Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking by Susan Cain

This was... pretty good.  I think it took me a little while to get in to it, then once I did it kept losing my interest.  I did learn a lot, but a lot of it was just a re-hash of what we all already know about the life of an introvert.  It started out to be quite corny... yes, many great leaders were introverts.  That doesn't mean all introverts are great leaders.  Reading about how Napoleon was an introvert doesn't make me want to be Napoleon. 

One more interesting point she makes is about the 'extrovert ideal'.  We've all learned that being an extrovert is better than being an introvert.  She does a great job of explaining how that happened and why it happened.  Then why it isn't relevant anymore. 

It was a well researched book, and it definitely helped justify being an introvert and help introverts cope with living in an extroverted world. 

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

This book was great.  Absolutely great.  I think we all have our perceptions of who Steve Jobs was, and I think we all base that on so little information.  Walter Isaacson did a fantastic job of representing Jobs is a fair way that showed that he really was a jerk, and that working for him was hard, but explained the why's and how's that we don't all take under consideration.  Yes, you need to be thick skinned to work for him, but by working for him you also stretched your capabilities and abilities and learned to make fantastic products. 

His life was unique and his history was so interesting.  His childhood and young adult years were nothing of what you'd expect from someone who 'owns' the technology world.

Definitely recommend this one.  It was thought provoking, inspiring, interesting and enjoyable. 

Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg

I feel like every woman in the working world has read, or will read, this book.  So of course I had to be part of the movement.  I've heard it referred to as a modern day feminist manifesto, and have seen so much energy around the book, how could I be a woman and not read it?  So I did.  I finished with mixed feelings.  Overall I think it is great to have this conversation, but the non-mom in me was a bit irritated that so much of the book relied on parenting and household responsibilities tactics.  I really Just wanted to know how to make myself more relevant in a business environment dominated by men.

I think Sheryl did a great job illustrating difficulties women face in the workforce.  Being an introvert I face a double whammy in this respect.  I have been looked over and ignored in meetings.  I know this.  I have seen women speak up and speak over others and thought 'wow, she's aggressive'.  Now I know that maybe she isn't more aggressive than the men in the room, maybe I just notice it more when a woman is outspoken.  And maybe I need to be more outspoken to compete with extroverts and men in the room.

Sheryl is very pointed at some of the challenges women face in the workforce which I think is great in a lot of respects.  An area I would have liked to see more of is around women who don't have kids.  I understand that children bring in an entirely new complication to being successful in the workplace, but it isn't relevant to all women.  A book that all of us could relate to might have been more fitting.  I do not have kids, or any real 'home life' obligations, but that doesn't make it easy for me to compete in the workforce.  Sheryl gave a few stats about how women aren't as aggressive in negotiating, are less likely to take promotions if they don't feel that they've done enough work to deserve the position, or how women will only apply and interview for positions that they meet all 'requirements'' for, where men will interview for positions where they are much less a 'fit' for the position.  These are great stats, and I think it is great to be aware of this type of information.  But I don't think it was enough.  Most of the discussion in the book revolved around women 'sneaking out' at five thirty to have dinner with their families, or how to manage pumping while in the office.  Great advice for those who have kids, but much less helpful for those of us who don't.

Overall I did enjoy the book.  I finished it with a touch of inspiration to push my life forward and desire to stretch my comfort zone on a professional level.  Definitely a worth while read.  Easy and quick to get through, yet enough content and supporting evidence to make her points believable.

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot is the second book in the Heather Wells Mysteries series.  It continues to follow Heather Wells as she works as an assistant dorm director at New York College.  In this installment, Heather finds herself investigating a local frat after a cheerleader is found dead in Fisher Hall.

Another easy, chick lit read.  This installment doesn't have as much "mystery" going on as Size 12 Is Not Fat, but it does have quite a bit of action and we get to see different sides to the Heather Wells character.  There are still some writing quirks like Wells being a bit juvenile at times, but at least the residence hall instead of dorm correction is only mentioned a couple times.  If you enjoyed the first book, I'd recommend this one as well.

Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer

Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer by Jen Lancaster is a humorous memoir about the author's weight loss journey.  Lancaster takes us on her weigh loss mission from "not caring" about how she looks and being forced to reevaluate for medical reasons to joining Weight Watchers and hitting the gym.  There are failures and successes along the way as we see how she finally finds a way to ditch some of that "pretty fat".

I'm usually a fan of humorous memoirs (as you might already know if you are a regular to this blog) and having had my own weight loss journey in the last few years, thought this book would be a fun read.  It turned out to be more of a miss than a hit for me though.

The subject matter would have held my interest, had the book been more focused.  The author starts out with a lot of complaining and excuses, which is often very true to form when starting on a path to getting an exercise/diet routine.  While it was realistic, it was pretty boring to read about and it really takes 100+ pages for Lancaster to get the story going.  I also found that I didn't really like Lancaster.  I'm sure a lot of women will find her relatable and her inner dialogue can be entertaining but after a while it was just too much snark and complaining for me.  Weird, since I normally like snark/sarcasm (thus my love of Laurie Notaro books) but Lancaster's humor just didn't hit the mark.  If you enjoy humorous memoirs, you *might* enjoy this book, but I don't plan to read any more books by this author.

Size 12 Is Not Fat

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot is about a woman named Heather Wells.  Wells used to be a teenage pop star but after leaving her record label, splitting up with her boyfriend and her mom running off with her money, she starts working as an assistant dorm director at a New York college.  Things seem to be finally settling into a rhythm for Heather until students start dying and she thinks there is more to the deaths than it seems.

This novel is a really easy fun read, chick lit to the core.  The plot is entertaining and Heather is a likable main character.  There were a few things in the writing I could have done with out (such as the correction made way too many times of residence hall instead of dorm!) and Heather's inner dialogue is a bit repetitive at times.  Otherwise though, it’s a fun read.  The plot keeps you interested and the characters keep you invested.  Would recommend for any ladies looking for a light and quick read.  There are four more books in the "Heather Wells Mystery" series and I plan to read at least one more.

Grimm: The Icy Touch

Grimm: The Icy Touch by John Shirley is a media-tie in novel based on the tv show Grimm.  It follows Grimm Nick Burkhardt as he tackles a new case involving The Icy Touch gang, whose members happen to all be aggressive wesen.  Nick is unaware that this particular gang is led by a wesen who has a history with Grimm's that goes back to the times when Grimm's fought to the death.

I've been a fan of Grimm since the show started back in 2011.  While perusing the book store, I stumbled upon this book and put it on my Christmas wish list.  It is definitely written for fans of the show, since the author doesn't give a ton of back story about the main characters. However, anyone can pick this book up and read it and enjoy it like they are watching a single episode of the show.

I had a few issues while reading when some things the characters did or said didn't really seem "in character" but it wasn't so off putting that it took away from the overall story or the feel of the book.  Since it reads like you are watching an episode of the show, fans can picture how the characters sound and such while reading which is fun.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Grimm!

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand is the true story of Louis Zamperini, a man from California who is thrust into the turbulence of World War II and somehow lives to tell the tale.

Several people recommended this book to me since it came out and I finally gave it a read. I'm so glad I did. Louis Zamperini's life/story is nothing short of extraordinary. It begins with his childhood in California before moving on to his time in the war where he was a POW in Japan. Zamperini endures so much during and after the war, it is mind boggling.

There is so much history, knowledge and information in this book, it is truly impressive. It is a very involved read, but worth it. Read it and prepare to be amazed by this man's true story of survival.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is the story of Clay Jensen, a high school student who returns home from school to find a box of cassette tapes on his front porch.  He plays the tapes and discovers they were made by Hannah Baker, a fellow classmate who had committed suicide two weeks earlier.  On the tapes, Hannah shares the thirteen reasons why she killed herself and Clay learns more about Hannah and some of his other classmates than he ever could have imagined.

