Fourth Week of Reading - Reflections

It is amazing how much reading one can do when (a) they are home sick and (b) waiting (literally) for the paint to dry. (Since I painted my bedroom and the master bath - and was adventurous enough for making a pattern with tape to paint - it took several coats of primer and paint. 2hrs between coats meant quality reading time!)

A quick review of the books I've read in my first month:

1. Ho'oponopono - Dupree
2. The Inheritance of Loss - Desai
3. Practical Demonkeeping - Moore
4. Existence - Brinn
5. The Terrans - Johnson
6. Snow Crash - Stephenson
7. The Four Noble Truths - Dalai Lama XIV
8. Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time - Sutherland (not on my reading list)
9. Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself - Dispenza (not on my reading list)
10. Everything I Never Told You - Ng
11. Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story - Moore

What I've realized is that I'm retaining the stories and principles of the books far better by focusing and finishing on one at a time. Ironically, this is the premise of the Scrum book - monotasking essentially makes us better, and more productive. I've begun an experiment at work and engaged with the people above me to help. The Scrum book really helped remind me of the productivity lost by stopping and starting without all of the necessary building blocks to complete tasks in a sitting. I know this from a project perspective, but did not apply those lessons to my management style. So, i'm flipping things around. Each day of the week I'm designating for specific things, and organizing my calendar in such a way to help me multitask less. That is right - the energizer bunny here is going to focus on doing fewer things at once in order to get more done overall.

This aligns well to Dispenza's book Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. In Breaking, Dispenza walks through in plain English the neurochemical responses that take place in the brain and different hormone centers of the body. Guess what? There are seven hormone centers (glands) and they align to the seven chakra locations. Not a coincidence - as I continue to increase in my meditation practices and self-healing, it is amazing to align the scientific realities to the spiritual experiences I am having.

Both Breaking and Ng's Everything I Never Told You were read ahead of when I had intended to read them - thank you auto-checkout system through Sno-Isle libraries. I don't like being a bottleneck, and when I saw that others (41, in fact) were behind me on Ng's book, i chose to just read it now versus trying to read it later in the year. What a powerful story that touched me in so many ways. It is crazy to think of how recently some of the legal events took place, and how impactful those attitudes still are in our society.

Out of my original list of 52 books, I've read 9 (that's 17% if you care, and all 11 books reflect 19.6% of the 56 books on docket for the year). And - thank you library - I have 4 that auto-checked out this week:

• Tell the Wolves I'm Home
• Outlander
• The Mark of the Assassin
• Lamb: The gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend

 No promises those are the 4 I will read this week - but I do have a flight to Chicago Saturday morning, and the return flight, so odds are good that i'll get plenty of reading done in the air and while on vacation. Since I'm packing light and the others I'm reading are physical books, it's highly likely I'll make a dent in these.

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

Review - Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story (Christopher Moore)

Another hilarious book by Moore. I enjoyed this one so much I intend to read the other two in the trilogy once I've burned through my actual reading list for this year.

Jody and Tommy are a hilarious couple with an unlikely yet semi-plausible (in that really stretch your imagination way) bond. As Jody's life is flipped upside down when she becomes a vampire (and Tommy clearly indulges his morbid curiosity by befriending her), I found myself unable to stop chuckling or put the book down.

Quite frankly, this would have been a way better young adult dabbling in the mysterious world of vampires movie series than that other, oh-so-popular with the sparkly bloodsuckers. I won't spoil the surprise - but definitely pick this up and relax with a fun, witty love story and hint of taking down the bad guy.

Solid 4 stars on this one.

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

Review - Everything I Never Told You (Celest Ng)

This was a thought-provoking book, challenging things I thought I knew much the same way Desai's Inheritance of Loss did. As a parent, I was gripped reading about losing a child and battled my own internal monologues regarding being that out of touch that I didn't see it coming. 

Then again, I don't have some of the same complexities that existed for inter-racial couples in the 1970s. 

In as much as this is about a family, its secrets, and grief - this is also a book about how crippling living up to expectations can be. It doesn't matter whether those expectations are self-imposed or assumptive based on the world around us. Anything that inhibits our true self and real connections with others can lead to disaster. In this case, it took losing their child before James and Marilyn confronted those things. 

