May 2024
May is a super busy month. Almost as busy as the holiday season. Jet played a soccer tournament and I got a funny sun tan on my leg from my knee brace. I got back to work on the basement. I hung the last door and worked on getting ready for the last bit of carpet. Jet celebrated his tenth birthday. I can’t believe how fast (and slow) the last ten years have gone by. We had Mother’s Day, Millie’s dance recital, and wrapped up the school year. I need to figure out when to take some work vacation so I don’t lose it at the end of the year.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
I read this book a long time ago and I forgot how weird it is. Jet and I listened to it while we waited for more dragon books to be available. He had a lot of questions about the daemons. In the book each human has a daemon which is like their soul in animal form outside their body, but also a unique and separate personality. Lyra is a sassy little girl with a daemon named Pantalaimon. She finds herself in the middle of a plot by her parents to change the way the world works. Her father, Lord Asriel, is on a mission in the far north to discover a city/parallel universe joined to this world by the northern lights. Her mother, Mrs. Coulter, is also running a dangerous operation in the north conducting experiments separating children and their daemons, which is despicable and kills most of the children who go through the process. Lyra goes on a mission to rescue her best friend from the Gobblers, who are people working for Mrs. Coulter. On her mission, she makes many friends and a few enemies. She learns to use a powerful artifact called an alethiometer, which allows her to ask questions and return answers. This allows her to gain valuable information and see the future in some cases. Lyra is a powerful liar and scammer - the giant polar bears of the north call her Lyra Silver Tongue. Book one ends with a cliffhanger as the bridge to the alternate world is created and Lord Asriel heads into the unknown. I should read the second book to see what happens next.
This is for adventurers, sneak-thieves, and giant bears.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by the author and full cast, 11:42)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
Jet has been asking to read the spin-off books from the Harry Potter series so we swooped this short one up from the library in audio format. We need to go looking for an illustrated version. This is an A-Z of fantastic beasts with ratings from one X to XXXXX describing the danger level from harmless and boring to deadly dangerous, do not approach. The descriptions are written by the fictional character Newt Schemander who developed the text from his experience in the Ministry of Magic in the Beast Division. There are 85 total beasts described in the book. Some of my favorites are dragons, nifflers, phoenixes, and centaurs. There are some interesting tales of the dangers or antics of the different beasts along the way including tips and tricks for managing or evading them as needed.
This is for beast trackers and Harry Potter enthusiasts.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Eddie Redmayne, 1:54)
The Winglet Quartet by Tui T. Sutherland (Wings of Fire, Winglets 1-4)
This little book is broken into four parts. Each one tells the story of a particular dragon and fills in some of the backstory missing from the Wings of Fire arc. Prisoner is the first part and is the story of FierceTeeth, a NightWing prisoner in the Sand Kingdom. She is trying to convince one of the guards to turn against his queen and help her escape. She was one of the NightWings who kidnapped Sunny and tried to assassinate Queen Glory. Assassin is the second story and tells the backstory of DeathBringer and how he came to be the deadliest dragon assassin and why he seeks to be loyal to the NightWings. Deserter is the third story about the SandWing general SixClaws. He was originally strong and loyal to Queen Oasis, but when she abused him and his friend Dune, they abandon the army and join the OutClaws. Runaway is the fourth story. Prince Arctic and FoeSlayer run away from the Ice Kingdom into exile in the Night Kingdom.
This is for young readers who like to know the backstory.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Shannon McManus, 4:31)
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
I found the complete works of George MacDonald on Kindle for $0.99. There are something like 18000 pages worth of reading. Unbelievable value. The first story in the collection is The Princess and the Goblin so that’s where I started. Princess Irene is a lot like Heidi but a little older and her world is a little more fantastic. Princess Irene is about eight years old and she lives in a castle in the mountains. Her father the king is often away from the castle visiting other areas of his kingdom and taking care of business. Princess Irene’s primary caretaker is her nurse, Lootie. One evening when Irene and Lootie are out in the mountains away from safety they find themselves lost and in danger from the Goblins who live in the area. They meet a young miner, Curdie, who is unafraid of the Goblins. Curdie knows that individual Goblins will run away when faced with any old singing rhyme. Curdie spends his time inventing and practicing silly rhymes so that he will be prepared for any confrontation with the Goblins. The Goblins fancy themselves more intelligent than the humans, but they are not very brave. One day the Princess explores a new part of the castle and discovers her great-great-great grandmother Irene. Unlike the nasty grandmothers in other stories, the old Irene is more like a guardian angel grandmother. She uses magic to protect and guide the young princess through the rest of the story. Curdie discovers that the Goblins are tunneling under the Princess’ castle and intend to kidnap her and marry her to their ugly prince. Curdie and the Princess work together to thwart the Goblins and ultimately save everyone staying in the King’s castle. I enjoyed the simple fairy story. I like that the good guys win. I like the grandmother’s magic and how the author doesn’t need to explain it.
