April 2025
April felt like the longest and the shortest month ever. We had Easter. We got some new windows installed in the house for better bird watching, did some painting, and spent loads of time watching soccer in all kinds of Kansas spring weather.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Midnight Black by Mark Greaney (Grayman #14)
It is hard to write reviews for Gray Man books. He spends all his time crashing from one fight to the next. There is a lot of running and hiding in between, and then more shooting. If I were to write all that down, I would be giving away the suspense and secrets. So this is a step back to describe the story and setting, and let you find the details in the book. Midnight Black takes place in Eastern Europe. The story is set against the war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia is a police state, dark, morbid, and persecuted. The Russians have the only person in the world that Court loves- Zoya. They are using her as bait, trying to catch the Gray Man and trying to embarrass other spy organizations internally. The Ukrainians are trying to defend their country and find ways to strike back at the Russians. Their mission aligns with Court’s. They plan a rescue mission to save a Russian prisoner who has the power, knowledge, and popularity to be the next real president of Russia and to lead a proper democratic government into Russia. I love Gray Man books. They are exciting and dangerous. In this book, I found a lot of useful information about Russian psychology and the war in Ukraine. Even though this is a fiction book and biased, it is free to tell the truth in ways the news media never will.
This is for rebels, spies, and operators.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jay Snyder, 15:51)
Jet is funny when it comes to picking out new books. We had this one on our list a couple of months ago, but he told me he started it at school and it was boring. We ran out of other books, and this one was available, so we gave it a try. He was immediately hooked. The story is about Ben Ripley, a middle schooler, who gets recruited into the CIA's Spy School. Ben quickly finds himself in the middle of a plot to sabotage the school. He fights off an assassin in his dorm room. He gets attacked by ninjas. He gets kidnapped a few times. Of course, nothing is as it seems in Spy School. Ben uses his brains, his luck, and his grit to save the day. But mostly he relies on the super-talented Erica Hale, who tries to teach him the ropes. I hope Jet learned some things about trusting his instincts and how adults are not always right and don't always have your best interests at heart. It's good to use your brain and your heart when things get tough.
This is for young people trying to figure out how to navigate the dangers of life.
(Rated G, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Gibson Frazier, 6:01)
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Tress is a practical but poor young lady who lives on a rock island in a world totally different than ours. Her world, Lumar, has twelve moons. The moons are so close that they drop magic spores onto the planet. The spoors are similar to our oceans. Tress falls in love with Charlie, the Duke’s son, but as soon as she figures this out, the Duke hauls Charlie off on a trip. The Duke intends to force Charlie to marry a princess for political gain. Charlie pledges his love to Tress and writes her several letters on his tour of princesses, but eventually he is captured by the evil sorceress. This is where Tress starts to grow as a character. She begins a quest to rescue Charlie. First, she must escape from the island. Then she has to solve quite a few technical issues dealing with magical spores. She’s faced with many dangers, including the spoors, pirates, a dragon, an undead doctor, and an assistant cannon master with terrible eye problems. The tone of the story is quite fun. The narrator is Hoid, the cabin boy on one of the ships Tress sails. Hoid is the character Wit from the Stormlight Archives, but in this story, he is the victim of one of the sorceress’s curses. The sorceress took his five senses. His sense of taste, sense of humor, sense of decorum, sense of purpose, and sense of self. I love the whimsy and clever plot evolution in this story. I love the creativity of the world-building. The characters are memorable, and the dialogue is catchy. Here’s one of my favorite quotes: “If bravery is the wind that makes us soar like kites, then fear is the string that keeps us from going too far. When we abandon some types of fear, entire worlds open up.” What worlds is fear keeping you from opening?