This novel was pretty good.  It is written from Clay and Hannah's point of view, so you get to hear Hannah's side of the story as well as Clay's reactions to them.  I got to certain sections where I wish they would have just let Hannah share her side instead of going back and forth to Clay, but for the most part the writing style was enjoyable.

I wouldn't recommend this novel to anyone younger than twelve or thirteen since it talks about some intense stuff such as suicide, underage drinking, sexual situations, bullying, etc.  However, I do think it is a great read for teens to address those topics and perhaps even start a dialogue about them.  I felt like the novel was able to do a good job of capturing how young people treat each other and how the effects of that treatment have the potential to be so damaging.

Countdown City

After a (too long!) reading hiatus, I just finished Countdown City: The Last Policeman Book II by Ben H. Winters.  This is book two in The Last Policeman Series, you might recall I reviewed the first book in this series last year (http://wannabebookworms.blogspot.com/2012/07/last-policeman.html). 

I was really looking forward to Countdown City, as I quite enjoyed The Last Policeman.  It picks up not long after the first book leaves off and we continue to follow the story of Detective Hank Palace as he makes his way in a world that is counting down to doomsday.  In this book, "detective" Palace is on a new case, which leads him to meet some very interesting characters and shows us how people react as the end of the world looms closer.

While I enjoyed the first book more, this one was pretty good.  It's still written in the clear and concise manner I enjoyed in the first installment of this series and I think he moves the story along fairly well.  Knowing this was book two of a trilogy, I didn't expect a ton of action/excitement to be in this book and that turned out to be true.  It's not as much of a page turner (or kindle button clicker) as the first book but it does end well and leaves you looking forward to book three.  I look forward to seeing what happens to Detective Palace in the series' final installment.

First, Break All The Rules: What The Worlds Greatest Managers Do Differently

Yes, this is another one of those 'how to be an effective manager' books.  No, this one is not the same as the rest.  I often find management books to come from the perspective of 'me, the author'.  They preach and like to talk about what's worked for them, and why they are great managers. 

This book is different from the rest.  This book spends the first chapters explaining the RESEARCH behind the opinion.  Not once does the author says 'in my experience' or 'this worked for me, I'm great'.  What the author does do is refer to the research that was done in many different organizations, sizes, industries, countries, etc.  The author used an independent research firm to ask thousands of questions, and conduct hundreds of interviews.  Then they analyzed the data.  They found 12 questions that were accurate indicators of effective managers.  Effective managers have the most engaged employees, lowest turnover, and highest output.  This is not only a good read for current and aspiring mangers, but anyone who works on corporate culture and HR, or anyone who is curios about how some organizations thrive and others don't.

~Kelly

Wonder

Wonder by R. J. Palacio is the story of August Pullman's fifth grade year.  August is different from the other students for a couple of reasons:  he's never been to a real school before and he has a genetic mutation that caused him to be born with a facial deformity. 

This is a wonderful children's book.  I'd actually recommend it for kids and adults alike.  Auggie is a character you really care about and can relate to; since everyone has felt like they didn't belong at some point or another.

The book is written from the perspective of many characters (Auggie, some of his friends, his sister, etc.), so you see how Auggie's struggles affect the lives of everyone he knows.  It is a wonderful story about kindness, cruelty, acceptance, friendship and love.  With the amount of bullying that goes on with kids today, I highly recommend kids and their parents read this book.

With or Without You

With or Without You:  A Memoir by Domenica Ruta is the story of how a young girl (raised by a very troubled women), realizes as an adult that the only way to save herself is to leave behind the one she can't seem to quit.

Oh, how I am drawn to a memoir about troubled families.  I don't know why I find them so engrossing but I do.  In this case, Ruta mostly talks about her dysfunctional relationship with her drug addicted, narcissistic and manipulative mother.

