February 2025
Single parenting is tough. I got to be a single parent for a week. No one died, but it was sketchy a few times. The kids and I did some AI experiments. Jet has been watching Pokémon fusion videos, so we had different AIs draw some Pokémon fusions (Millie)(Jet) for us. The kids have had several snow days/hazardously cold stay-home days, so we started teaching them to contribute to the household chores more deliberately. So far, this has been a huge success. I highly recommend teaching hard work early and often. Fun fact- Kansas can swing from -30 degrees wind-chill to 70 degrees in a week.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Mac Undercover by Mac Barnett (Mac B. #1)
Mac is a normal kid with only one pair of blue jeans. The Queen of England recruits Mac to find the Crown Jewels, which have been stolen. On his flight to England, Mac’s Gameboy is stolen. The Queen gives Mac an incriminating note from the President of France and his choice of Corgi side-kick to rescue the stolen treasure. Mac breaks into the Louvre and steals the Mona Lisa planning to trade it to the President of France for the Crown Jewels. Then his plan falls apart. I won't spoil the twist for you. Jet liked this short book. He’s got it down in his Battle of the Books folder. The best part is when Mac emulates Freddy the Corgi and licks his way out of a bad spot.
This is for spies in training and anyone who appreciates a good pair of blue jeans.
(Rated G, Score 7/10, audiobook read by the author, 1:19)
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
Many people are familiar with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien, but did you know there is a space trilogy written by CS Lewis about the same time? This is book one of the space/time trilogy. Ransom, the main character and professor of languages, is kidnapped by two men (Weston and Divine) heading to Mars. They knock him out, load him on their spaceship, and launch before he wakes up. On the way to Mars Ransom learns that this is a second trip for the men to Mars and that he will be a human sacrifice to the natives on their arrival. But when they land, Ransom uses distractions to escape. He runs away and explores the landscape of Malacandra, which is the name for the planet that the natives use. Ransom meets and learns to communicate with a hross, one of the planet’s three rational races of creatures. The hross takes Ransom back to his village and teaches him the language, survival, and customs of the hrossa who are the planets’ poets. Ransom spends some weeks living amongst the hrossa and developing his understanding of the language. Next, Ransom is summoned by Oyarsa, the ruler of Malacandra, so he obeys the summons. On his trip, he meets a sorn named Augray. The seroni are the scientists of the planet and look most like humans in form. Augray carries Ransom the rest of the way to see Oyarsa on the island of Meldilorn. On the island, Ransom meets a pfifltriggi, the third race on Mars. The pfifltriggi are craftsmen and tinkerers.
Finally, Ransom meets Oyarsa and discovers the whole story. Oyarsa questions Ransom about Earth and the two men who brought Ransom to Mars. Because of his greater mastery of the language Ransom can explain and learn many things from Oyarsa. Weston and Divine are brought before Oyarsa for killing three hrossa. Oyarsa banishes them by sending them back to earth in their ship with 90 days' worth of food and air. Their ship is rigged to be unmade in 90 days, and the men barely make it home before it disappears. This is a tough story. It shows, in story form, how far we have fallen from kindness to greed. Like in A Wrinkle in Time, Earth is shown to be a dark, silent planet. A planet cut off from the splendor of heaven. I find it incredible how well Lewis could see these aspects and write them into the story.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in space/time travel or philosophy.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, paperback 158p., audiobook read by Geoffrey Howard, 5:26)
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2)
Carl and Princess Donut are right where Book One left off. They are trapped in a video game, except it’s real life. Earth is now Dungeon Crawler World, which is a combo game/reality TV show for the alien universe. All surviving humans are contestants. Carl and Donut survived the first couple of training floors in book one so they get to pick race and class attributes. Mongo, their pet velociraptor, is growing along with them. As he learns and levels up his size changes dramatically. At the start of the book, he’s chicken-sized and at the end, he’s more like a horse. Mordecai, their game guide, gets promoted to be Donuts manager, which means they drag him all over the next level. Floor three is called Over City and it has new enemies and dangers. Carl gets dumped into a creepy circus quest. He and Mordecai prepare a plan that gets morphed and adapted as the story plays out. He ends up cutting a deal for later floors, reuniting a family, and rescuing Donut and Mongo along the way. When they find a bigger town, they get stuck in a new quest. They have to solve a murdered-prostitutes-raining-from-the-sky mystery. The book ends with their transition down to the fourth floor right before a massive magical doomsday explosion. This book didn’t get me quite as wound up as Book 1. Maybe I was in a better place while I read it, or maybe knowing the characters and writing style helped take some of the edge off. The author does a good job dressing up deep struggles and tensions in gore and game dressing. Like a good video game, the story is complex, the plot is unpredictable, and there are deeper themes, but visibly you can get lost in the design and graphics. My favorite character in this one is Mongo. He’s funny.
