November 2023
This month was weird. I spent all of it as a cripple, or a handicapped person, or a very stationary, not very helpful, healing, old man. My Garmin Watch is wondering what happened to me. It doesn’t understand that crutching is my new steps. I didn’t read much. I didn’t get much done around the house. I’m not sure where all the time went. I worked from home, went to physical therapy, made some small progress in mobility, and learned new stress management methods. We celebrated Thanksgiving and we got an excellent snow.
Here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Short Fiction
James Moriarty, Consulting Criminal by Andy Weir
This is an interesting set of three stories about the criminal mastermind James Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes genre. The twist is that we all know Moriarty is an evil genius, so we don’t expect helpful behavior from him. In these stories, his actions appear quite out of character until the end, when he reveals how he is true to form and acting in his best interests. Very clever stories. It is included in your Audible membership.
Fiction Books
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #4)
Harry and the gang head to the Quidditch World Cup during summer break. They meet several new characters who are critical to the story including Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch. The Deatheaters are back and up to mischief, though not as brave as they might be. When the students arrive at Hogwarts for the school year, they learn about the Triwizard Tournament which is to be held at Hogwarts. The tournament is designed to bring the three big wizarding schools, Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons, together for a competition of champions. The tournament will have three stages lasting throughout the year. But someone is up to mischief, entering Harry Potter into the tournament even though he is not yet 17 years old. No one believes that he didn’t enter his name into the Goblet of Fire after he was selected for the tournament as a fourth champion (thus making Triwizard a misnomer). Harry battles dragons, grindylows, and other terrors throughout the tournament. With some luck, some coaching, and some help from an unknown helper, Harry manages to tie for the Triwizard Cup with the other Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory. After that, the story gets dark and twisted. Harry escapes death and makes it back to Hogwarts, but tragedy cannot be avoided. The final result is a great division between truth and fear. This may be my favorite book in the series. I like the twists and turns and the way the author keeps the gotcha till the very end even though the clues are sprinkled in along the way very subtly.
This is for fighters, heroes, and tricksters.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jim Dale, 20:36, Illustrated copy, 464p.)
Tier One by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson (Tier One #1)
Jack Kemper is the main operator featured in this book. Kemper is the leader of a Navy SEAL team that is the tip of the spear in the fight against terror. Kemper leads his team in a raid on a big ship hoping to find and destroy WMDs, but the raid turns out to be a bit of a bust and a trap. Kemper and his team find themselves in a firefight and Kemper takes an AK round in the middle of his protective armor on his back. Another teammate takes a round to the leg forcing Kemper to start the “run away” part of the mission. (I think the tactical term is exfil). Eventually, Kemper and his team make it back to safety and medical treatment. During the raid on the ship, Kemper and his team kill the son of an Iranian diplomat. This leads the Iranians to set up a giant trap for the Tier One team and their command center. The Americans take the bait and fall into the trap leading all of the top operators except for Kemper and his injured teammate into a building filled with suicide bombers. Another suicide bomber takes out the command center at the same time. Kemper barely survives though he is badly burned and injured in the explosion. Kemper is recruited by a group working to find out who set the trap. The group is well-funded and off the books. Kemper changes his identity by allowing everyone to believe he was killed in the command center explosion and using plastic surgery to change his face. He and his new team hunt the terrorists, learning about their next planned attack on the United Nations. Can Kemper and his team stop the terrorists before the Iranians can tip the balance of world power? I liked the action in this book and the characters. It is similar to Gray Man and Mitch Rapp, but shorter and less complex. Good guys and bad guys but lots of tension and drama and blurred lines about what’s ok and what’s not ok. Hat tip to Aleksandr for this recommendation.
This is for shooters and Bourne fans.
(Rated R, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Ray Porter, 11:39)
System Collapse by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries #7)
Murderbot is finally back for book seven. Murderbot is a SecUnit which is a hybrid robot/human construct designed to protect humans from all the dumb things they do to themselves and others as well as all the things in the universe that can kill them. In this story, Murderbot is working with his humans and ART to protect a colony of humans from the evil corporation, Barish-Estranza, who is trying to round them up and make them slaves. The plot is pretty straightforward, but the way it is told through Murderbot’s thoughts/experiences makes it fluid and complex. The planet has a blackout zone where the colonists are hiding, which keeps Murderbot and his humans from using all their resources like ART and other equipment. The planet also has giant robots for agriculture that have alien contamination (they are now giant death machines), so that livens things up too. Like the other books, I will have to go reread this one to soak up all the nuance and complexity. I’ll probably go back and start at book one because these books are hilarious. The characters are complex, the dialogue (internal and external) is clever, and the story development is well-crafted.
This is for sci-fi fans and anyone who enjoys good banter.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, Audiobook read by Kevin R. Free, 6:36)
Non-Fiction Books
Being the Bad Guys by Stephen McAlpine
This book was recommended by one of the old guys I know. It is a study of our social progression into what the author calls a post-Christian society. There are three parts to the book. First, the author discusses how we got here, that is how we Christians got to be the bad guys, how it appears to have happened suddenly, and why we are so surprised at this change. Second, McAlpine describes what being the bad guy looks like by describing the way we now have to interact with other cultural powers like LGBTQ and other outspoken groups. In part three McAlpine describes how we can be the best bad guys we can be. As the subtitle says, this is a book about how to live for Jesus in a world that says you shouldn’t. I took my highlighter to the paperback copy. There were many new ideas and quite a few old ideas framed in better language to help me understand them. Living in the Midwest, I haven’t been exposed to the social extremes that are out on the coasts or abroad lately. Here, it’s still ok to be Christian, but watching the news and the socials, I know we are fairly sheltered. If you are looking for wisdom about how our culture is shifting and how to think about and react to those changes, I hope you read this book. If you live around here, you can borrow my copy if you don’t mind highlighter.
This is for seekers, philosophers, and worriers.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, paperback,142p.)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
Beginner’s Pluck by Liz Forkin Bohannon
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #5)
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
I’m rethinking some of the negativity from when I wrote the intro above. I have three additional thoughts:
1- I did spend a lot of time playing Switch with my son. My siblings sent me the new Super Mario Wonder game when it came out and Jet and I are at 99% complete. That time has not been wasted. We learned to work together to accomplish specific goals. We worked on patience, speed, coordination, when to persevere, and when to quit for a bit. Now we are stuck working through the final-final badge challenge level. We may need help to complete it.
2- As Jocko says, “Discipline equals freedom.” Healing is a process. I think it’s a stupid process, but that’s because in a lot of ways I’m still a boy at heart that just wants to run and jump and do dangerous things. I didn’t get to do any of that this month. I sat still and tried to let my body heal. I made sure I didn’t do anything to injure myself again. I took steps to help my body heal like icing my knee and practicing my leg raises. Aubrey said she is going to get me some leg warmers so I can be just like the ladies in the videos from the 80s. Discipline sucks, but it leads to freedom. I hope that my disciplined approach to resting this month will lead to a stronger recovery so that I can get back to running and jumping and doing dangerous things and not prolong the time I spend sitting on the couch unable to do those things.
3- Don’t take anything for granted. I lost most of my adult powers overnight and this month has been a time for working to regain some of them. Carrying things is nearly impossible on crutches, but I can carry small things now. Showering without help took me over seven weeks to figure out. I can now get myself into a car and most days I can put on my socks and shoes. My beautiful wife has managed to be very kind as she helps me through this challenge. She has been so patient and kind and let me keep most of my dignity, although I am learning how to not take myself so seriously.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
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