Tuesday, April 1, 2025

FROM THE SPINE - MARCH 2025 BOOK REVIEWS

March 2025

We had three seasons in March. Blizzard, spring, and the beginning of the heat of summer. Now we need some April showers and a bit less wind. The spring allergies are kicking in. At least the sky isn’t on fire anymore. That was scary. Why does March Madness actually end in April? 


Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:


Fiction Books

Anybody Here Seen Frenchie? by Leslie Connor 

This is a story about that worst possible feeling you can have as a parent, family member, or friend of a missing person- that feeling in your gut when you realize you don’t know where your person is. Aurora is a flurry of words, actions, and energy. Frenchie is nonverbal, slow, and unique. Together, they are wonderful. Aurora adopts Frenchie immediately when he and his mother move in next door. Aurora learns how to read all of Frenchies, subtle movements, his needs, and his moods. The two families grow together with kind hearts. One day, Frenchie goes missing. He disappears between the school drop-off line and his classroom. The rest of the story is a blend of flashbacks to moments of Aurora and Frenchie’s journey and moments in the town-wide search and rescue effort to find poor Frenchie. It is heartwarming to see the community come together to find the odd boy with the needlepoint purse full of bird pictures. The twist comes at the end when Aurora learns why Frenchie stopped following her into the school. Her little brother knew all along. I enjoyed the way the author paints Aurora, who is big and loud and strong, and sometimes people don’t know how to handle that. She’s learning how to be authentically herself and how to be calmer and quieter when she sees that she is overwhelming others. I love her kind and dangerous heart. 


This is for anyone who has ever been lost. 

(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Ferdelle Capistrano and others, 6:31)


Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd

Olive is not a normal twelve-year-old girl. She has a rare condition that makes her bones very fragile. She wants to be normal and fit in like all middle schoolers. Her story blends her transition into public school with the hunt to solve a town-wide mystery. There are lots of emotions involved in the big transition- fear, worry, hope, wonder, awe, sadness, and for Olive, lots of love from her family. There is a recurring miracle that happens in Olive’s town. Snow falls like feathers, plants bloom in unlikely places, and after a few weeks, a magical hummingbird appears at the blue moon and grants a wish to whoever is brave and clever enough to find it. Olive and her new best friend, Grace, form a club whose mission is to find the hummingbird and make their wish. They make new friends along the way- the librarian, an old man who found the hummingbird during the last miracle cycle, and many others. Olive finds her special words: “My bones are fragile, but I am not.” This is a disguised fairy story. It is filled with good magic, kindness, and hope. It’s a reminder that we are better together. It says that we are all a little fragile and broken, but we are also strong, fierce, and resilient. This is a battle of the books read that I enjoyed listening to with Jet. 


This is for bird watchers and miracle seekers. 

(Rated G, Score 8/10, audiobook read by the author, 8:22)


Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #5)

This is a really long, complex book. The story takes place over ten days. Dalinar Kholin and Odium agreed to a contest of champions to take place at the end of the ten days. The contest will decide the fate of Roshar (their world). There are story arcs that evolve in several main geographical areas: Irithiru- the magical tower city, the spiritual realm, the shattered plains, Shinovar, Azir, and Thaylenah. The terms of the contract between Odium and Dalinar lead to a land grab between the humans and the listener army of Odium. The armies have ten days to capture land and capitals before establishing boundaries for the next 1,000 years. Dalinar, Navani, and the human leaders dispatch their forces to the cities Odium is poised to attack. 


Jasnah goes to help Queen Fen defend Thaylenah. The two queens end up in a battle of wits with Odium, arguing philosophy, history, and the best possible outcomes. 


Adolin is sent to reinforce the Azish defense. He takes the young Azish emperor under his wing, teaching him battle strategy and empowering him to actively save his people instead of being a figurehead. Adolin learns that he has and has not become obsolete in the new world of radiants. 