This is for young men turning into heroes and young ladies learning to be princesses.
(Rated G, Score 8/10, ebook, 917p.)
My mom gave a beautiful collectible hardback edition of this book to Millie and we have been working through it over the last couple of months. It was longer than I expected. The story is about a little orphan girl named Heidi. She is taken up to the Swiss Alps to live with her grandfather whom the locals call the Alp Uncle. He is an old hermit, living in the mountains with a couple of goats, and his work as a cheese maker keeps him busy. The little girl is left brusquely in the grandfather’s care, but she immediately makes herself at home. She heals the old man’s heart with her joy, cheer, and kindness. The grandfather in turn teaches her to care for the goats and help around the cottage. The plot turns when Aunt Dete comes back to the Alps, steals Heidi, and takes her to Frankfurt to be the study partner for a young invalid named Klara. Poor little Heidi does not know why she’s been taken away from her grandfather, whom she has grown to love, and the other people of the village. She remains true to herself, kind, obedient, and gentle. She learns to read, and she wins the hearts of the workers in the house, Klara, her father, and her grandmother. Heidi’s heart never adjusts to Frankfurt, and eventually, she begins to have night-walking events. The house servants are tricked into thinking she is a ghost. The mystery is solved by Klara’s doctor and father, who discover Heidi’s need to return to her grandfather in the Alps before she wastes away. Heidi takes many presents back with her, which she shares with Peter, the goatherd, and his family. Back in the Alps, Heidi returns to full health. She helps Peter learn how to read despite his objections. The good doctor from Frankfurt visits Heidi deep in grief after losing his daughter to sickness. Heidi helps him heal and recover in the beauty and wonder of the mountains. When the weather is suitable, Klara and her grandmother visit Heidi and her grandfather. The grandfather takes charge of Klara, giving her the best and most gentle care. In the mountains, with Heidi and the goats, Klara finds a new appetite for life and food. Living on the goats’ milk and other natural foods she begins to gain strength she never knew being trapped in her invalid chair. Finally, Klara’s healing and restoration come to a wonderful point where she can stand and walk on her own. This is a wonderful story of kindness and redemption. There are Christian themes woven cleverly into the story in such a way that they feel natural and support the narrative. They resonate deeply with me. I very much enjoyed listening to this book with my beautiful daughter. Like Heidi, her laughter and dancing with delight are light and joy in my heart. Thank you, Mom, for this beautiful book.
This is for little girls who love to laugh and for old men who need that laughter for healing.
(Rated G, Score 10/10, audiobook read by John McDonough, 10:37, Hardcover, 336p.)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
This is a hard book. It mixes fiction and fantasy with trauma, danger, and pain. The narrator is a seven-year-old boy who finds himself in the middle of an invasion of a terrible creature into his world. It starts when an opal miner kills himself in the family car down at the end of their lane. When the boy and his father go to find the car he is intercepted by Lettie Hempstock who takes him to the farmhouse and shows him the ocean they have in the backyard. She also introduces the boy to her mother and grandmother who are a bit odd and very kind. Over the next few days, the boy observes weird cases of people finding random coins. He wakes up with a coin in his throat and goes looking for Lettie Hempstock for help. Lettie takes the boy to the edge of things and across the boundary land where they confront the monster giving people coins. During the encounter, the boy is infected by the monster. It stabs into his foot and creates a gateway into his world. The monster manifests as a new housekeeper named Ursula Monkton. She is sickly sweet and dangerous. She controls the boy with threats. The boy and Ursula have a battle of wills which ends with the boy escaping to the Hempstock farm in the middle of the night in a storm. The Hempstock women rescue the boy, restore him to health, and remove the gateway from his foot. They snip out the nasty part of the evening and stitch things back together again in a way that can save the boy’s family. The next day Lettie tries to banish the monster back to the place on the edge of things, but it doesn’t work, so she calls the hunger birds who eat the monster. But the huger birds refuse to leave. They know that part of the monster is still in the boy’s heart. They begin to destroy the world and all things and the boy tries to sacrifice himself to save the universe. Instead, Lettie throws herself between the hunger birds and the boy, sacrificing herself for him. Old Mrs. Hempstock banishes the hunger birds after forcing them to set the world right, but Lettie is gravely wounded. Jenny Hempstock gives Lettie to her ocean at the end of the lane. There are some tough ideas in this book. The plot feels dark and twisted. The monster is terrible. The boy struggles with big ideas and the tension between kids and adults in perspectives and priorities. I like the Hempstocks and the kitten named Ocean. There’s a very interesting question asked in the epilogue that I am pondering: If someone sacrificed their life for mine and they were watching what I am doing with that life, would they think my life was worth their sacrifice?
