November 2021
In November we vote, thank Veterans for their service, and thank God for his provisions. I’m going to say thank you by having another giveaway. The details are at the end of this email. I’m thankful for this community of readers. Thank you for all your feedback, book ideas, and connections.
Here are the books I finished in November 2021 and my short reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells (Murderbot #4)
Murderbot still doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up, but now it has a problem. The evil corporation (GrayCris) that it has been researching in books two and three thinks that Dr. Mensah sent a rogue SecUnit (Murderbot) to sabotage them and blackmail them. So they snatched Dr. Mensah. Book four is the story of Murderbot rescuing Dr. Mensah from GrayCris again. Murderbot is reunited with Dr. Mensah’s crew who is trying to ransom Dr. Mensah back. With Murderbot’s help, the team sets up an exchange, steals the Dr., and manages to make it to their shuttle. GrayCris, thinking Murderbot has all the blackmail data with him, tries to destroy the whole ship. Murderbot manages to trick the vicious attacker and save the crew, but he suffers a complete meltdown and takes months to recover. Murderbot still doesn’t like humans or having emotions about them, but it is beginning to show a pattern of saving the ones that are good to him.
This book is for the snarky reader, the rushed reader, and sci-fi fans.
(Rated R, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Kevin R. Free, 3:46)
Ballistic by Mark Greaney (Gray Man #3)
The Gray Man is being hunted. The CIA, Russians, and quite a few other acronyms are after him. He dodges a kill team in South America and is making his way back north when he learns about the passing of an old friend in Mexico. Court stops by the grave of Eddie Gamboa (who saved Court’s life several years earlier) in Mexico to pay his respects. At the grave, Court meets Eddie’s pregnant wife who is in a war with the Mexican drug-lord Daniel de la Rocha. Court steps in and does his best to protect Eddie’s family against multiple attacks by the assassins of Daniel de la Rocha, the crazy drug lord who killed Eddie. De la Rocha’s men capture the Gray Man and Laura, Eddie’s little sister, but with the help of the CIA, Court escapes. Then Court goes ballistic on de la Rocha’s operations. Court attacks the operation at all levels- bankers, money launderers, drug distribution, drug manufacturing, and crooked cops. Court costs de la Rocha millions upon millions of dollars in a few days causing an eventual show-down with the mad drug lord. This is a crazy intense story from start to finish; it is not for snowflakes. Knowing a little Spanish helps.
This book is for action junkies, thriller fans, and outlaws.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Jay Snyder, 14:09)
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
I guess science worked differently back in the mid-1900s, or at least fictional accounts of scientific journeys worked in a way that I find sketchy. Harry and his uncle professor Hardwick head off on a trip to find the center of the earth based on a coded message found in an old book … because science?! Anyway, they travel to Iceland, hire a guide (Hans), and climb an old volcano. They find a steep chimney in the volcano and using ropes, they descend into the depths. The trio follows the path down for several days, eventually choosing a wrong path, which almost kills them when they don't find water. They backtrack, choose a new path, and eventually find more water by chipping a hole in the rock and tapping an underground water vein. The water follows them on their trip to an underground sea. At one point Harry gets lost, panics, smacks his head, and almost dies. At the giant sea, Hans makes a raft, and the crew sails for many leagues finding ancient species of fish, sea monsters, and weather. A violent storm tosses them around for several “days and nights” (cause they can’t see the sun underground) and eventually spits them out on the shore. The group finds a massive chunk of granite blocking their path so they do the only logical thing – they blow it up. The problem is the blast drains the sea into an abyss that was on the other side of the blockage. Riding the raft the adventures plummet to the depths on the moving water and then get blasted to the surface of the earth through an active volcano in Italy. Thanks, Mom for sending this to me.
This book is for adventurers, young explorers, and scientists.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, paperback, audiobook read by Norman Dietz, 10:07)
Dead Eye by Mark Greaney (Gray Man #4)
Gray Man has a bad habit of making very powerful enemies like the CIA, Mexican Drug-lords, and Russian Mob bosses. At the start of book four, he is trying to eliminate some of the threats against him by executing a one-man takedown of his previous Russian employer. He assaults the Russian stronghold from a microlight airplane, kills Gregor Sidorenko, and shoots his way clear. The problem is that CIA contractors at Townsend House track Court by drone as he runs away. Townsend House singleton operator Dead Eye then begins to hunt Court for his ends. Dead Eye is like the dark side version of the Gray Man. He has the same training and skills, but he is a psychopath. Dead Eye and Court leave a trail of bodies across Europe as they careen toward an inevitable confrontation. Along the way, we learn the details of the Kyiv op that Gentry is legend for, and Court makes a single ally in the Mossad, who gives Court the keys to get back to America.