Sigzil and his wind runners are sent to the shattered plains to help defend the farms and oath gate. To prolong the defense, Sigzil uses unorthodox strategies, slowly and deliberately giving up land to keep the defenders in strategic places. 


Szeth and Kaladin go to Shinivar on a pilgrimage, seeking healing and truth. They visit each of the Honor Blades monasteries. They uncover and destroy great evils. They seek to rescue the wind and spren and to heal the land and each other. Kaladin learns that he must take care of himself to protect others. Szeth conquers his demons and doubts. He learns what it is to choose his own path. 


Dalinar, Navani, Shellan, Renarin, and Rlain spend most of the book in the spiritual realm. They learn to navigate and shape their visions using anchors and their bond smith connections. They walk through time, observing critical moments in the ancient war between humans and listeners. They seek the power of Honor, hoping that it will accept Dalinar as a host, ascend him to godhood, and make him a better match for Odium in the contest of champions. 


Shellan, Renarin, and Rlain follow the bond smiths in the spiritual realm, hunting for two assassins who are hunting for a secret, caged Unmade named Ba-Ado-Mishram, who is powerful enough to threaten Odium. 


At the end of the ten days, Odium and Dalinar have their contest of champions. Odium is chaos, and so he does not act in accord with honor. Dalinar has learned enough to understand the trap he has landed in. He is given the choice between killing an innocent champion and forfeiting the contest. How does one decide when given such a choice? 


It took me months to listen to this massive book. I have a much better understanding of the big picture now. I will understand the previous volumes much better when I revisit them. I was disappointed by several aspects of the book: One- that Lyft did not have a bigger part. Two- the author’s use of actual swear words.  He should have kept the context-specific swearing that was cleaner and more entertaining. Three- the way the author drove a gay relationship into the narrative where it was not necessary or beneficial to the plot. It felt forced, unnatural, and unauthentic/contrived. Four- as my friend Michael pointed out, they turned Kaladin into a therapist instead of using him as the Radiant Warrior they spent four books forging. 


I liked Adolin’s story arc the best. The leadership lessons, interpersonal connections, and strategies were most true to the spirit of what these books have been so far. Adolin is the most honest and noble character. He’s possibly the most human and most accessible character too. 


The author ends the book with a note, thanking the reader for making it through all 6510 pages of the first five books of the first arc and explaining that the story will continue in the next five books. By my math, Book 10 should come out sometime around 2040. 


This is for faithful starlight archivists. 

(Rated R, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Kate Reading, Michael Kramer, 62:48)


Holes by Louis Sachar

This book is in the Book Madness bracket the kids are doing at school. There are 16 books in a single elimination bracket. The kids can only vote for the books they have read. I like this idea. I might steal it and load it with my own favorite books. Holes is a story about Stanley Yelnats, a teenage boy sent to a rehabilitation camp in the middle of a desert lake bed. There, Stanley gets the nickname Caveman because he’s quite a bit bigger than the other boys. Each day the boys get up at 4:30 AM and begin to dig holes. Every day they are required to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet around so that their five-foot shovel can lay flat at the bottom all the way around. Then they spit in their hole and go back to the camp. The digging is supposed to fix them. The boys are guarded by a couple of men, but the surrounding desert keeps them from running away. The author breaks up the monotony of digging by telling stories about Stanley’s great, great, rotten, pig-stealing grandfather. The stories explain how his ancestors had bad luck because of unfulfilled promises. As Stanley lives in the camp and digs his holes each day, he loses weight, gains strength, and starts to understand his place in the hierarchy of the group. Bad luck and abuse seem to find Stanley, but he handles them calmly. As the story progresses, Stanley learns some of the history of the area as well as the the history of the other boys. One boy, Zero, runs away from the camp. After a few days, Stanley tries to steal the water truck to find Zero, but he crashes it into a hole. To avoid immediately getting into trouble, Stanley takes off after Zero. Stanley and Zero work together to break the ancient curse, survive on onions, and solve the mystery of the camp. I liked the way the story is woven together. I hope it wins in the bracket challenge. It’s up against Out of My Mind, which I haven’t read yet. 


