September 2021
September is by us already. This year is flying by. I started the month by getting my gallbladder removed. I learned I am a terrible patient. I have no idea how to sit still and recover properly. Also, I have had a lot of family time lately, due to some covid quarantines. Millie and Jet both tested positive for the virus, which nuked all our social plans, but since Millie only had minimal symptoms, and Jet, Aubrey, and I had none at all, we’ve been just fine. We’ll get back in the school groove in October.
Here are the books I finished in September 2021 and my short reviews of them:
Fiction Books
All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries Book 1) by Martha Wells
Murderbot is a human/machine hybrid in charge of security for a survey team on a distant planet. It struggles with human interactions/emotions, preferring the humans in its’ charge to perceive him as a robot rather than a person. Murderbot has to step up its security game once its team is attacked by violent predators on the planet, then by an unknown, rogue team of surveyors with hacked security bots. The bad guys wipe out a different survey team and try to hijack Murderbot when it investigates the other team’s habitat. Murderbot’s team rescues him and together they work their way off of the planet to safety. Thanks, Lucas, for the recommendation. Now I need to find the prequel to learn how Murderbot got that nickname.
This book is for sci-fi fans and socially awkward humans.
(Rated PG-13, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Kevin R. Free, 3:17)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Man, this was a tough book for me. One of my core fears is a scarcity mentality, and this story about the Okies during the dustbowl/great depression woke up some of those fears for me. The main character Tom gets paroled from prison and heads home to reunite with his family. But, when he finds them, they are packing up to leave their Oklahoma farmland and head to California. They have been told that there is plenty of work and fruit in California, so everyone is leaving the dusty mid-west for the golden coast in search of work. The family makes the crazy trek across the nation in an old truck that they do some creative packing/refitting to carry everything they own. As the trip progresses the family splinters- some can’t handle the hard journey, some can’t take the mental stress, others make sacrifices to keep the family safe. Steinbeck doesn’t hand out answers in the end. He does, throughout the book though, paint a message of hope in this idea: only together can we survive. It’s when the “I” changes to “we” that we have community, and sacrifice, and hope for something bigger. Thanks, Aunt Sandra, for the recommendation.
This book is for history walkers, workers, and leaders.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Dylan Baker, 20:59)
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Cedric Errol is a clever, kind, thoughtful boy of seven years who steals your heart in this funny little story. Cedric lives in New York with his widow mother. He spends his time with a bootblack and a grocery store owner talking politics and life and generally being a typical grade-school boy. His world gets flipped when his uncles die and Cedric becomes the heir to the Earl of Dorincourt (inheriting the title Lord Fauntleroy). The old Earl is a miserable, cranky, mean, old man before the little boy melts his heart. This is a story of how kindness, generosity, and selflessness can restore broken relationships and people. I can see many of the qualities of Cedric in my seven-year-old Jet, and I hope to encourage him to be brave, generous, and kind like Cedric. Thanks, Mom, for the recommendation.
This book is for anyone in need of a cheerful boost or a good laugh.
(Rated G, Score 9/10, ebook and audiobook read by Virginia Leishman, 6:17)
If you ever wondered where the terms cyberspace or the matrix came from, this book is it. Gibson invented and envisioned some of the tech we have today way back in 1984. This is the story of Case, a cyber cowboy, or hacker back before they were called that. Case gets dragged along on a job to free/hack an AI entity called Wintermute and its counterpart Neuromancer. The two AI’s have been plotting this mission for decades. Case and Molly (the muscle) work on laying the foundations for the job that will go down in space in the lair of the ancient family that created the two AI’s. All along the way Case is haunted by the AI’s and helped by a construct of an old dead hacker friend. The writing is fast and creative. You have to use your imagination fast to keep up. And even though it was written almost forty years ago, Gibson seems to have had a pretty good idea where all the tech is headed. Thanks, Phil, for the recommendation.
