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Five good reads for March
National Jeweler has chosen four books from Goodreads’ March list of new releases that could be beneficial to business owners.

New York--Online book discussion website Goodreads has shared its list of new releases for the month of March, and National Jeweler has sifted through the list to find four that could be useful to business owners.
Among our picks for March are So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, which explores the act and aftermath of public shaming and could provide insight for retailers who may have had to deal with negative reviews. Another read, Better Than Before, presents a practical approach to allow readers to understand their habits and change them for good.
Below is a brief summary of each book and links to additional information on Goodreads.com.
1. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed
Jon Ronson
For this book, Ronson met those who have been impacted by public shaming, which has ruined careers and become a form of social control. In an era when negative online reviews on sites like Yelp and CitySearch can greatly impact business, business owners can benefit from a read exploring what public shaming is doing to both the shamers and those who have been shamed. This book is 277 pages.
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2. Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter
Nina MacLaughlin
MacLaughlin was in her twenties when she went from working at a Boston newspaper to becoming a carpenter’s assistant with no experience. In Hammer Head, she shares the joys and frustrations of making things by hand, reveals the challenges of working as a woman in an occupation that is male-dominated, and explains how manual labor changed the way she sees the world. This book is 240 pages.
3. Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives
Gretchen Rubin
Here, Rubin presents a practical, concrete framework to allow readers to understand their habits and change them for good. Infused with rigorous research, easy humor and stories of lives transformed, Better Than Before explores harnesses the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives. This book is 320 pages.
4. Around the World in 50 Years: My Adventure to Every Country on Earth
Albert Podell
Surviving riots, revolutions, civil wars, trigger-happy child soldiers, robbers and natural disasters, Podell set out on a mission to visit every country on earth. His story is a tale of courage, persistence, determination and an ability to extricate himself from one perilous situation after another. This book is 368 pages.
Nathaniel Philbrick
Senior Editor Hannah Connorton reached far into the shelves of her bookcase recommending this non-fiction tale first published in 1999. In the Heart of the Sea takes place in 1820, when the Essex was sunk by a sperm whale in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific Ocean. Its 20-man crew spent 90 days at sea under unimaginable conditions, clinging to life while grappling with hunger, thirst, disease and fear. This book is 238 pages.
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