This is for treasure hunters and anyone looking to kick their bad luck.

(Rated PG, Score 6*/10, audiobook read by Kerry Beyer, 4:37)

*The book’s score took a big hit when Jet found out that you can’t actually dig a 5-foot hole with a 5-foot shovel, which they learned during the filming of the movie.


The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

This is a fantasy story, written to describe the great separation between heaven and hell. The story is a dream and the dreamer becomes aware in a gray town (hell) and joins a bus queue. The omnibus takes the dreamer and other passengers up and out of the town to a bright sunny meadow. The folks of the gray town are ghostly and not as solid as the bright country. (This aspect of matter is a very interesting literary mechanism). The grass hurts their feet because it is more solid (real) than them, and they aren’t substantive enough to even carry a leaf. Each ghost is met by a native of the solid land who tries to help them enter into joy or fully abandon the gray town and seek love (God). The dreamer meets George MacDonald who teaches him about what he is seeing, and how each of the ghosts are either saved or lost back to the gray town. In the end, the dreamer awakes and knows that the bridge of death is still ahead of him in his journey. This is a powerful story if you wish to better understand the dynamics between heaven and hell. The characters and dialogue make the theological debate accessible in a unique way. The dialogue in the story makes clear some of the ways we abuse truth or try to blackmail each other for our ends. I love the way the guides in the story strike down these types of lies and misunderstandings. They speak the hard truths, and they speak love. This story makes my heart yearn for heaven. 


This book is for dreamers, seekers, and ghosts. 

(Rated PG, Score 10/10, audiobook read by Robert Whitfield, 2:53)


The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (Wild Robot #1)

ROZZUM unit 7134 is a robot that crashes on an island during a big storm. Her cargo ship loses her and some other ROZZUM units on the island. Some curious otters activate Roz. She roams the island and learns about her surroundings. One day, she is climbing some cliffs on the island when a rock slide changes her story. The falling rocks squish most of a goose family, leaving one egg all alone. Roz rescues the egg and the gosling that soon hatches. Bright Bill, the new gosling, becomes Roz’s new little sidekick. Roz begins making new friends among the island animals. She learns their language and begins to trade favors with them as she learns how to raise a tiny goose. Bright Bill becomes the catalyst for Roz’s evolution from machine into a part of the island’s ecosystem. As the seasons pass, Bright Bill grows and learns how to swim and soar. He joins the flock as they migrate south for the winter. The winter is early and brutally cold. Roz works to help her animal friends survive. In the process, the animals build a fire that draws the attention of the humans on a passing cargo ship. The humans send hunter robots to reclaim Roz and the scraps of the other, dead robots. How will the islanders protect their robot friend? This was a fun story. I enjoyed the animals and the way the robot goes wild. Now we need to find some time to watch the movie. I liked the way the author shared how we are better together, and how we learn to blend in with others before they can trust us. I also like the way Roz solved problems by listening and being kind.


This is for little robots and animal lovers. 

(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Kate Atwater, 4:14)


The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #3)

Carl, Princess Donut, Katia, and Mongo wake up on floor #4 in a fast-moving subway car. They fight their way to a safe house where they are joined by Donut’s manager and their dungeon guide, Mordecai. They spend some time working on upgrades, buying a new personal space, and other related perks. After resting up, they go exploring the floor, hoping to locate the stairways to the fifth floor. They have a week before the fourth floor will collapse. The floor turns out to be a giant spaghetti noodle mess of train lines. None of it makes any sense for most of the book. Mordecai gets put in timeout for attacking another character in the safe house, so the team loses their experienced guide for most of the book. Carl picks a fan prize that looks like a dumb book, but it is The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook. The book is a secret collection of recipes, tips, tricks, and advice written by over 20 previous dungeon crawlers. Carl has to use the book in secret or it will disappear, so he spends extra time in the bathroom learning from it. The nature of the 4th floor forces the crawlers to group together for protection and to solve the layout of the floor in time. The team works together with some old and new friends to ride the rails and explore the stations and secrets of the floor. There are some massive battles and some epic twists and turns in the plot on this floor. The way the characters band together and rise above the evil as well as the nasty plot twists make this my favorite volume in the series so far. 


