June 2022
What a month. All the zen from the pandemic slowdown seems to be gone. Everyone is now trying to make up for lost time and fit all the things in right now. My family included. In June I got to do a lot of fun things. I went to Kansas City to watch the US Men’s National soccer team play against Uruguay. My family went on a real vacation to Colorado where we celebrated with my niece in Erie for her birthday. We also stayed in Breckenridge for a few days with my in-laws. We went troll hunting, we went alpine sliding, and we hiked up some mountains. There was a scary bit during our rafting trip, but with help from the guides and a helicopter, we got everything sorted out. My parents came and visited us in Wichita and we got to take them to some local fun- Wind Surge game, Tanganyika, and fishing. It was a blast. What’s been your favorite fun thing to do this summer?
Here are the books I finished in June 2022 and my short reviews of them:
Short Stories/Articles
The prophet is a collection of wisdom or poetry. In it, the prophet speaks of love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.
Fiction Books
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
There once was a dragon who tried on a Mayor suit. That Mayor became a hero in a small town when he defeated a dragon who had burned down the town library. The town used to be good, but over the years people stopped helping each other. The people began to live in fear. They didn’t rebuild the library, and they trusted the Mayor with everything. Things were not going in a good direction for the poor town. But the town got lucky. A kind Ogress lived next to the town. The Ogress used her tiny bit of almost magic to plant and grow and collect and bake and heal. The dragon in the Mayor suit tried to turn the town against the Ogress with fear, signs, and rhetoric, but a group of terribly brave orphans solved the mystery about who was bringing the town so many gifts. They embraced the Ogress, and using books and kindness, helped the town restore itself. The Ogress and the orphans save the town and defeat the dragon and his spells of fear and greed. The story is rich with nuance and character building. I enjoyed the crows and their part in the story. They are silly, and not always as helpful as they imagine. The moral of the story is that we need each other to survive and we are collectively better when we love each other.
This book is for anyone needing a reminder that kindness is a much better long-term strategy than fear.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Suzanne Toren, 13:04)
There’s Treasure Everywhere by Bill Watterson
I took the kids to the used book store to cash in some of the old books. Millie found some cute intro-level books and I found this gem. The 6-year-old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes fill the book with hilarious antics, witty jokes, deep philosophical questions, and so many funny snowman scenes. As the title implies, Calvin finds treasure everywhere because he has low expectations and lots of energy to look. Calvin’s exhausted and usually flustered parents spend a lot of time wondering what he is destroying, chasing away monsters, and not being able to get him to eat his dinner. Calvin’s teacher has to deal with his crazy answers to test questions, distracted daydreams of aliens and dinosaurs, and crazy imagination. Even though the book was published in 1996, the themes and commentary feel relevant today because of Watterson’s way of using timeless principles.
This comic book is for anyone needing a good chuckle.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, paperback 176p.)
The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain #5)
Arawn Death-Lord has made his final preparations and advances on Prydain. Taran, the assistant pig-keeper, and his fellowship of comrades must unite to face him directly, or lose their homes by force of violence. The fellowship meets at Caer Dallben following the loss of the great magic sword Dyrnwyn. Taran, Princess Eilonwy, King Rhun, Gurgi, the former giant Glew, Coll, Lord Gwydion, Kaw, Dallben, Fflewdur Fflam, and Queen Akron all come together to plan their next move. The majority of the crew heads toward King Smoit’s castle, where they run into Magg, who imprisons some of the warriors. King Rhun dies in the brave rescue, and the party decides to head to Caer Dathyl and rally around High King Math. Taran rallies troops who are loyal friends from his travels in earlier books. But Arawn’s forces are as bold and desperate as ever and leaving Annuvin unguarded, the cauldron-born assault Caer Dathyl and destroy it and kill the High King. The remaining good forces decide to assault Arawn in his evil realm in a final attempt to destroy him. To do this, Taran leads a force that constantly harasses the evil troops as they march back to Annuvin to buy time for Lord Gwydion’s army to make their assault. Doli and the Fair Folk devise a brilliant plan to drown the evil army in fire and ice. Taran and his army then join the assault on Annuvin where Taran chances upon Durnwyn which he uses to destroy the deathless warriors. Taran then kills Arawn in the form of a serpent, destroying the Death-Lord and his castle. The heroes return to Caer Dallben where they learn that many of them will leave Prydain for the Summer Country never to return. Taran refuses the trip because of work he has promised to complete after the war. Eilonwy also refuses to leave and the pair become the High King and Queen of Prydain.
