microblog
📚 Finished reading: Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari, ISBN: 9781632868329
Excellent book. So much new (to me) information in this book. Full of well cited scientific research. Audiobook read by the author was very moving at times.
📚 Finished reading: Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance by Christopher McDougall, ISBN: 9780307742223
Good, but not as good as Born to Run. The style of this book was nearly identical to Born to Run, though I found it much more difficult to follow the story this time. I did enjoy the story of Greek resistance fighters during World War II, it just didn’t seem very coherent.
📚 Finished reading: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, ISBN: 9780307476869
Second time through. Great book. Great movie. I’m not sure which one I like more.
📚 Finished reading: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, ISBN: 9780307279187
Great book. Third time through. Inspiration for my 100 mile race in Kansas.
📚 Finished reading: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, ISBN: 9781442403321
I read this with The Boy for a school book report. The writing style was interesting, and rather accessible for younger readers. The story was pretty good, though it did hit pretty close to home after our search and rescue adventure last summer.
Hardcover from public library.
📚 Finished reading: The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, ISBN: 9780307591166
Where do I begin with this one? The “lifestyle design” and travel parts of the book are actually pretty good. There’s a lot of interesting advice, and much of it is even somewhat useful. The business advice, though, is a mess. Most of it seems pretty sketchy (this guy comes from the infomercial world). If you have to follow up a piece of business advise with the disclaimer, “THIS IS LEGAL!”, then you may want to reconsider your life choices.
Audiobook from Apple Books.
📚 Finished reading: The Princess Bride by William Goldman, ISBN: 9780151015443
Yes, I read this twice in one week. This time I read it with The Boy and he seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. My wife was around for parts of it and laughed out loud several times.
Audiobook from Apple Books.
Winter came a day before autumn.
📚 Finished reading: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, ISBN: 9781936891047
I have strong feelings about this book, both good and bad. The very loud orchestral music playing in the background through much of the audiobook didn’t do it any favors. Still, the author has some interesting ideas and I am probably going to read this one again. Very short.
Audiobook from Apple Books.
📚 Finished reading: The Princess Bride by William Goldman, ISBN: 9780151015443
This was great, though not as great as the movie. Short (must have been abridged).
Audiobook from Apple Books.
The Boy (age 10) crushed it, finishing his first marathon in 4:49. He didn’t take a single walk break and ran a relatively even pace (2:20/2:29). This kid is amazing.
📚 Finished reading: Persuasion by Jane Austen, ISBN: 9780451526380
I love Jane Austen’s writing. The story was just a bit too similar to Pride and Prejudice, but not quite as entertaining. I found this one harder to stay focused on.
Audiobook checked out from public library.
The hay is in the barn. The Boy finished his last long run before next weekend’s marathon.
My Amazon Prime experiment lasted barely two weeks. The one order I placed during that time is still days away from arriving. Upon placing a second order and seeing the expected delivery date I broke down and signed up again. I need to find another way to check my Amazon consumption while still being able to get things I need in a reasonable timeframe.
📚 Finished reading: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, ISBN: 9781594744495
Clever idea. I’m glad they sold a zillion copies of this book. I didn’t like it as much as the original. Most of the additions/modifications matched the original style and tone very well, with the notable exception of all the added sexual innuendo (too many jokes about “balls”). I’m glad this book exists.
I checked out the Audiobook on CDs from public library, converted to mp3, and listened in Overcast.
This appears to be a case where real world data didn’t really line up with what the programmers expected. And so I get shamed for only running 9 miles a day.
📚 Finished reading: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, ISBN: 9781853260001
Wow. I’ve never enjoyed a book so much I assumed I would find so incredibly boring. I doubt I could have gotten through it by reading, but in audiobook form (which I got free on Apple Books) it was fantastic.
Last weekend The Boy became the youngest ever finisher of the tough Black Squirrel Half Marathon. He beat half of the adults in the race. I made a video.
I just canceled my Amazon Prime membership, hoping that will dissuade me from buying as much junk. I had to confirm the membership cancelation 4 times before it took effect. At least I didn’t have to do it over the phone…
📚 Well, that was most of the books I’ve read in the last 2-3 weeks. I cut back a bit on the podcasts I listen to, which freed up some listening time for audiobooks. I’ve been enjoying this.
How could I not love non-fiction about winning the national science fair by blowing shit up? We watched October Sky many years ago. Apparently I liked it enough my wife bought me this (hardcover) book that was the basis for the movie. I never read it. A couple years ago I donated it to the public library. I came across the audiobook on Hoopla and finally read (listened to) it. Good stuff.
This was utterly delightful. What a life.
Audiobook available free on Hoopla.
This is more of a personal journey than a how-to. Mildly interesting. Short read.
Audiobook available free on Hoopla.
Fine, I guess. This is clearly aimed more at people who are dealing with parents’ estates than with downsizing their own stuff. The author is far more lenient with recommendations on what to keep and what to discard, so this might appeal to some people more than others.
Available available free on Hoopla.
Not for everyone. Quick read. I wanted to like this more than I did. There are some good nuggets in here, but there’s also staggering hubris (e.g. “None of my clients have ever relapsed”… bullshit). I also could have done without all the anthropomorphising (the things and the home don’t have feelings). The nuggets can be summed up easily:
Decide where to keep it.
Audiobook available for free on Hoopla.