September 2025
September went by so fast. Work has been hectic, school has kept the kids busy, and we took some trips up to Great Bend for some side quests to help Grandpa Buzz. My right leg does not like that road trip.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
The Castle Lyre by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain #3)
Book 3 of The Chronicles of Prydain starts with Taran (the assistant pig keeper), Gurgi, and Princess Eilonwy departing their home under the care of Dallben the enchanter. The princess is going to Dinas Rhydnant to be trained/grown into a proper princess. Taran, Caw the crow, and Gurgi provide company on the voyage. They meet the blundering Prince Rhun, who is as accident-prone as he is cheerful. Once in Dinas Rhydnant, the crew is joined by the bard, Fflewddur Fflam, and they are warned of danger for the princess by a disguised Prince Gwydion. Before the heroes can unravel the evil plot, the princess is kidnapped. The search and rescue effort is launched, but Prince Rhun manages to get lost, causing Taran and the bard to separate from the search for the princess to rescue the prince. They stumble into a cavern occupied by a giant named Glew. When the crew finally escapes, they rejoin Gwydion and give him two powerful magical artifacts meant for Princess Eilonwy. They find the princess in her ancient home, the Castle of Llyr, but she is enchanted by Achren, the evil sorceress who arranged for the kidnapping. In the end, they are saved by the Princess, who destroys the ancient magic, the castle, and Achren’s magic. My favorite line from the book comes when an old farmer is trying to help Taran work through his feelings of missing the princess: “There is nothing like work to put the heart at rest.”
This book is for assistant pig keepers, workers, protectors, and kids.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by James Langton, 4:42)
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
The Drew children are on holiday with their great-uncle Merry. They are staying in a great old Gray House in the village of Trewissick. Simon, Jane, and Barney are left to their own devices one rainy afternoon, and they go exploring in the old house. In a deep corner of the attic, they discover an ancient manuscript. Together, they work to uncover the secrets of the ancient text and map. But every proper treasure hunt comes with danger, enemies, and frantic chases. The kids work out new ways to see the world and new ways to solve puzzles. Great-uncle Merry guides the children on their quest, trying to protect them from the evil that would steal the treasure and allowing them to use their brains and creativity to find their way. The kids follow the clues to find the treasure over sea and under stone. This was a fun little book. I enjoyed the characters, the battle between the light and the dark, and the echoes of King Arthur.
This is for adventurers, treasure-hunters, and seekers.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Alex Jennings, 7:20)
This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl #7)
Carl and Princess Donut have finally arrived at the fabled Ninth Floor and Faction Wars. They have managed to buy a spot in the war, making them warlords. The whole floor is a massive war between nine armies. There can only be one winning team. All others die. The leaders of the other teams have been drawn into the dungeon. The rules this time are different. The characters who usually play at war without any real consequences are now physically vulnerable. If you die in Faction Wars, you die forever. No more respawning outside the dungeon. This raises the stakes tremendously. Donut and Katia have additional drama to deal with on this floor, caused by a unique item they each wore in previous books. To survive, they must eliminate the Naga army and kill the Naga Queen (who has never been killed before in Faction Wars). This side quest eats up a bunch of time and resources as the countdown to full hostilities keeps the other armies at bay. The Princess Posse army is joined by many mercenaries who are former crawlers who return to the dungeon to exact some revenge on the enemies responsible for their trauma. The former crawlers use all their extensive knowledge, skills, tricks, and subterfuge to bring chaos and death to their enemies. The first half of the book is a lot of political posturing and philosophical droning. It got dark and boring for me. But the second half is non-stop chaos, war, traps, twists, and gore. It took me several weeks to get through the first half, but the second half hooked me, and I finished it in a couple of days. This is the last published book in the series so far. I couldn’t find a release date for book 8. I saw guesses ranging from next month to next summer, so you'll get a break from these bizarre books for a bit.
This is for warriors, tricksters, and not for the easily offended.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jeff Hays, 28:40, ebook, 724p.)
Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain #4)
True to the title, in this book, Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, goes wandering. His goal is to determine who his parents are. He wishes to determine if he has royal blood so that he might be worthy of asking Princess Eilonwy to marry him. He journeys to the Marshes of Morva to consult with the three witches (fates). They send him looking for the Mirror of Llunet. Taran meets many people on his journey to find the mirror. He provides wise counsel to King Smite and almost becomes his heir, but presses on. Taran and his companions battle a sorcerer who is bent on ruling the dwarves. Taran finds an old sheepherder who claims to be his father. Taran is devastated by this news, and yet, he honors the man by helping him prepare for winter. Taran learns the man had lied only after better understanding himself. Taran works as a swordsmith, a weaver, and a potter, but these trades do not hold his heart. Eventually, Taran finds the Mirror of Llunet and learns that it has been the journey and the lessons along the way that have made him who he is. They have proven his character.
This book is for the wanderers, the seekers, the dreamers, and the craftsmen.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by James Langton, 6:19)
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Yumi is a yoki-hijo. Nikaro is a nightmare painter. They are both nineteen years old, and they live in totally different worlds. The spirits need their help. The spirits create a link between the two unlikely heroes, which turns their worlds inside out. They start body/space swapping. Nikaro wakes up in Yuma’s body, and Yumi is there with him, but in spirit form. Then, when Nikaro falls asleep, he wakes up in his apartment in spirit form with Yumi. But Yumi is in her own body. It’s like Freaky Friday, but more complicated. In Yumi’s world, the spirits are seeking freedom from a dark machine that enslaves them. In Nikaro’s world, there is a stable nightmare haunting his city, and the nightmare painters are not ready for it. This is a funny, awkward story with fantastic roots and memorable characters. Yumi learns to break free of tradition and ritual for their own sake and grow into her own power. Nikaro learns how to face his past, reclaim his genius, and his friends, and paint more than just bamboo. The story is bright, romantic, and fun. My favorite part was Yumi discovering the carnival for the first time and how Nikaro explains carnival food, games, and rides. “Human exhilaration is a renewable resource. And you can generate it with cheap stuffed animals and fried foods.” Also, the illustrations are amazing. The story has twists and turns. Each chapter has discoveries and expansions.
This is for artists and anyone looking for a unique story.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer, 14:43)
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson (Reckoners #3)
David Charleston and his crew are desperate. They are so desperate for cash and resources that they are planning a raid on the Nighthawk foundry. David is the leader now that Prof has fully embraced his epic powers and the darkness that comes with them. David, Cody, Abraham, Megan, and Mizzy are locked and loaded. The crew plans to attack the foundry to fund one last mission to rescue or kill Prof in the amazing moving salt city called Ildithia, formerly known as Atlanta. The crew makes their way to the salt city and goes hunting for a hideout spot. Prof is busy trying to take over the city with his evil powers. He is hunting Larcener, who is a powerful epic with the power to steal powers from other epics. David finds a clue that leads him to a new source of intel needed to run an op against Prof. The Reckoners hope to steal the information Prof is using to rule the city and discover what his endgame is. Throughout the story, David seeks to understand how epics might overcome the darkness tied to their powers. He uses clues and Megan’s experiences. He is unsuccessful until he comes face-to-face with Calamity himself. I’m not sure I understand how it all shakes out in the end, so I’ll have to go through it again. I did enjoy the story, the action, the characters, and the twists. In this story, my favorite character is Nighthawk. He’s weird, quirky, and funny.
This is for heroes, villains, and epics.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by MacLeod Andrews, 12:18)
Non-Fiction Books
Whisper is a book about how to hear the voice of God. Part one defines the power of a whisper. Part two describes the seven love languages that God uses to communicate with us: Scripture, desires, doors, dreams, people, promptings, and pain. I was hoping this would be more of a “how-to” guide to discerning the voice of God in my life. It turns out that there probably is no such book written like a user's manual for us engineer types. Instead, it’s a set of stories that sneak up on the truth from different perspectives. I think it is the nature of God in our world to not speak to us (or at least to most of us) directly. We would probably explode. Instead, he whispers through our circumstances. Because God speaks only in whispers, we must be deliberate about listening for them. And when we do hear them, we must use faith to interpret them and courage to act on them. The whispers of God can feel foreign, counterintuitive, and crazy in our broken world. I’ve been trying to listen to the voice of God. Some days it feels like Felix Felicis in the Harry Potter books. It’s just a gentle nudge in the right direction, and if you dare to do the things it suggests, you will see the magic of the Kingdom shining through into our world. Sometimes, what the Spirit is doing won't make sense on this side of eternity. Other times, the plan becomes obvious almost immediately.
