October 2023
Man, October has been something else. We started with the trip to the pumpkin patch and the weather was cooler. I made a ton of progress on the basement. We got electrical in, drywall installed, the drywall mess cleaned up, and the first coat of paint on everything downstairs. And then everything came to a screeching halt. On the 11th, I suffered a devastating knee injury while playing soccer. Since then I’ve relied heavily on my wife, kids, and friends. I tore my patellar tendon which was surgically repaired a week after I got smashed. I also tore my ACL. I may or may not have that surgically repaired after my first round of recovery. I haven’t been able to read as many books during recovery as I had hoped but maybe soon, it will get easier.
There is a book giveaway in the Final Thoughts section, so don’t miss that. I’d love to hear from you.
Here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse #1)
Some of you may have seen the show based on this book series called The Expanse. This first book introduces a cop from a space station in the asteroid belt named Joe Miller who is tasked with finding the daughter of a rich couple, Julie Mao. Miller tracks Mao to a space station called Eros, but he’s too late. Julie has been infected by a protomolecule sent to the solar system eons ago and harvested from a small moon in orbit around Saturn. Protogen is an evil corporation that is studying the protomolecule in human subjects to see how it could help humans evolve. Protogen is so sociopathic that they infect the entire space station of Eros with the protomolecule. Intertwined with Joe Miller’s story is the story of Jim Holden and his crew. Holden becomes the captain of a small ship and crew when the larger ice-hauler ship they are away from on a mission is destroyed. The mission that Holden and his team are on when they are stranded in space is to investigate a stranded ship. That stranded ship was the same small ship where Julie Mao was infected with the protomolecule. Holden and crew bounce from disaster to disaster as the political and war machines of Earth, Mars, and OPA (Outer Planet Alliance) tear each other apart across the solar system. Eventually, Holden and his crew find a ship and a bit of a break with the OPA. Fred Johnson offers them rest and aid, as they work to sort out who is watching the Eros station experiment. They find the Protogen scientist and set up a raid on their facility. When Joe Miller meets Anthony Dresden, the Protogen lead scientist and commander, he realizes that Dresden will do anything to further his experiment with the end goal of using the protomolecule to evolve the human race to the point where they can reach the stars. Miller executes Dresden on the spot, cutting the head off of a very dangerous snake, but is the damage already done? Eros station evades several attempts to destroy it. The station, crawling with the protomolecule and tons of human biomass, has become its own monster. Miller and Holden work to redirect Eros away from Earth and into Venus, where this book ends. I enjoyed the twists and turns, and the way the narratives work together to tell the story I didn’t quite understand the Miller storyline. Some of the lawman mentality was lost on me. I understood Holden better because he is honest to a fault. I intend to find the next book in the series pretty soon. Thank you, Lucas, for recommending this book.
This is for sci-fi readers and political strategists.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jefferson Mays, 20:56)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #2)
Harry Potter is back for another year at Hogwarts. There is a little house elf named Dobby who has taken it upon himself to prevent Harry from going to school. Dobby hears that there will be trouble at Hogwarts this year so he tries to keep Harry from going. Harry figures out how to get around the difficulties caused by the house elf and makes it to school in an invisible flying car with his friend Ron. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, teaches them to never let Pixies loose in class, but not much else. Finally, the trouble that Dobby warned about begins. The Chamber of Secrets opens and several characters are petrified in different attacks in the school. The whole school is trying to figure out who might be the heir of Slytherin who has opened the chamber. Harry learns that Hagrid was once a student at Hogwarts who was expelled for keeping a giant spider as a pet. When Hagrid is arrested and sent to Azkaban, he tips Ron and Harry off about how to find Aragog, the giant spider. In the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron meet Aragog and his giant spider clan, where they learn that Hagrid was foolish, but not the heir of Slytherin. One final attack takes place and a student is kidnapped and taken to the Chamber of Secrets. Harry and Ron find a final clue uncovered by Hermione and find their way down into the Chamber of Secrets to face the danger there and to try to rescue Ginny. Harry faces his second-year version of Lord Voldemort- Tom Riddle, who had been stealing power from Ginny all year, finally becoming solid enough to battle Harry. Harry, remains truly brave in the face of danger and is aided by Fawkes, Dumbledore’s Phoenix. Together they destroy the monster in the chamber as well as the diary of Tom Riddle. In the aftermath, Harry is sorting out his feelings and struggles with Dumbledore, who leads Harry to the truth- Harry chose to be in Gryffindor, not Slytherin. “It is our choices, Harry, that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities.” That line really resonates with me. It’s not our dreams, fears, rumors, or doubts that make us who we are, it’s what we do that counts. Jet and I enjoyed the audio and illustrated version of this book and he had so many questions as the story worked itself out.