This is for adult gamers and geeks.

(Rated R, Score 9/10, Hardcover, 544 p.)


Frindle by Andrew Clements

I didn’t expect this little story to get me like it did. It started slow and easy. Then it made me cross and annoyed. Then, in the end, the author went and tied everything together with wit, wisdom, and kindness. Nick Allen is a fifth-grader who likes to stir things up. He tries to pull one over on his teacher, Mrs. Granger. He asks her about her dictionaries, hoping to get her off on a tangent to waste class time. Mrs. Granger flips the question into an assignment for Nick. Nick pushes through and tries to distract the class the next day. During his presentation to the class about dictionaries, Mrs. Granger explains that words are whatever we agree they are. We make language. This gives Nick another idea. He makes a plan to invent his own word. He starts in his class and at the local store by calling a pen “friendle.” Mrs. Granger figures out what Nick is doing. She tries to stop Nick, but he doubles his energy and efforts. Mrs. Granger calls Nick in to talk to her. She asks him if he is ready to take his word to its natural conclusion. Nick says he is. Mrs. Granger has Nick sign an envelope with a letter she has written him. She promises to give him the letter when the thing is over. This begins a battle of wills between Mrs. Granger and the students. Mrs. Granger begins punishments for students who use the word friendle. At one point over 70 kids must stay after school to write lines for using the forbidden word. The parents complain. The newspapers get involved. A local businessman copywrites the new word and starts selling frindles. The story of the boy with a new word catches momentum. It grows beyond the little town. Nick rides the attention through the school year, but he learns that sometimes his ideas grow beyond his control. At the end of the year, he goes to Mrs. Granger, expecting to get the letter he signed. Mrs. Granger explains that it is not yet time. As the summer goes on, the friendly story grows and becomes a national fad. Nick’s dad makes a deal with the local businessman. They set up a trust and invest 30% of all frindle profits for Nick to receive when he turns 21 years old. Nick carries on, unaware of the fortune growing in his name. He learns, grows, and excels with the lessons he learned. One day, Nick receives a package from Mrs. Granger that contains his letter and a brand new dictionary containing the word frindle. Mrs. Granger played the role of the villain to help him change the world with his word. Listening to this short book with Millie was a bright spot in my month. It gave me more to ponder than many books do. 


This is for littles with the energy and ideas to change the world.

(Rated G, Score 10/10, audiobook read by Keith Nobbs, 1:40)


Non-Fiction Books

Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo

The title and key lesson of this book is a great reminder. We all need this reminder in weird, uncertain, fearful, confused, dark moments. Everything is figureoutable. The author cites her mom as being the source of this wisdom. For me, it's my mom, my dad, and my uncles. There's something about them that allows them to just know how to figure things out. All kinds of things- fixing things, art, science projects, social problems, medical stuff…anything. This book covers the magic of belief, elimination of excuses, techniques for dealing with fear and defining your dreams. The author encourages starting before you are ready, seeking progress, not perfection, and tenacity that refuses to be refused. A lot of the content in this book was familiar from other self-improvement books, but it has a different edge and energy coming from a feisty, salty, swearing type. My two takeaways are: One - Keep a learning mindset as you engage the problem, and Two - Act immediately when you have an idea if you don’t want to lose momentum. You can't figure things out just by thinking about a problem. You have to do something and engage the problem with action. Thanks, Joel, for the recommendation. 


This is for anyone stuck or needing a spicy pep talk. 

