FROM THE SPINE - JULY 2025 BOOK REVIEWS

July 2025

The summer heat finally arrived. We had a mild May and June. July has been an oven. I managed to renew my belay certification so that I can climb at the Y again. July seemed to fly by. Work has been crazy. With some help from my brother Lucas, we managed to wrangle a Nintendo Switch 2 (Jet calls it a Nintendo 2). So we have been playing a lot of Mario Kart World. It’s been a stressful summer, so this quote was a good reminder: “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” Ben Franklin 

Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:

Fiction Books

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson (The Reckoners #2)

David Charleston is Steel Slayer. The Reckoners are trying to lead Newcago after they destroyed the epic dictatorship that ruled the city in book 1. Someone is trying to take them out. An old friend of Prof and Tia is sending epics to fight the crew. In response, Prof, David, and Tia head to Babilar (formerly New York City) to face Regalia, a powerful water epic. In Babilar, they link up with a new crew of Reckoners who have been doing recon. Val is team lead, Mizzy is tech, and Exel is a former spy and mortician. The team is up against Regalia, Obliteration (a thermal and teleportation high epic), and Newton (force redirection high epic). The city is weird. Regalia has attracted a mountain of water, washing out the lower levels of the buildings, so the people live on the upper floors and travel by rope bridges or watercraft. The town is a hippy town filled with partiers and layabouts. Something has created massive plant life that stabilizes the buildings, glows in the dark, and produces large quantities of fruit for the people to eat. The Reckoner crew sets up shop in a massive underwater bunker and uses a submarine to travel around. In the city, they battle with the epics, searching for Regalia’s location and learning more about the other epics and their powers. David is searching for Firefight (Megan). He thinks he can figure out how to save her from her evil, epic nature. Tension builds as David works with Megan in secret, knowing Prof is hunting her. The story builds to a frenzy as the Reckoners trigger traps and fight to save Babilar from the devastating power of Obliteration. Who will make it out alive? 

This is for young heroes and anyone who grew up watching the X-Men. 

(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by MacLeod Andrews, 12:05) 

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn #3)

There are many stories about the battle between good and evil, chaos and order, Odium and Honor, death and life. In this story, the global battle is between Ruin and Preservation. The whole world and all of humanity are at stake. The world is in chaos as the end draws near. The ash mounts are covering the world in ash. The mists are more active during the day, and they are attacking humans, striking down 1/16 of the humans exposed to them. Even the Earth seems to recoil with increasing earthquake activity. Brutal Koloss armies roam the empire, destroying towns. Ruin, released from his prison, seeks humanity's destruction. Only a few stand in his way. Emperor Elund Venture, Lady Vin, and their friends are set against the evil weight of eons. Where will their help come from? Unexpectedly, their help comes from The Lord Ruler, who was the evil emperor in the first book. Seeing deeper and farther than any other human, the Lord Ruler created stockpiles of supplies in five cities. Elund and Vin hunt each hidden cache and the supplies and secrets each holds. Their friends help. The different narratives woven through the story explore the nuances of government, leadership, and philosophy. I find it interesting how stories help us see our situations more clearly. This book is filled with magic, conflict, darkness, hope, and struggle. The characters are complex. I’m not sure I understand the ending. I probably need to have a conversation with my nephew, Max, to talk it out. Thanks, Max (and Lucas), for recommending these books. 

This is for mistings, Kandra, and dreamers. 

(Rated PG-13, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Michael Kramer, 27:25)

Non-Fiction Books

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

This is a trend-breaking book. It flies in the face of the latest management trends that put stockholders first and numbers above all. Sinek takes us back to our roots- back to simpler times when we had to trust our leaders for survival. Today, we have a corporate world where we use mass layoffs as tools, where investors are kings, and where we've lost the trust of the people we lead. I love this book. It speaks directly to the heart of so much of the dysfunction I have observed in my corporate job. It is a call to something better. It is a call for better leaders.

The book is broken into eight parts. It covers many ideas from brain chemistry to generational development to the way abstraction kills. I gained the most insight from parts two, four, and five.

Part two discusses the different types of chemicals our bodies use to reinforce behaviors: EDSO -Endorphins, Dopamine, Serotonin, and Oxytocin. These chemicals teach us to do things that benefit us. They can be helpful or dangerous based on how we learn to trigger them. I learned that Serotonin and Oxytocin are trust chemicals. They trigger the feelings of togetherness and trust. For me, they are the feelings of being a part of a group and inside a circle of trust. We spent a lot of time building these chemicals in team sports and on volunteer projects. I probably need to be more deliberate about creating spaces for these chemicals in my work, my family, and my friends. To me, this feels like everyone pitching in to clean up after a party.

Part four explained some American history going back to the 1920s, describing the generations that pulled together during the Great Depression and World War II. These generations sacrificed to survive. There were great leaders and lots of ways to get Serotonin and Oxytocin, but after these generations came the Baby Boomers. This generation has grown up selfish. They didn’t have the same need for sacrifice or togetherness. When they came into power, they dismantled the structures put in place to protect. They sacrificed safety for greed. Now we are experiencing the natural consequences of that nearsighted behavior. The perspectives in this section hit me with new weight as I am a little older and better able to see more of these impacts through my own experience. 

Part five describes in great detail how humans use abstraction to justify great evils like the Holocaust, torture, and war. It’s easy to disassociate humans when they are numbers, statistics, or enemies. It’s a lot harder to dehumanize someone when you share a meal with them. So many of our big companies today have leaders who don’t or can’t see the people working for them as people and not tools. Numbers in spreadsheets don’t have to feed families. They don’t have hopes and dreams. When leaders isolate themselves from the people they lead, they forget why they have the authority they wield. If you are a leader, lean in to your people. Really see them as humans. Serve them. Invest in them. Don’t treat them like numbers. Don’t let them become abstract ideas. Say their names. Meet their families. Know their kids’ names. It will make you a better leader. 

“Let us all be the leaders we wish we had.”

This is for growing leaders, cynics, and learners. 

(Rated PG-13, Score 10/10, audiobook read by the author, 9:23)

Preview/Currently Reading-

Whisper by Mark Batterson

Prepared by Mike Glover

Fermentation by Seth Ring (Battle Mage Farmer #4)

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #7)

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor (Bobiverse #1) 

I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists. 

Final Thoughts- 

I found this quote, and I’ve been pondering it: "The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident.” -Charles Lamb.

 What does that look like to you? For me, it’s as simple as small gifts planted for the kids or flowers for my wife. Another example that I get a huge kick out of is finding a way to pay the dinner check without others knowing. I probably need to find more of these small joys in my life. 

Here’s another challenge I found: Practice the art of small daily discomforts. -James Clear

I don’t like daily discomforts, as a general rule, so this takes some deliberate action. I don’t think it has to be too complicated, but it is a good idea. I think it can be as simple as doing things differently, like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, striking up a conversation with someone new at work (not a stranger, cause stranger danger), or fasting. This all goes with the rules for resilience I learned about last month, only less extreme than death races. The goal is still the same- get out of your comfort zone. Only then can you grow and learn.

So, get out there and do something generous and kind by stealth that makes you at least a little uncomfortable. You’ll make a memory and stretch yourself. You have no idea what hangs in the balance. 

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.