June 2024
June has been up and down. I’m realizing that in this chapter of my life, I must balance all kinds of influences on my health, wellness, mental stability, and stress levels. I think when I was younger, I was better able to let things go over my head and not affect my heart. My body was much more resilient. My soul carried less of the weight of the world. I was lighter. This month I’ve been working on stress management, being able to exercise again, and man do I need a vacation.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Darkness of Dragons by Tui T. Sutherland (Wings of Fire 10)
This book wraps up the second set of five stories tied to the second prophecy. This is Qibli’s story. Qibli is a SandWing who grew up with an abusive mother, a power-hungry grandfather, and a perpetual need to be worthy of love. Qibli is very smart, specifically street-smart. His break comes when Thorne, the future SandWing queen, recognizes his cleverness, buys him from his mother, and adopts him into her growing band of rebels. In his new family, Qibli learns how to serve, protect Thorne, and look out for other dragons. He gets sent to Jade Mountain as a student. His winglet is in the middle of the drama created by Darkstalker, a giant NightWing, who escapes from his enchanted prison and tries to become king of the world. Qibli and his friends use their combined powers to stop a war between the IceWings and the NightWings. Darkstalker kidnaps Qibli and tries to convince the SandWing to join him in shaping the world. Darkstaker offers Qibli the power and magic that Qibli has been longing for his whole life. The internal dialogue that Qibli has is very interesting. Will he choose power? How will the mighty Darkstalker be defeated? This book does a good job of tying together all the strands from the previous books and leaves the door open for the next set of books.
This is for street rats, chameleons, and anyone needing a little hope.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Shannon McManus, 10:26)
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Cedric Errol is a clever, kind, thoughtful boy of seven years who steals your heart in this funny little story. Cedric lives in New York with his widow mother. He spends his time with a bootblack and a grocery store owner talking politics and life and generally being a typical grade-school boy. His world gets flipped when his uncles die and Cedric becomes the heir to the Earl of Dorincourt (inheriting the title Lord Fauntleroy). The old Earl is a miserable, cranky, mean, old man before the little boy melts his heart. This is a story of how kindness, generosity, and selflessness can restore broken relationships and people. I can see many of the qualities of Cedric in my kids, and I hope to encourage them to be brave, generous, and kind like Cedric. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the recommendation.
This book is for anyone in need of a cheerful boost or a good laugh.
(Rated G, Score 9/10, ebook and audiobook read by Virginia Leishman, 6:17)
This is the most complex fantasy novel I’ve read since I worked through The Game of Thrones books. It was very interesting and challenging, but I didn’t retain much of the nuance and background offered by the author. The story is a pair of intertwined stories- one current and one a series of flashbacks from Kai’s past. Kai and his friend Ziede awake in a very elaborate tomb, meant to hold them in stasis forever. Kaiisteron (Kai) is a demon, the witch king, and Prince of the Fourth House of the underearth. Being the title character and being an ancient creature from the underworld, he is very complex. Kai has lived several lifetimes and has the power to steal bodies and the power to drain the life from living things just by touching them. When Kai and Ziede awake and are freed from their magical prison, they set out to find their friends hoping to figure out how and who trapped them. They set out using their combined magic and skills. They are joined by a young street urchin who is loyal to them after they save her life. They use a whale, capture a magical ship, free an army of slaves, and defeat several batches of enemies. All this activity is nested in a web of political nuance, a new and unique magic system, and lots of crazy details about the world and its history. The characters are colorful and dynamic. The language of the magic system would probably make a lot more sense in a second reading. Some of it was lost on me. One could certainly spend a lot of time soaking up the rises, falls, and related implications of the powers in the story. I enjoyed the read. I’m not sure if I would tackle the second book if/when it is published. I’d much rather wait for the next Murderbot story.
This is for witches and advanced fantasy readers.
(Rated R, Score 6/10, audiobook read by Eric Moc, 13:09)
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
This was my first LitRPG book. I’m still not sure exactly what that means but I think it means the characters end up in a role-playing game. In this book, the world (earth) is destroyed and changed into a big game for the universe to watch. Carl and his girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, get sucked into the game as Crawlers. It’s like Survivor, but a dungeon video game, but real life to them. They enter the dungeon as Level 1 on Floor 1. Donut gains the ability to talk and gain status as a crawler rather than being a pet. They start by defeating a group of goblins. Next, they find a training room and mentor who teaches them all about the game. Each floor collapses after a set time. Each deeper floor is filled with worser bad guys. Carl and Donut work together to gain levels, find treasure, build weapons, and stay alive. This book only covers the first two floors of danger and chaos. I think there are five others so far in the series. This is the type of book you should not read to wind down. It will get your blood pressure up and hook you into reading way past your bedtime.
This is for gamers and not for anyone easily offended.
(Rated R, Score 7/10, ebook, Kindle Unlimited, 446p.)
