A relatively new book, this was published in July of 2019 by Tim Desmond who was one of the organizers of the “Walk on Wallstreet”. He currently leads a team at Google helping others with emotional support.
How to Stay Human in a F*cked-Up World
My Thoughts
This book wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. As an “esteemed Buddhist”, I felt Mr. Desmond had a lot of anger still left in him. Perhaps it was simply rhetoric to connect with the younger audience but it wasn’t what I was expecting.
The power of habit was published in 2012 and outlines habits as consisting of three elements: a cue, a routine, and a reward. It gives some history as to when these principalities started being used by companies and gave some ideas as to how they are being used today.
The book also spends some time discussing how someone can change their own habits.
The Power of Habit
My thoughts
In general, I liked the book. I think some concepts were forced into the theory put forward but on the whole, It seemed like it was well written and gave some good ideas about how to go about change in life.
Beyond Charlottesville is a book by Terry McAuliffe who was governor of Virginia during the time of the tragic events in Charlottesville VA and had to deal directly with the build up and aftermath of those events. This book gives his perspective as to what transpired and the actions his administration took before during and after the events.
Beyond Charlottesville
My Thoughts
Terry McAuliffe is a politician and I can’t say I believe everything in the book. In fact, I found myself wanting to fact check several of his statements and realizing there was no way to do so. However, if I take the book at face value, I believe he did all that could have legally been done. I learned a lot from the book.
Recommendation
If you have interest, it is worth the time to read it. I would recommend it be balanced with supplemental reading about the event as this account seemed to be fairly one sided.
Written in 2016, this book as about modern life and the breakneck speed that everything seems to be changing. Three time Pulitzer Prize winning Journalist Thomas Friedman shares his perspective on how quickly things have changed and his quasi-biographical observations of how to deal with it and what else might be coming down the line.
Thank You for Being Late
My thoughts
I started reading this because my boss’s boss’s boss made an off handed comment about it. Now that I’ve read it, the comment didn’t make any sense. But that’s motivation for you…
The book was very interesting as it seemed to catalog the technological growth throughout my career. There were a number of antidotes that I felt could have easily been my experience. I don’t know that I agree with all of the observations but I do agree that we haven’t seen anything yet in terms of technology and general disruptions to our lives in general.
Published in June of 2019, this book only came out a couple of months ago. It is a series of stories and thoughts from a young father to his son.
Things My Son Needs to Know about the World
My Thoughts
This book was hilarious. As a father, I can certainly related to most of the frustrations and ironies of becoming a young father in this time in world history. Much is expected…
Mr. Backman is Swedish, so there are a few things which are a bit different but really it’s all the same game. We (fathers of the world) are all tasked with raising the next generation with more expectations than any time before us.
Recommendation
A great book for the new father. Not for someone who is sensitive to strong language.
This is a book about coping with Attention Deficit Disorder both as a child and as an adult.
You Mean I’m Not Lazy Stupid or Crazy
My Thoughts
This book was a little hard to get through in that it assumes the reader to have A.D.D. I have not be diagnosed with it nor do I expect to be. However, it is interesting to see where the author took the book and what was important.
Wait, what? is a book about asking questions. It seeks to teach us there is always a little more to know and little deeper to probe. Above all, there is no “right” answer.
Wait, What?
My Thoughts
This book was hilarious. It was a very fun read and a reminder that it is ok to question. In fact, it is a good idea to question so you know what is going on. This is something I will try to remember and implement going forward.
Released in 2017, Norse Mythology is a collection of exactly what you might think it would be. This is the mythology of Thor, Odin, Loki and all the others. Gaiman pens several of the legends and myths which have largely been forgotten in our day to day society.
Norse Mythology
My Thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised at this book. I really enjoyed it largely because I hadn’t heard these stories before. I did a little bit of searching and found his book has been well received by the mythology community so I feel like it is fairly authentic.
My introduction to the topic was back in grade school where we heard where we found the names of the days of the week. I remember that lesson really grabbed my attention. (Thanks Mrs. Sanders!) Still, it took 36 years to actually hear a real myth… Sad really. Like many American’s, I am familiar with Marvel’s version of the Norse Gods but it turns out, they are a little different.
Thor is not the brightest and Loki seems to be in the center of everything. Loki’s children bring about Ragnarok. Loki is the reason Mjolnir was made and why the handle is so short. Loki seems to be the reason just about everything happened.
Mark Manson remixes; Jung, Nietzsche, and others to bring some idea as to why the world seems as messed up as it is. Released in May of 2019, the book has met with great success.
Everything is F*cked
My Thoughts
This book had me thinking again about what is important and why do I do the things I like to do. I feel like I am a centered person. I feel like I’m fair and do things for the “right” reason. Particularly inspiring was the comment in the book about how children, adolescents and adults see morality. Children do it because they are told to and fear being caught. Adolescents see things as more of a transaction. Adults do things because it is the right thing to do. These aren’t new thoughts but they are worth repeating. It is scary how often I find myself falling into the adolescent or even childlike patterns of behavior.
Recommendation
A worth while read. If you haven’t read much philosophy, some of the ideas expounded upon could be new and even challenging for a religious person.
This is the story of the first organized clandestine attempt against George Washington. It centers in the mid 1770’s New York as Washington is just establishing himself and his army. Many want him to fail but only a few have the money and resources to do much about it.
The First Conspiracy
My Thoughts
This book was a very interesting read. I really didn’t know that much about the revolutionary army. I knew they weren’t largely professional and were out manned and out gunned. We have been geographically blessed in that there is a whole ocean between us and Europe. I can only imagine what the English thought of us at that time.
The book had the feel of being well researched and well thought out. The author did a great job about letting the reader know where and when we have evidence and what is speculation. It seems the author used multiple sources and spent a great deal of time researching what went on and paid attention to who was talking and why they would have written what they wrote. All of these are markers of a quality work.
The book is written firmly from the perspective of the patriots. There were some instances where a behavior was pointed out as “shocking” or something similar where it seemed totally reasonable if you look from the perspective of the other side. If someone is loyal to England, of course they would work against, what they would consider, the radical upstarts who are taking over and running amok. Of course, the English appointed governor would try just about anything he could to undermine the new organization which just kicked him out. These things aren’t shocking.