(No, this isn't really a spoiler - you learn about Lydia's death very early in the book. And they have two other kids that are alive that are also along for this grief-filled, family coming apart and together journey). 

This was a sobering read, and on the heels of some of the other non-fiction I've read in the last couple of months is something I will reflect on. 

4 stars. If you like cultural history and fiction combined, then you will probably enjoy this book. 

Happy Reading. 

--Jennifer

Review - Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself (Dr. Joe Dispenza)

5 star rating all the way.

Dispenza's books should be part of every therapists' library as a means of truly helping people heal and change their lives.

Do you think it is possible to gain the same results from mentally practicing something as you do from physically practicing it? Do you ever wonder why everything is great one minute and then the next you are in a seeming tizzy from "out of nowhere"? Do you understand energy, matter, and how atoms actually behave, or do you subscribe to Newtonian laws of physics? Did you know that the Chakra alignment isn't just mumbo jumbo - all 7 chakras align to the hormone centers of the body?

It is no secret that 95% of the operating elements of our brain take place without our conscious awareness. When you are "multitasking" - say, with preparing a several course meal where things are simultaneously cooking at the same time with different "finish" times - you invoke the muscle memory of how to stir x or how to whisk y or or or. And the 5% that you are consciously aware of involves the specific attention on whatever is in front of you right at that moment.

So if 95% of our realities are taking place without our conscious recognition, does that mean we are aren't even awake?

Learning makes synaptic connections while instructions gets the body connected to the experience, enriching the brain. When feelings become how we think all the time, and we can't think beyond whatever we are feeling, then we can't change. To change is to think greater than how we feel - and to act greater than those familiar feelings of the memorized self. Change is impossible in a predictable future.

*********************************

I'm going to stop there and get personal for a minute. (This is your cue to stop reading if you don't want that level of insight). I grew up in an environment where nothing was enough - i wasn't good enough or smart enough or liked enough or pretty enough or really anything enough. I allowed behavior to shape my reality well into adulthood - believing that I deserved the physical negative things taking place in my life, that somehow everything was my fault. Both my body and my mind were used to feeling this way - and I behaved accordingly.

As I sought to break free of that narrative there were some months where I felt completely different than I ever had before. But 2 or 3 months of intentionally making different choices and decisions and reclaim my life was battling 35+ years of programming - and I faltered. I hurt people I love, I fell back into that narrative, and I knew I had to make some radical changes to heal myself and break those patterns for good.

Enter radical changes and Jennifer 3.0. 

At the tail end of 2018 I read 20+ books related to anxiety, brain chemistry, emotional baggage, healthy relationships, and spirituality of the "new age" variety. I resonated with some concepts and rejected others, diving deep into things that reverberated through every fiber within me. I have learned to forgive myself, and to future trip in the most positive, wonderful ways possible. While I know each day is a new opportunity to make new wiring connections between my mind and my body, I welcome each day in a way that is wonderful and feels fundamentally different than anything I've ever experienced.

You can totally teach an old dog new tricks - and your mind can definitely overcome matter.

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

Review - Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time (Jeff Sutherland)

This falls into the "required reading" category - you know, the thing that your boss assigns you because they think it will help with your development, so you groan, roll your eyes, and suck it up to get it done.

At least, that's what usually happens.

Change or die.
Continuous improvement is continuous.
Working more is indicative that the problem is you, not the work.
Deliver the most value in a minimum viable product.

These are actual sentences that seem obvious and yet do not align with how we see work working.

The first 5 pages of this book I knew this was going to be different. Not only does Sutherland have an engaging, coversational style of writing - he uses examples that are digestable and entertaining. Each example provided at each element of this book, I found myself chuckling and thinking, "Yup - I know what disasters/doubters are like when X happens...."

I can't even begin to highlight all of the things I'm noodling on as a result of this book. Consistent with trying to be the best version of me and aligning my learnings to my values, I've set out to reorganize how I approach my daily work - to minimize disruption to my team (and, ultimately, to my productivity).