It was well written, authentic and brought up the proper emotions that the stories she was telling elicited.  Like many memoirs, it goes back and forth in time and tells stories that are painful to read.  I think what I enjoyed most about Ruta's style is how her personality really comes through.  A lot of times when I'm reading memoirs, it feels like the author is telling you about what happened but not about how it sits with them today.  I felt like the brokenness of Ruta was tangible to the last page and beyond.  Definitely a good read if you are into memoirs.

The BFG

The BFG by Roald Dahl is the story of a young girl named Sophie who is taken to the land of giants by the BFG.  There Sophie and the BFG decide to take a stand against the other giants (who are human bean eaters!) with the help of a powerful ally.

One of my SIL's recommended this read.  It's a children's book and would be a great read aloud for kids 7+.  It was a pretty quick read and I think kids would like the way the giant talks. 

It has themes of friendship, education and morality.  Since it deals with giants coming after kids while they are sleeping, I wouldn't recommend reading it to little ones before bed.  It would make a great classroom or independent read for elementary kids though.

The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet

The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet by Alicia Silverstone is half non-fiction and half cookbook.  The book is informational about vegan/vegan macrobiotic diet and is broken up into three parts.  The first part is information about "Kind vs Nasty" foods.  The second section is about different levels of the "Kind Diet" which Silverstone labels as "Flirting, Vegan and Superhero".  The third part of the book is recipes.

Being a semi-vegetarian/pollo-pescetarian (the only meat I consume is poultry and occasional seafood), I have always been interested in veganism.  It seems so very hard to me (since I LOVE my eggs and cheese) so I thought this book would be an opportunity to learn more about it. 

 

I really enjoyed part one of this book.  A lot of vegetarians are vegetarians because of the cruel treatment of animals in our country's factory farming system.  This of course is reason enough to become a vegetarian, but Silverstone also discusses the impact that the meat/dairy industries have on our environment.  She has some really great arguments about how cutting out meat and dairy will not only be kind to animals, but kind to our environment and our own bodies.

 

I also enjoyed part two of this book, since it broke things down into different levels of veganism.  The Flirt kind of dabbles with things, the Vegan abstains from all meat and dairy and the Superhero is hardcore.  While I don't plan on being a Superhero anytime soon, I found some information and products in the Vegan section that I might try at some point. 

 

Part three focused on the recipes and I'll admit I did not read all of the recipes word for word.  Each has a little intro and a list of ingredients and then goes into the details of how to make the recipes.  I found some of the ingredients would be something I wouldn't use/would be very hard to find in my area.  Some of the vegan recipes looked pretty good though!

 

I enjoyed Silverstone's writing style, very light and easy.  It felt like you were chatting with a girlfriend but getting a lot of information at the same time.  The Superhero "diet" isn't something I'm interested in and a lot of the vegan things she mentioned included soy products (which I am wary of) but I feel like I learned a lot and could make some changes in my diet to eliminate some of the dairy I eat. 

I'd recommend giving this book a read if you are interested in healthy living, veganism or just learning more about how consuming meat and dairy is harsh on animals and our environment.  I also highly recommend watching the moving Food, Inc. if you haven't yet.  Very eye opening to our nation's food industry.

The Potty Mouth at the Table

The Potty Mouth at the Table by Laurie Notaro is a collection of humorous essays about the many everyday things Notaro finds infuriating, hilarious, mortifying and mind boggling.

I have been a big fan of Laurie Notaro for many years now and love the majority of her books.  All of her collections of essays are funny and relatable, which is why I like her so much.  She has a very sarcastic, dry and wonderful sense of humor.  She thinks things we all think and says things some of us only wish we could say. 

The Potty Mouth at the Table is another hit for Notaro in my book.  I'll keep pre-ordering her books and devouring them as long as she keeps writing things to make me laugh, gag, get misty-eyed and nod in agreement.  Highly recommend this book and all of the other essay collections she has written.  (Note:  Notaro has also written two fiction novels.  They are okay, but I prefer her essays).