This is for warriors, adventurers, and anyone needing a fantastic book where good overcomes evil.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, audiobook read by James Langton, 7:24, Ebook)
The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino
Og Mandino meets an old ragpicker named Simon, who teaches Og all about life, pain, and so many things as they spend time together. Simon gives Og his legacy before vanishing. Simon’s legacy is The God Memorandum- a memo written to mankind from God explaining how we are the greatest miracle in the world-His creation. The memo also describes the 4 laws of happiness and success: 1- Count your blessings. 2-Proclaim your rarity. 3- Go another mile. 4- Use your power of choice wisely. Do all these things with love. This is a short book, with philosophical ideas and leaps of faith in the plot structure. For some reason, I struggle more with these blatant, unanswered, or unexplained types of leaps than with supernatural stories in Sci-fi or fantasy. It felt like an older Mitch Albom book. The philosophical points in this story are new to me and stretched my worldview. I like that sort of book. Thanks for sharing this one with me, Peggy.
This book is for anyone needing a reminder that we are God’s handiwork.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, paperback 108p)
Non-Fiction Books
The Fearless Organization by Amy C. Edmonson
This author gave one of my favorite presentations during last year's Global Leadership Summit, so I was excited to pick up this book and learn about psychological safety. Our world has been filled with fear lately, and some of that fear is ingrained in our organizations. We fear speaking up when we have ideas or questions. Fear keeps us from being our best. The book is broken into three parts. In part one, Edmonson talks about the power of psychological safety – what is it, and how do you measure and observe it? She talks about how things are in our VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) world and how having the safety to speak up and lead from a place of honesty, integrity, and vulnerability allows us to grow. In Part two, Edmonson discusses psychological safety at work. First, she gives case studies of companies that ended up causing big problems because they had cultures of low psychological safety – Volkswagen, Wells Fargo, FED, and Nokia. Each of these organizations failed to be safe and they ended up in big trouble. One contributing factor is dangerous silence – no one was ever fired for being silent. But silence and inaction lead to disasters like Chornobyl. So what is it like to have a fearless workplace? Edmonson gives the example of the cockpit communication and environment when Capt. Sully safely landed his A320 in the Hudson. The flight crew worked together to quickly analyze their limited options, to put the right person in control, and they saved 155 souls. Another good example is Pixar. By giving candid and tough feedback early in the filmmaking process, the team makes their movies great. In part three, Edmonson works through creating a fearless organization. She describes setting the stage for safety. Talking about it in our organizations, then inviting others to participate in the process. Getting real feedback sometimes takes asking better questions. And then leaders must, actually respond positively. They must thank people for bringing hard truths to light and they must do something about those hard truths like sanction violations and correct problems. Finally, Edmonson talks about how building safety takes a gradual approach. It doesn’t happen immediately. To build psychological safety leaders must always be improving and must lead by example.
This book is for leaders wanting to create better places to work for their people.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jill Araya, 6:43)
Preview/Currently Reading-
Your Leadership Edge by Ed O’Malley
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
I wasn’t able to read as many books as I had hoped this month. Time slipped away and distractions ate a lot of my attention. I had visions of lots of free time on vacation reading good books, but with kids and distractions, that didn’t quite happen. And that’s ok. We made a lot of memories.
I did learn about being kind, patient, and listening well. I learned about asking better questions. I learned that I have the power to choose even in my fear. God gave us the power of choice and how we use that power determines how we see ourselves. I am choosing to connect more, even though it is outside my introverted comfort zone. I am choosing to act even if I’m scared or uncertain.
What are you learning?
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
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