For example, I used to believe that taking a team of 12 to 15 folks and spreading the individual, 1-on-1 time I gave them throughout the week was the best way to balance my calendar. Yet inevitably something would happen and I'd move the scheduled time to a different time of the day, trying to maintain some consistency. Generally that happened day of. I didn't ever consider how disruptive that could be to them.

So, I'm going to try a little experiment. I have 12 1-on-1 sessions that I need to have each week. At 30 minutes each, that is 6 hours I spend on helping people with work problems and their development. I surveyed my team to ask them to pick a day and specify if morning or afternoon worked better. Nearly everyone picked - you guessed it - the same day of the week. So now with the exception of one of my leads (who i kick off the week with on Mondays as he backs me up when i'm out of office), the remaining folks are all on Tuesdays. Starting at 7am through 12:30pm, every single person on my team has their individual time with me scheduled, back to back, and I've cleared all other potential conflicts from my Tuesdays. I've shared this plan with the manager who assigned the book for work, as well as my director. After 4 weeks, I'll see what people think of it. If it doesn't work, i'll try something else. And if it does, then I'll make another seemingly minor yet oh-so-potentially-critical change to working more productively.

I've recommended this book to my ex, to my best friends, to a friend who is working on becoming a published book-author, and even talked about it with my kids. It is not your typical lean or agile flavor-of-the-month book. It is truly a fantastic read for anyone, in any profession, at any time.

Scrum gets 5 stars as a non-fiction/business book, and as a general "i need something to read" I'd still probably give it 5 stars.

Happy Reading.
--Jennifer

Third Week of Reading - Reflections

Week Three of my reading started off with a bang.

I finished Snow Crash as I expected I would. Such an amazing book! I loved everything about the book (given what it is - which definitely is written with the typical chauvinistic flare). The characters were compelling. The story line was engaging. And at certain parts I felt like I was reading a masterfully crafted reality that combined the elements I loved from The Matrix series, Ready Player One, and Hackers. Brilliant - I can see why Stephenson is a favorite author for so many. It was delightful as I was able to chat with someone during an after-work appointment about the book - turns out he is a huge Stephenson fan too.

I also spent some time finishing The Four Noble Truths. Between the New Moon on January 5 and full moon on January 20, it seemed like the energy was really pulling me into a deeper exploration of my own pain and suffering in order to propel myself forward. I enjoyed my diving into Buddhism so much this book now sits on my shelf, and spent time earlier this week with a dear friend and mentor understanding her journey and growth from her travels to India and exploration of the temples there. It put India on my list of places to potentially travel as I continue to grow.

As I reflect on what I've been learning from my readings and dialogues with others, I find that our society is conditioned to believe selfishness is bad. I've come to understand a new perspective on selfishness - namely that taking care of oneself and needs is the core of selfish. When someone calls someone else selfish, what they are really saying is, "How dare you care more about your needs than mine." And to me, the expectation that we would put others ahead of ourselves to our detriment is selfish - it leads to a great deal of suffering as our own needs are trampled or ignored, crippling our spirits and souls. I'm as guilty of this as the next person, confusing sympathy with empathy when in fact they are two very different things. I have been able to understand some of these concepts better, and am working on realigning my own mind as I move forward from my own "pain and suffering" into a more enlightened state - and I'm absolutely okay being called selfish by taking care of myself and spending the time and energy to become a better person.

As I begin week four, I am almost done with one of the new books added to my list in week two: Scrum: The art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. I am also hoping to read Celeste Eg's Everything I Never Told You since the library auto-checked it out for me, as well as Joe Dispenza's Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and another Moore book - Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story. That way I can focus on some lighter stuff when I am traveling for vacation and work over the next few weeks.

Happy Reading!
Jennifer

Review - The Four Noble Truths (Dalai Lama XIV)

Five stars - I won't even make you read to the end to get my rating.

Sometimes we are not ready for the knowledge that sets us on the right path. Years ago I worked for a woman who was a practicing Buddhist. Amidst the worst stress imaginable at work, I always looked at her in awe. We spoke often, and she often shared with me her perspectives and tried to teach me about the Eightfold Path.

But I was not ready.