This book is for sci-fi fans, tech cowboys, and hackers.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, ebook and audiobook read by Robertson Dean, 10:31)
This is a Faerie (fairy) story where a young man named Tristran Thorn goes on a quest to find a fallen star to earn the affection of the beauty, Victoria Forester. He leaves his village on the wall between the normal world and Faerie, and as he travels he discovers he has the power to find things in Faerie. Tristran leans on his luck, the friends he meets along the way, and eventually the star herself to accomplish his quest. The star is knocked out of her place in the sky and falls into Faerie. She finds herself hunted by several people- a pair of witches, a would-be king, and the boy from Wall. Gaiman masterfully weaves the stories and characters together and like all good fairytales, they live happily ever after, sort of.
This book is for the finders, the fallen, and anyone in need of a Faerie tale.
(Rated PG-13, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 6:13)
Non-Fiction Books
The Captain Class by Sam Walker
Walker’s goal for this book was to find the greatest sports teams in human history, then to compare them to see what, if anything, they had in common. He wanted to know if there’s a common theme or formula or cause. And if there was, how could we use that to be successful? First, he systematically studied and sorted thousands of teams down to Tier 1 teams- the best 16 teams of all-time ever. Now, what do they have in common? Great coaching? No. Great management? No. Great superstars? No again. Unmatched resources ($$$)? No. Turns out they have nothing in common except for one remarkable thing- they all had a very specific advantage- Tier 1 captains. These captains were not flashy or media darlings; they were the opposite. They avoided attention. They put in the hard work behind the scenes. They united their teams. They put the team first in ways that forged unity. Here are the seven traits of Walker’s elite captains: 1- Extreme doggedness and focus in competition. 2- Aggressive play that tests the limits of the rules. 3- A willingness to do the thankless jobs in the shadows. 4-A low-key, practical, and democratic communication style. 5-Motivates others with passionate nonverbal displays. 6- Strong convictions and courage to stand apart. 7- Ironclad emotional control. These traits are not super sexy or glamorous, so they are not being sought in today’s tv-contract driven world of sports. So, if you want to have a winning team, you need to find a person who exemplifies these traits, put them in the lead and get out of the way. And if you are struggling on your team because you don’t have a big enough budget, management is blocking you, or maybe you don’t feel talented enough, take heart. Success comes through hard work, communication, sticking with your crew, and being willing to stand out. A note on the style of this book: Walker is a sports writer, so he throws in lots of statistics and stories. I found his style to be extremely intelligent without being overly intellectual. I dig it. Thanks, Adrian, for this excellent recommendation.
This book is for servant leaders and brave souls seeking to get better.
(Rated R, Score 10/10, hardcopy, audiobook read by Keith Szarabajka, 9:24)
Unlike most books which start in a print version and then get recorded into audiobooks, this book started as an audio production and then was translated into print. It contains many short audio recordings from interviews and historical works like war films, training videos, and news broadcasts. This is the story of the evolution of the US Air Force, and the minds that dreamed of how air power could change the way we fight modern wars. This is the dark side of the story about how we defeated the Japanese in World War II. I found this story to be fascinating in its telling. Gladwell weaves together the philosophy, the tech, the politics, and the big picture war schemes in a way that helped me to understand the history in many new ways. This is the story of two very different Air Force leaders (Curtis LeMay and General Hayward Hansell) and how they approached the moral dilemma that is war. Gladwell asks hard questions about war and our approach to it, without preaching any answers. I found the story to be compelling and well-told.
This book is for historians, students of war, and pilots.
(Rated PG-13, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 5:14)
Preview/Currently Reading-
Here are the books I am currently working through:
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
I lost one of my biggest supporters last week. My very good friend, adopted big brother, and creative conspirator Beau Cline passed away after a struggle with a brain tumor. Beau was an artist and a creator. He was always building, painting, drawing, imagining, playing music. He taught me how to be more comfortable being me. He provided a lot of feedback when I started writing these reviews last year. He designed my logo and pitched several ideas for naming this thing. From The Spine is a Beau name. I’m so sad that he is gone and I am so proud to have been able to share so many adventures with him. We will go and honor him next week, and try to hold each other up as we grieve. Thanks, Beau, for always having my back. For pushing me to be better. For all the wisdom you poured into me in the most unorthodox ways.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
PS. Comment with book ideas, brand ideas, or questions. I love the feedback.
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