Maybe the best book to come across my desk this year is Melissa Pregill’s Become One (Rojo Press, 2010). It’s all about becoming a consultant, or “independent,” as she likes to say. It’s a slim little volume, just right to leaf through during a break, so I did. Maybe that was a mistake, since I enjoyed her voice and perspective so much, I spent another hour polishing the book off.

I briefly pondered whether an inveterate newsroom junkie like me could “become one.” What persuaded me to even fantasize about this were her common sense and humor when I was expecting cheerleading and some variation on the motivational seduction.

 …