#31: Little Britches; Big Magic; Atomic Habits; Dark Matter, Recursion
This week I'm playing catch up and hoping to provide tiny, digestible bites for your consuming pleasure. I've finished a few books in the past several weeks and you can find paragraph long reviews for each below!
Little Britches by Ralph Moody (1950, 260)
This was the best parenting book I've read this year and one of the best I've ever read. I was deeply moved by the relationship young Ralph Moody had with his father. I loved how the life lessons stuck with him for years and how vividly he recalled them once he could get them down on paper. This book made me want to be a better dad, destroy all the TVs in my house, and work in the yard every day. It also informed me of the challenges of living and working in early 20th century Colorado. Especially if you're a Colorado native like me, check this one out.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (2015, 288 pages)
The entire book reminded me of this quote from A Gentleman in Moscow:
"For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim."
Big Magic is all about courage. Elizabeth Gilbert writes very naturally, as if she were delivering a pep talk or motivational speech. I am planning to listen to this one on audio on a yearly basis. She addresses each excuse and fear that our brains come up with to impede us for doing what we love. She argues we should be doing what we love for the love of doing it and nothing else. Yes, you might fail or be lousy or be one in a million or or or...it doesn't matter. Just pursue your creativity. I really liked reading it and made some long overdue resolutions as a result. If you feel your creativity is stifled and you can't seem to break out under your own power, check this one out.
Atomic Habits by James Clear (2018, 319 pages)
Another solid non-fiction that I really enjoyed. Quick and easy read with helpful tips and reminders of how to start good habits and stop bad ones. I like how the book was organized to make it easy to revisit the rules. Since reading, I've begun a flossing and journal writing habit and plan to add more. I'm also eager to check out BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits. This book is definitely worth it especially if you are struggling to eliminate a bad habit and replace it with a good one. The guy has a ton of writing on his website so if you can't get your hands on the book, go to jamesclear.com.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (2016, 10 hours, 8 minutes listening time)
This was a fun thriller to listen to while on a run or commuting. A couple of genuine surprises and a solid "big idea" concept, which is this:
The Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics posits that all possible realities exist. That everything which has a probability of happening is happening. Everything that might have occurred in our past did occur, only in another universe. What if that’s true? What if we live in a fifth-dimensional probability space?
It's a little crazy to think about, right? All possible realities existing. Versions of yourself in an alternate universe where you made completely different decisions. It seems outlandish and impossible but suspending disbelief over the duration of the novel is fun.
Recursion by Blake Crouch (2019, 336 pages)
And last but not least, another fun thriller by Blake Crouch with an insane concept regarding memory. I won't spoil anything, but if you like Dark Matter you will certainly enjoy this one. It is pretty wild and has some memorable characters and moments. While I'm not exactly a "thrillers" guy and have a hard time remembering the last one that truly thrilled me (Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men??), I would still give this 4/5 stars for being a solid piece of work.
And that does it for me! I have plans to finish The Dawn Patrol by Don Winslow and Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris in the coming weeks. I also have the Ryan Holiday trilogy and A Man Called Ove on my "read next" list.
Please let me know what you've been digging into lately. Read on!
Kyle