GRIZZLY PEAR
As you may have noticed, I’ve been dabbling with reading the Tao Te Ching, borrowing all the copies available at the library and reading the liner notes and introduction.
After all, the Tao Te Ching is somewhat impenetrable.
And then I had this sudden inspiration, let’s start buying copies of this book! I’ll start a collection!
Old habits die hard.
I’ve always been a big fan of Graham Oakley’s cheeky Church Mice Series. The illustrations are great, and the stories are really fun. My sister and I loved reading his books at the library.
But they are out of print and you can’t find any copies at the library. Though oddly enough, they do have some taiwanese translations that reformatted his books to a portrait format.
It’s a sad tale of what can be discarded with the ebbs and flow of fashion. Or reframed more optimistically, a tale of what the internet enables — a couple clicks of a button and I’ve got a copy headed home.
Recently, I connected with a former professor and he mentioned the poetry of Gary Snyder, so I trundled off to the library and picked up the one book of his work that they have in the Clark County system.
I’ve never been much of a poetry guy, but I have subscribed to the excellent American Life in Poetry email newsletter for a few years now.
I can see why he is such an acclaimed poet. The writing was so sharp, that it just sliced through the clutter of my mind. I could only read a couple poems at a time before doing something else.
I suspect it’s poking and prodding into the dark recesses of my brain that doesn’t want to be illuminated. I suspect that’s a reason I really need to keep reading.
It’s a pretty prime number, well balanced.
And its half a decade.
A college career plus one.
You got five fingers on a hand.
You got head, two arms, and two legs. What else do you need?
And it’s the title of one of my favorite graphic novels by Igort.
I wonder if will hold up to a reread, it’s been twenty years since I bought it in a comic shop in LA and so much has changed in the last five years.
The other day I came across a request for leadership books on a forum and here are four that came to mind
“Leaders eat Last,” by Simon Sinek, was a really nice overview of leadership from a biological and evolutionary lens. The basic thesis is that humans are biologically motivated to form groups via several chemicals, some of which emphasize personal achievement and others which emphasize group cohesion. Our society has gone out of whack favoring individual glory and the book is a polemic for balance. I am not a big fan of his “Start with Why Book” (it felt like a pamphlet dragged out to book length) but I thought this one was excellent.
“Leadership Pipeline,” by Ram Charan and Stephen Drotter, is a great overview of the different levels of leadership in management and the different challenges and mindsets required to succeed at each level. With seven levels, most of them won’t apply to one’s specific position, but it’s really useful to see the overall set to contextualize one’s own challenges.
“Extreme Ownership” and “Dichotomy of Leadership”, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. These books could be read individually but I think of the pair as an single work. It’s an easy read with a mix of stories from their military service and in the business world, with practical lessons to consider throughout the book, both as leaders and for one’s own individual mindset and performance.
“Tribes” and “This is Marketing”, by Seth Godin. I’m a huge fan of Seth’s Blog, but not as much of his books. But still he is a great provocateur and these two books deal directly with leadership. Well “This is Marketing” doesn’t exactly deal with leadership per se, but it sets a framework of how we are trying to improve the world in such a way that I consider it a leadership book. And “Tribes” is a good book on dynamics in the digital age and pushes one to take advantage of the opportunities we have in front of us.
A very short review of Sum by David Eagleman, 2009.
(I think I came up with that line myself, but I can’t be sure I did.)
Self-help books are my comfort food of non-fiction prose. Generally, I find them easy reads, tackle practical issues, and good for getting me fired up for a few days, occasionally leaving a nugget that will stay for a while. I’m only writing this review a week after I first read QBQ by John G. Miller, but I’m pretty certain this one is a keeper, which is a little surprising since this book is centered on the oft trod concept of “personal accountability”, without even trying to come up with some gimmicky counter-intuitive approach.
The genius in this book its a concise memorable formula for a good self-question: “Who/How” + “I” + “Action”. I follow the news, so I know things out there can be really complex, but for any issue that directly affects me day to day, I agree with author’s basic black and white premise that there are incorrect self-questions (that result in inaction) and good self-questions (that get me moving forward). This clarity of this dichotomy and the simplicity of the QBQ formula is perfect for what this book is trying to do – catalyze action among its readers.
Along with this basic clear formulation, there are two additional items which further recommend this book. The first is context – as America continues to lean further towards a service economy, this book will become increasingly relevant for those of us working in it. His examples highlight how excellence is accomplished in mundane interactions. Second, the book is succinct, and I mean that as a high compliment. I recently read another book that had a simple premise which was stretched out to three times its necessary length. Mr. Miller respects our time; his message is simple (though not easy) and he doesn’t wear out his welcome – this is a book you can give to a friend without hesitation.
In all, it’s certainly worthy of a 5-star review. While there are folks in the world who are truly enslaved in circumstances beyond their control, if you’ve got the wherewithal to be reading customer reviews on Amazon, you’re most likely not one of them. This book is highly recommended.
This is a tour de force in the quintessentially American genre of self help literature. A mix of down home wisdom and stuff pulled from the classics and the bible. Optimistic and upbeat with a pull yourself by the bootstrap message. All of it written in very plain simple English with plenty of takeaway points at the end of each chapter.
And hey there’s a few good ideas in there too!
Well worth the read.
There is a lot of information in this book, but the basic thesis that a city is best designed with the twin principles of democracy and ecology is powerful.
It is not immediately applicable to architects (as opposed to urbanists and landscape architects) but the book is well worth pondering.
Form follows the flow of everyday life. Even the form of a radical future follows the flow of everyday life.
page 299
No landscape can be more beautiful than it is just.
page 95
I just picked up a copy of Invisible Cities by Calvino and it made me wonder…what books are worth re-reading regularly? I looked over my bookshelf and I have to admit I don’t actually see any other book that fits the bill. Maybe the Sandman series by Gaiman, but beyond that I’m having a hard time thinking of any. Maybe one of my architecture books, but nothing I can think of at the moment….