This is for young ones learning when to bend the rules.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Jim Dale, 9:02, Illustrated copy (Jim Kay), 259p.)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #3)
Here we go with year three at Hogwarts. Harry finds himself in the Leaky Cauldron for a few days after blowing up his aunt, running away from the Dursleys, and taking a ride on the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley. Harry spends most of the book learning the story around his parents’ death because a man tied to their betrayal and death, Sirius Black, has escaped from Azkaban and seems to be hunting Harry. The Dementors from Azkaban attack Harry several times during the story. They suck out joy, life, and hope, making one feel that they will never be happy again. The remedy after a Dementor attack? Chocolate of course. The students have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Lupin, who actually teaches them, creature by creature how to defend against dark creatures. Lupin helps Harry to develop his patronis spell to ward off Dementors. The Weasley twins give Harry a very powerful gift called the Marauder’s Map, which shows the Hogwarts grounds as well as the live location of everyone on the school grounds. Harry uses the map and his invisibility cloak to sneak out of the school to Hogsmeade. The Dursleys didn’t sign his permission form to go to Hogsmeade, so Harry has to break the rules. The plot gets a bit complicated towards the end of the book where the author spins two parallel timelines together using Hermione’s Time Turner. The students finally discover who Sirius Black, Professor Lupin, and Scabbers the rat really are, and who actually betrayed Lilly and James Potter. Harry and Hermione use the time turner to save Sirius, Buckbeak, and Harry and Hermione from three hours ago. We had to take a couple of breaks to explain some things, especially during the second go-round. Jet kept pretty good track of the story, but he had questions. My favorite part is Dumbledore trusting the kids to make the story right.
This is for time-turners and truth-seekers.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Jim Dale, 11:49, Illustrated copy (Jim Kay), 336p.)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
What happens when you take a behavior and stretch it to an extreme in a futuristic story? You get a cautionary tale maybe. Or maybe you can look at history and see examples of that behavior in extremes in other times and places and all you have is a fable. I’ve read this book a few times. It’s not very long. Each time I can see a little more of the wisdom and satire. Guy Montag is a fireman- he burns books and the homes of those who are foolish enough to be caught with them. But Guy is cracking up. He’s losing the plot. He has started stealing books (like the book thief) and hiding them in his home. Books are illegal. Society has even changed history to the point that Ben Franklin was the original fireman, burning books during the revolution. The government feels like Big Brother, but more discrete. People are brainwashed by their wall-sized video screens which keep them overstimulated, unable to think coherent thoughts. Eventually, Guy becomes an outcast. Living on the run with other men who have mastered the art of remembering books so that someday, when society is being rebuilt, the books can be reprinted from each man’s memories. So, here I am, writing a book review about a book that is about the end of all books (kinda). I love books. I love the stories and the characters and the way they stretch my mind. But I don’t love all books. And I don’t love all the parts of every book. I use my brain, my experiences, and my feelings all together to decide what I take away from each book I read. Books are powerful. Ideas are powerful. Let’s teach more people how to think instead of taking books away from them.
This is for those tired of the electronic noise and looking for something more substantive.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Tim Robbins, 5:01, Hardcopy, 249p.)