(Rated R(language), Score 7/10, audiobook read by the author, 7:54)


Leadership is Language by David L. Marquet

Several folks in my work group read Turning the Ship Around and it made a big difference in the way we talk and lead. This is a follow-on book that addresses some of the same areas but focuses on the language our teams use to execute work. The book starts with a tragic story about the sinking of El Faro, a massive cargo ship lost in a hurricane. Marquet details the issues, language, and mindsets that caused the ship to sail into danger and destruction. The premise of the book is then to show how using new language and a new playbook would prevent such mistakes. The goal of the new playbook is to give leaders the proper language and awareness to balance deliberation (Bluework) and action (Redwork).


Marquet introduces six new plays to avoid old/outdated plays:

Control the clock - not obey the clock

Collaborate, not coerce

Commit, not comply

Complete, not continue

Improve, not prove

Connect, not conform


There are chapters for each of these new plays that explain the dangers of the old plays and the benefits of using better language to call the new plays. Chapter 9 runs through several situations and how the leaders in them can call better plays for better results. Chapter 10 is a hypothetical outline of how the leaders of El Faro could have used the new plays to communicate more effectively and make better critical decisions.


Each chapter has a wealth of wisdom and ideas for implementing the new plays. Marquet is slow and deliberate in his description of each old/new play combo, calling on stories from the Oscars to submarine tactics, to more common business issues. The content is actionable, relatable, and well-organized.


One growth area for me is to work on my Collaborate play. Often, I believe I already know what the best answer is and I try to coerce others into following my lead and coming to my conclusions. I am working to be more curious. I am working to ask better questions and be more patient while others share their perspectives. I am working to invite dissent rather than trying to drive to consensus.


Marquet emphasizes the goal of having a learning mindset. If we approach problems with a desire to learn, grow, connect, and understand, we cannot lose. Even in failure, we will be strengthened by new relationships, ideas, knowledge, and wisdom. Psychological safety is so important in allowing a group or culture to face its challenges, focus on problems and processes rather than blaming people, and connect to create solutions where none appeared before.


Phil, thanks for giving me this book and walking through its lessons with me.


This is for anyone interested in learning how to be a better leader. 

(Rated PG, Score 10/10, audiobook read by the author, 10:40, Hardcover, 352p.)


Preview/Currently Reading-

Whisper by Mark Batterson (34%)

Midnight Black by Mark Greaney (59%)

Prepared by Mike Glover (20%)

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel (7%)

Please, Sorry, Thanks by Mark Batterson (44%)

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman (2%)


I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists. 


Final Thoughts- 

I realized this month that my knee rehab journey is coming to an end. The goal was always to get “back to normal”. I think my life now has a new normal, and that’s as good as I’m going to get for this chapter. I was stuck in my head swimming laps (cause water kills electronics like airpods) and I decided I now need a new physical goal to chase. I think I’m going to try to hike La Luz Trail this summer with my friend Derek. We’ve tried twice already and got lost once and snowed out the second time. This feels like a proper challenge that will require real preparation. 


As a human, I’ve been trying to do more to get out of my comfort zone and help people. There have been times I have seen a person in need and talked myself out of helping. The excuses are usually lame, and I end up carrying some regret and disappointment when I know I’ve missed a chance to help someone and make a connection. I have been pondering this idea for a while. I want to see good things to do and have the courage to do them. I want to care more about my kids seeing me be kind, brave, and serving others, than worrying about what others might think. If I’m wrong, I want to be wrong being brave and trying to help. If I look weird or odd to people, I want it to stick with them that I was weird or odd because I was willing to help a stranger or a child or an old lady when others walked by. If I can do more of these small, deliberate things often enough, I’m hoping it will make a permanent impression on my kids, and that they will continue to naturally do good things even when the world is not good to them. 


What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to be kind. 


Thanks for adventuring with me. 