This is for dreamers, adventurers, and assistant cannon masters.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Michael Kramer, 12:27)
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
This is a weird book. I had to start it three times before I got enough momentum to finish it. My library loan kept running out. This is also the first book I have had to crank up the audio speed to stay engaged. 2.5X speed was just right. (I wonder if the translation factored into this.) The story is about a star system called Trisolaris. The aliens living there are trying to solve the mathematical model of their star system, which is erratic compared to our simple system, which only has one sun in the middle. Trisolaris has three stars, causing their planet to have erratic gravity, days, nights, and crazy civilization-ending desolations. Some humans have learned of Trisolaris, and the reactions are varied. Some humans are trying to help solve the Three-Body problem. Some hope the aliens will save us. Others hope the aliens will put us out of our misery. This isn’t your typical Sci-Fi book with aliens and space battles, and light sabers. It has some interesting science, some social justice aspects, and some psychology. But now that I’ve made it through the story, I haven’t been able to decide if I liked it or not. It was challenging and different.
This is for tree-huggers, physicists, and readers looking for something different.
(Rated R, Score 5/10, audiobook read by Luke Daniels, 13:26)
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown (Wild Robot #2)
Roz is back in book two. Roz is a helper robot who is refurbished and sold to an old farmer. On the farm, Roz goes to work fixing all the broken machinery and protecting the dairy cows. But Roz has a secret. She is plotting to escape. But she can’t get away to her island and her son Bright Bill without help. Roz uses her language and camouflage skills to blend in as a normal farm robot, but the farmer’s kids crack her tough exterior. She begins by telling them stories about a wild robot, but kids are smart and perceptive. The kids figure out that Roz is the wild robot, and they agree to help her. They remove her tracking device so that she can leave the farm. The last bit of the book is a wild robot escape with twists and turns and terrible risks. I like Roz. She is a helper, a caretaker, a problem-solver, and a chameleon. I hope they make a movie out of book two. My family loved The Wild Robot movie based on book one.
This is for little helpers and cranky old farmers.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Kathleen McInerney, 4:37)
The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #4)
The fifth floor of the dungeon is a massive world filled with bubbles like a sheet of bubble wrap. Each bubble has four kingdoms - Air, Tomb, Land, and Sea. Each kingdom has a castle. Each castle is filled with mobs, a boss, and some sort of puzzle designed to allow quick defeat of that kingdom. Crawlers must work together to defeat each kingdom in their bubble to unlock the stairways to the sixth floor before the floor timer expires and the fifth floor collapses. Carl, Princess Donut, Katia, Mongo, and Mordecai land in the Air Kingdom. They have to figure out how to defeat a floating castle of angry Dirigible Gnomes before the move to the Land kingdom, where they face a bizarre slime. Then they face certain death in the Sea Kingdom being eaten by a sharktopus. Finally, they have to defeat a ghost in the Tomb Kingdom. On their quest, they seek three items, which combine to make the gate of the feral gods. The powerful items allow crawlers to create portals with one very dangerous side effect: the portal summons a feral god. Anything feral is to be avoided; feral gods most of all. Carl upgrades his anarchy skills throughout the book. Princess Donut figures out how to participate on the galactic socials, which is good and bad. Katia learns how to operate solo and gains some much-needed confidence and levels. Mongo is still my favorite, though he doesn’t get much work in this story.
This is for crawlers and gamers. It will keep you up past your bedtime.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, ebook, 586p.)
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (Reckoners #1)
I bought this book in an Audible sale a while back, and it got buried. I pulled it out, dusted it off, and finished it in like 2 days. The story is fast and packed with danger. It reminds me of The Princess Bride when the kid asks the Grandpa, “Has it got any sports in it?” And the Grandpa responds, “Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…” This book has all of that stuff except swap the fencing with gunfights and humans with superpowers called Epics. David is the main character. He’s a young man obsessed with revenge. Since the calamity, the epics have used their powers to destroy civilizations and subvert the law, becoming a new kind of law. Steelheart is a nearly invincible epic who rules the post-apocalyptic city called Newcago. Steelheart dominates the people with fear, atrocities, and crazy superpowers. He is impervious to physical attacks, he can turn any non-living matter into steel, he can fly, and he can blast energy from his hands. But every epic has a weakness, and David has been studying the epics looking for weaknesses for ten years. He is trying to join a group of humans who hunt epics called the Reckoners. Their mission is to kill epics. David has been building a plan to kill Steelheart and hopes to get the Reckoners to help him implement the plan so that he can have his revenge. David and his interaction with the Reckoners is the bulk of the story. I love the banter, the character development, the improvisation David does in tight spots, and his really bad metaphors.
