February 2022
Winter decided to show up in February. We had 4 snow days, lots of snow and ice, and cold temps. We got the floors replaced in the main living areas of the house. We did a bit of rock climbing at the YMCA. We tried not to kill each other while trapped inside. We watched the Winter Olympics. All in all, I’m ready for spring.
Here are the books I finished in February 2022 and my short reviews of them:
Short Stories
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway
What is it to have a safe, clean, well-light place to sit and pass the hours of darkness? The young don’t know what it is to need such a thing. When sleep welcomes you and treats you well, what reason do you have to fear the dark? When energy and refreshment come from sleep which blurs the dark, there is nothing to fear. Only with age and stress does the darkness seep in and give you a reason to seek out the light in the dark.
Fiction Books
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
One of my book challenge winners requested this book. It won several awards and got great reviews so I added it to my list. The story is fast-paced. The characters are deep and emotional and the conflict is representative of the racism and genocide from Adeyemi’s Nigerian roots. Zélie is the main character, who is oppressed for her magi blood. Zélie rescues Amari, daughter of King Saran, who hates and fears the magi and has led the nation into the oppression of Zélie’s people. Zélie and Amari set out on a quest to restore magic to the land. They are accompanied by Zélie’s brother Tzain. The trio must collect three artifacts (a scroll, sunstone, and a bone dagger) and complete a ritual before the centennial solstice. King Saran sends his son Inan after the trio, but there is deep conflict in Inan. He becomes a magi when he comes into contact with the scroll and Zélie. His whole life he has been trained to hate magic, now he is magic. The story ranges from city to mountains to jungle to desert to an island with battles, chases, victories, defeats, dreams, emotional storms, and magic. The story is complex, vivid, and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks, Jennifer for the recommendation.
This book is for the outcast, the oppressed, and the adventurer.
(Rated PG-13, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Bahni Turpin, 17:56)
The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
I seem to be reading a lot of books about people being stranded at sea (including this one)(also, this one felt a lot like The Life of Pi). Benji is a worker on a huge yacht that sets sail carrying some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people. Benji writes a journal of his days at sea in a lifeboat after the yacht sinks with a violent explosion. One of the survivors on the boat claims to be the Lord. He says he won’t save anyone on the raft until they all believe in him. Benji documents his progress as the raft floats for weeks and months across the ocean. Eventually, the raft washes up on a tiny island thousands of miles away from where the shipwreck happened. The police officer who finds the raft finds the journal, but he keeps it secret from the other investigators. There is a lot of moral and emotional tension as the officer reads the journal and learns about what happened at sea. I think the point of the story is that God is always with us, even in our darkest moments, and he can redeem anyone and bring healing through tragedy.
This is book is for the seekers, the hurt, the curious, and the wounded.
(Rated PG-13, Score 7/10, audiobook read by the author, 4:52)
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lingren
My mom sent me an apple box of books. Most of them are young reader books like this one. I read this one to the kids and they laughed at the silly antics of Pippi. Pippi is the long-lost child of a ship captain turned cannibal king. She inherits a house named Villa Villekulla where she lives with her monkey and horse. Pippi doesn’t have very good manners, but she is very strong and she lives out of a carpet bag of gold pieces. Pippi makes friends with the children next door, Tommy and Annika. They have adventures, coffee parties, picnics, go to the circus, and save children from a burning building. One evening, some burglars try to relieve Pippi of her gold, but she ties them up and only releases them when they promise to dance with her and play the comb. Pippi is a great teacher of whimsey, joy, adventure, and kindness. Thanks, Mom, for always encouraging us to lean into these qualities.
This book is for pirates, children, adventurers, and anyone needing some joy.
(Rated G, Score 9/10, paperback, 160p. )
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
I don’t think I really understood what a Golem was before reading this book. I mean, I’d heard of them in the context of video games and stories, but hadn’t really understood them as they are described in this story. This is a historical fiction novel set in New York around the turn of the century. The Golem is a clay creature made with great skill to be the wife of a man migrating to New York. She is animated on the crossing to America. Her master dies, leaving her adrift and alone in New York. She is rescued and sheltered by an old rabbi. The Jinni is released from his lamp into a tinsmith’s shop, also in New York. The Jinni’s powers are greatly limited and his form is bound in the shape of a man by an iron shackle on his wrist. He cannot remember how he was bound. The Jinni is sheltered and protected by the tinsmith as he orients himself to the world thousands of years later than his memories. Of course, the two creatures meet. They each understand that the other is not human. It takes a while for them to build trust as they meet and walk the streets of New York at night. The two “monsters” explore the city side-by-side at night and during the day they work to blend in and not destroy the peace. All this comes apart when the Golem nearly kills a young man who has abused one of the Golem’s friends. The Jinni tries to save the situation, but the damage is done and the two separate and go their own ways. Fate pulls them back together in the form of Yehudah Schaalman, the Golem’s creator. Schaalman is desperately seeking the path to everlasting life, and on his journey, he has discovered many dark and mystic secrets. His ancient ancestor was the one who bound the Jinni, so he seeks Jinni out and tries to command the Jinni’s power. Together, the Jinni, the Golem, and an old blind man must face the sorcerer. I’ve neglected a lot of the color and emotion of the book in this summary. Wecker writes much about each character’s feelings and struggles. The interpersonal tensions and rhythms are the heart of this book. The fantastic natures of the characters are almost secondary to their emotions. Thanks, Lukie for the recommendation.
