Non-Fiction – Page 13 – Ryan's Book Blog

Independence Day

March 16, 2023 by Ryan

Background

Published in November of 2022, Independence Day: What I Learned about Retirement is a book about the decision to retire in America.

My Thoughts

This was an interesting read. It is from the vantage point of a 2nd wave Baby-Boomer thinking about when to retire and even what it means to retire. His job is a journalist so he has a chance to speak with a number of well known people and many not so well known people. The book never really tied a pretty bow on the conclusion and left it up to the individual. However, it brought up a number of interesting ideas about what it means to be retired and when might be the right time. I’ve thought a lot about it and I really don’t know what I will want when I am “of age” to retire. I just hope my body holds on so I can enjoy some of it.

Recommendation

Not a bad read.

Living with a SEAL

March 14, 2023 by Ryan

Background

Published in September of 2015, Living with a SEAL is a book from rap star “Jesse James” about how he brought a Navy SEAL into his home to be his personal trainer for a month.

My Thoughts

I went into this one pretty cold. My wife said our friends read it together as a couple and they found it to be pretty motivating. After reading it, I was pretty surprised by the recommendation. These friends are pretty straight-laced and I was excited to get into the book.

I work around the military and the kind of stuff in this book is pretty familiar. Lot’s of hype and big-fish stories. I don’t know that I believe a word of it but I was interested enough that I read it all in one night. However, I don’t think I really got anything out of it and I feel like I just watched a reality TV program. It’s surface level garbage and I know it’s staged but I still got swept up in the drama.

Recommendation

I wouldn’t read it again.

Master The Marathon

March 13, 2023 by Ryan

Background

Published in September of 2021, Master The Marathon is a book on how to get ready for running a Marathon. The Subtitle is The Ultimate Training Guide for Women and it was written by Runner’s World editor and current contributor Ali Nolan.

My Thoughts

Honestly, I didn’t see that it was supposed to be for women till I was already in the book. However, I figured it still had a number of valuable insights and it did. (I also learned how to Kegel but it likely isn’t the same when I do it…) I have been thinking about running a marathon again. I’m not sure why really, the last one was enough and was 10 years ago. (Maybe it was because it was 10 years ago…)

Anyway, it was a pretty easy read and the author was enjoyable. I tried to incorporate a few of her ideas into my training today and I’m not certain of the result. Still, I think she had some great ideas.

Recommendation

It was a good book to help with marathon training. It is a pity it was for women.

The Sailor’s Bookshelf: Fifty Books to Know the Sea

March 11, 2023 by Ryan

Background

Published in November of 2021, The Sailor’s Bookshelf: Fifty Books to Know the Sea is retired Admiral James Stavridis’s descriptions and recommendations of 50 books about the sea.

My Thoughts

At over 200 pages in length, I thought this book would be a bit more than it is as a collection of books. However, I did enjoy it. Admiral Starvridis does a good job in infusing his unique view of in each of books he recommends and tells you why you should read them. I have to admit, I was interested throughout the entire book.

One of his top picks is Moby Dick though which I just didn’t enjoy that much…

Recommendation

A good read on what to read.

Emotional Inheritance

March 9, 2023 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Written by Galit Atlas, PhD, Emotional Inheritance is a book about the psychological damage that can be inherited across the generations or even from those around you.

My Thoughts

I can’t say I cared for it at all. She makes the case that we unconsciously pick up our family’s emotional baggage and it can carry on over the generations. Her parents immigrated from Iran and Syria to Israel in the post WWII formation so she had some interesting stories to tell about family issues. I have read a few books about epigenetics in that area and wasn’t too surprised that she wrote in with an opinion on it in USA Today. However, I thought she played pretty fast and loose with some of the ideas and downplayed the good that can come from opposition. Of course, everyone should be in therapy if you buy in to everything these folks are telling us. I’m just glad to see the rise of the term “post traumatic growth” in some of these publications. It reminds me of the emotional equivalent to George Carlin’s take on strengthening the immune system.

Recommendation

Skip this one.

The Life Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit

March 7, 2023 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Written in July of 2021, The Life Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit is a book describing how we are all full of it.

My Thoughts

This was a decent read. I didn’t have any life changing moments while reading but I can say it primed me to be a little less full of myself and more inclined to listen closer to what people are saying. As the Savior said, “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Matt 5:37)

However, we all like a good tale as well. John Petrocelli does a good job in rating what a person says as Bullshit (and uses the word frequently) by giving in an index of so many flies. (1 through 3.) A BS fly index of 1 would just be someone trying to sound like he saw the game last night when really he has no idea what he is talking about. Still BS but harmless. However, he rated the Mao’s “great leap forward” (resulting in 30 million to 55 million deaths) with a BS index of 3. That’s a pretty big jump in my estimation and I felt like there could be a little more gray in the scale.

Recommendation

I liked it but I won’t be reading it again.

A Stillness at Appomattox

March 3, 2023 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Written back in 1953, A Stillness at Appomattox is the last book in the “Army of the Potomac” series by Bruce Catton. It picks up with General Grant’s entrance into the war and the battle’s in Spotsylvania.

My Thoughts

A very enjoyable read! I like history and particularly when it is in my backyard. I hopped in the car and went to the Spotsylvania battlefield to visit where most of this book took place. It really is amazing what we can learn by paying attention to the people who went before us.

Recommendations

I really enjoyed the book. However, it hasn’t been sanitized for modern readers as it was written in the 50s and directly quotes the people who lived in the 1840s. If you are so easily offended, perhaps a history book isn’t for you.

The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

March 2, 2023 by Ryan

Background

Published in October of 2021, The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family is the autobiography of both Ron and Clint Howard.

My Thoughts

A very interesting read as they switch back and forth from Ron to Clint and back again. They really had a life that was very different than most of us yet they tried to keep it as normal as it could be.

Recommendation

I enjoyed it!

Putin’s World

February 23, 2023 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Written in Feb of 2023, Putin’s World is a history of both Russia and Vladimir Putin. The book attempts to illustrate how Russia sees itself in the world and why Vladimir Putin has been so successful maintaining leadership in the post Soviet era.

My Thoughts

This book was very interesting on a number of fronts. Having lived in Eastern Europe for a while, I had been exposed to the pride and even arrogance found in some of those cultures. I believe President Trump played to this perfectly even if he didn’t fully understand what he was doing. It does make me wonder where we would be in the Ukraine if he had another term in office.

There were a number of newer concepts that, I’m sorry to say, I didn’t think much about. I hadn’t really thought much of Russia as seeing itself as an Asian power rather than European. Of course, that doesn’t make much sense given the location and how it sees itself. It was simply a reflection of my ethnocentrism… I’m glad I had a chance to learn more and I look forward to more opportunities.

Recommendation

Great book on understanding Russia and it’s current president.

Inspired. Understanding Creativity. A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul

February 22, 2023 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Written in April of 2022, “Inspired. Understanding Creativity: A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul” is a book about how creativity works, how you can build it, and why that might matter.

My Thoughts

Creativity has been a flighty mistress throughout most of my life. I once really thought of myself as an artist, but these days, think of myself more of a technician. Modesty aside, there isn’t much I can’t do. However, how much can I do well? That’s always the question.

I took a creativity class back in the early college days. I really enjoyed it and still have the book from the course. (One of very few…) However, this book wasn’t looking so much at the practical. Rather it was focused more on the process of how creativity works.

Recommendation

I liked it and would recommend it. However, it didn’t have a ton to offer in terms of practical use.