What I’m Reading


Kim Ierian, President of Concorde Career Colleges, and Deborah Edward, Executive Director of Business for Culture & the Arts, share their recent reads.

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0914 whatimreading Ierian2Kim Ierian
President, Concorde Career Colleges

“Most nights I read at least a few pages of fiction. I also enjoy books that help me continue to develop my leadership skills, particularly books that focus on how you can use mentoring and coaching to improve an organization and help its employees.”

0914 whatimreading The Oz Principle Craig Hickman Tom Smith and Roger Connors Book  

The Oz Principle
By Roger Connors, Tom Smith and Craig Hickman

“The premise of this book is that, like Dorothy and her companions in The Wizard of Oz, most businesspeople have the tools to succeed but tend to place blame rather than look within for the real cause when things go wrong. The authors illustrate the values needed to achieve results, hold people accountable and effectively follow through and execute ideas and plans. The book urges readers to stay ‘above the line’ — the fine line between success and failure —  by finding the courage to ‘see it’; finding the heart to ‘own it’ utilizing the wisdom to ‘solve it,’ and exercising the means to ‘do it’.”

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Heaven is for Real
By Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent

“This best-selling book tells the tale of Colton Burpo, a young boy who returned to consciousness following an emergency appendectomy with stories of a visit to heaven. His father, who is a pastor, has put the boy’s simple stories and observations into a book. I am only partway into the book, but it makes you think about eternity and what is real. What the family has shared so far about Colton’s stories is amazing.”


0914 whatimreading DeborahDeborah Edward
Executive Director, Business for Culture & the Arts

“Probably half of my reading today connects somehow with my work at BCA. It gives me the perfect excuse not only to read a lot about current issues in business but also delve into terrific literary and theatre resources. I also love to find a long, juicy science fiction or historical fiction tome, and stay on top of my weekly New Yorker.”

 0914 whatimreading shakespears bryson 

Shakespeare: The World as Stage
By Bill Bryson

“BCA is celebrating William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday at our annual Arts Breakfast of Champions, so I want to be more in tune with his life and his works. It’s a great time to celebrate Shakespeare in Portland: A consortium of literary and theater groups have dedicated themselves to performing all of Shakespeare’s works over a two-year period surrounding his birthday. Only in Portland!”

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Hamlet’s Dresser
By Bob Smith

“This is Bob Smith’s story of how Shakespeare got him through life’s hardest struggles. Smith spent his childhood caring for his handicapped sister. A librarian turned him on to Shakespeare’s work, which captivated him. He was hired as Hamlet’s dresser at the American Shakespeare Festival and became a strong teacher of Shakespeare’s plays. His memoir weaves in Shakespeare, his work with the elderly teaching Shakespeare and his life with his sister.”