My five favorite books are the following:
End of Faith
Endurance
Quiet
Muzzled
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
END OF FAITH
For years I have struggled with the hypocrisy of organized religion. I went to 16 years of Catholic school and finally realized that for me the Catholic religion was a religion of smoke and mirrors. It was hard for me to understand how life choices, political decisions, and murdering people were a result of what the Bible contained. When I finished reading End of Faith, it was clear to me that all organized religions were at one time or another, attempts to get people to behave and believe in a certain way, no matter how drastic the methods were. Unfortunately, that included killing and torturing people if they did not want to believe in the chosen religion or because they participated in another organized religion. I found myself very angry after reading this book at fellow human beings who lost their way in an effort to sell their beliefs. Pretty sad chapters in our world history.
Endurance
Quiet
Muzzled
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
END OF FAITH
For years I have struggled with the hypocrisy of organized religion. I went to 16 years of Catholic school and finally realized that for me the Catholic religion was a religion of smoke and mirrors. It was hard for me to understand how life choices, political decisions, and murdering people were a result of what the Bible contained. When I finished reading End of Faith, it was clear to me that all organized religions were at one time or another, attempts to get people to behave and believe in a certain way, no matter how drastic the methods were. Unfortunately, that included killing and torturing people if they did not want to believe in the chosen religion or because they participated in another organized religion. I found myself very angry after reading this book at fellow human beings who lost their way in an effort to sell their beliefs. Pretty sad chapters in our world history.
ENDURANCE
Recently I was out in my patio reading as the sun was setting. I realized I was getting cold and immediately went into the house to get a wrap. When I came back out I suddenly thought about the book Endurance and what the men in that book experienced. I just started laughing at myself and thought about what it would be like to be in their situation. I couldn’t imagine sleeping in a wet sleeping bag in sub zero temperature for months on end. Neither could I imagine eating only whale blubber for the same length of time. I was so impressed with the fortitude, strength, and determination of these men. At no time did they complain or give up. Each time I thought it could not get any worse for these adventures, they were thrown another horrible challenge with which they had to deal. Truly amazing that they all made it back to civilization. Shackleton was such a competent and dedicated leader that he lost not one man on this incredible journey. So the next time you feel a little chill or hear your stomach rumbling because you haven’t eaten in several hours, think about what these incredibly brave men endured and you too will chuckle at yourself.
Recently I was out in my patio reading as the sun was setting. I realized I was getting cold and immediately went into the house to get a wrap. When I came back out I suddenly thought about the book Endurance and what the men in that book experienced. I just started laughing at myself and thought about what it would be like to be in their situation. I couldn’t imagine sleeping in a wet sleeping bag in sub zero temperature for months on end. Neither could I imagine eating only whale blubber for the same length of time. I was so impressed with the fortitude, strength, and determination of these men. At no time did they complain or give up. Each time I thought it could not get any worse for these adventures, they were thrown another horrible challenge with which they had to deal. Truly amazing that they all made it back to civilization. Shackleton was such a competent and dedicated leader that he lost not one man on this incredible journey. So the next time you feel a little chill or hear your stomach rumbling because you haven’t eaten in several hours, think about what these incredibly brave men endured and you too will chuckle at yourself.
QUIET
I sure wish I read this book in high school! It would have given me a much better understanding of what makes up an introvert and how, knowing that fact about myself, I could have navigated school and life more effectively. I finally figured out that I was an introvert but it was after my days in school. Sitting in class, paying attention, but not contributing to the class discussions, caused me to feel some sense of guilt. Had I read this book earlier, I would have realized that this is who I am and it was OK not to feel compelled to jump into discussions. My personal challenge in my career was that I was an introvert doing a job the required me to be an extrovert. I think that took a lot of extra energy at times, but over all, it was well worth the effort. The author suggest that whether you are an introvert or extrovert, your job is to figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it. He says we should spend our free time the way we like, not the way we think we are supposed to. Feeling guilty about being either an introvert or an extrovert is just wasted energy and will get in the way of enjoying our lives to the fullest.
I sure wish I read this book in high school! It would have given me a much better understanding of what makes up an introvert and how, knowing that fact about myself, I could have navigated school and life more effectively. I finally figured out that I was an introvert but it was after my days in school. Sitting in class, paying attention, but not contributing to the class discussions, caused me to feel some sense of guilt. Had I read this book earlier, I would have realized that this is who I am and it was OK not to feel compelled to jump into discussions. My personal challenge in my career was that I was an introvert doing a job the required me to be an extrovert. I think that took a lot of extra energy at times, but over all, it was well worth the effort. The author suggest that whether you are an introvert or extrovert, your job is to figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it. He says we should spend our free time the way we like, not the way we think we are supposed to. Feeling guilty about being either an introvert or an extrovert is just wasted energy and will get in the way of enjoying our lives to the fullest.
MUZZLED
Although this book was written in 2011, it definitely applies to the world today, and especially what has been happening with the election in the past 18 months. Now that Donald Trump has been elected president, the content of this book becomes even more important. The election has caused the United States to become anything but united. If we don’t start to listen to each other, we will never find a way to coexist comfortably in the area of politics. Although we all bear some blame for this lack of understanding and accepting each other’s perspectives, I think the press and the pundits bear a great deal of the blame. What is presented is a war between the two (or three) parties and the fight should be as contentions and nasty as possible….after all, that’s what sells. The author points out that we get the media we deserve. He thinks we are all in on the joke of watching and listening to the gossip and nonsense that passes a real news. We all need to do something to make sure we get real news and not the dog and pony show that sells and presents only one side of a situation. And the only things that we generally choose to listen to and believe are the things we believe in already. We all tend to surround ourselves with people who are like minded. And that is fine except this causes us to not listen to other’s perspective. It is not at all easy to change this trend, but if we don’t, we will continue to go along with a muzzled country.
Although this book was written in 2011, it definitely applies to the world today, and especially what has been happening with the election in the past 18 months. Now that Donald Trump has been elected president, the content of this book becomes even more important. The election has caused the United States to become anything but united. If we don’t start to listen to each other, we will never find a way to coexist comfortably in the area of politics. Although we all bear some blame for this lack of understanding and accepting each other’s perspectives, I think the press and the pundits bear a great deal of the blame. What is presented is a war between the two (or three) parties and the fight should be as contentions and nasty as possible….after all, that’s what sells. The author points out that we get the media we deserve. He thinks we are all in on the joke of watching and listening to the gossip and nonsense that passes a real news. We all need to do something to make sure we get real news and not the dog and pony show that sells and presents only one side of a situation. And the only things that we generally choose to listen to and believe are the things we believe in already. We all tend to surround ourselves with people who are like minded. And that is fine except this causes us to not listen to other’s perspective. It is not at all easy to change this trend, but if we don’t, we will continue to go along with a muzzled country.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO
This is the only book that received a score of 5 from every member. I think it was because it was a well thought out and interesting plot, cleverly presented, and the characters were interesting and well developed. There were many twists and turns and just when the reader felt he may have figured out the ending, the author threw in another unexpected twist. It was a compelling read that required that reader to pay close attention and not put his mind in auto pilot which can be easily done in many mysteries. The movie was entertaining and well done, but the book was a real work of art.
This is the only book that received a score of 5 from every member. I think it was because it was a well thought out and interesting plot, cleverly presented, and the characters were interesting and well developed. There were many twists and turns and just when the reader felt he may have figured out the ending, the author threw in another unexpected twist. It was a compelling read that required that reader to pay close attention and not put his mind in auto pilot which can be easily done in many mysteries. The movie was entertaining and well done, but the book was a real work of art.
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