I have now taken 3 weeks to read The Four Noble Truths - my heart feels energized, different. I have new thoughts and perspectives. I can understand my own suffering, desires, and the peace that comes from releasing my own chains.

The truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path that ends suffering - sound too good to be true? Then you are not ready for this wisdom or these words.

This is not to say I am converting and becoming a gung-ho Buddhist. However, this is me saying that with each new perspective interweaving with other feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and information I am becoming more enlightened. My mind is expanding, my heart is fuller, and I will let myself simmer as I work through each pain or point of suffering on my journey to my higher purpose and higher path.

The best way to describe the lessons I've learned is to use an - wait for it - analogy!

Think of the octopus. Octopi are marvelous creatures that are brilliant and capable in ways that are deeply spiritual. As invertebrates, they are not constrained by bones or a spinal column that restricts their movements. They move freely, adapting to their environment. Their movements are graceful, marvelous, like flowing water. They inhabit an environment that is ever-changing, moving with it and adapting effortlessly. Coming to terms with the root of suffering and how to end it - the calm that comes - it is the same as appreciating the beautiful, magnificent creatures that flow with the water and adapt to the environment around them. Humans can learn a lot from octopi.

Sometimes it takes nothing for us to find our paths. Sometimes it takes a great deal of courage - and sometimes it takes gifts of love from others. Whatever calls you and helps you find your path, understanding The Four Noble Truths will certainly change you.

Happy Reading.
--Jennifer

Review - Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)

Oh.

My.

Gawd.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

For real. This was a fantastic cyberpunk book that brought together some of the best elements (and very realistic representation at times) of hackers and cyberpunk in general. It took me right to my youth when I fell in love with cyberspace, the art of the possible, and the two movies that really got me thinking about fraud/security - Sneakers and Hackers. (Set the acting aside and pretend its the 90s again....these movies/stories were phenomenal given the world where it was then).

There really was no "bad guy" but Hiro was definitely the good guy. And I love this sort of storyline - one where nothing is black and white, where everyone believes they are doing what is right - it is very utilitarian in serving the interests of the many at the expense of the few. The way Stephenson toggled between the Metaverse and reality, the depth and descriptions and how the storylines were intricately woven.

And then Raven and Hiro - I did NOT see that coming at all! Plus, Raven and Y.T. probably gave some inspiration to the sad romance novels and 50 Shades crowd, so while a random add - it was a fun one nonetheless.

5 stars - can't wait to read more of Stephenson's stuff. It is now tied with Ready Player One as my favorite book of all-time.

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

Second Week of Reading - Reflections

Week 2 of my 2019 reading goal started off on a bit of a roller coaster.

I was deeply disappointed with Brinn's Existence. It had all the makings of a wonderful, classic, best-in-class SciFi book and then fell completely.....flat. My mistake in reading this book was sitting down and reading it straight through - a lesson I will not repeat when I uncover other books like this on my reading list. This book was, for me, the SciFi equivalent of picking a show on Netflix and then falling asleep - except with Netflix I do that guilt-free and don't worry about the story line. With Existence, I should have treated it the same way - picked it up, read some, set it down to read something with more depth, and not worried about how much of the story I remembered or was tracking.

Thankfully, my reading was saved with Jean Johnson's The Terrans. What a book! Fantastically done - it was as politically charged as it was emotional. I didn't realize until I finished the book it really is a prequel to Johnson's other books, so am seriously debating reading the prequels straight through before I read them in the order she actually wrote them. In any event, Johnson has earned a spot on my "authors to read more of" list - which I'll publish at the end of 2019. :)

Old habits seem to die hard - I suspect it is the universe testing me. I added a 53rd book to my list - I just couldn't resist. Ivan Antic's Samadhi: Unity of Consciousness and Existence. This is not a read-straight-through kind of book. I am able to get ten to twenty pages before I have to set the book down, meditate, and focus my mind in very intentional ways. On a personal level, I find this to be a highly rewarding non-fiction read (I'm only 66 pages in - plenty more growth) as I continue to reflect on my past to heal while intentionally setting forth a future aligned to my highest purpose. Reality is made up of all the potential realities that exist parallel - here and now. Just sit with that for a moment.