This is a great book for action junkies and comic book kids.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Macleod Andrews, 12:42)
Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson (Reckoners #1.5)
Mitosis is an epic who hunts David in Newcago after the Reckoners take over. This is a short story about their interactions and the reactions of the humans in the city. David doesn’t have all the protection of the Reckoners as he tries to neutralize hundreds of clones that Mitosis makes. Mitosis’s weird weakness seems to be music. He wants to kill David and take over Newcago. David outsmarts the epic for a time, but eventually, he needs the help of the other citizens. Tia helps organize the resistance, and the humans bravely make a stand. This short story also has funny, bad metaphors.
This is for a quick reading win.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, ebook, 69p.)
Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper
Jet calls this book realistic fiction because Melody Brooks has a real disease called cerebral palsy. The story is about her life from birth to sixth grade. Melody has an amazing brain, but her body keeps her from any kind of normal. She can’t talk or control her body like most humans. Her fine motor control is limited to her two thumbs. She goes to an elementary school in Ohio, but she is stuck with the other special needs kids until she gets a machine that helps her talk. She’s like a little female Stephen Hawking. With the help of her talking machine, Melody gets to interact with the other kids in the school in more of a normal way, and she tries to make friends. She tries to be cool and funny and normal, but it’s so hard for her. She has a chance to excel when she takes a practice quiz bowl test and gets a perfect score on the 25-question quiz. Her teacher and her classmates struggle to connect her big brain with her broken body. She powers through the doubters and studies hard. She goes to the tryout for the quiz team, where she is met with more grief from the teacher and the kids. She scores the first-ever perfect score on a 100-question tryout quiz. She makes the team, and eventually she helps them to win the regional quiz competition, qualifying for nationals in Washington D. C. This is a tough story. The author makes it easy to feel Melody’s emotions along the way. There are ups and downs, kindness and frustration, heartache and loss. This book stretched my empathy muscles and helped me see life through new lenses.
This is for anyone who needs a good reminder of how good we have it.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Sisi Aisha Johnson, 6:49)
Non-Fiction Books
Please, Sorry, Thanks by Mark Batterson
Words matter. Words are how we communicate and relate. The right words heal. The wrong words destroy. This book is about three of the most powerful words we have. We learn these words when we are very small, but at some point, we forget about their power and importance.
The book has three parts:
Part I: The Psychology of Please
Part II: The Science of Sorry
Part III: The Theology of Thanks
Each part is filled with wisdom, psychology, and stories about the importance and power of these words:
Please is a bid for help. Please indicates humility. Please is other-focused. It looks outside your power to the power and skill of others. Please is good manners. Please is a magic word that opens doors and hearts.
Sorry is the hardest of these three words for me. Sorry acknowledges hurt. Sorry starts with empathy. Sorry, to be meaningful must be specific and sincere. Sorry defeats counter culture. Sorry is a bid for connection in chaos and confusion. Sorry undermines anger. Sorry deflates ego. Sorry is the path to forgiveness.
Thanks is a deep word. It holds gratitude, freedom, healing, and relief. When we say thanks, we acknowledge the value of others. When we focus on good things, we forget about all the negativity, if only for a moment. When we say thanks, our posture changes. We look up. We look out. My experience is that if we can say thanks, we are rewarded with more goodness.
I enjoyed this book. I needed the reminders it holds. It holds life, connection, and healing. It also holds quite a few clichés, but I think that is just the author's style. Thank you, Andrew, for the recommendation.
