The Upswing, Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett

 

The Upswing: How America came together a century ago and how we can do it again by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett is a book about sociological change on a 125 year cycle.

Started: 11/23/2020
Completed: 11/28/2020
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This book is the argument that there has been an I-We-I cycle across numerous variables in several categories.  Whether it is gender equity, racial equity, or economic equity (again, among others) there is a detectable cycle from a self-centered to a communal and back angle on social activity.  This ranges from policy to baby names.

The authors suggest that the key to the "We" portion of the cycle was diverse groups working together on a local level.  Examples of such groups would be the Rotary Club (maybe not so diverse itself as it was all male) and the NAACP (also not terribly diverse itself).  These groups sort of picked at the edges of issues until (in some cases such as suffrage and civil rights) they were in a position to tackle the whole issue.  This developed a sense of people working together which made society more of a group working together instead of everyone trying to "get what's owed."  The broad suggestion is that through cooperative grass-roots groups, it may be possible to turn the cycle around and get back to the "We" in 50 years or so.  Ugh.

Normal Sucks, Jonathan Mooney

 

Normal Sucks: How to live, learn, and thrive outside the lines by Jonathan Mooney seems appropriate given that I am weird.

Started: 11/22/2020
Completed: 11/22/2020
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: My cousin, Amee, via my wife

Review:

Different is not normal.  There are many ways to be different, but only one way to be normal.  Those of us who are different (in whatever way) feel less than or at least other than.  Mooney talks about learning disabilities, but also addresses how he extends his understanding of differences to include anything that isn't "normal."  Sexual, physical, or simply approach to life.  I really liked the distinction between dyslexia and dysteachia.  I have thought that it is critical to meet kids where they are in order for those kids to learn.  Differences acknowledges and values the need to see kids/adults as individuals, to teach and relate to those individuals as individuals.  My father, a psychologist, has said, "people are people wherever you go."  Of course he did.  If he didn't then psychology makes little sense.  I think that people are wonderfully different everywhere and that the difference is frequently the source of what makes them wonderful.  This book was freeing to read.

Mr. Orr, a pedophile who preyed on children in my school, made me feel like a person who was valued.  He did not prey on me and, for that, I am glad.  I was so hungry for acceptance, though, he must have seen me as a potential victim.  As it turns out, for whatever reason, I wasn't his type.  I remember him, though, as someone who  believed in me.  Maybe it was just because he did and it wasn't related to his sexual desire for young men.  I hope so.  Regardless of the reality, I am glad of his support and sad for the young men who were not simply supported, but were abused.  This book brought him to my mind because he accepted the outcast and celebrated the unusual.  I hope that was not just a ploy to abuse the outcast and the unusual.

The Searcher, Tana French

 

The Searcher by Tana French is the latest from French and I have read that she has a cultish following.

Started: 11/18/2020
Completed: 11/22/2020
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

cop yourself on -- An Irish expression meaning to get some common sense

poitín -- A traditional Irish distilled beverage, basically Irish moonshine

Review:

Chicago cop goes to Ireland to get away from it all and doesn't.  This book is rich in character and story.  The main character does not change, but the term of the book is short.  He is also not a stereotype.  The secondary characters are a mix of stereotype and interesting dimension.  This is part mystery, part adventure.  It is clever in its own way and takes a look at how unlikely people might be close and likely people not be.  It is worth the time it takes to read.  It is not uplifting, but few Irish tales are.  I have no interest in revisiting the characters--this book does not bring you close to them.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V.E. Schwab

 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab was reviewed in several publications and caught my attention.

Started: 11/13/2020
Completed: 11/18/2020
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

An interesting take on the Faustian bargain, mixed with a little of the invisible man.  It is an odd love story.  The way that the story develops, the changes in perspective, and the lack of an ending is itself compelling.  It gives the book a sense of honesty that the book should not have.  "It makes the whole thing seem real."  "They fit together" was a shocking statement.  It is how my wife and I see each other, but, hopefully, the relationship is better!

The Wright Brothers, David McCullough

 

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough is a book recommended to me by my parents.  I have enjoyed McCullough's writing.

Started: 11/2/2020
Completed: 11/13/2020
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: My parents

Words for which I sought help:

lacuna -- an unfilled space or interval; a gap

Review:

Listening to this book in McCullough's raspy voice was comfortable and enjoyable.  It is a positive biography of sorts and it just felt fun and good.  I liked learning more about Katherine Wright and I thought that Orville's treatment of her at the end of her life was awful, but it is easy to judge from this remove.  I had no idea that my life and Orville's had overlapped.  That was shocking.

The Rule of Four, Caldwell and Thomason

 

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason is a book that looked intriguing at the library bookstore before COVID interrupted everything.

Started: 8/24/2020

Completed: 11/10/2020

Recommendation: Not Recommended

Recommended By:  Nobody

Review:

The opening of this book--travels in steam tunnels--reminded me of Rona Jaffe's Mazes and Monsters.  It is easy, however, to tire of the pretentious, long-winded history of Princeton. 

If you must find a book which looks down on you from Princeton with flat characters, obscure art and literature references, and a breathtaking hunt down dark library hallways compounded by a youthful love affair, then this is your book.  Otherwise, just ugh.

The Road to Character, David Brooks

 

The Road to Character by David Brooks is a frequently recommended book.  It kind of fits in with my study on what it means to be a good person.

Started: 10/29/2020
Completed: 11/02/2020 -- did not finish
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By:  Numerous people

Words for which I sought help:

apotheosis -- the highest point in the development of something; culmination or climax

beau ideal -- a person or thing representing the highest possible standard of excellence in a particular respect

Review:

It seems that these portraits hinge on religion.  Certainly on the concept of sin which Brooks feels is essential to developing character.

In the section on George Elliott, Brooks fills in a lot of detail between Elliott and her eventual husband (Lewis) by reaching for quotations about the nature of love and marriage from a broad range of authors which may or may not have reflected their actual opinions.  It is odd to have this diversion despite the dearth of material describing their courtship and marriage.

The odd thing about this book is it reads a bit like a series of conversion stories.  In the vein of, "I was lonely, alone, debauched, and I came to know some form of God, thus becoming whole."  I am just kind of past this type of reasoning.  People do not have to make a "great change" for me to appreciate their character--this author seems to only see people in terms of making a "great change" and then focuses the lens to view everything in those terms.

I was discussing my frustrations with this book with my wife who immediately recognized Brooks as a columnist and then a quick review of his wiki page (linked above) made it clear that Brooks has a tendency to have a thought and then to carry that thought through facts whether the two meet well or not.  This might explain why I found the book so odd and difficult to understand.  It simply did not make a lot of sense.  OK.  Stopped reading.