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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post #390

On The Blog Recently

• Some Things Have Happened Since We Last Spoke
• Rapid Reviews Of All The Books I Read Last Summer
• My Year In Nonfiction
• My Favorite Nonfiction Topics
• Book Pairings: The Franklin Expedition

In My Reading Life

We're halfway through Nonfiction November! My reading plan for the month has been derailed by headaches and fatigue. I seem to be stuck in a work, sleep, repeat cycle. I've only finished one book in November. So . . . oops.

I read Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger. It's a nonfiction marketing book about why some products and ideas succeed while others flop hard. The book held my interest, but it's also dated. It came out in 2013, and it feels like it came out in 2013. I would love an updated version that shows how marketing (especially on social media) has changed.

I like the structure of the book. The author identifies 6 elements that a product or idea must have to catch on.

1. Social currency. The product should make users seem cool or interesting.
2. Triggers. Things in normal daily life should remind people of the product.
3. Emotion. If a product evokes happiness or anger, people will talk about it.
4. Publicity. The product needs a unique logo or some other way of broadcasting itself to strangers.
5. Practical value. If people find the product useful, they'll share it with others.
6. Stories. People will remember a product that has a cool, relevant story behind it. (The author used Jared from Subway as an example. This is why we need an updated version of the book. Nobody could have foreseen the ending to Jared's story.)

Okay. Now you know how to make a product go viral. However, I cannot recommend hiring Jared as your company spokesperson unless your only goal is to go viral.

This book is a quick and engaging read, but the world has changed since 2013.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that happened last week:

1. It was my dad's birthday, so cake happened.
2. I also ate an excellent burrito.
3. I finally bought Planet Zoo. It's a computer game that I have wanted to play for years. I never bought it because I feel guilty for playing games. They seem like a massive waste of time. However, Planet Zoo was released 6 years ago. If I've wanted to do something for 6 years, I should probably just do it. Now I need my headache to go away so I can stare at a screen.
4. Speaking of headaches, I made an appointment to get my brain tested. Hopefully a doctor can tell me what has malfunctioned inside my head. For the past 8ish months, I haven't felt like a real human. I feel like a gently microwaved corpse with a day job. My appointment isn't until next month because there's a waitlist for these things. I want to know now!
5. A shocking number of people in my neighborhood already have their Christmas lights up. I admire their enthusiasm.

Thanks For Engaging With My Nonsense!

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Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!