August 2025
Sadness comes in waves. August has been so hard. We lost Papa. Well, we didn’t lose him. He couldn’t exactly run off. He lost a long battle with cancer. Thank you so much to all of you who reached out, showed up, and pitched in as we struggled through. Millie and I have been rock climbing. I’ve been trying to do some more running, but I’m still recovering strength in my right side from my surgeries and injury, so I run in circles. I’m still working on managing stress by trying out several new things, including meditating. So far, nothing works as well as shotguns.
I was going to put this in the Final Thoughts, but it’s important enough to lead with:
Here is a 1-minute video that could save a life. It only takes 8 minutes of connection or support to help a person out of darkness. “Do you have 8 minutes?” is a code that means I need you. This code makes it easier to ask for help. It is a prearranged permission and urgency. If you ever need help, text it to me or someone you trust. Thank you, Aleksandr, for sharing this with me.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor (Bobiverse #1)
Bob is a nerd. He sells his software company for a major payday and is getting ready to embark on a new adventure when his career (and life) take a drastic turn. Bob wakes up in the year 2133. His body is gone. His consciousness is all he knows. He’s in a lab with a scientist walking him through reanimation. Bob is a new, advanced replicant who will be launched into space on a probe with the mission of exploring the stars and finding habitable planets for humans. Bob uses his software and engineering background to build all kinds of things, including a VR space. As Bob is launched on his mission, Earth deteriorates into war. Bob escapes several attacks, including physical and viral attacks. He blasts out of the solar system and heads into space. Using new printing technology and robots, Bob can harvest elements and create all kinds of things, including new Bob’s. Bob makes each of his clones take a new name and they each take up new missions as they are created., Some travel back to Earth to see what has happened to the humans after they went nuclear. Some explore other star systems. Bob studies a few planets and gets involved in helping a race of pig-bat-things that he discovers. The Bobs continue to develop their technology, including FTL (faster-than-light) communications, railguns, and so on. The Bobs fight with the Brazilian probe and its copies. It is less interested in exploration and more military-minded. The Bobs also rescue the Australian probe, who has lost grip on reality.
This is a fun, engineering/nerdish book with lots of Star Trek references. The adventure and exploration aspects are interesting. The author doesn’t get too serious about the physics, but he doesn’t ignore them either. Thanks, Luke and Max, for reminding me about this book. Now I need to see if the second book is as good.
This is for Von Neumann fans and anyone who loves some good space adventure.
(Rated PG-13 (some language), Score 8/10, audiobook read by Ray Porter, 9:56)
Fermentation by Seth Ring (Battle Mage Farmer #4)
Ferdie is still my favorite character in these books. He is John’s bull, but since John has been feeding him mana crystals, he has developed some interesting skills and attributes. He’s intelligent, he can change his size, and he has flaming hooves and horns when he gets mad. John has a quest to grow enough wheat to feed the world, but he keeps getting distracted by side quests. In this book, he and Ellie travel to a hidden mage tower. They return some rogue mages whom they captured. The mages were causing trouble in the valley by trying to make the villagers and peasants into slaves. John is very anti-slavery. Later in the story, John finds a massive portal where the beasts are planning an invasion of John’s world. The beast guarding the portal accidentally reveals a dangerous truth to John. He identifies John as a dragon. John realizes that he has a big, bad, nasty dragon attached to his soul, waiting to regain enough strength to take over John’s body. With this new revelation, John realizes he can’t just slag enemy armies anymore because it will strengthen the dragon. In the battle at the end of the book, John learns of a new order of mages, the Order of the New Dawn, who are threatening peace. And if mages using slave curses and mind control weren’t bad enough, John also learns that his world will soon be invaded by evil space pirates. All the dude wants to do is farm, but the world keeps getting itself back in jeopardy.
When John is reeling from the dragon on his soul realization, Ellie puts him to work in the garden and tells him, “Pain, suffering, and confusion all distort the world, bending it in such a way that our instinct is to look within ourselves. Yet in doing so, we lose our grounding, coming untethered from what is real. Fight pain with beauty, fight confusion with simplicity.” As I work through stress and pain lately, I’ve been trying to use beauty and simplicity to find my way back.
This is for farmers and questers.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, ebook, 422p.)
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain #1)
This book (and series) is great for all ages. In this book, Taran, a young man, is whisked away on an amazing adventure. Taran begins as a young assistant Pig-Keeper, with dreams of fighting and adventure, but when evil invades the realm in the form of the Horned King and a host of evil soldiers, Taran finds himself in many dangers. Along his journey, he collects a band of misfits, and together they form a fellowship on a mission to warn the House of Dôn of the Horned Kings’ impending attack. The characters in his group include Gurgi, a half-man, half-animal who was living in the woods, the Princess Eilonwy (who is hilarious, and much better at metaphors and similes than some other characters we’ve been reading), a bard named Fflewddur Fflam, and a dwarf named Doli. Taran makes many mistakes as he leads the others, and yet, there is a feel of destiny about him. In spite of his weaknesses and mistakes, his love, courage, and faithfulness allow him and his friends to destroy the Horned King and save each other. I love this story. Millie’s favorite part of the story is the piggy, Hen Wen, who has the power to tell the hero the evil true name of the Horned King. Evil, when named by its true name, crumbles.