This book is for cowboys, Bourne fans, and people needing a book that will keep them up past their bedtimes over the holidays.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jay Snyder, 14:05)
Network Effect by Martha Wells (Murderbot #5)
Murderbot stars in his first full-length novel. It’s just a longer story than the first four. Same snark, same allergy to emotions, same saving the humans. Murderbot starts the story on a survey trip trying to save his humans from space pirates. The team escapes, killing a few of the hostiles only to be captured by a different spaceship and dragged through a wormhole. Turns out the different ship is ART, the ship that helps Murderbot in book two, but ART is in trouble. ART’s crew has been kidnapped by alien-contaminated humans. Murderbot helps restore ART, find and rescue his crew, and destroy the alien construct that attacked the humans. Along the adventure, Murderbot gets captured by the bad guys. ART, the humans, and a new rogue SecBot team up to rescue Murderbot. Murderbot is used to be expendable, so it has lots of emotions about being rescued. It hates having emotions. The interior dialog that narrates the story is hilarious.
This book is for adventurers, alien-seekers, and jokesters.
(Rated R, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Kevin R. Free, 12:47)
Non-Fiction Books
Winning the War In Your Mind by Craig Groeschel
“A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it’s true.“ What lies are you believing? What negative self-talk are you constantly repeating in your inner dialog? Groeschel shares the tools he has used to battle his own lies and negative thoughts. We are becoming our strongest thoughts, so we better be pretty careful what we spend our time and energy thinking. Part 1 describes the replacement principle- Remove the lies and replace them with the truth. Examine your thoughts, write them down, and then, with an open mind, examine and critique them. Find the lies, and then seek out God’s truth. Claim those truths in your life and refute the lies. One of the lies I am trying to replace in my life is that I don’t have “enough” (enough money, enough food, enough emergency fund, and so on). God has always provided for me and I am learning to turn to replace the lie of scarcity, with the truth of God’s provision. Part 2 teaches the rewire principle- rewire your brain and renew your mind. We fall into patterns of thinking; good and bad habits of thought. We must be deliberate about building the correct neural pathways that provide truth, renewal, and purpose. I am building new pathways by memorizing God’s word. Part 3 outlines the reframe principle- reframe your mind and restore your perspective. This is the same principle as described in “The Obstacle is the Way”. How can we take our circumstances and see them in new ways that make them more meaningful? How can we turn problems into opportunities? How can we see unanswered prayers as blessings later down the road? I am reframing problems at work as opportunities to learn and grow. Part 4 wraps up with the rejoice principle- revive your soul and reclaim your life. When you stop looking at your problem and start looking at your God, he can calm your heart and help you solve the problem. When you look beyond your problem, you are better able to see how it will help you grow. When you praise God instead of worrying, it changes your brain chemistry and makes you healthier, happier, and more resilient. This is the hardest lesson in the book. It takes a new level of maturity and resilience to choose to praise God in stressful and devastating moments. I’m not there yet, but I’m trying.
This book is for anyone looking to improve their thought life.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by the author, 4:59)
Habits are fascinating to me. The psychology and physiology that drive habits are not always super intuitive. In the book, Clear breaks down habits and how to use them and stack them into your daily life. The goal of using habits is to start small and allow small, incremental changes to stack up to remarkable gains and success over time. A habit is a pattern- a cue, a craving, a response, and a reward. Our bodies and brains are wired to use habits to free up brain capacity for more important tasks. The power of habits comes in the automaticity they provide. When presented with a cue for an established habit, we will execute the rest without a lot of energy or thought. So, how do we use habits to do the stuff we want to do (workout, eat better, read, journal, meditate, save money, and so on) and stop doing stuff we don’t want to do (eat all the cookies, watch too much TV, or spend all your money on things you don’t need)? The bulk of the book is written to answer this question using the following methods: 1- Make it obvious. 2- Make it attractive. 3- Make it easy. 4- Make it immediately satisfying. In each of these sections, Clear gives examples of habits you can build or unbuild by using the method. 1- Make it obvious. For habits that you want to build you should make the cue obvious. Put healthy food out in the open in your home and hide or throw away the bad food. If you want to read before you go to sleep, put a book on your pillow when you make your bed. If you want to work out daily, put your workout gear somewhere obvious. Create the optimum environment for your habit to thrive. If you want to break a habit, hide the cues. 2- Make it attractive. Clearly understand why you want to build the habit. We imitate the people we are close to, the crowds we see and the powerful around us. Pick the influences around you to model. Use anticipation of rewards to drive good habits. Use anticipation of punishments or penalties to kill bad habits. Use accountability partners to make habits fun, like workout partners, pen-pals, and financial coaches. 3- Make it easy. Sometimes all you need is a quick win to get some momentum. Make execution as easy as possible or incentivize yourself to complete the habit each day. If you want to start a workout habit, start going to the gym for 5 minutes each day, then permit yourself to leave. Start a journaling habit by writing one sentence each day and then stopping. Eat better by adding one vegetable per day to your diet. Focus on action and practice, not depth. 4- Make it immediately satisfying. We repeat behaviors that have immediate rewards. Track your progress. Sometimes just tracking a habit is enough of a reward to keep it going. Never miss a habit twice. Missing the second time is the start of a missing habit. There are many useful, practical, actionable tips in this book. I have been trying habit stacking to add new behaviors to habits I already have in place, for example, I am adding a sleep breathing routine to my nightly bedtime ritual. It’s helping me get to sleep faster. I added a thankfulness journal to my morning writing routine. Thanks, Adrian for the recommendation.