This book is for the treasure hunters, workers, and the lonely.
(Rated PG-13, Score 8/10, Audiobook read by George Guidall, 19:42)
Back Blast by Mark Greaney (Gray Man #5)
Court Gentry (Gray Man) is back in America after five years on the run from the CIA. Court is done running. He starts bashing skulls in Washington DC. His enemies at the CIA get tipped off that Court is back in town and start a panicked working group to hunt him down. Court assaults a drug house to get some cash and guns, then he starts dropping in on old connections. Court gets blamed for killing CIA contractor Leland Babbit, and a former CIA lawyer, but he isn’t interested in killing people, he just wants answers. He wants to know why the CIA is hunting him. The answer he keeps getting is operation Back Blast. Everyone says he messed up the op and that’s why Denny Carmichael is trying to kill Court. Carmichael, head of CIA ops, is running a Saudi hit squad in parallel with the CIA’s hunters. He’s desperate to silence Court. CIA’s Matt Hanley isn’t convinced that killing the Gray Man is a good plan (or even tactically possible). When Court shows up at Matt’s bedside in the middle of the night, Matt tells Court that everything hinges on Back Blast. Court sends reporter Katherine King to Israel to learn the details of Back Blast. King, knowing this is a huge story, flies to Israel and shakes the truth out of the Israelis on Back Blast - Court killed the wrong operator which crippled the relationship between the CIA and Mossad. Court is devastated to learn the truth. Matt Hanley convinces Court to help uncover the Saudi hit team working in DC. As Denny’s kingdom starts to crumble he hides out in a huge estate safe house. Court puts together an assault to take down the CIA man and get the answers he needs.
This book is for Bourne or Rapp fans, spy game junkies, and action lovers.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, Audiobook read by Jay Snyder, 18:20)
Non-Fiction Books
Kelly: More Than My Share of It All by Clarence L. Johnson, Maggie Smith
Kelly Johnson grew up in a large family in poverty in the small town of Ishpeming, Michigan. From a young age, he excelled in taking care of himself and learning how to do new things. He was earning money in construction while he was still in elementary school. He understood the value of hard work early on. His dream was to design and build airplanes even before airplanes were being mass-produced. Everything he did in school leaned toward aviation, sciences, and math. I liked reading about the way he grew up and made his own way in the world; it was a similar story to mine. In college, Kelly learned a wide variety of sciences and developed the wind tunnel program for the university. Kelly was hired at Lockheed out of college where he worked his whole career from the Electra to the Skunk Works and from entry-level to chief engineer. Kelly turned down promotions so he could keep living his dream of designing and building airplanes. The book also describes his personal life, his three marriages, his ranches, and his horse riding adventures. As an engineer, Kelli has a quirky personality. Being an engineer and working with engineers I understand this quirkiness which might seem very odd to others. I admire Kelly’s style- no-nonsense, candid, and results-oriented. The end of the book relays his hopes and ideas for national security and technological advancements. He had a more ambitious view of the future than perhaps we deserve, and I dare say he would be disappointed with our progress. I’m sure he expected us to have space laser defenses by now. This was a fun and interesting read. Thanks, Joey for letting me borrow it.
This book is for airplane guys, engineers, and history buffs.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, paperback, 224p)
Preview/Currently Reading-
Here are the books I am currently working through:
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
The cold makes me cross; it makes me stiff and tight and confined to the house. I have been more active this winter to fight all that. I dug into some longer books this month. I could use more sun. I could use more adventure. I could use more laughter. With spring, comes more sun, more light, more time for adventures, and more laughter. I love spring.
What are you looking forward to this spring?
Here’s an idea I’m pondering- we grow when we do dangerous things, carefully. What do you think?
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
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