In Bismarck, there are little library boxes around certain neighborhoods where people give books away. I picked up this book from the box right near Legacy High School. It was brand new, and seemingly unread. I have caught a couple of episodes of this couple's HGTV show, so I thought it might be an interesting, light read. It was!
This young, hard-working couple chronicles their rise to fame in the reality TV genre where they flip and decorate homes. They've gone on to all sorts of other branding and projects, and the end of this book hints on a future direction of helping other cities (like their Waco) become focused on local craftsmen and talent to revitalize whole areas of housing. It's a cool idea!
I liked how both Chip and Joanna contributed to each chapter and gave their points of view about the experiences that led to their current success. They have a great work ethic, faith in God and His direction to them, and a solid commitment to raising their four children. It was a light, enjoyable read. They seem like good folks who love to contribute to the good in the world. I gave it to Sierra, and I bet she will enjoy it too. She told me our good friend Jordan Mayfield is their lawyer! Interesting connection, for sure!
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
I was visiting Sierra one time, and her friend Ann Mines Bailey came to visit. I really like Ann, so I asked her what she had been reading. I figured what she liked, I would like. She told me she absolutely LOVED this book Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. So I ordered it.
At first, I was disappointed. The beginning of this story is so depressing. This woman has lost her moorings...although it wasn't clear that she really had any. Her close relationship with her mother was beautifully described, but her behavior after her mother's death was not something I could remotely relate to. Heroin? Really? That's when I began to think that this woman was such a disappointment that I almost gave up on her story. But I hung in there, and began to watch her learn from her mistakes and her choices.
The story of her feet, her boots, the people she meets on the trail are all captivating. I LOVE hiking, and I was enthralled by the thought of her solo attempt to take on part of the Pacific Coast Trail. I am sure I am too "citified" to take on a solo through-hike, so it was really wonderful to be able to experience it through this author's story. I enjoyed watching her mature as she faced challenge after challenge with courage and grit. It was also a sweet trip down memory lane...about what it was like to be comfortable with having no money at all, and making your pennies last to the next destination. It reminded me of my two years of living in Germany when I was young and adventurous. I enjoyed relating to that part of the story especially. Also, re-living the camaraderie that develops among fellow travelers was fun for me. So much learning happens when you travel solo! Occasionally I get snippets of that now, and I always come away grateful that I had the guts to put myself "out there."
At first, I was disappointed. The beginning of this story is so depressing. This woman has lost her moorings...although it wasn't clear that she really had any. Her close relationship with her mother was beautifully described, but her behavior after her mother's death was not something I could remotely relate to. Heroin? Really? That's when I began to think that this woman was such a disappointment that I almost gave up on her story. But I hung in there, and began to watch her learn from her mistakes and her choices.
The story of her feet, her boots, the people she meets on the trail are all captivating. I LOVE hiking, and I was enthralled by the thought of her solo attempt to take on part of the Pacific Coast Trail. I am sure I am too "citified" to take on a solo through-hike, so it was really wonderful to be able to experience it through this author's story. I enjoyed watching her mature as she faced challenge after challenge with courage and grit. It was also a sweet trip down memory lane...about what it was like to be comfortable with having no money at all, and making your pennies last to the next destination. It reminded me of my two years of living in Germany when I was young and adventurous. I enjoyed relating to that part of the story especially. Also, re-living the camaraderie that develops among fellow travelers was fun for me. So much learning happens when you travel solo! Occasionally I get snippets of that now, and I always come away grateful that I had the guts to put myself "out there."
See also September 2023 when I reread this!
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Both Karen and Lidvin Kjerengtroen highly recommended this book to me. They said it was really good, and they thought I would enjoy not only this book, but the whole series. So I ordered it used on Amazon and began my reading.
It was very enjoyable! I really was captivated from the first page and enjoyed Koontz's humor and very descriptive and often humorous analogies. His characters are refreshing and interesting. It had all the elements of a great read! But the dark characters, who turned out to be Satan-worshippers were too evil, and their practices and crimes were detailed too graphically for me to enjoy. I read at the end of the day, just before falling asleep, and this was too dark, suspenseful, and evil to invite me to sleep peacefully after reading. It's too bad, really, because the humor is so fresh, the characters (the good ones) are so interesting, but the evil is too strong here and described in too much detail.
Much of the plot unfolded in unpredictable ways, and I really enjoyed the suspense of where this story was going. There was also a lot of interesting philosophy about the afterlife and spirits that was creative and positive and fun. Like the Spirit of Elvis, crying on his mama's birthday--cute things like that.
Dang, I really wanted to love this book and this series. But this will be my last Odd book, despite how much I enjoyed parts of it. I don't need that much violence and ugliness in my life!!!
It was very enjoyable! I really was captivated from the first page and enjoyed Koontz's humor and very descriptive and often humorous analogies. His characters are refreshing and interesting. It had all the elements of a great read! But the dark characters, who turned out to be Satan-worshippers were too evil, and their practices and crimes were detailed too graphically for me to enjoy. I read at the end of the day, just before falling asleep, and this was too dark, suspenseful, and evil to invite me to sleep peacefully after reading. It's too bad, really, because the humor is so fresh, the characters (the good ones) are so interesting, but the evil is too strong here and described in too much detail.