This is a story about the last humans. It’s somber and has a native American feel to it. The man and his daughter live near the mountain that stands alone. The man tells his daughter many things, teaching her how to survive and create shoes and a bow to hunt with. It’s a fable I think—a story about slowing down and listening to the trees. It reminded me of The Road by Cormac McCarthy because of the post-apocalyptic setting, but this story is more about survival and nature and less about human societal degradation. I liked this book and the bears it holds. It made me miss the mountains. It made me miss the stars from the top of Old Man Mountain. It reminded me to find my way home.
This is for all kinds of readers- old bears and young.
(Rated G, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Eric Jason Martin, 4:00)
Non-Fiction Books
Practicing The Way by John Mark Comer
Some authors are given the gift of writing hard truths in a way that allows the reader to approach that truth gently and quietly without armoring up, giving us a chance to see our own weaknesses or failures in a light that allows us to accept them rather than fight against them. I feel like this book has a good balance of truth, grace, and practical advice about what it means to follow Jesus (and also a fair description of what following Jesus is not). After an intro to define terms and explain the goal, the book contains three sections aligned with the subtitle- Be with Jesus, become like him, and do as he did. The introduction describes Jesus as a Rabbi, what a Rabbi was, and what it looks like to be an apprentice in the Rabbinic system. This part also clearly defines the difference between Christians and followers of Jesus (disciples). Christian is a label, a disciple is a person who follows a teacher and does what they do. Goal 1- Be with Jesus. We are our habits. The way to be with Jesus is to build the habit of being with him- spending time in quiet contemplation of God, prayer, generosity, and other habits. Comer also builds the case for following Jesus by describing the peace that comes with the daily discipline and habits of following Jesus. Being with Jesus will require sacrificing some of the chaos and busyness in our lives. Often we will have to hide to get some peace and quiet. Goal 2- Become like him. Here we learn that we are all on spiritual formation journeys; some of us are just being more deliberate about where that journey is headed, and the rest are being taken on an inadvertent journey without direction or deliberate input. There are no accidental saints. Saints are only made by years of deliberate action. We must overcome sin and the formation we’ve already been through on this journey. The terrible and wonderful news is that we are not in control. Jesus is. Goal 3- Do as he did. This section is packed with ideas and methods for developing a “Rule for life”. Comer describes a rule for life as being a trellis for a vine. The rule provides the framework, structure, and protection our vine lives need to thrive and bear good fruit. Comer also describes the nine spiritual disciplines/gifts we can use as we build rhythms of doing into our lives. There is also a free tool that they created to help you build your rule of life called Rule of Life Builder. I found the suggestions in the tool to be very helpful. This is a hard book. It shows a hard path. It criticizes the majority of those Christians not actively seeking to live like Jesus and do as he did. Narrow is the path that leads to life. Thanks, Matt for recommending this great book. I’m sure my thoughts have not done it justice. I highly recommend it if you are seeking to understand what following Jesus really is.
This is for seekers, apprentices, students, and followers of Jesus.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 6:24)
The New One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard
This is a short management parable. It describes three tools to better manage people: 1- One-minute goals. 2- One minute praises. 3- One minute redirects. One-minute goals help workers define what they are working on, what winning looks like, and what sort of checks or reporting should be in place to help the worker and manager see if progress is being made toward the one-minute goal. One-minute praises are used to help managers catch workers doing something right. By praising workers early, reinforcing good behaviors, and calibrating often, the manager can build up the worker’s morale and actively coach them toward success. Too often praise is late and disconnected from good work. One-minute redirects are corrections followed by affirmations. The manager corrects a mistake by clearly describing the problem and explaining the repercussions and then reaffirms the worker is still valued and part of the team. This allows the negative focus to be on the problem and not the worker. By putting these three tools together, management becomes more clear and focused on building up people and empowering them to be engaged and effective. Also mixed into the story is the idea of thinking at the next level and some of the Leader-Leader mindset. Thanks, Stephen, for reminding me about this series of books. I’m still hunting for The One Minute Manage Meets The Monkey.
This is for anyone looking for new management tools.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Dan Woren, 1:27)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Life to the Fullest by Bryant Westbrook
The Lost Continent by Tui T. Sutherland (Wings of Fire #11)
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
I’m on vacation now. I’m trying to practice rest, disconnecting from the stress of work, and being present with my family. I’m excited for the 4th of July. It’s one of my favorite holidays. I’m also very excited to go visit my family. Jet has been asking to go to NM since I went in February. I'll get to see Charity. We've been praying hard for her.
I met with my surgeon last week and everyone there reminded me that I’m only 3 months post-op and I need to settle down, slow down, and keep going to PT. I think I scared them with some of the questions I was asking about what activities I am allowed to do. Turns out I’m not allowed to do anything fun ever again anymore ever. Especially if it’s like an adventure. I’m glad I have these people in my life to remind me that I’m not 25 years old anymore and I don’t recover like I used to. They sent me to get measured for an athletic ACL protection brace hoping that would distract me for a while. Hopefully, the insurance people will realize that paying for a brace is way cheaper than covering another ACL surgery.
I have some extra audible credits. Send me your ideas for the best story on Audible.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment