PH July 2007 How Well Do You Know Your Neighbor?

How Well Do You Know You Neighbor?

There never seems to be enough time to read a good book, unless you’re Robert Morris. This independent management consultant conducts workshops and seminars for corporate clients, but he’s got another passion: reading. In fact, he’s such a bookworm, he’s ranked 13th nationally among Amazon’s book reviewers. He’s written some 1,493 reviews to date since December of 1999. The love of books didn’t start there, however. “I have been a bookworm since childhood, and started reading about 10 books a week by the fifth grade,” Morris says. “Now, on average, I read about 8-10 hours a day.” Though he usually reads and reviews business books, some of his all-time favorite books include Niccolo Macchiavelli’s “The Prince” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” Morris also manages to read the Dallas Morning News, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times every morning without fail. “I love to read, and I love to think about what I have read,” he says. “I get 40-50 emails a week from people who have read my reviews and have comments or questions.” He does not receive monetary compensation for his reviews, but he feels he gains all the same. “I appreciate the personal friendships I have established, and as is so often true in life, you tend to do best what you enjoy doing most.”