Much of the plot unfolded in unpredictable ways, and I really enjoyed the suspense of where this story was going. There was also a lot of interesting philosophy about the afterlife and spirits that was creative and positive and fun. Like the Spirit of Elvis, crying on his mama's birthday--cute things like that.
Dang, I really wanted to love this book and this series. But this will be my last Odd book, despite how much I enjoyed parts of it. I don't need that much violence and ugliness in my life!!!
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Outliers - The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
I often hear this book quoted and/or referred to. It was first published in 2008. I thought I had read it, but when I found it in a free little library box in Bismarck, I plucked it out and took it home. After a search on this blog, I realized that if I had indeed read it, I hadn't reviewed it. So I began reading it and was hooked from the first page onwards.
It is engagingly built on stories to masterfully illustrate Gladwell's theories of success. So much of who we are and how we operate in the world comes from our inherited culture. This book is also the oft-referred to source of the 10,000 hours rule. The rule is, to become an expert, one needs 10,000 hours of meaningful PRACTICE. There is so much good thinking in this book, I am planning to read it and study it. I want to share it with Leonard and see if we can apply some of these ideas to our lives.
The chapter on rice paddies and math tests really challenged my assumptions. Actually, the ideas in this book shifted many of my paradigms...So grateful I picked it up! I will return to this summary and expand on it soon. I promise.
It is engagingly built on stories to masterfully illustrate Gladwell's theories of success. So much of who we are and how we operate in the world comes from our inherited culture. This book is also the oft-referred to source of the 10,000 hours rule. The rule is, to become an expert, one needs 10,000 hours of meaningful PRACTICE. There is so much good thinking in this book, I am planning to read it and study it. I want to share it with Leonard and see if we can apply some of these ideas to our lives.
The chapter on rice paddies and math tests really challenged my assumptions. Actually, the ideas in this book shifted many of my paradigms...So grateful I picked it up! I will return to this summary and expand on it soon. I promise.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
The eighth in the series about Flavia deLuce, this book delighted me. While the murder was macabre and messy, the story was delightful. I liked it much better than #7, which was set in Canada in a boarding school. I enjoy Flavia much more in her English environment with her local characters. It was the perfect book to chuckle over and enjoy while acclimating to the cold climate and new surroundings of our new home in Bismarck. At Christmastime with no family around, it cheered me up, and gave me many a light chuckle.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.
I read a summary of the ideas in this book online and was intrigued. Greene seemed to have a lot of experience and a very compassionate attitude toward troubled children. So, I thought I'd take a deeper look and ordered a copy.
It basically is a book with lots of ideas and sample dialogues about how to interact with troubling children. The author encourages parents to make an inventory of the behaviors and "lagging skills" so that they can develop an approach of "problems to be solved."
I like the approach. I like the idea that kids are troubling when they have skills that are lacking and I love the idea of purposefully teaching these skills. Then, the thinking goes, they will have the needed skills to solve problems. And lead a less tumultuous life.
The best argument for this approach is that typical approaches like repeated time-outs or uncomfortable consequences do NOT work with explosive children. They make the problems WORSE and make family life impossible and painful.
I was amazed that in their parenting, Mike and Sierra already use many of these problem-solving techniques very effectively and intuitively with their children. They explain consequences and invite mutual problem-solving. I'm going to give them the book anyway, because it may give them a few additional ideas or tweaks. Gratefully, NONE of their children is an explosive child as described in this book...the children in the examples sound like unholy terrors. But still, all children can have temper tantrums, and it might be useful to consider some "lagging skills" as a root cause.
It basically is a book with lots of ideas and sample dialogues about how to interact with troubling children. The author encourages parents to make an inventory of the behaviors and "lagging skills" so that they can develop an approach of "problems to be solved."
I like the approach. I like the idea that kids are troubling when they have skills that are lacking and I love the idea of purposefully teaching these skills. Then, the thinking goes, they will have the needed skills to solve problems. And lead a less tumultuous life.
The best argument for this approach is that typical approaches like repeated time-outs or uncomfortable consequences do NOT work with explosive children. They make the problems WORSE and make family life impossible and painful.
I was amazed that in their parenting, Mike and Sierra already use many of these problem-solving techniques very effectively and intuitively with their children. They explain consequences and invite mutual problem-solving. I'm going to give them the book anyway, because it may give them a few additional ideas or tweaks. Gratefully, NONE of their children is an explosive child as described in this book...the children in the examples sound like unholy terrors. But still, all children can have temper tantrums, and it might be useful to consider some "lagging skills" as a root cause.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Christie Classics by Agatha Christie
I have always loved mysteries and began reading Agatha Christie while I was still in high school. Our Rapid City book club was going to read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, so I jumped on board. The cheapest version I could find online was a compilation of Christie classics. So I began with the Roger Ackroyd story, which was very enjoyable, though dark and hard for me to follow. The book club discussion made me appreciate it more, however, and I decided to read the others in the book.
And Then There Were None
The Witness for the Prosecution
Philomel Cottage
Three Blind Mice
were the other classics included in this compilation. They were all enjoyable, and so well-written! It's a pleasure to read such wonderful prose and to be charmed and horrified by the characters. I may just keep this around to enjoy again another time...
And Then There Were None
The Witness for the Prosecution
Philomel Cottage
Three Blind Mice
were the other classics included in this compilation. They were all enjoyable, and so well-written! It's a pleasure to read such wonderful prose and to be charmed and horrified by the characters. I may just keep this around to enjoy again another time...
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