September 2018 – Page 2 – Ryan’s Book Blog

Uncommon Type: Some Stories

September 17, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Uncommon Type is a collection of seventeen short stories written by actor Tom Hanks and published in 2017. Each story revolves around the theme of typewriters, but they cover a wide range of topics such as love, fame, relationships, and death.

My Comments

I really enjoyed the book. The stories good down as an easy read and I found I didn’t get bored but would prefer to plow on. Each story is loosely connected by Mr. Hanks’ signature Americana feel. His clean cut, boy next door persona was contrasted by the strong language. For some reason, I wasn’t expecting that.

Also, throughout the stories, in a supporting role, was a typewriter. There was enough romancing of typewriters in this book, it almost made me want to go out and buy one. I did learn how to type on them but I was more than happy to give up the clack for the soft glow of a computer screen.

Recommendations

I believe if you like Tom Hanks, you will like the book. I love Tom Hanks and so I loved the book.

No One Cares About Crazy People

September 14, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Ron Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, novelist, and non-fiction writer. He also lost a son to suicide and almost lost the other. Both were impacted with mental illness. This book documents their family’s journey through the events and brought them through to today. It also gives a history of mental illness in America and the policies and politics shaping how we react to them.

My Comments

Mr. Powers is a great writer. His style is engaging and his story telling is first rate. I empathize with his plight and, as a father of 4, I can’t imagine losing one of my precious kids.

That said, I didn’t enjoy this book. I put it aside a number of times because it would upset me. Part of my being upset was at the system in general as Mr. Powers intended but, only part… It is my belief he gave a one sided Micheal Moore style view of so many things. So much rhetoric… He ran the gamut of what is wrong without giving much in the way of what could be right.

To declare my bias, I have worked in the mental health industry. I hold a BS in sociology with a minor in psychology and my studies were with criminality and deviance. From my experience, there is so much more to the issue than this book presented. Mr. Powers paints with a very broad brush and dismisses nearly everyone with whom he doesn’t agree.

Recommendations

I wouldn’t recommend this book. While there is some value in understanding his families plight, I think the book was cathartic for Mr. Powers. I can’t recommend it.

The Happiness Curve

September 9, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

This book is another volume of work on the subject of the psychology of happiness. It deals with specifically the happiness trajectory over the lifetime and makes particular mention of a statistical “curve” during what we may call “midlife”.

Comments

I am in the bottom of the “U Curve” (as the author puts it), meaning that I am statistically in the unhappiest part of human life, my 40s. Interesting really. I’ve considered my forties to be a great time so far. However Mr. Rauch makes a particular point to say this curve is an average and isn’t predictive. I did enjoy the book and found comfort in many of the concepts presented. For example, I have had an increasing unrest in my career. Mr. Rauch’s concept of the Hedonic Treadmill rang pretty true for me. I am reminded to be accepting of where I am and find enjoyment in the here and now. Those are great words and I hope to be able to hold to them. The thought of my not being alone in this regard is comforting.

Recommendation

I would recommend the book to other folks in my age group. Although Mr. Rauch paints the picture if everyone understood the happiness of aging we would have a better world in which to live, a well trod path for second careers and much better understanding of the elderly, I believe it will take some time till this dream is realized if the theory bears out. I’m not sure those younger than I would enjoy the book.

The Screwtape Letters

September 7, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

C.S. Lewis wrote The Screwtape Letters well before I was born. They are a collection of letters from Screwtape (a demon in hell’s administration office) to his wayward nephew Wormwood. Wormwood is given charge of a man on earth and despite Screwtape’s ‘advice’, loses him to salvation.

My thoughts

I first read this about 25 years ago. I remember it putting me in a bad mood. I felt very carnal minded after I read it. I think I wasn’t quite up the challenge of understanding what was really being said by Lewis. (Perhaps I needed a few years behind me…)

I really enjoyed the read this time. Of course, much of Screwtape’s advice is meant to be taken opposite from what he said but there were some real truths given. So much of this world is taken for granted. So much of my comforts and relative ease come so easily as to be forgotten where they came from.

I came away from this book wanting to be a better man. There isn’t much more I can ask for…

Recommendation

Even if you are a hormone stricken teenager (like I was the first time I’d read this), I would encourage everyone to read this book. It is not only witty and contains a good story, it will also given you things to think about for years to come.

American Sniper

September 6, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

The book American Sniper came out in 2012 well before the movie. Chris Kyle is credited as the sniper with the most confirmed kills of any American before. The story is in his words and was completed before he was killed in 2013.

My Thoughts

I still haven’t seen the movie so I was very interested in the book. I work with our Marines on a daily basis and was interested in the book purely on that merit. Much of the war aspects rung true with what I had been told in my years of working with the Marines. Of course, Chris Kyle was a Navy SEAL but he frequently worked with Marines and was very complimentary of them.

I was struck in particular of how plain his words were. We have heard so much rhetoric in our society, I enjoyed hearing an unvarnished version. No apologies, no excuses. He simply was who he was and was just fine with it.

My personal opinion is that war really sucks. It is also sometimes justified. Rarely are there black and white decisions. Chris Kyle says he sees things in mostly black and white with very little grey. I suppose he had to think of it that way to do his job.

I had a discussion a long time ago with an older gentlemen on the topic of war. The man told his sons, “Be loving in peace but be terrible in war.” I had a hard time with that concept then. I’m still struggling with it now. However, I do see the utility in the statement.

Recommendation

If you are an adult who is relatively secure with yourself, I would suggest you read this book. I did enjoy it and the thoughts it spurred. However, it is graphic and violent and generally not for folks with a forming or weaker constitution. It discusses a topic we should all know about and we are very fortunate to have avoided.

The American Civil War

September 1, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Yet another of the “Great Courses” series, The American Civil War is a lecture given by Professor Gary W. Gallagher, Ph.D. of the University of Virginia. This lecture series is over 24 hours of lecture. As such it took me a while to get through… Professor Gallagher takes us from what lead up to the war before the election of 1860 and details everything through the early parts of reconstruction and how we remember the war today. It was recorded in the early 2000’s.

Comments

I live in Virginia and continue to be very interested in what happened during the civil war. Although this was a long lecture, I was kept engaged and found myself wanting to know more. I very much enjoyed Professor Gallagher’s presentation of each side and how he touched on many of the theories and popular misconceptions about the war. I feel he gave a balanced account to what had happened and he made sense of a subject highly sensationalized and used for propaganda on both sides. I still want to know more about it and I feel I have been given a good foundation.

Recommendation

This lecture series is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of material and it will take some time to get through it all. However, I highly recommend it to all Americans. Both those who want to know more about the war and those who should want to know more.