This is for mature gamers.
(Rated R, Score 7/10, ebook, 364p.)
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
This fun little book is on Jet’s Battle of the Books list. He had already read through it, so when we listened to it, he could answer all my “What happens next?” questions for the first time instead of the other way around. The story is about a young boy named Bell who lives on Mars. Bell lives in the American bunker/camp, which is built in some of the lava tubes on Mars. There are camps for other countries joined by an underground train, but the Americans have been isolated from the other countries because an old accident killed one of the Americans. The story introduces all the characters in the American camp as Bell goes about his days. One day, the elderly camp botanist dies. Then, the other adults in the camp begin to get sick. The kids keep the camp moving for a few weeks, but the load gets to be unbearable. Bell and another boy take the train to get help. They stumble into a wedding in one of the other camps. When the French commander hears about the sickness in the American camp, she immediately sends her medic and other helpers to the Americans. The kids spend a month in the French camp while the adults recover from the virus. When the adults are recovered, they force the Americans back into isolation. The separation is devastating for the kids. Bell, being the youngest, kindest, and therefore, most dangerous, finds a way to unlock old secrets, heal old wounds, and restore the lion pride of Mars. The Mars in this story is nothing like the Mars in Lewis’ story, but there are some similarities. We are all broken, and we all make mistakes. We need each other and we need grace, love, and forgiveness. We can’t survive on our own.
This is for lion cubs who like space stories.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Maxwell Click, 5:46)
Non-Fiction Books
Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child by John M. Gottman
I’ve been working through this book for a while now. I was finally able to finish it. The author argues that raising emotionally intelligent kids is very important for their health, success, and overall well-being. Gottman includes a test to help determine your parenting style: Dismissive, Disapproving, Laissez-Faire, and Emotion Coaching. Dismissive parents make kids feel like their emotions don’t matter. Disapproving parents might punish kids for having big negative emotions. Laissez-faire parents let kids do whatever they want, leading to kids with boundary issues. Emotion coaching parents help kids learn to identify their emotions and have a much healthier set of skills for handling all different types of emotions in different contexts. There are 5 steps in emotion coaching: 1- Be aware of the child’s emotions. 2- Recognizing the emotion as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching. 3- Listening empathetically and validating the child’s feelings. 4- Helping the child verbally label emotions. 5- Setting limits while helping the child problem-solve. Walking through these steps helps the parents and the kids. It builds skills. It builds relationships. It makes feelings safe. It establishes healthy boundaries. It gives kids better words to describe what they are feeling.
Gottman includes three additional sections to help parents. The first chapter describes the negative impact that marriage problems and divorce have on the kids in the family. Gottman warns against the four horsemen of the apocalypse in marriage:
1-Criticism- attacking your partner and blaming.
2- Contempt- expressing disgust and undermining respect.
3- Defensiveness- kills listening.
4- Stonewalling- one partner shuts down and becomes non-responsive.