This is for grown-ups who need to remember what it’s like to be kids.
(Rated PG-13, Score 8/10, audiobook read by the author, 6:22, paperback, 248p.)
Talons of Power by Tui T. Sutherland (Wings of Fire #9)
Turtle is a funny little dragon from the Sea Kingdom. He is an animus (magical) dragon, but only a handful of other dragons know about his powers. He has the spirit of a writer and spends the book trying to figure out which type of character he is in his own story. He spends the book (and his life) hiding. He wants to be the hero but is unwilling to step into the spotlight. Unwilling to risk being seen for who he is. When Darkstalker appears and threatens the world, Turtle uses his magic to hide. This allows him to spy on the supervillain dragon. Darkstalker charms many of the dragons he meets on his way to rebuilding the ancient Night Kingdom. Turtle suspects that Darkstalker is not as charming as he seems and is sure to turn evil and destructive based on all the stories from the past. As the story progresses, Turtle uses his magic to empower his friends to stand against the coming storm. In the moment of choice, Turtle chooses to be the hero and not to run away even though it costs him almost everything. In some ways, this is all of our story. We have great power and potential, but we hide it; afraid to offend or be vulnerable. I hope we can choose to show up and be seen more often, even in the little moments where relationships are deepened, and where differences are made.
This is for any little dragons that think they should hide their awesome.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Shannon McManus, 7:52)
Non-Fiction Books
Supercommuicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg
Some books are so good that I dread writing reviews for them. I know that no matter what I say, I won’t do the book justice. This is one of those books. It is excellent, important, and filled with actionable ideas that have the power to help anyone and everyone. As humans, we have to communicate to survive. Some of us are better communicators than others. Some people naturally understand how to communicate and connect with others. Some of us struggle to connect. It turns out that when we fail to connect and communicate, it’s usually because we are having the wrong type of conversation and asking the wrong questions. To set the baseline, Duhigg describes the three conversations we have: 1- What’s this really about? 2- How do we feel? 3- Who are we? There are practical/tactical conversations, emotional conversations, and social conversations. Some conversations will move between the three types as they evolve. Duhigg also helps us out by outlining four rules for meaningful conversations: 1-Figure out what type of conversation we are having. 2- Share your goals for the conversation. 3- Ask about other’s feelings and express your own. 4- Ask if identities are important to the conversation. To explain these rules Duhigg weaves them into the four parts of the book. After an overview of the conversation types and matching principle, Duhigg uses the trial of Leroy Reed to show a Supercommunicator at work and explain how the jury conversation evolves and how we navigate and negotiate our way through each conversation we have. Next, we learn how to ask better questions and notice clues about how people feel. We learn how to loop for understanding, ask questions for clarity, and make sure we see the other person’s perspectives and feelings. Part 3 covers social identities and offers tips and reminders about how to introduce new perspectives into conversations by reminding people of all the identities they have. Part 4 is all about making hard conversations easier. My takeaways from the book are to work on building these three habits: 1- Be aware of what type of conversations I am in. 2- Ask deeper questions. Deep questions are not about facts but are about hopes, dreams, feelings, and experiences. 3- Prove I am listening by looping for understanding, matching (repeating what someone says in my own words), and asking for confirmation.
This is for anyone who needs help, a hug, or to be heard.