And, since up until this point I've always had some sort of business or self-help book that I've read on just about any topic, it is only fitting that my boss apologetically gave me a non-fiction reading assignment: Scrum - The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. So, make that book #54 - and to round it out, book #55: Manage Your Day-to-Day - Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind. (The reason she apologetically gave me the assignment was because I shared with her that my personal development goal was to read 90% fiction in 2019. These non-fiction books put me at 7 out of 55, or 87% - just below my goal).

3 books added - given I'm 3 books ahead of schedule, I am okay with this plan. Plus there will be bonus reading time on the airplane in a few weeks.

I hope to finish Snow Crash in the early part of Week 3, and then who knows what is next. I'm thinking a dart board with book pictures can help me choose. I'm also open to suggestions from my list to keep me on track. :-)

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

Review: The Terrans (Jean Johnson)

Read this book.

Read this book. NOW.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which read like a well-done prequel (side note: apparently it is a prequel to the rest of Johnson's series, which I did not know when I added it to my list). At times it felt a little Super Trooperish, if a cop comedy was set in outer space on the verge of a cannibalistic disaster. (Perhaps that makes it more CHiPs like than Trooperish….anyway, my point is there was enough humor to keep the book light). After my last book, I was relieved to find something amusing, light, and engaging.

To me, this read in a very plausible way - the level of optimism mixed with caution by the characters in the book. How one person existing at the intersection of a bubble about to burst can either be the heroine or doom everyone. Not only is this a politically charged book, it connects on a personal, emotional level.

That's what drew me in, honestly. Johnson's flavor of writing is simplistic, making this an easy read. But the development of the story, the characters, the entanglements that are lurking just below every interaction - that's what captured my interest and made this book hard to put down. I will definitely be adding Johnson's other books to my to-read list.

(I wonder if these will be a bit like Star Wars, in that purists expect true fans to watch Episodes IV, V, and VI first, then the prequels. In which case, I unknowingly may have done myself a disservice).

Overall rating is 4 stars out of 5 (I deducted a star because it could have been wrapped up about 100 pages shy of where it did. It was still good though).

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

Review: Existence (David Brinn)

I'm sure there are SciFi zealots out there that will despise my review of Brinn's novel. That's okay - this is how I explained it to my 10yr old, and the best comparisons I can draw to (hopefully) explain it.

If you liked the books Contact and Aurora, and the action-movie Vantage Point plus nod with shifty eyes whenever there is a conspiracy theory that supports your "hunch", this is a book you will enjoy.

Let me start with the movie comparison (even though the acting was terrible). The thing that I appreciated about Vantage Point was how it used a diverse storyline with several main characters - all of which had a piece of the puzzle. Again, setting aside the bad acting, each piece of the puzzle was told to its entirety until the last 35 minutes of the movie when all the pieces started colliding in ways that gripped hold of you as you root on the good guys catching the bad guys.

Existence is written with much that same flavor, with some post-apocalyptic flare for fun. If this was my first (or early) SciFi book in my early years, I probably would have loved it or hated it. If the latter - then I'd be swearing off SciFi altogether.

Brinn attempted to combine some very intricate, almost sacred SciFi concepts with their counterpart fears or absurdities in order to introduce the art of the possible. Thankfully my palette has been properly developed from better works read previously to shape my likes and dislikes.

As a side note, it's generally a bad plan to sprinkle random references - especially one of the most well-known references - from Hamlet into a SciFi book, and then misuse it. Hell, even I can still quote most of Hamlet's soliloquy and decode what his rambling about perchance to dream means.

The part that I liked the most was about Hacker and the dolphins - that is all I'm going to say aside from that storyline would have made an excellent "art of the possible" book. It also gave me great inspiration as I think on tattoo ideas - perhaps a giant underwater scene. Wonder what would have happened if the sea creatures in question were Octopi not Dolphins that Hacker stumbled across during his crash.