Joshua

PS. Instagram: Fromthespine


PPS. 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

Friday, February 28, 2025

FROM THE SPINE - FEBRUARY 2025 BOOK REVIEWS

February 2025

Single parenting is tough. I got to be a single parent for a week. No one died, but it was sketchy a few times. The kids and I did some AI experiments. Jet has been watching Pokémon fusion videos, so we had different AIs draw some Pokémon fusions (Millie)(Jet) for us.  The kids have had several snow days/hazardously cold stay-home days, so we started teaching them to contribute to the household chores more deliberately. So far, this has been a huge success. I highly recommend teaching hard work early and often. Fun fact- Kansas can swing from -30 degrees wind-chill to 70 degrees in a week. 


Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:


Fiction Books

Mac Undercover by Mac Barnett (Mac B. #1)

Mac is a normal kid with only one pair of blue jeans. The Queen of England recruits Mac to find the Crown Jewels, which have been stolen. On his flight to England, Mac’s Gameboy is stolen. The Queen gives Mac an incriminating note from the President of France and his choice of Corgi side-kick to rescue the stolen treasure. Mac breaks into the Louvre and steals the Mona Lisa planning to trade it to the President of France for the Crown Jewels. Then his plan falls apart. I won't spoil the twist for you. Jet liked this short book. He’s got it down in his Battle of the  Books folder. The best part is when Mac emulates Freddy the Corgi and licks his way out of a bad spot. 


This is for spies in training and anyone who appreciates a good pair of blue jeans.

(Rated G, Score 7/10, audiobook read by the author, 1:19)


Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

Many people are familiar with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien, but did you know there is a space trilogy written by CS Lewis about the same time? This is book one of the space/time trilogy. Ransom, the main character and professor of languages, is kidnapped by two men (Weston and Divine) heading to Mars. They knock him out, load him on their spaceship, and launch before he wakes up. On the way to Mars Ransom learns that this is a second trip for the men to Mars and that he will be a human sacrifice to the natives on their arrival. But when they land, Ransom uses distractions to escape. He runs away and explores the landscape of Malacandra, which is the name for the planet that the natives use. Ransom meets and learns to communicate with a hross, one of the planet’s three rational races of creatures. The hross takes Ransom back to his village and teaches him the language, survival, and customs of the hrossa who are the planets’ poets. Ransom spends some weeks living amongst the hrossa and developing his understanding of the language. Next, Ransom is summoned by Oyarsa, the ruler of Malacandra, so he obeys the summons. On his trip, he meets a sorn named Augray. The seroni are the scientists of the planet and look most like humans in form. Augray carries Ransom the rest of the way to see Oyarsa on the island of Meldilorn. On the island, Ransom meets a pfifltriggi, the third race on Mars. The pfifltriggi are craftsmen and tinkerers. 

Finally, Ransom meets Oyarsa and discovers the whole story. Oyarsa questions Ransom about Earth and the two men who brought Ransom to Mars. Because of his greater mastery of the language Ransom can explain and learn many things from Oyarsa. Weston and Divine are brought before Oyarsa for killing three hrossa. Oyarsa banishes them by sending them back to earth in their ship with 90 days' worth of food and air. Their ship is rigged to be unmade in 90 days, and the men barely make it home before it disappears. This is a tough story. It shows, in story form, how far we have fallen from kindness to greed. Like in A Wrinkle in Time, Earth is shown to be a dark, silent planet. A planet cut off from the splendor of heaven. I find it incredible how well Lewis could see these aspects and write them into the story.


I recommend this book to anyone interested in space/time travel or philosophy.