This is not for kids. They know these words. It is for those of us who have forgotten them.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 4:36)
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
Can you imagine being brave enough to steal a piece of art from a museum while it was open? I’m not that brave. I struggle to steal a handful of mints from Chick-fil-A, even though they are free and no one guards them. Imagine stealing art every weekend for years in multiple cities and countries across Europe. Stéphane Breitwieser and his girlfriend Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus are the subjects of this amazing true story of the most prolific art thieves in history. The author does a wonderful job of telling the story. He describes the events cleverly blending storytelling style and reporting facts. Breitwieser is a bizarre character. He never really grows up. He can’t keep a regular job. He lives in his mother’s attic with his girlfriend, and the two pack the room with priceless treasures. They work together to case museums, find weaknesses in security and displays, and walk out with all kinds of art, including weapons, snuff boxes, paintings, statues, silver, and tapestries. Breitwieser is a student of art. He reads and studies all about the pieces he wants to collect. He fancies himself a true collector, worthy of the pieces he steals. To him, what he is doing is rescuing the art from unworthy places. He never sees his stealing as wrong. Anne-Catherine is harder for me to understand. She is more conservative during their outings. She is less willing to risk getting caught. She keeps her job as a nurse throughout the whole story. She’s capable of walking away from the art, but why would she stay in such a crazy relationship for so long? This book reads like fiction. The storyline is cleverly arranged. The characters are memorable. The scope of thievery is hard to grasp in pure volume and audacity.
This is for thieves, lovers, and security types.
(Rated PG-13, Score 10/10, audiobook read by Edoardo Ballerini and the author, 5:39)
The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
This is a leadership fable about how to define and identify people who are awesome team players. The story is about Jeff, who gets tossed into a tough spot as CEO of a construction company, which must execute two huge contracts simultaneously. The executive team- Jeff (new CEO), Bobby (Operations lead), and Clare (HR lead) face a hiring challenge. The three executives start investigating how they can hire the right people to fit their culture, with a focus on results and teamwork. As they discuss good teammates and bad teammates, they uncover certain attributes that predict a person's awesomeness for teamwork and culture fit. They work through some of the language and settle on three key virtues of a team player: humility, hunger, and smarts. The team works through the interview process focusing on these values and learn quickly that they are a great basis for evaluating candidates for culture fit and future success.
After the story part of the book, the author walks through the model and clearly defines the three virtues:
1. Humble is pretty intuitive. It's curiosity, putting the team first, sharing credit, and treating everyone the same. It's not rude or pretentious.
2. Hungry is being driven to work hard, show initiative, and go above and beyond the minimum requirements. Hungry is not lazy, distracted, or absent.
3. Smart is more like people smart. Smart is knowing how to read a room, how to communicate well, how to value people, and how to manage emotions. People who struggle with this virtue often don’t know, and once they are made aware, they can improve quickly.
After these definitions, there are four applications for the model that are discussed:
1. Hiring
2. Assessing current employees
3. Developing employees who are lacking one or more virtues
4. Embedding the model into an organization's culture
This is a fantastic book. It gave me good language to understand some of the ideas I've struggled with in the past. I’m working on smart. One of the most helpful bits of this book is a description of characters in a Venn diagram. I’ve met at least one of each type of person on the diagram in my career. The ideal team players I work with are some of my favorite humans.
This is for anyone looking for ways to improve their teamwork.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Adam Barr, 4:46)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The Lord’s Prayer by Wesley Hill
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
Relationships are like gloves. Some start out very rough and uncomfortable like a big nasty pair of leather yard gloves. Others have a better fit right away. Time and work can improve the comfort of most. I’ve been pondering this idea from Tress. It feels like a good metaphor.
My parenting manual seems to be missing the chapter about how to answer the tough philosophical questions that come up at bedtime. Here are a few that I've fielded lately:
How do colored pencils work?
Why do puppies have tails?
Why do we get feelings?
Why is water wet?
How is fabric made?
These are excellent questions, but not at bedtime. If you have answers, let me know.
Lastly, I found this quote. It wraps up one of the biggest ideas about marriage. If you can get this right, everything will be better and brighter and happier. Be for each other. Believe in each other.
“… this controlling insight can serve as the One Thing you need to know about happy marriage: Find the most generous explanation for each other’s behavior and believe it.” Marcus Buckingham
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
PS. 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.
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