer Dublisky, assistant director of public relations at Widener University and chair of the PRSA Philly News Committee

It’s that time of year again; time to start preparing for summer. Time to plan vacation and pool days with the family. Time to enjoy the sun. And time to put together your summer reading list.

Members of PRSA Philly decided to help you get a head start on your reading list by providing you with some of the books they will be reading this year or have read this spring. These books won’t just be enjoyable; they will also provide tools to enhance your skill sets. You know you are going to be reading this summer, why not spend some time on professional development?

Suggestions range from goal-setting and leadership to social media and technology. We hope one of these suggestions sparks your interest and you can join in reading. In September, we will host a Twitter chat to discuss the most popular summer reading selections!

Leadership
For those interested in reading about leadership, Sam Waltz, APR, Fellow PRSA, and former national president of PRSA, recommends Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin. While it may not take long to read, it will resonate with you, according to Waltz. It offers a strategic approach to organizing new communities on the internet. In other words, it goes beyond Facebook and focuses on using a variety of software packages to create and organize a community, and lead it. There are a number of case studies that provide the reader with examples of “tribes,” as they can be within or outside an organization.

Goal Setting
Lee Christine Florida, co-chair of the programming committee, recently read an e-book on goal setting called Nine Things Successful People Do Differently by Heidi Grant Halvorson. While it’s not directly related to the industry, she thought it was a good read that can be applied in a number of ways to one’s life, whether personally or professionally.

Technology
Suzanne FitzGerald, APR, Fellow PRSA, suggests News, Improved: How America’s Newsrooms Are Learning to Change by Michelle McLellan and Tim Porter. This book stresses the concerns and current status of the newsrooms in an electronic world. FitzGerald also recommended Enlightened Leadership: Getting to the Heart of Change by Dough Krug and Ed Oakley, which focuses on the changing role of business in the technological age.

History Buff
Interested in learning more about the application of power and influence? Or a fan of Lyndon Johnson? Then you may be interested in Rob Zeiger’s summer reading list. Zeiger, a PRSA Philly senior advisor, plans to read Passage to Power, the fourth installment in Robert Caro’s biography on Lyndon Johnson. Zeiger believes it’s a must-read for young pros trying to part the curtains and see how the world works.

Social Media
Juliana Rosati, PRSA Philly secretary, plans to read Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman this summer. This book, part of the “New Rules Social Media” series, acts as a guide to creating more engaging web content. It’s a one-stop resource to show you how to get the most benefit out of social media.

If you are looking for specific insight on using social media to drive social change, than you may want to follow Kory Aversa’s lead. The chair of the Philanthropy Committee plans to read The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith.

Back to the Basics
This summer, Jennifer Dublisky, chair of the PRSA Philly News Committee, plans to catch up on communication theory by reading Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application by Lynn Turner and Richard West. This text examines the surface of a number of theories, while showing how prevalent the theories are and allowing readers to think more critically about them.

The “Great” Idea
Rosati will also be reading Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath. In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan explore the concept of why some ideas thrive and others die. It focuses on success stories, as well as failures, and provides the reader with principles that can be applied to make their own messages stick.

Happy reading! Stay tuned for details on the Summer Reading Twitter Chat in September.