Excitement does not fully explain how I felt when I received an email from Alli Torban about beta-reading her new book “Chart Spark” which just made its official debut on December 5, 2023. It was a Saturday morning, I had just poured myself a cup of coffee, and I received an email alert from Alli. Right out of the gate I felt connected to Alli as she recalled a time where she felt the Team Career vs Team Mom tug during her early momming years.
This connection was currently my reality, literally, as I snuggled the 6 month old who “nap-trapped” me for that morning nap, but thankfully was not bothered by me pouring through Alli’s Chart Spark book pages.
Alli’s section outline, which included estimated reading times for each section, was a thoughtful guide. Throughout the short read, I found ample references to individuals Alli has interviewed or who’s work she found connected to the topic of her book about embracing creativity. The examples provided within the book are not only to Alli’s professional data work, but to her personal experiences and is brought to life through the pages which provided great understanding through both lenses. The strategically placed images and easy to recall acronyms ushered my learning journey from chapter to chapter.
Journeying through Chart Spark, I developed a new found knowledge of where creativity comes from, how to seek it from deep within myself, and that creativity itself can be small but powerful. Alli provides a great way for data nerds 🤓(as well as non-data nerds) out there to think creatively when sharing data and provides easy to follow steps to cultivate creativity in everyday work spaces. Chart Spark is certainly going to have its space on my work space shelf with highlight filled pages, sticky note bookmarks, and a binding that is well loved!
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