(Rated PG-13, Score 10/10, audiobook read by the author, 7:28)
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
I’m amazed at the level of detail, research, and integration in Malcolm Gladwell’s books. This book is thick with interesting bits of wisdom, facts, and logical arguments carefully and patiently woven together. In the audio version, where possible, they use real sound clips from interviews or radio. In other cases, they have voice actors recreating interviews or trial testimony. The story is compelling- we are terrible at talking to strangers. But what is worse, we are even worse at talking to strangers when the stakes are highest. Gladwell starts with cases of Cuban spies in the CIA and foreign diplomats misinterpreting Hitler. He explains how humans default to truth. We assume people are telling the truth. In Part 2, Gladwell describes three more cases where frauds should have been discovered earlier and weren’t because we want to believe people are telling us the truth. Part 3 covers the difference between what we see and what we expect. Sometimes guilty people look innocent and innocent people look guilty, and we are really bad at recognizing those mismatches. Part 4 discusses how alcohol affects memory and decision-making. It also covers the effects torture has on memory and how it can potentially destroy any intel obtained using some of the more stressful techniques. Part 5 introduces the idea of coupling- the powerful connection between behaviors and specific locations such as suicide by town gas or jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. My takeaway is location matters. Put it all together and you end up realizing that in moments where we need the most trust, the most calm, and the most empathy we often lose the ability to properly hear what strangers are saying. At the end of the book, Gladwell describes his main aim of criticizing the types of police methodologies that lead to fatal encounters like George Floyd and others. His logic makes sense, but it felt like an angry book. His proposed solutions are sound. He points out blindspots here in America. I will admit that I didn’t get as much out of the overarching narrative as I did from some of the ideas that stand on their own within the book. Two specific ideas caught my attention. First, the way he explains the effects of alcohol on memory was enlightening. He explains what all the country drinking songs about blacking out look like in brain science. Knowing how our brains handle alcohol is very important for decision-making. Second, the default to trust framework is interesting. It explains how we can survive as a big society. It also explains how people who are naturally paranoid suffer because they cannot rely on the rest of us. It must be terrifying to distrust everyone all the time. One final note- Gladwell covers some very difficult content including rape and sexual assault cases and suicide. These topics are best approached with care. They are real and heavy. Eddie, thanks for loaning me the hard copy of this book.
This is for strangers, thinkers, and drinkers.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 8:42, hardcover, 386p.)
Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet
This book is about changing an organization from a Leader-Follower model to a Leader-Leader model. The lessons are easy to understand because they are told with great examples from the author’s command of a US Navy Submarine - The USS Santa Fe. Marquet’s orders were changed at the last minute so all of his preparation for a different submarine class is wasted. Marquet is asked to take the USS Santa Fe from failing to an effective battle-ready machine. To do this, Marquet pushes his new crew to change from a mindset of avoiding errors to a learning mindset to pursue excellence. He delegates control to the lowest possible levels in the ship and supports that control through training for competence and clarity of mission. This change does not happen immediately and requires the whole command to embrace higher levels of accountability and execution. Instead of issuing commands, Marquet teaches his officers to think at the next level and take initiative. His officers initiate action by saying “Captain, I intend to…”. If the Captain agrees, he says “Very well.” And the action is approved. Marquet encourages the sailors to think out loud as they approach decisions so that everyone around understands their actions and intentions and can correct themselves and each other in real time. The Captain stops having briefs before procedures. Instead, he has certification meetings where everyone involved in the next procedure is required to account for their part of the process, answer questions, and claim readiness. The Captain wins the hearts and minds of his crew by giving them real authority in areas that matter to them. He also beefed up training to help his men excel in advancement tests so that they could be promoted more efficiently in the Navy’s bureaucratic promotion process. Captain Marquet took a crew of sailors who were down, out, and defensive and transformed it into a crew of leaders. They learned together. They didn’t worry about making mistakes, because mistakes were ways to learn. My friend, Adrian, recommended this book and my friend Phil got me to reread it. We are going to use more of these ideas at work to be more awesome.
This book is for all leaders.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, ebook and audiobook read by the author, 6:26)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Life to the Fullest by Bryant Westbrook
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
One of my words this year is focus. I’ve been trying with varying levels of success to be less distracted and more focused on the things that matter. This blog post from Tim Ferriss caught my eye and gave a clever reminder phrase I’ve been pondering: Are you hunting antelope or field mice? It’s a great reminder about how you can wear yourself out chasing little things or focus on the big prey and have a feast. Also, antelope are usually big enough that you need to hunt them with others. We need each other to survive. Build your hunting crew well and tackle big projects.
My other word for this year is strength. Building strength takes discipline, work, and usually suffering. I used to think I was good at suffering, and perhaps I was in some limited contexts. Knowing many more contexts now, I don’t think I am very good at suffering. I lean toward comfort. As I rehab my injured leg and try to help others to heal and rehab I am learning to lean into the pain, lean into the discomfort, and be ok not being ok. It’s ok to not be ok. We are all not ok at times. That’s when we need each other most. Thank you for helping me and being patient with me when I’m not ok.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
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