A Whole New Mind

Ah, the beauty of bookgroups is that you read what you otherwise might not have. Let me admit right up front that I dipped and skimmed this book, but found it intriguing enough that I want to go back and re-read it. Daniel Pink is advocating for the development and employment of more right-brain directed types of activities in the work world, claiming that most of the left-brain directed stuff has been largely outsourced (computer programming, accounting, etc.) to developing nations where the labor is cheaper. He focuses on Empathy, Design, Symphony, Play, Story, and Meaning; he offers a bit of independent research, a lot of summarizing of other people's work, and some nice activities and resources at the end of each chapter. Some of the quote (almost all taken from other people) that I really loved are:"listening is an act of love" and "we are the authors of our own lives." He talked about labyrinths, and gratitude, and learning through stories...in short, a lot of things that resonated with me personally. I even got some good ideas to try out in classes and meetings and right now I'm needing all the help I can get with meetings. There's a 5 minute video of him talking about the book here.

Rough Weather

Oooohhh-- I sneaked a little indulgence in between all the reading I've been doing for review sources and writing projects of late. I haven't read a Robert Parker Spenser novel in ages and it was a treat. I just never get tired of Spenser's smart alecky remarks and his repartee with Hawk. Like the Evanovich novels, fairly predictable but highly enjoyable. In this book, Spenser gets hired to be a stand-in date for a seemingly wealthy woman whose daughter is getting married. His old nemesis, the Gray Man, shows up with several men toting automatic weapons and kills the security guards and the groom (right after the vows--that's significant) and then kidnaps the bride. The whole thing seems very staged and not at all consistent with the Gray Man's usual MO. Spenser thinks the mother of the bride knows way more than she's telling and he's trying to get to the bottom of things while not getting killed by the Gray Man. Hawk is enlisted as his back-up and straight man. There's more relationship between Hawk and Susan than I remember from previous books, which was also fun. It was a pleasure to get reacquainted!

Rain Gods

I don't know why I have stayed away from James Lee Burke for so long. He is a master of character and setting and this book is no exception. Set in the Rio Grande borderlands of Texas, there are bad people out there killing Asian women behind an abandoned church and a few good ones like Sheriff Hack Holland who is bound and determined to bring them to justice. And the nature of justice is certainly a question at play here. Even the bad guy has his own "code"--somewhat reminiscent of the psychopath in No Country for Old Men-- but that doesn't mean you would want him to date your daughter. Hack is a pretty tortured soul after the death of his 2nd wife, trying to find peace in a simple existence that includes creating beautiful gardens in the inhospitable Texas hardpan. He carries a load of guilt for past transgressions both as a husband to his first wife and as a prisoner in a Chinese camp. Nevertheless, the people who work with him see his integrity and compassion and are drawn to him, in spite of his prickly stubborness. Human beings are complicated and so are their relationships; Burke's ability to draw you into knowing his characters is what sets these novels apart from lesser police/detective procedurals, much as with P.D. James' work. I was a big fan of the Dave Robichaux novels (Burke's earliest protagonist) and I think I will get to know some of his newer ones now that I've reconnected. This is a thoughtful book that takes time to read and digest, and it's worth savoring.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen

Stephanie Plum is at it again in the latest of the numbered series from Janet Evanovich. As I read in an interview with the author, she just can't decide whether Stephanie should go marry Joe Morelli and have lots of kids or live dangerously with Ranger, and that indecision is evident in this episode. True to form, Stephanie destroys cars--more than usual--and ends up in truly ridiculous and humiliating situations, like being in a hot dog costume and then falling over and not being able to get up. This time Lula is also setting things on fire in her quest to win the big barbecue contest with Grandma Mazur as her assistant chef. And as usual, the book is just laugh-out-loud funny, even if totally predictable. As long as she keeps writing them, I'll keep reading them.

Sworn to Silence

This is the first book I've read by Linda Castillo who apparently intends to write other episodes with the same protagonist, Kate Burkholder. Burkholder was raised Amish near Painters Mill, Ohio, and only left after a rape and a self-defense murder sent her off the deep end. Shewas shunned and ran away to the big city, but eventually found her footing, worked her way into law enforcement, and took a job back in her home town as chief of police. In this book, a serial murderer has resurfaced. She thought the person responsible for the first series of murders 16 years ago was the man she had killed as a young woman, but the MO is identical and so Kate is now uncertain--did the man she shot really die? Her siblings, who also knew of the death and were sworn to silence by Kate's parents, are dragged into Kate's conundrum about finding out if the man she shot is really dead before she brings in outside law enforcement agencies to help solve these new killings. The murders are absolutely grisly so if that isn't something you can stomach, stay away. But the character is engaging, place is well established and the plotting will keep you on the edge of your seat. And you get a little love interest, fairly predictable, in the end.

The Sorceress

This is the third installment in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by folklorist Michael Scott (you need to read The Alchemyst and The Magician -- in that order before you read this) and I had imagined that it would be the end of a trilogy. No such luck! The Sorceress is Perenelle, Flamel's wife and she doesn't really figure any more prominently in this volume than in the previous ones. Nevertheless this is a fun read. All the action takes place in just a few short days, and nothing less than the continued existence of the humani (that's us) is at stake. The Dark Elders are bound and determined to re-assert dominance over the earth and they have summoned and collected every imaginable monster of myth and legend to move forward their plans. The first task is to get rid of Nicholas Flamel who is desperately trying to protect and train the "twins of legend", aka Josh and Sophie, who thought that they were just two ordinary teenagers living with an aunt in the bay area while their parents were on an archaeological dig. Now Sophie has mastered two of the elemental magics and Josh is learning as well. They battle the evil forces with their growing powers, with enchanted swords, and through sheer determination. Perry is trapped on Alcatraz with a whole array of creatures intent on her demise, the ghost of an old Spanish explorer who is trying to protect her, and a giant spider and a crow goddess who have become unlikely allies. Immortals in the employ of the Dark Elders have also been sent to kill her. Consequently, she is unable to assist in the action taking place in England as Flamel tries to reach the ley lines at Stonehenge that will return them to San Francisco before they are captured or murdered. William Shakespeare, Billy the Kid, and Machiavelli are just a few of the immortals who round out this colorful cast of characters.

Abide with Me

Written by Elizabeth Strout, Abide with Me tells the story of Tyler Caskey, who has come to be the minister for the small town of West Annette in upper New England. He loves God and his congregation, his wife and their daughters. But his wife does not take to small town life or to the confines of being a minister's wife. She spends more money on clothes and make-up than Tyler earns, refuses to socialize with the townsfolk, and then has the audacity to get cancer and die. Tyler goes from grief to depression, while his older daughter, Katherine, becomes mute and angry. His congregation also loses its way as his sermons become repetitions of old work rather than inspirations flowing from Tyler's former sense of grace and goodness in the world. Negative rumors about Tyler's behavior and his suitability as a father and minister are started as people imagine slights based on his unresponsiveness. People act badly and then pull themselves together. We are reminded that everyone has feet of clay and yet most of us are capable of tremendous compassion. The beautyof this book is in the small descriptive details, the pacing, and the ordinarinous of life made significant.