This book is for anyone looking to improve through automation, get big results from small changes, and anyone looking to understand behaviors/habit mechanisms.
(Score 8/10, Rated PG, audiobook read by the author, 5:35)
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Louis Zamperini was a wild child. He grew up stealing and running. Eventually, he poured all his energy into his running, becoming an Olympian in the 5,000-meter race in 1936. Louis wanted to win the Olympics in the mile, but World War II crushed that dream. Louis joined the Army Air Corps and becomes a bombardier on a B-24. His plane, Superman got shot up, but the crew managed to get it home. The crew is assigned to a different B-24, the Green Hornet, which crashes into the Pacific on a search mission. Zamperini, his pilot (Phil), and one other crew member survive the crash and manage to stabilize in two rescue rafts. One of the men dies after losing hope at sea. Louis and Phil crush the record for survival at sea (previously 24 days) by lasting an incredible 46 days before being captured by the Japanese. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. The two men are abused as prisoners of war by the Japanese for the next two and a half years. They are moved from prison camp to prison camp, made to endure brutal cold, starvation, degradations of the most inhumane kinds, and almost killed. Louis and Phil are separated as the war goes on, but both men survive to the end of the war. Louis makes it back to America after Japan surrenders and tries to get back to normal life, but he has no idea what normal is. He gets married and has a child, but suffers severe PTSD and turns to alcohol to drown out the pain. Louis’ miracle turnaround came in a revival tent listening to Rev. Billy Graham. Louis gives his life to God, and God heals his heart and his psyche. Louis forgives his captors and goes on to live a long and full life after his conversion. This is a story of unbelievable pain and matched resilience; a heartbreaking story of grit, power, and will. Thanks, Aunt Sandra for the recommendation.
This story is for the tough, the historians, and those in need of a different perspective.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Edward Herrmann, 13:56)
Walking with God by John Eldridge
I think I needed this book in this season. It was deeply comforting to my soul. These are stories and feelings from a year of walking with God, talking to Him, learning to hear His words. I’ve always been impressed with Eldridge’s insights. He has a way of writing truths that resonate and ring true. He describes spiritual concepts through his own experiences, giving them color, texture, and depth that help me to understand. The book is seasonal, starting in Summer. Things are good, warm, growing, thriving, listening, and learning. Fall comes and with it a literal fall off of a horse where Eldridge breaks both wrists and loses most of his autonomy. Winter comes with cold, dark, oppressive attacks, and short tempers. Eventually, Spring comes back around and brings hope, restoration, healing, and new life. This isn’t a practical how-to guide like a map; it’s more like a journal holding clues and examples and hints. I’ve never been able to stick to journaling, but I’m going to try to start again. I’ve long been one to talk to God, but I want to learn to listen to His voice for answers more diligently. Spiritually, I’ve been going through a fall/winter season. I’m walking with God out of if it one day at a time. This book was a very helpful reminder that spring is coming. Winter doesn’t last forever. Thanks, Aubrey for the recommendation.
This book is for the seekers, the prayer warriors, and the tired.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, hardcover, 218 p.)
Preview/Currently Reading-
Here are the books I am currently working through:
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
The Grasshopper Trap by Patrick F. McManus
The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
I’m thankful that I live in this amazing country, at this crazy time, with ya’ll for friendship and support. I’m also thankful for my Dad. Happy Birthday, Dad!
So, here are the book giveaway details: I’ll give one entry for a suggestion for a book, a blog comment, a brand/business idea for From the Spine, and referrals (friend’s email to join my mailing list). I’ll draw a winner or three on December 15th. Entries can be turned in by text, email, blog comment, or carrier pigeon/screech owl. Millie is my super-impartial drawing helper. Prizes will be the winner’s book of choice.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
PS. Please feel free to forward this to your reading friends. If they want to be on my email list, let me know.
PPS. Send me book ideas, brand ideas, or questions. I love the feedback.