This book is for seekers and listeners.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, paperback, 240p.)
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
I’ve been hearing a lot about this book from different directions. I don’t always trust a popular book. For example, I was about a decade late to the Harry Potter party. My curiosity got the better of me, so I spent one of my Audible credits (because I wasn’t going to wait 38 weeks for a library copy to be available). Here’s what I found:
The book has 20 chapters. The first 10 cover the theory and how it applies to you (the reader). Chapters 11 through 20 are about the Let Them Theory and its application to relationships.
Here’s where I got a little frustrated. I’m an engineer, so when I pick up a book about a theory, I expect it to actually have a theory in it. I want something to test. Something useful for predicting the world. Spoiler- no scientific theory here. Theory is the wrong word. Let Them is a mindset tool, not a theory. Sorry. I digress.
So, Let Them is about letting go (like Frozen). Let other people do what they are going to do, feel how they are going to feel, and act how they are going to act. Stop trying to control them. This frees you from being responsible for other people’s emotions, failures, regrets, and baggage. Let Them is a way to establish boundaries and figure out who you are, where you end, and where other people begin. If you have an underdeveloped sense of self-worth, this mindset shift could feel completely foreign, dangerous, and immensely freeing.
There’s a second half of the “theory” that doesn’t get as much publicity - Let Me. First, you say “Let Them.” Then, you say, “Let me.” So you let other people do what they are going to do. You establish boundaries. You let go of trying to control other people. And then you lean into the things you can control, which is yourself. Let Me is where all the discipline, motivation, and self-help magic comes in. Let Me is taking responsibility for your own destiny.
I struggled a bit with this book because there was some good content thoroughly blended with some weird stories, incompletely developed (or conflicting) ideas, and aspects I don’t need, like the dating bit. My reading philosophy of “take the good and forget the rest” got a good workout with this one. I got bogged down reading the intro (I actually didn’t finish it). Here are some of the ideas that stuck with me:
- Most adults are like 8-year-olds who don’t know how to handle emotions properly.
- Emotions are like waves.
- Be aware of stress, alcohol, hunger, and exhaustion, and their effects on your emotions.
- Friendship needs these three pillars: Proximity, timing, and energy.
- To make friends, go first.
- Compliment people, be curious, smile, and do all these things without expectations when trying to make new friends.
- Adults only do what they feel like doing. They lean into pleasure and avoid pain. Everyone thinks they are the exception.
- Stop trying to pressure people into changing. Model the change you want to see.
- Only compare yourself to others in an effort to learn from them; otherwise, it’s just torture or trying to hype yourself up.
There’s a lot of the same content in other books like Boundaries and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, but those are less sparkly, trendy, and sexy. Obviously, this book resonates with lots of people, so some of the ideas must be useful. Maybe I’m not the average reader Mel is trying to reach, and that’s ok.
This is for anyone looking for permission to let go of trying to control other adults.
(Rated R, Score 6/10, Audiobook read by the author, 10:38)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
The Unseen Realm by Michael S. Reiser
The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain #5)
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
I had lunch with a young man today, and we talked about all kinds of things: engineering school, music, good Mexican food, family dysfunction, and plans for the future. What impressed me was that my friend had taken the time to write notes about his thoughts on The Let Them Theory. He made an observation that stuck with me. I’ll probably butcher it, but here’s how I understood it. Let Them is incomplete. It’s probably ok in some circumstances. Necessary in others. But there’s nuance to every situation. We are not called to just let people alone. Sometimes, we are the lifeline people are clinging to. We are called to love, rescue, and protect. The power is in the choices we make. We have the power to choose to help people. Not all situations are as simple as walking away or letting go. The book neglects this tension, or worse, promotes self above all else. Let us not forget the connections we have to others and our power to make good choices.
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.