October 2022
It’s Halloween already. I painted my face like a skull for the trunk or treat event we attended, mostly as an experiment to see if I could. It was harder than it looks but scary enough to freak out some small people. The weather in October was pretty mild, and I’ve been spending more time running out there. It sure beats the 106-degree temps we get in July. I’d like to run a half-marathon sometime next year. Which one do you recommend?
Here are the books I finished in October 2022 and my short reviews of them:
Fiction Books
American Assassin by Vince Flynn (Mitch Rapp #1)
The CIA has been getting weaker and softer in the years following the Cold War. America’s enemies are getting bolder. So bold that they have kidnapped an American businessman and CIA operative without fear of reprisals. Politicians don’t have the stomach to bring the war to the enemies on their level. Thomas Stansfield is ready to change that. He’s building a black program of assets who will be trained to turn the tables. Stansfield and his team want the bad guys to wonder when they will be next on his hit list. Mitch Rapp is the sharp point of that spear, only he doesn’t know it yet. Cranky old spy Stan Hurly’s job is to turn the college puke into a cold killer. Stan and Mitch immediately have a volatile relationship. Rapp is a freak athlete, very intelligent, and motivated by retribution (his college fiancé was killed by terrorists), but has not served in the military. So Stan doesn’t trust him or think he can hack it as an operative. This is the story of how Mitch Rapp becomes the American Assassin. This book is much better than the movie. It introduces all the main characters for many books to come.
This is for action/adventure/spy story fans and anyone contemplating the difference between revenge and retribution.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, audiobook read by George Guidall, 11:44)
The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower #1)
The Gunslinger is hunting. He’s hunting the man in black. The man in black has been staying ahead of the gunslinger and laying traps for him. The Gunslinger setting is dark, post-apocalyptic earth. The story has an old western feel, but I’m not an expert on those. I didn’t understand a lot of the cryptic dialogue, but I suppose the overall story arc is better understood after reading all eight books in the series. King builds out the book’s characters in stories he tells of the Gunslinger’s past in different parts of his journey. The Gunslinger flashes back to his youth, training under a cruel master and eventually challenging him and killing him to earn his guns. I’ll give the series a few more books worth of attention and see if I can sort out what is going on, but I don’t get it right now.
This book is for those looking for a dark story to stretch their imagination.
(Rated R, Score 5/10, audiobook read by George Guidall, 7:20)
The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher #2)
The world is on the brink. The sorcerers are meeting to discuss politics, policy, and alliances. The elves are scattered into different factions with different missions. The most violent group called the squirrels are terrorizing the roads and wilds. The Witcher is torn between the child of his destiny (Ciri) and the woman of his destiny, the sorceress Yennefer. The ruling factions tip the world over the brink into chaos during the sorcerer’s gathering. The resulting war and terror is the time of contempt from the title. The Witcher ends up getting nearly destroyed in the war, losing everything. Ciri escapes from the skirmish through a magic portal, but she ends up in a vast desert alone. A unicorn finds Ciri and they travel together until the unicorn is wounded. Ciri uses magic to heal the beast, but in the process comes face to face with herself as a violent sorceress, destroying the world. She abandons her magic powers and falls into the hands of mercenaries. She escapes with the help of a small band of bandits, whom she joins. The politics and subterfuge of the story are complex and wide-ranging. Not quite as dramatic as Game Of Thrones, but similar in style. I was disappointed with the story because it was more politics and less Witcher action.
This is for sorceresses, politicos, and mages.
(Rated R, Score 5/10, audiobook read by Peter Kenny, 11:55)
Starsight by Brandon Sanderson (Skyward #2)
It’s been a busy six months since Spensa and M-bot saved Alta from annihilation. Using M-bot’s tech, the defiant humans have been taking over the floating platforms around Detritus. But they found a recording of what killed the previous inhabitants of the planet- a Delver. A massive storm-like being the size of a planet called out of The Nowhere. At the same time, The Superiority has increased the firepower and aggression toward the humans as they escaped the surface of their jail. Spensa and Admiral Cobb know that the only hope for the humans to escape and be free from Superiority aggression is to steal or develop hyperdrive technology. An alien pilot named Alanik crashes on Detritus and gives Spensa the chance she needs- a mission to train with the Superiority disguised as Alanik. M-bot uses holograms to disguise Spensa as Alanik, and M-bot as Alanik’s spaceship and they go hunting for hyperdrive secrets. Using Spensa’s cytonic powers, they hyperjump to Starsight - a massive Superiority space station. Spensa works through the pilot training program and discovers she is in the middle of a political power struggle between two aliens. Cuna wants to help the humans, but Winzik wants to destroy the humans and control The Superiority by harnessing Delvers. Spoiler alert- you can’t control Delvers. Spensa and the other pilots are the only hope for the humans and The Superiority against the Delvers and the political avarice of Winzik. This book was more of a spy novel than a top gun story. The alien species and character development were a lot more complex than in book 1. I enjoyed the story, but it is going to take a lot more explaining when Jet and I listen to it. We just finished listening to book one and he loved it.
