Retirement Reinvention by Robin Ryan

I was surprised at how much I liked RETIREMENT REINVENTION by Robin Ryan.  A veteran career counselor (20+ years) with extensive speaking and writing accomplishments, she decided to write this book after battling cancer in order to provide some advice on planning happy years of retirement. She includes sections on making a plan, where to live (two homes or one?), giving back, travel and education. I especially liked her emphasis on finding something fun to do. Ryan encourages her readers by suggesting they craft a new life with purpose and that they explore new ideas such as the many, many hobbies and part time work or volunteering options listed in her book. In fact, she asks: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” and advocates: “do what you love simply because it will make you happy.”

Subtitled “Make Your Next Act Your Best Act,” RETIREMENT REINVENTION offers great advice for baby boomers about having a “fun job and leisure stage” in your life. Ryan says, “This is the best time of your life, because this is the moment that you’re living right now.” That reminded me of John Leland’s recent talk on PBS NewsHour regarding "Learning how to think about death changed how I live;" he also talks about Happiness is a Choice You Make here.  

And one more important point: Robin Ryan is making a difference by donating her book profits to breast cancer research.

101 Job Interview Questions You'll Never Fear Again by James Reed

101 Job Interview Questions You'll Never Fear Again by James Reed is a terrific compendium of questions and their rationales based on crowd-sourced work with interviewers and recruiters. As Reed points out, interviews in the past “would have been almost exclusively about skills and experience; these days your interview is just as likely to be about your personality and your mindset.”   

With its emphasis on 15 key interview themes, this title will be a valuable guide for recent graduates in particular.  The book is written in a very straight forward way with summaries and explanations throughout.