By: Erin M. Fuller, FASAE, MPA, CAE, Coulter Group President

Memorial Day Weekend is over – I know, because I am drowning in extra hot dog and hamburger buns without enough corresponding protein to actually use them. The new tubes of sunscreen and bug spray are lined up, ready to shield me and my kids. I am rocking some white linen pants today, and will only book dinner reservations at places with outside seating. I recently bought a case of Spanish rosé.

Summer’s here – and so is my reading list. Each year, I put it out there – the fluff, the important, the large-book-I-should-have-read-when-everyone-else-did. Here is what is queued up on my Kindle (or pre-purchased) in anticipation of some solid hours reading by the pool, in many planes, and up on the Maine coast this summer.

Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson. I know – I am SO late to the party on this one. Cut me some slack – it is a long one, non-fiction, and other important pop-culture books cut in front of Steve in line. I have felt guilty about this, similar to how long it took me to read the other excellent Isaacson biographies. In any case, I am a total i-product convert as is most of Coulter, and worship the “think different” movement that allows me to carry parts of my brain in pretty gorilla glass encased gadgets. Really looking forward to this one – we are design snobs here, and I know I will be highlighting a lot of passages.

Most Talkative by Andy Cohen. I love Andy Cohen. I love pop culture. I’m kind of chatty. This book will be for me for 2012 what Rob Lowe’s bio was in 2011. Perfect summer read, with the added bonus of giving me a bit more pop culture trivia.

Bond Girl by Erin Duffy. This novel, based on the author’s own Wall Street experiences, is supposed to be a great narrative about the questionable practices on the trading floor, workplace bias and single-in-the-city hijinks. Yum – and I always try to support the work of other Erins.

The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey. Kind of like “Black Swan” (with fewer hallucinations) meets one of my childhood faves Noel Streatfeild’s “Dancing Shoes” (but with adults) this book traces the efforts of two sisters to succeed in the cutthroat world of New York ballet. Ballet, sibling rivalry, competition – bring it.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. I read “The Happiness Project” two summers ago and it was truly life changing, in terms of becoming more conscious about making choices that supported my own well-being. Duhigg’s research on habits and the impact modifying them has on business practices to social uprising to individual cookie consumption sounds fascinating – and if it helps me get rid of my daily must-have dark chocolate fix, I am all in.

Wishing everyone a summer – and a year – full of new stories, characters and insights. We take books, good writing and new ideas very seriously here at Coulter – despite a staff-wide admission to reading the “50 Shades” trilogy. Enjoy!