The simplest way to appropriately set your expectations for this book is to compare it to The Great British Bakeoff or Sugar Rush. Imagine the most elaborate, beautiful, detailed, and delicious cake you have ever seen. You are overcome by the buttercream work, colors, life-like detail of whatever figures or flowers or whatever decorate the cake. And you get so excited to take your first bite! Until you actually have to swallow it only to discover yourself lacking milk.

I'll give it 2.5 stars for effort, which rounds up to 3 stars on the Goodreads scale. If you want an easy read that you can pick up and put down in fairly quick bits with no real desire to read straight through, this is your book. If you are more of a SciFi purest who really does believe - optimistically - in the art of the possible good that comes from space and contact with other beings - don't waste your time.

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

First Week of Reading - Reflections

Okokok - we all know that resolutions start out with a bang and go bust. Spare me the skepticism or asking if I'm sleeping - I promise I am!

In my first week of reading I read three vastly different books: Ho'oponono, The Inheritance of Loss, and Practical Demonkeeping. I'd read them all again, and if anything these first three books have shown me just how much I have to learn from the world (and people) around me.  This is not one of those "resolutions" - I have definitely found something that works for me and truly helps me unplug. It's almost like coming home after years - the place where your happiest, calmest, best memories took place. That is what my reading is feeling like, and I am glad that so many in my community are helping me take this journey. Talk about an infusion of energy!

Disclaimer: I read for about 60 to 90 minutes per day, including actually taking a lunch away from my desk now to read. That is every single day. At 50 pages per hour (give or take, depending on the intensity of the material), it is why I set a goal of 1 book per week. (50 pages x 7 days = ~350 pages per week. And yes, I just did the math to put it all into perspective).

Leading up to me setting this goal was coming off of the months of November and December where I read about 15-20 books, all related to anxiety, brain chemistry, and various spiritual explanations for the application of complex science (quantum theories). These books helped me shift my thinking in a way that has been holistic and positive: I have more energy, am a more engaged mom, am working on being a better manager and employee, and am embracing things that are uncomfortable because they - shockingly - feel good on the inside. Life is abundant and wonderful. My request to read books that I would not have normally considered had two purposes:

1. I wanted to find different ways of connecting (or reconnecting) to people that I know (in some cases, as far back as when I was 5...…)
2. I wanted to grow, expand, and generally become a better being - and I can't do that if I don't read things that are outside of my norm

And my first week was a smashing success - I loved all three of the books I finished. I'm hungry for more. Conveniently, the library auto-borrowed several books for me (some not even on the list this year), so next up are:

• The Terrans - Jean Johnson
• Existence - David Brin
• Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

No spoilers please - and yes, I know they are all sci-fi. Still excited to be discovering new material, new authors, and new ways to connect with people in my life. And hey, it's better than reading only business books. Small steps, one page at a time.

Happy Reading!

--Jennifer

Review: Practical Demonkeeping (Christopher Moore)

Think you have an off-color sense of humor? Like Archie Bunker? Chris Rock? Do you enjoy South-Parkesque inappropriateness openly, or do you hide it in the closet?

Rhetorical questions, but important ones if you are faint of heart. After finish Practical Demonkeeping, I have to say I am thrilled to have 3 more of Moore's books on my reading list this year.

This was an incredibly fun book, and apparently the first one he wrote. I seriously hope they make this into a movie because it is hard to read when I'm laughing and my eyes are squinty from the giggles. The characters are relatable - small town folks, transplants, everyone with a secret or a past. Small town myths and legends upset by things so unfathomable that they are readily believed, yet a naivety that reminds me there are good people in the world.

One of the subtle messages I enjoyed was of the main character, Travis. Perhaps it is the wine talking, or just the fact I thoroughly enjoyed this book. However, in Travis it became clear that judging someone on the basis of their actions only partially finished draws the wrong conclusions. Spoiler alert: Travis spends his entire lifetime trying to make things right, sacrificing so much of his own life and joy along the way in order to protect as many people as possible.

In Travis I found myself connecting as I reflect on my own story, my own journey. Thankfully I didn't use Solomon's Seal and unleash a demon that is bound to my will for the next 60 years - but it is interesting to reflect on how quickly we are conditioned to judge others, and what possibilities can exist when we set aside those judgments to let the story unfold. (Another spoiler alert - there are good people in the world who do let stories unfold, and I'm so thankful to be growing from their examples).