I recommend this book for anyone (young or old) who loves an adventure story.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, Audiobook read by James Langton, 5:05)
The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain #2)
In book two, Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, and his friends attempt a brave raid against the evil enemy of their world. Led by Gwydion, Prince of Dôn, the party sets out to find and steal the Black Cauldron from Arawn (this feels a lot like an assault on Mordor). Arawn uses the Black Cauldron to create his deathless soldiers called the Cauldron Born. Taran finds himself in a prideful rivalry with Ellidyr, Prince of Pen-Llarcau. Taran is goaded into foolish tussles at first and, in the end, is betrayed by the arrogant prince. Taran’s friends from the first book (Gurgi, Princess Eilonwy, Doli, and Fflewddur Fflam) all play parts in the adventure. Taran leads them to discover and win the Black Cauldron, and eventually to destroy it, though at grievous cost. Millie’s favorite part of this adventure is when the warriors are joined by the runaway princess who refused to be left behind. I like the part where Taran negotiates with the three fates for the Black Cauldron. His friends offer their greatest treasures for his sake. What would you trade for the chance to destroy a weapon of death and ruin? What would you sacrifice for the safety of your closest friends?
This is for adventurers and those in need of a good fellowship story.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by James Langton, 5:26)
The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson
Nomad is a runner. He awakes on a strange planet and resumes running for his life. He has two problems: the immediate danger of a world with a sun that melts and destroys everything in its path once per day, and the Night Brigade, who are chasing him through the Cosmere. Nomad and his spren, Auxillary (Aux), learn to run from the sunrise on the planet Canticle, where staying stationary is death. Cities are made up of ships that fly and bolt together. Nomad joins a flying city of rebels. The rebels are fighting for survival against the Cinder King, who rules like a bully, hoarding wealth and power. Nomad and Aux use their special bond and skills to help the rebels escape from the sunrise and the Cinder King, but time and power are short. Their options dwindle. Their time draws short. Only sacrifices and miracles keep the rebels alive. Only the extreme pressure of imminent death can cause the discovery of secrets and capacities needed for survival.
This is for runners, fighters, and rebels.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by William DeMeritt, 11:11)
Gregor the Overland by Suzanne Collins (Underland Chronicles #1)
Gregor and his little sister, Boots, fall into Underland through their laundry room grate. In the Underland, they are rescued and taken to Regalia, which is an underground human city. Gregor tries to escape with Boots, but he is discovered by vicious, human-sized rats who try to eat him. All the creatures in the Underland are giant. The humans and bats rescue the children and teach them about “The Prophecy of the Gray”. The children are destined to save the Underland. They begin the quest to fulfill the prophecy. The quest includes humans and their bonded bats, cockroaches (who talk funny), spiders, and even an old rat. The fellowship seeks to rescue Gregor’s father, who has been a prisoner of the rats for almost two years. The questers bash and sneak and fly all around the Underland until they have satisfied all of the prophecy’s lines. Gregor transforms into a brave warrior and takes on an authority only earned by adventure. I’ll have to listen to this one with the kids. Thank you, Max, for recommending it. There were two ideas that stuck in my mind from the story. First, time is our most precious resource. Use it wisely. Second, we judge too often by exterior appearances when we should judge by actions. Like Boots, we should let go of our prejudices and treat all people with kindness and inclusion.
This is for young questers and fliers.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Paul Boehmer, 6:33)
Non-Fiction Books
Some books speak to our core fears. This book helped me through some of mine, though it took me a while to process, and I’m still absorbing its lessons. This book is equal parts mindset and practical advice. The perspective on being prepared for the worst day of your life was surprisingly healthy and helpful. Doomsday preppers are not portrayed in the kindest light, and the author does his best to work through that stereotype and explain his perspective. The goal is not to hoard resources in a bunker. The goal is to build a thriving, more self-sufficient lifestyle through careful thought and deliberate actions. The goal is to build a community that is ready to handle emergencies and hard times. The goal is to expand your capabilities to survive and thrive through gear, training, and practice. These are all more worthy (and achievable) goals than what my fears tell me I should be doing.
The book is laid out in seven chapters. First, Glover covers mindset. This is the most philosophical part of the book. This part was a bit hard for me because I have a pretty good imagination, and I can easily think of all kinds of bad things that can happen. Glover balances the big, bad, scary things by mixing in the importance of being ready for smaller, more common threats like car accidents and weather emergencies. Overall, the book is balanced. That is, it describes bad things that can (and will) happen, and explains how being prepared helps us survive and thrive and ultimately have more peace in our daily lives. He also points out that ignorance and arrogance are two excuses for not planning. Both are dangerous.