Non-Fiction Books
This author is an ambitious, young executive coach, speaker, and content creator who tells his story about failing a tryout for an NBA team. The idea is simple- if you start out trying to fail, how far can you go? It’s a trick you play on yourself. You take the fear of failing out, by aiming for failure. Leak committed to failing by telling his hero, Kobe Bryant, that he was going to make a documentary about chasing failure. With that motivation, he started emailing NBA teams with a cold pitch about his idea. Several teams declined, but sooner than he was ready, the Phoenix Suns invited Leak for a tryout. He made a 15-minute documentary about failing that tryout. He didn’t make the team, but he made it farther chasing failure than he ever did chasing success. The other chapters of the book feel like micro lessons glued together. Here are some of the ideas that stuck with me: Keep secondary things secondary. For example, your company’s goal is not to be in the Fortune 500, your company’s goal should be to provide extreme value to the customer, and if it becomes a Fortune 500 company because it does a great job that is a secondary effect. Be sure to measure the cost of your dreams in terms of time, money, discipline, learning, and relationships. Don’t chase your dreams at the expense of everything you already value. The enemy of shame is empathy and empathy leads to compassion. Break your goals down into daily chunks- if you can make even a little bit of progress toward a goal, that’s a win. Just do it scared- if you wait until you have all the answers, it will be too late. Just chase your dreams scared. Stay ready- look for opportunities and jump on them. This was a short book with lots of little, practical tips.
This is for anyone afraid to try new things because they might fail.
(Rated PG, Score 5/10, audiobook read by the author, 4:09)
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche. This is a book all about this big idea and some ugly hows. Frankl wrote this book in nine days, but it covers his life’s work in psychology and his greatest struggles surviving the horrors of Auschwitz during World War 2. The first part of the book describes Frankl’s experiences of being moved into the prison camp and being robbed of all his earthly possessions, his dignity, and even his hair. The prisoners endured unbelievable degradation, humiliation, and slavery in the camp. Frankl tells about how each man had to keep focus on his reason for living to make it through each day. Frankl also tells how several of his friends lost track of their why and when that happened, they started down a path that led inevitably to their death either through suicide or being chosen for a move to the gas chambers. The second part of the book describes Frankl’s theories and framework about treating those in the camp so that they remembered their why. The prisoners in camp had to be given something to look forward to, something that depended on them to maintain hope. Frankl used the idea and task of rewriting his book to keep himself alive. Frankl breaks down the meanings of life into three categories– work, love, and overcoming suffering. How we act when we cannot change our fate shows us who we are. I read this book before my injury, and it helped to prepare me to accept the challenge of suffering with bravery and dignity. We all suffer. How we suffer determines who we are. My suffering is nowhere near the suffering of those in the death camps, but it’s a new level in my life, so I’m embracing that and learning and growing.
This is for anyone going through something.
(Rated PG-13, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Simon Vance, 4:44)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #4)
Beginner’s Pluck by Liz Forkin Bohannon
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
October is always a weird month, but never has it been this weird. Aubrey and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary with me very dependent on her. Through this challenge, she has been kind, patient, and very supportive. I could not ask for a better partner to walk with me and carry me for this part. I’m super not good at being carried. I’m impatient and scared. I’m all these things, and I’m learning. I’ve asked for help more times in the last 3 weeks than probably the last 20 years if you added them all up. I’ve sat still in my emotions, trying to rest and recover. So many folks have reached out to check on me. Some folks have brought us food. Others brought me books. For all these things I am exceedingly grateful and humbled, though not as humbled as I was in the hospital gown.
If you are the praying type, please pray for complete healing of my patellar tendon as I recover. If you are the good vibes or positive feelings type, I’d take any of those you want to send my way. If you have a trauma story to share, let’s talk. Sharing our stories is critical for learning, support, and connection.
One thing that always boosts my spirits is giving stuff away, so here we go. I’ll do a book drawing offering entries for any of the following:
- Best phone or iPad game for killing time.
- Best easy read book for killing time.
- Your pick to win MLS cup.
Comment or email me with your answers. I’ll have a drawing in a couple of weeks.
I'll send the winner(s) the book of their choice.
My sign says, “Do dangerous things carefully.” It would appear that I needed a big reminder about the “carefully” part. I am working to be more deliberate, more intentional, and take more care with those dangerous things I do.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
PS. Instagram: Fromthespine
PPS. Please feel free to forward this to your reading friends. If they want to be on my email list, let me know.
PPPS. Send me book ideas, brand ideas, or questions. I love the feedback.
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