(Rated PG, Score 10/10, paperback 158p., audiobook read by Geoffrey Howard, 5:26) 


Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2)

Carl and Princess Donut are right where Book One left off. They are trapped in a video game, except it’s real life. Earth is now Dungeon Crawler World, which is a combo game/reality TV show for the alien universe. All surviving humans are contestants. Carl and Donut survived the first couple of training floors in book one so they get to pick race and class attributes. Mongo, their pet velociraptor, is growing along with them. As he learns and levels up his size changes dramatically. At the start of the book, he’s chicken-sized and at the end, he’s more like a horse. Mordecai, their game guide, gets promoted to be Donuts manager, which means they drag him all over the next level. Floor three is called Over City and it has new enemies and dangers. Carl gets dumped into a creepy circus quest. He and Mordecai prepare a plan that gets morphed and adapted as the story plays out. He ends up cutting a deal for later floors, reuniting a family, and rescuing Donut and Mongo along the way. When they find a bigger town, they get stuck in a new quest. They have to solve a murdered-prostitutes-raining-from-the-sky mystery. The book ends with their transition down to the fourth floor right before a massive magical doomsday explosion. This book didn’t get me quite as wound up as Book 1. Maybe I was in a better place while I read it, or maybe knowing the characters and writing style helped take some of the edge off. The author does a good job dressing up deep struggles and tensions in gore and game dressing. Like a good video game, the story is complex, the plot is unpredictable, and there are deeper themes, but visibly you can get lost in the design and graphics. My favorite character in this one is Mongo. He’s funny. 


This is for mature gamers. 

(Rated R, Score 7/10, ebook, 364p.) 


The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm

This fun little book is on Jet’s Battle of the Books list. He had already read through it, so when we listened to it, he could answer all my “What happens next?” questions for the first time instead of the other way around. The story is about a young boy named Bell who lives on Mars. Bell lives in the American bunker/camp, which is built in some of the lava tubes on Mars. There are camps for other countries joined by an underground train, but the Americans have been isolated from the other countries because an old accident killed one of the Americans. The story introduces all the characters in the American camp as Bell goes about his days. One day, the elderly camp botanist dies. Then, the other adults in the camp begin to get sick. The kids keep the camp moving for a few weeks, but the load gets to be unbearable. Bell and another boy take the train to get help. They stumble into a wedding in one of the other camps. When the French commander hears about the sickness in the American camp, she immediately sends her medic and other helpers to the Americans. The kids spend a month in the French camp while the adults recover from the virus. When the adults are recovered, they force the Americans back into isolation. The separation is devastating for the kids. Bell, being the youngest, kindest, and therefore, most dangerous, finds a way to unlock old secrets, heal old wounds, and restore the lion pride of Mars. The Mars in this story is nothing like the Mars in Lewis’ story, but there are some similarities. We are all broken, and we all make mistakes. We need each other and we need grace, love, and forgiveness. We can’t survive on our own. 


This is for lion cubs who like space stories.

(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Maxwell Click, 5:46)


Non-Fiction Books

Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child by John M. Gottman

I’ve been working through this book for a while now. I was finally able to finish it. The author argues that raising emotionally intelligent kids is very important for their health, success, and overall well-being. Gottman includes a test to help determine your parenting style: Dismissive, Disapproving, Laissez-Faire, and Emotion Coaching. Dismissive parents make kids feel like their emotions don’t matter. Disapproving parents might punish kids for having big negative emotions. Laissez-faire parents let kids do whatever they want, leading to kids with boundary issues. Emotion coaching parents help kids learn to identify their emotions and have a much healthier set of skills for handling all different types of emotions in different contexts. There are 5 steps in emotion coaching: 1- Be aware of the child’s emotions. 2- Recognizing the emotion as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching. 3- Listening empathetically and validating the child’s feelings. 4- Helping the child verbally label emotions. 5- Setting limits while helping the child problem-solve. Walking through these steps helps the parents and the kids. It builds skills. It builds relationships. It makes feelings safe. It establishes healthy boundaries. It gives kids better words to describe what they are feeling. 

Gottman includes three additional sections to help parents. The first chapter describes the negative impact that marriage problems and divorce have on the kids in the family. Gottman warns against the four horsemen of the apocalypse in marriage: 

1-Criticism- attacking your partner and blaming.

2- Contempt- expressing disgust and undermining respect. 

3- Defensiveness- kills listening.