After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story

After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story by Michael Hainey is the story of a man who went on a quest for the truth about his father's death.  Michael Hainey's father died when he was just six years old and after years of no one talking about it and things not adding up, he decided to seek the truth for himself.  He does this by digging up old files, interviewing people who knew his dad, ect.  In the end, he learns more about his father and himself.

The plot summery of this book immediately caught my attention.  My mother passed away when I was young as well and I've always had a lot of unanswered questions about it.  I was intrigued to see what this man would be able to discover and what he would do with those discoveries.

The book itself was a little wordy for my taste (lots of descriptions of places, people and time periods) but overall was well written.  The author takes the reader back and forth in time, and in doing so paints a very clear picture of what life was like when he was growing up. 

I was a bit disappointed in the story after he finds out what really happened to his father.  I wish it revealed more about how he and his immediate family felt after the discovery was made, but perhaps he didn't want to go into detail about that and wanted to keep the emphasis on his journey rather than the results.

Overall, it was a pretty good read.  I won't be adding it to my list of favorites, but it was a well written and interesting book.

The Buddha Walks into a Bar...: A Guide to Life for a New Generation

The Buddha Walks into a Bar...:  A Guide to Life for a New Generation by Lodro Rinzler is a introduction of sorts to Buddhism for a "new generation".  It discusses meditation techniques, how to cope with today's world, etc.

Wow, this book was not for me.  It took me over a month to finish this 207 page book which makes it pretty clear it was hard for me to finish.  When I read the info for it on Amazon.com I thought it would just be a light read about Buddhism, kind of a into to what it was all about or something. 

Though it was described as not preachy, I felt it was.  The book is definitely more for someone who is interested in becoming Buddhist or is Buddhist, IMO.  I find different religions interesting, but as one who has no intention of meditating or changing my spiritual beliefs (I'm agnostic), I had a really hard time getting into this book. 

If you are into learning about religions or are interested in Buddhism you might enjoy this book, but if you are looking for a light intro or thought this was going to be humorous due to the title, grab something else off the bookshelf.

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection

I loved Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs!  It is a non-fiction book that follows Jacobs on his quest to become "the healthiest man alive" after he gets tropical pneumonia while on a family vacation.

Over a period of two years, Jacobs does a ton of research and tries to become healthier.  He tries different forms of exercise and diet.  He meets with leading health experts and everyday people who are committed to health.  He does all this with a sense of humor and personal stories that motivate you to make your own health changes as well.

I really enjoyed this book.  Jacobs is an excellent writer, who mixes facts, stats and expert interviews with humor, family anecdotes and stories of his own health triumphs and failures.  He breaks things down by focusing on one body part each chapter (heart, brain, stomach, etc) and giving the reader a monthly "checkup" with some stats on how he's doing. 

I feel like I learned a lot reading this book (he researches some things I'd never thought too much about) but he is so real it isn't at all textbooky.  The book is filled with stats and expert information delivered in a way that is really fun, entertaining and engrossing.  I highly recommend reading this book!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke is a quick, easy and fun murder mystery.  If I recall correctly, this book was recommended by a facebook friend of mine.  It looked like a nice light read, which I was looking forward to after my pretty involved other reads so far this year.

The story is about a woman named Hannah Swensen who lives in a small town in Minnesota.  She owns a cookie shop called The Cookie Jar and since it's a small town, knows anyone and everyone who stops into her shop.  One morning she goes outside her shop to discover a murder right outside her back door.  She teams up with her brother-in-law, who is a local cop, and sets out to catch a killer.

This book is the first in a series of many that have Hannah Swensen as the main character.  I enjoyed this book since it was a quick and easy read.  I used to read murder mysteries ALL the time (Patterson, Higgins Clark) so this was a nice return to that but on a much lighter, less violent side.  An added treat to these books is they come with cookie recipes!  I haven't made any of them, but they sure sounded delish.  I recommend giving this book a read.  It's a fun read with lots of quirky characters and it will keep you guessing until the last few pages.