When these appear in a relationship, they can be very destructive and difficult to address. It is hard to understand just how damaging and stressful these situations are for kids.
The second chapter explains how fathers have a powerful, critical role in emotion coaching. Fathers will impact their kids in life-changing ways, whether present or absent. They have an amazing influence. Dads, your words and actions carry more weight than anyone else in your child’s life. What a challenge. Embrace it.
The third chapter walks through the emotional needs kids will have in each stage of development from infancy to adulthood. Each stage has its challenges and growth areas. Parenting is a journey and it is very helpful to have a sort of a map of what that journey can hold.
This book is very helpful and very challenging. Thank you, Eric, for walking me through this. I’ve been working on emotion coaching my kids. It’s a process. Having a plan and words to help has been a game-changer.
This is for anyone trying to raise a small human.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Roy Worley, 8:04, paperback 240p.)
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
I think one of the best parts about this book is that it follows its own advice. The author breaks down his approach to slow productivity into three simple parts: 1- Do fewer things. 2- Work at a natural pace. 3- Obsess over quality. If the problem you are trying to solve is a frantic obsession with business, writing a book with 37 tips for slowing down wouldn’t quite work. I like the slow, simple outline of the book. I like the author’s style. The message is perfect for me (and probably for you) at this time in my life and career. I’ve been so busy, so distractible, and ready for change. The author offers hope, wisdom, and permission to let go of the chaos. Logically, it makes sense how we got to this point where we are trapped in a digital spiral of doom, email, IMs, video meetings, and despair. The busier we look, the more productive we must be right? Right? No. It’s probably the opposite. By being busy we dilute our work. We don’t get deep into the work that matters. We stay on the surface answering status emails and reporting no progress because we haven’t had any time or space to focus. So, instead of burning out or silently quitting, we need to do less. Permit ourselves to not be a slave to email and chat requests. Breathe. Take walks. Schedule time for our most valuable projects. Say no, politely, and firmly to projects we can’t, shouldn’t, or don’t want to do. Understand our value and our sweet spots, then do more of that. Say no to meetings. And when we look back, recognize that real work takes time, persistence, and a different sort of approach. Of course, life requires balance. You can’t implement all these ideas immediately without consequences. You might get fired. And then again, you might not. I think we have more freedom to choose the right pace than we know. So, slow down. Breathe. Say no. Protect your time and space for creation. Give up the things that don’t matter to focus on the things that do. Say, like Nehemiah, when distractions come, “I am doing a great work, and cannot come down.” Work at your craft. Develop your taste. Rest after seasons of furious activity. This is how you keep from burnout.
This is for the tired, frantic, busy souls.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, audiobook read by the author, 6:17)
Preview/Currently Reading-
Leadership is Language by David L. Marquet (36%)
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #5) (42%)
Whisper by Mark Batterson (34%)
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
Slow down. Watch an afternoon movie once a month as therapy. It will restore your soul.
I heard this quote, and it stuck with me. I’ve been pondering it a lot this month. “If we don’t make time for our friends, we won’t have any.” Make time for the important people in your life. Build friendships. Show up. Let go of the rush and be there with them.
One of the most powerful and emotional bits of reading I experienced this month was hidden in Lion of Mars. Bell is talking to the French Commander about the old botanist who died. He asks, How do you stop missing someone? The commander has a simple but profound answer: Remember them. I’ve been missing some people from my journey lately. Winter is dark, lonely, and sad. But memories can shake some of that loose. I’ve been working to remember and record some of my best moments. Those memories are lights from the past, healing the present and helping me plan more memorable adventures for the future. I don’t want to give away the ending, but winter ends. Spring is coming.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
Instagram: Fromthespine
PPS. I’m looking to grow and improve this little experiment. If you have benefited from it and would like to support my ability to buy better books or run with some other ideas I have been working on, here is your opportunity. You could think of it as an investment or buying me a coffee.