Managing Public Relations: The Class-Assigned Book I Didn’t Fully Read… But Still Liked Anyway

So, for one of my classes this semester, we were assigned Managing Public Relations: Business Principles and Tools for Strategic Communication by Peter M. Smudde. Obviously, it turned into more of a “look over what seems important and hope I don’t miss anything” situation. I think we can all agree we’ve done this at least once, so I don’t feel guilty at all.

Even though I didn’t read it word for word, I actually ended up liking it. Shocking, I know. But this book felt less like an academic text and more like a relaxed lecture in book form.

I enjoyed that Smudde gave real examples and breakdowns of strategies and plans we’ll use in the future. Instead of throwing a bunch of abstract PR concepts at us and expecting us to magically understand them, he ties almost everything back to an actual plan, campaign or communication strategy used by real organizations. That was perfect for me. I’m the type of student who learns best when I can see how something plays out in the real world, not just how it’s supposed to work.

Did I read it cover to cover for class? Absolutely not. Did I still walk away with a solid understanding of strategic communication and how PR operates behind the scenes? Yes, I did.

I also appreciated that we created our own examples in class. We used the company we’re working with for social media and applied these approaches to help them see what they need moving forward. Now, I not only have examples from the textbook, but I also have my own work, which has been critiqued and reviewed to show me what I can improve on in the future. It’s all going straight into my portfolio as something I can revisit whenever I need a refresher.

I’m excited to review this section of the textbook and all the notes left for me and my partner as we finish the final portion of the project we’ve been working on all semester.

Straight Back to the Library

Yes, it exists. A Disney book about my favorite childhood story that I hated reading. Straight on Till Morning was such a confusing book for me to get through and I never really knew what was going on. About halfway through, I just stopped paying attention because I was so lost in the storyline. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this one, but we can deep dive into it anyway.

Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling’s life is not what she imagined it would be. The doldrums of an empty house after her brothers have gone to school, the dull parties where everyone thinks she talks too much and the fact that her parents have decided to send her away to Ireland as a governess — it all makes her wish things could be different.

Wendy’s only real escape is writing down tales of Never Land. After nearly meeting her hero, Peter Pan, four years earlier, she still holds on to the childhood hope that his magical home truly exists. She also holds on to his shadow.

So when an opportunity to travel to Never Land via pirate ship presents itself, Wendy makes a deal with the devil. But Never Land isn’t quite the place she imagined. Unexpected dangers and strange foes pop up at every turn and a little pixie named Tinker Bell seems less than willing to help.

When Captain Hook reveals some rather permanent and evil plans for Never Land, it’s up to the two of them to save Peter Pan — and his world.

Overall, this story started off similar to the original when Wendy is still in London and dreaming of Never Land. But once she arrived there, I got totally lost. She and many other characters acted as though she had been there before and that they already knew her, but she hadn’t.

I understand that the point of this series is to change the original stories we know so well. I think this book was the first in the series to change the story so drastically that it became more difficult to follow and harder to find the original within it.

A Beautiful Modern Twist on a Classic Tale

 Another Disney story but with a more realistic storyline to it. By The Book by Jasmine Guillory was one of these stories that just blew me away. Every single bit of this book truly told the Beauty and the Beast tale and I enjoyed this rendition. 

Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing right out of college, she did not expect to be 25, living at home, still an editorial assistant and the only Black employee at her publishing house. Overworked and underpaid, constantly torn between speaking up or stifling herself, Izzy thinks there must be more to this publishing life. So when she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, Isabelle sees an opportunity to finally get the promotion she deserves.

All she has to do is go to the author’s Santa Barbara mansion and give him a quick pep talk or three. How hard could it be?

But Izzy quickly finds out she is in over her head. Beau Towers is not some celebrity lightweight writing a tell-all memoir. He is jaded and withdrawn and—it turns out—just as lost as Izzy. But despite his standoffishness, Izzy needs Beau to deliver and with her encouragement, his story begins to spill onto the page. They soon discover they have more in common than either of them expected and as their deadline nears, Izzy and Beau begin to realize there may be something there that wasn't there before. 

Just like the Beast, Beau was a character that I hated in the beginning but grew to love the more he opened up. He made his mistakes and was able to come back from them twofold. His relationship with Izzy was just a typical relationship if life. It had its ups and its down but he loved her no matter the situation. Also, the notebook that he wrote in everyday about how much he loved her, even from the first day was just the most romantic thing.