Second, he covers planning. He uses PACE- Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency- to describe the type of plans that can be implemented for different scenarios. An easy example is a fire escape plan. The primary plan would be to go out the front door. The alternate plan is to use the back door. The contingency plan is to use a window. The emergency plan is to get out by any means necessary, including breaking windows or possibly jumping from higher windows than would be safe (were it not an emergency). The author walks through several PACE examples throughout the rest of the book. The point is to think through how you can react if the normal way you do things isn’t possible or if things go wrong.
Third, the author discusses situational awareness. We tend to go through life absorbed in our own thoughts, often on autopilot. This is not a great way to see danger coming. Glover recommends taking at least one day a week to practice situational awareness- seeing people and events, training yourself to pay attention to the baseline behaviors of your environment, and learning to tell when things are off or weird. These early warnings can help us act more quickly in a developing situation, but not if we can’t see them.
Chapter 4 is about decisions. When we observe things being off, we must be willing to act. We can’t freeze. Glover calls it “Getting off the X”. In a fire, you must be able to get out of the building. In a hurricane, you have to be able to evacuate. In an active shooter scenario, you have to be ready to move, break windows to escape, or potentially fight for your life. In this chapter, Glover also discusses the question: What are your criteria for deciding to use deadly force? There is a fascinating description of a scenario the author uses in training to help people understand the difficulties and nuances involved in making such a tough decision. I appreciated that Glover didn’t offer simple answers. The question is one to wrestle with. He did offer some simple advice to help- if you can run, or end the scenario without fighting or killing, you absolutely should, but if you can’t, if fighting and killing is the only way to keep you and your family safe, you should be trained and ready to end the confrontation as quickly and effectively as possible. Glover recommended When Violence Is the Answer as a resource for learning about this tough concept. It’s on my list now. This can be a controversial area. I found Glover’s ideas to be calm, insightful, and well-balanced.
Chapters five, six, and seven are similar in nature and build on each other from personal to community. Chapter five covers what to include in your Everyday Carry (EDC) kit. Six covers mobility and how to prepare to be mobile in an emergency, basically, your vehicle. Seven covers the homestead. A simple way Glover describes these is like a medic (EDC), an ambulance (mobility), and a hospital (homestead). The goal is to have enough equipment for security and survival to expand your capabilities and give yourself every advantage possible when things go wrong. Glover covers survival needs in order of urgency. It doesn’t make much sense to worry about things that might kill you in the long term if you need to deal with things that can kill you right now. Wounds and injuries can kill in seconds or minutes after a car crash. Exposure to the elements can kill you in a few hours if you can’t figure out shelter. Dehydration will kill you in about three days if you can’t find drinking water. Hunger will kill you in about three weeks or so if you don’t have any food. So your plans and equipment need to be ready and staged in a way to allow you to address immediate needs with speed, and also provide for solutions for long-term problems.
I will have to revisit this book over time as I absorb its lessons and work on being a more capable human. I have started to expand my situational awareness. I’ve always loved collecting gear. I need some land to start a homestead. If you have extra, shoot me a message.
This is for anyone looking for ideas about being more self-sufficient.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook by the author, 5:14)
Preview/Currently Reading-
This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #7)
The Castle of Lyre by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain #3)
The Unseen Realm by Michael S. Heiser
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson (Reckoners #3)
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
Transformation by Seth Ring (Battle Mage Farmer #5)
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
GLS (Global Leadership Summit) happened without me this year. Family comes first. I was fortunate enough to get a link to watch the sessions online. I’ve studied two of them. First, Juliet Funt taught about quitting things. We should all be quitting things that don’t generate value. What an amazing way to free up time and make ourselves happier and more productive. Second, Jon Acuff talked about giving ourselves and our teams permission to dream, plan, do, and review. He also talked about reprogramming ourselves to be more positive. Being positive has a much higher ROI than being negative. Coming out of a dark place, I am actively trying to rewire my brain to be more positive. I invite you to call me out if I’m being negative.
I’ve been fairly sheltered from loss as a human. It seems I am growing out of that luck. We cannot avoid death. It comes for us all. We cannot be protected from it for long. As we mourn and grieve, we are often foggy. We get lost in our thoughts and darkness. We had so many people offer support and help. For the most part, we had no idea what help we needed. Several people brought food. Food helps tremendously. Some folks offered to watch the kids so Aubrey and I could talk through some difficult decisions. This was a huge help.
But the kindness that made the biggest impact on me came from my sister-in-law, Amanda. She texted me and asked how they could support us, then she immediately changed her mind. She has suffered more than her fair share of grief, and as she looked back, she realized that even though that sentiment was well-intentioned, it put the burden on others to think up ideas in a fog. So she just thought up some things and put the Amazon delivery guy to work. She sent gifts to distract the kids and Aubrey, and chocolate. Chocolate is the best way to recover from dementors, so it’s gotta be good for grief too. The gifts she sent made a huge difference. They were a bright spot in a dark week. They were special because we didn’t have to think about them. They were special because they were so thoughtful. Thank you, Amanda, for teaching me this new way of supporting people in grief.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
PS. I’m looking to grow and improve this little experiment. If you have benefited from it and would like to support my ability to buy better books or run with some other ideas I have been working on, here is your opportunity. You could think of it as an investment or buying me a coffee.