Tonya's Book Blog: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hi friends,

Wow. December was a crazy month for us. We celebrated the holidays, bought a house, sold a house, and moved halfway across the country from Maryland to Colorado. We’ve been homeless – well we’ve been staying in hotels/with family, but it feels like being homeless – for the past two weeks as we wait for our stuff to arrive in Colorado from Maryland. In the midst of the whirlwind of moving, I found some time to read several good books, including a few of the elusive 5-star reads. Thanks to booktuber Daniel Greene and Bill Gates for some of these recommendations. As always, recommendations for further reading are welcome.

Hoping that all of you are staying healthy and well. COVID-19 has hit pretty close to home for us recently with close family members getting sick. Thankfully, none of them had serious cases and are well on the road to recovery.

Stay safe and well.

Tonya

Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes, for anyone who enjoys fantasy

Review: This novella falls between the third and fourth Stormlight books, and should probably be read before you read the fourth book – Oathbringer –which I read and reviewed last month. Obviously, I did this out of out order, and was able to follow the events of Oathbringer just fine, but it would have been a better reading experience to read this one first as Dawnshard reveals new details about Cosmere lore that will probably be quite important for future reading…. It’s quite long for a novella, coming in at 208 pages, because it seems as if Sanderson is incapable of being brief. In this case, I thought the page count was justified and enjoyed getting to spend more time with secondary Stormlight series characters like Rysn and Lopen, who don’t get hardly any page time in Oathbringer. Highly recommend for any fans of Sanderson’s Cosmere.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (Translated by Neil Smith)

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes! An excellent book!

Review: I’ve read several of Backman’s books, and loved A Man Called Ove. This book, while very different, I think is on par with that one. A would-be bank robber becomes an accidental hostage taker when fleeing the scene of a failed robbery right into an apartment showing. As he did in Ove, Backman focuses on the relationships between his cast of colorful characters including some relationships that aren’t normally the focus in novels like fathers and sons, neighbors, and real-estate agents and their clients. He expertly maintains the mystery aspect of the book as a team of father-and-son police officers try to piece together what happened by interviewing the surprisingly unhelpful former hostages. As the book progresses and the mystery is gradually revealed, Backman expertly pulls us into caring deeply about every character in the book as we learn about their flaws, triumphs, and regrets. He pulls all the disparate threads together at the end for a thought-provoking and emotional ending. Highly recommend.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchhill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes!

Review: Since last March, we’ve all been living in a world-wide state of heightened stress as we deal with the collective and individual effects of the global pandemic. Bill Gates recommended this book in the context of dealing with society-wide catastrophes and how leadership can effect how people respond to stressful and highly uncertain situations. Between 1940 and 1941, tens of thousands of tons of explosives were dropped on London and elsewhere in England as the German Air Force tried to bomb Britain into submission after France surrendered. While having a bomb randomly dropped on your head and an invisible but highly contagious virus are two very different threats, I think that the leadership principles that Churchill used to help the British “find their courage” could have been applied to our pandemic situation. Churchill was honest and frank about the threat that the German Air Force and potential Nazi invasion presented, but he also inspired people to hope and continue working despite the threats that they were confronting. He didn’t sugarcoat or downplay the seriousness or severity of the situation, and was able to maintain public support largely by showing empathy for those suffering. He would tour bombed villages and neighborhoods, visit the injured in hospital, and wasn’t afraid to express his genuine emotions, often crying as he viewed the destruction. His sincerity and empathy helped to not only create broad support for the war effort, but also helped people find their courage and continue to do what needed to be done despite nightly raids. An excellent read for anyone interested in leadership and enduring to the end.

Range: Why Generalist Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes, a good read when considering career and education

Review: This was another Bill Gates recommendation. It was one of those non-fiction books where the main idea can be summarized in a few sentences, but the author manages to draw it out into a 300+ page book. Basically, Epstein argues that the 10,000 hours of practice to expertise rule is not applicable for most real-world situations. He says that while dedicated and exclusive practice works well to build expertise in simple situations where the rules are clear and well-defined, the world is dominated by wicked situations where the rules are unclear or incomplete and patterns aren’t obvious. In these situations, developing a range of skills across different disciplines is more likely to lead to success. He points out many examples of successful athletes and entrepreneurs who jumped around from one sport or area of interest to another before settling on an endeavor that made them famous. From a parenting perspective, he notes that we shouldn’t pressure children or teens to stay with an activity if they want to quit and try something else and notes that failure is necessary to eventual success. An interesting read for anyone who wants to know how to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world where the skills that got you a job today won’t help you keep your job in 10 years.

Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes! An amazing read for anyone who loves learning

Review: This is a classic popular science book and companion to one of the most-watched-ever television series. Sagan is an amazing writer and scientist. His prose is both understandable and beautiful, and he flows easily from one idea to the next as he explains the cosmos to you. It's a incredibly relaxing read and a great way to destress. Cosmos explains the world and universe we live in expounding on the creation of the universe and formation of stars and planets to the intricacies of atoms and Mars exploration1980s, so there's been many advances, particularly in Mars exploration, that aren't here, but it's still a highly relevant and accurate science book and has aged really well. Since it was written in the In the end, he brings it all back to planet earth and how we can be good stewards of the civilization that we’ve built. Definitely recommend.

Kings of the Wyld (The Band1) by Nicholas Eames

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: a fun and wild read for anyone who loves fantasy or Dungeons and Dragons

Review: This book was described to me as a Dungeons and Dragons campaign as a novel. I’ve never played Dungeons and Dragons, but I liked this book, so maybe it would be fun. In any case, it’s a wildly fun and entertaining romp about literally “putting the band back together.” In this fantasy world, monsters roam the Wyld and bands of warriors are hired to slay them. The Kings of the Wyld was the most famous band in the world until their split over 20 years ago. Now, their frontman, Golden Gabe, needs to get the band back together for an audacious and most-likely fatal rescue mission. His daughter and her new band are under siege from a massive horde of monsters led by an immortal Durin who wants to go back to the good old days when all humans and monsters were slaves. It’s a great, refreshing fantasy reads that shows how the bonds of friendship change and adapt over time and how they make life worth living. Highly recommend for any fantasy readers, but be advised that there’s quite a lot of lewd jokes and foul language.

Bloody Rose (The Band 2) by Nicholas Eames

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes, for anyone who liked the first book

Review: This is the second Band book from Eames. We’re waiting for a third later this year… While technically a sequel, this book follows a new band of mercenaries as they seek to prove that they’re the bravest and best band in the world. It does tie in closely with the events of the first book, so I recommend reading that one first. That being said, this one does stand-alone nicely, and the events are somewhat more high-stake than the first book. It also explores interesting themes like addiction and not fitting into traditional roles. Overall, I think I enjoyed the first book more, but this one was also a great read.

Mommy's Corner

Chloe was excited to move to Colorado!

Chloe will sometimes read books that she has memorized to Maya. It's pretty cute.

I thought I'd lost this cute giraffe hoodie my mom bought for Chloe a few years ago. I found it when we were packing to move. Luckily, it'll fit Maya for a while yet.