This is for war gamers, expansionists, politicos, and stargazers.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Suzy Jackson, 14:30)
Non-Fiction Books
Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking by Jon Acuff
Go back to 9th grade in your mind and think about the songs that were popular back then. It probably doesn’t take much time or energy to think of those songs that were playing in the background during all those favorite (or awful) formative moments. Those are the soundtracks of that period. Now think about the thoughts that run rampant in your head today. “I’ll never catch up on ____ (laundry, dishes, sleep, chores, rent, and so on).” “I wish I could ___.” “I never…I always… They never… They always…” Those are soundtracks too. Those soundtracks define much of our thought lives. And the worst bit is that we don’t typically pick them. But the simple truth is that we can pick them if we slow down, examine them, and then decide what soundtracks we want to play in our minds and for our lives. Here’s how. First, filter your soundtracks through these three filtering questions: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it kind? If the answer is no, it’s probably a broken soundtrack. Broken soundtracks need to be dialed down not switched off. You can’t switch them off. You can turn down the volume and focus on other things. Broken soundtracks lead to inaction and overthinking. Jon describes 5 of his favorite techniques for turning down the broken soundtracks in his head: 1- Exercise. 2- Legos. 3- Make a list. 4- Do simple tasks. 5- Interact with friends. If those don’t work for you, there are 50 more ideas in the book. You can also flip a broken soundtrack. Turn a negative into a positive. “I’m afraid” can be flipped into “I’m excited”. “I can’t” can be flipped into “I can’t yet” or “I’m learning”. Replace broken soundtracks with new ones. If you can’t think up a new one on your own, steal from someone else. Here are some suggestions: People are trying to give me money. I will feel awesome after ___. Spare change adds up. Pick ROI over ego. Pivot, don’t panic. These positive soundtracks affect your brain and feelings in amazing, positive ways. But good soundtracks don’t do the trick on their own. You have to act your way out of overthinking. Start small and just do something. Doing moves you from being stuck in your head to chasing your dreams. This is a fantastic book. Jon is hilarious. The content is very relatable and actionable. I wish I had known some of these tricks when I was stuck overthinking about finishing my basement. It could have saved me years of overthinking like a Roomba in a corner. I’ll revisit this book and I’m looking for other books by Acuff.
This book is for everyone looking for real ways to improve their lives.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, audiobook read by the author, 5:14)
Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
Emotions are hard to talk about. We feel things in completely different parts of our bodies and brains from the places we use for language, so they can feel disconnected. We all know the basic three, right? Happy, sad, and mad. But often, those aren’t good enough to describe the deep emotions we are experiencing or help us relate to others going through them. This book is a map of 87 different emotions and feelings that are grouped in families. The intent is to provide language around each one, context, stories, and other useful information about all these feelings so that we can better understand ourselves and each other. I like the way the descriptions were grouped in “geographical groups” to give better context. Brown’s concept of near enemies vs far enemies was a new idea for me and I’ve been pondering it. As an example set, the far enemy of connection is disconnection, and the near enemy of connection is control. I’ve been a fan of Brown’s work for a long time because she is willing to discuss tough topics like shame, vulnerability, recovery, and empathy. Her storytelling style has evolved over the course of her writing career and this book draws on many of her past core learnings and expands on them in new ways. I listened to the audiobook but I intend to get a hard copy to use as a reference and guide as my children grow and our relationships and emotions become more complex. I’ll probably filter a few of the colorful language choices for the kids, but maybe I won’t. We’ll have to have that conversation at some point.
This book is for humans with feelings. (No drones or AIs).
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 8:29)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
Sunreach (Skyward 2.1) by Brandon Sanderson
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
We are heading quickly toward the holidays. Thanksgiving is coming up and World Cup too. I’ll get some extra vacation time to enjoy both. I am trying to practice resting and taking proper advantage of the time off. So far, I’ve been able to go to the zoo, the pumpkin patch, a costume parade, and a classroom party with the kids. Also, I’m way behind on my goal of 100 books for the year, so I plan to do some catching-up. If you have any suggestions of quick reads that I should pick up, please send them my way.
We have a family tradition called a Yankee Gift Exchange. We all buy gifts, wrap them, and when we gather, we put them all in a pile. Then we draw numbers for turns to open or steal the gifts until each is opened. We’ve had to ban the littles from year to year so they wouldn’t get their feelings hurt if their favorite gift gets stolen by one of the uncles or my Granny, who will steal from anyone. Part of the fun is shopping for something fun or clever to put into the pile. The goal is to pick something fun, that you would enjoy yourself if you ended up with it. The diversity of gifts is usually pretty crazy because of the wide age range of participants. What sort of gift would you enter?
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
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