4- Stonewalling- one partner shuts down and becomes non-responsive.

When these appear in a relationship, they can be very destructive and difficult to address. It is hard to understand just how damaging and stressful these situations are for kids. 

The second chapter explains how fathers have a powerful, critical role in emotion coaching. Fathers will impact their kids in life-changing ways, whether present or absent. They have an amazing influence. Dads, your words and actions carry more weight than anyone else in your child’s life. What a challenge. Embrace it.

The third chapter walks through the emotional needs kids will have in each stage of development from infancy to adulthood. Each stage has its challenges and growth areas. Parenting is a journey and it is very helpful to have a sort of a map of what that journey can hold. 

This book is very helpful and very challenging. Thank you, Eric, for walking me through this. I’ve been working on emotion coaching my kids. It’s a process. Having a plan and words to help has been a game-changer. 


This is for anyone trying to raise a small human. 

(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Roy Worley, 8:04, paperback 240p.)


Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

I think one of the best parts about this book is that it follows its own advice. The author breaks down his approach to slow productivity into three simple parts: 1- Do fewer things. 2- Work at a natural pace. 3- Obsess over quality. If the problem you are trying to solve is a frantic obsession with business, writing a book with 37 tips for slowing down wouldn’t quite work. I like the slow, simple outline of the book. I like the author’s style. The message is perfect for me (and probably for you) at this time in my life and career. I’ve been so busy, so distractible, and ready for change. The author offers hope, wisdom, and permission to let go of the chaos. Logically, it makes sense how we got to this point where we are trapped in a digital spiral of doom, email, IMs, video meetings, and despair. The busier we look, the more productive we must be right? Right? No. It’s probably the opposite. By being busy we dilute our work. We don’t get deep into the work that matters. We stay on the surface answering status emails and reporting no progress because we haven’t had any time or space to focus. So, instead of burning out or silently quitting, we need to do less. Permit ourselves to not be a slave to email and chat requests. Breathe. Take walks. Schedule time for our most valuable projects. Say no, politely, and firmly to projects we can’t, shouldn’t, or don’t want to do. Understand our value and our sweet spots, then do more of that. Say no to meetings. And when we look back, recognize that real work takes time, persistence, and a different sort of approach. Of course, life requires balance. You can’t implement all these ideas immediately without consequences. You might get fired. And then again, you might not. I think we have more freedom to choose the right pace than we know. So, slow down. Breathe. Say no. Protect your time and space for creation. Give up the things that don’t matter to focus on the things that do. Say, like Nehemiah, when distractions come, “I am doing a great work, and cannot come down.” Work at your craft. Develop your taste. Rest after seasons of furious activity. This is how you keep from burnout. 


This is for the tired, frantic, busy souls.

(Rated PG, Score 10/10, audiobook read by the author, 6:17)


Preview/Currently Reading-

Leadership is Language by David L. Marquet (36%)

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #5) (42%)

Whisper by Mark Batterson (34%)


I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists. 


Final Thoughts- 

Slow down. Watch an afternoon movie once a month as therapy. It will restore your soul. 


I heard this quote, and it stuck with me. I’ve been pondering it a lot this month. “If we don’t make time for our friends, we won’t have any.” Make time for the important people in your life. Build friendships. Show up. Let go of the rush and be there with them. 


One of the most powerful and emotional bits of reading I experienced this month was hidden in Lion of Mars. Bell is talking to the French Commander about the old botanist who died. He asks, How do you stop missing someone? The commander has a simple but profound answer: Remember them. I’ve been missing some people from my journey lately. Winter is dark, lonely, and sad. But memories can shake some of that loose. I’ve been working to remember and record some of my best moments. Those memories are lights from the past, healing the present and helping me plan more memorable adventures for the future. I don’t want to give away the ending, but winter ends. Spring is coming. 


Thanks for adventuring with me. 


Joshua

Instagram: Fromthespine

PPS. 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.