Let’s just say I had an awful lot of time on my hands while on vacation. That’s what happens when you deliberately leave your computer at home; AND you’ve got nowhere to go, save the local airstrip or the hotel compound; AND your helicopter can’t ever seem to find a weather window to fly you to basecamp. Sigh.
Mind you, it’s no punishment, the ability to read book after book for days on end; in fact, it’s a major luxury. Even when you’ve paid an ungodly amount to climb some elusive mountain, which is what I was supposed to be doing instead.
I still love the feel of a real book, paperback or hard cover, but all I can say is, thank God I had my Kindle and the ability to charge it. And thank God I have a husband who orders random books I wouldn’t ordinarily pick up because there’s no other explanation as to why some of these books were even on my menu bar.
So, here is the list of books I read and my assessment of each, both as a reader and as a content developer.
The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch
A collection of beautiful essays about the life of a small town undertaker, who moonlights as a poet. “Every year I bury a couple hundred of my townspeople,” Lynch claims, which means he’s learned to be present to others at the lowest point in their lives. Based in rural Michigan, with one foot in Ireland, Lynch is able to deftly blend the two cultures and their unique take on death and life. Full of homespun wisdom, philosophy, poetry, and family backstory.
Think: Garrison Keillor meets William Butler Yeats. Gorgeous writing.
Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and The Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday
Conspiracy theories aren’t always a paranoid’s fantasy; sometimes they do in fact exist. In 2016, one of the giants of modern journalism fell: Gawker Media, infamous for saying what other outlets wouldn’t say, was sued for publishing Hulk Hogan’s sex tape, lost the case and went bust. After countless other lawsuits, it seemed that Gawker had finally run out of luck. But luck had nothing to do with it. Peter Thiel, PayPal founder and billionaire investor, had masterminded the whole thing. Still furious at an article that had outed him ten years previously, and increasingly disgusted at Gawker’s unscrupulous reporting methods, Thiel had spent nearly a decade meticulously plotting a conspiracy that would lead to the demise of Gawker and its founder, Nick Denton. Revenge, apparently, is a dish best served cold. Strategy, planning, focus on long-term gain over expediency, biding one’s time to the perfect moment, this is the secret of success, not reactionary flailing. Patience (and ruthlessness) wins.
Holiday inserts himself into the story without once being intrusive. Great narration from on high.
12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson
Growing up in the Northern Plains of Alberta Canada, Jordan Peterson experienced frigid temperatures, small town living, and a series of rough neck jobs. All before getting a Ph.D. in psychology and becoming a Harvard professor. Here are some of his rules for living: Choose long-term gain over the short-term variety. Tell the truth because the short-term conflict it can create will save your soul (and your relationships) in the long run. Take care that your needs are met, in other words, take care of yourself so you can avoid anxiety, depression, chaos, and resentment. Stand up straight and throw your shoulders back so people treat you with respect; so you don’t get sand kicked in your face. Stop trying to turn boys into girls, eliminating all risk from your children’s lives, because no one wants a domesticated cat, least of all an intelligent woman.
One of the best wrap up chapters I’ve read in a long time. Perfect integration of all 12 rules into one cohesive ending story. Peterson’s blend of psychology, literature, history, scripture, mythology, and biology makes this book worth looking at as well, as does his scope. Holy crap, can he tie it all together.
Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of The World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself by Rich Roll
A 39-year-old, overweight lawyer has a moment of clarity and turns his life around. Within six months he goes from junk-food-TV-watching couch potato to Ironman. Within two years, he’s participating in five back-to-back Ironman events on the Islands of Hawaii, busting all expectations of what a human can endure and achieve. Good news: your all or nothing mindset can be used to your advantage. You can also turn your tendency for self-destruction into an ability to suffer and ride through pain. A few other reminders: The majority of us are soft weenies who delude ourselves into thinking that we’re doing enough when we haven’t even begun to skim the surface of what’s possible. Change your diet, work harder and smarter for longer, and you’ll turn your life around.
Not particularly well written in that it shifts genre, moving from memoir into self-help into how-to. Needs better integration, but the story is compelling enough to forgive its structural flaws.
Youthful Aging Secrets by Mary Jaksch
A series of stories about individuals who decided to reverse the aging process through exercise, a newfound passion, or engaging in a late-life love affair instead of giving into decay, the way our society expects one to do.
Short, snappy read, formulaic, a good example of a client-attracting book. The sales/lead capture snippets aren’t too invasive or heavy-handed. Great delivery of inspiration and valuable content.
Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half The Story by Jewel
Raised by a volatile alcoholic father in the backwoods of Alaska, Jewel is singing in bars by the time she’s nine. Abandoned by her mother, she and her two brothers have to raise themselves while tip-toeing around their father. How does a girl who protected herself by shutting down, dissociating from her emotions to survive and avoid conflict, make it to the top of the music industry writing and performing deeply emotive songs? How does she learn to connect to herself first so she can connect deeply with others? These are the questions I ask myself all the time, the essence of my own struggle (minus the complications that accompany fame).
A good example of a competent memoir—actually, I’d call it an autobiography because of the scope—that adds value. Not high literature, but that’s OK.
Memory Man by David Baldacci
A cop loses his will to live after coming home to discover that his family has been murdered. He finds purpose again after the man who confesses to the crime turns himself in years later, just moments before the local high school is shot up. Lots of people die. Lots and lots.
This is a classic, mindless tent read. So you can stop judging me now.