Practical Demonkeeping is entertaining, and I'm looking forward to when my boys are old enough that they can laugh right alongside with me reading Moore's work.

Happy Reading!
Jennifer

Review: The Inheritance of Loss (Kiran Desai)

This was definitely an intense book. At first I found myself at odds with the characters in the book's opening (the judge, the cook, and Sai). The cook's son, Biju, was an interesting character, and as an illegal immigrant in the mid 1980s to America, I was fascinated at the life he was living.

Juxtaposed to Biju were his father (the cook), the Judge, and Sai in the Nepalese region of India amidst civil unrest. I was often perplexed by the rigidity of the Judge given the issues surrounding the country. As the story wore on, I felt pity for the Judge - it was almost as if he were programmed to live a life that was inauthentic, his one joy his dog (a purebred red setter that - spoiler alert - does not have a happy ending).

Sai was an unusual character - it was hard to pin down her exact age. At times she felt very childish - like a small child in early school years. At other times she felt older - high school or maybe on the brink of adulthood. As the themes of colonialism were constructed, it was clear that there was as much of a cultural and ideological war raging inside of her as those around her, especially her love interest Gyan.

The relationship with Sai and Gyan was a powerful one, and I could imagine the story playing out on the screen or stage. At times it felt Romeo-and-Juliet-esque, but with an Indo-cultural twist. Trying to tease through the complexities taking place during the civil unrest in India in the mid-1980s and have a sub-plot romance felt a bit jarring at first, but the more I reflected on what was taking place holistically in the book the more I realized this was a natural progression of major themes taking place.

Overall, Desai's writing style was very strong, except within the last 100 pages. While the book is long, it did feel like the last 100 pages felt more rushed. Perhaps it was because the transitions took place faster, or the chapters were shorter. I found myself emotionally invested as the book progressed - laughing when there were moments of comic relief, biting my lip in anticipation of what would happen, and crying at times as reality of the characters' situations set in.

Not my usual type of read - and I certainly am open to reading more of Desai's work.

Happy Reading!!
--Jennifer

Review: Ho'oponopono (Ulrich Dupree)

I am sorry.
Please forgive me.
I love you.
Thank you.

Four simple sentences. What do they evoke for you? Are these words we say to those we have wronged? How often do we think these things this simply and never say them?

And yet, these four sentences made a profound imprint on my being. These four sentences are not for others' ears or hearts. They are for each of us - individually.

Ho'oponopono literally translates "To Make Rightly Right." Ho'o is Hawaiian for "to make" and pono means "right". This direct, concise, clear book interweaves spiritual elements for how we heal and achieve our higher purpose, through love and focusing intentionally on the vibrational web of the world. Little exercises, so simple that even my youngest son understands the profoundness of this wonderful Hawaiian ritual.

When was the last time you forgave yourself? When was the last time you saw and truly understood the reason for a challenge or difficulty or harm in your life as being a benefit in achieving your highest purpose and good? These are things that I am actively working on in myself, and it is no coincidence that an enlightened mentor provided this little book to me at precisely the right time.


I had trouble with how accountability was approached in this ritual - the idea that I am accountable for something halfway around the world or in someone else's life that I am disconnected from. Yet as I reconsidered and meditated on the examples provided, it clicked that everything starts with me (just as everything starts with you). Until I heal myself, I am only contributing to the problems surrounding me - friends, family, community, work, the world. With a few well-placed quotes by Gandhi, Aldous Huxley, and others - things clicked into place.

It is not about wishing the past experiences were different - it is about understanding those experiences are necessary as we walk the journey in achieving our highest purpose. If those experiences we regret or think scornfully about never happened when they did, the vibration of them and their lessons would take place somewhere else down the line. This was a powerful realization in my self-reflections as I heal and move forward.

It is not forgiveness in the way we have been conditioned (at least conditioned in the United States). It is forgiveness of self. Forgiving myself for that presentation that wasn't as high quality as usual, or forgiving myself for letting my body get run down and sick. Forgiving myself for how my decisions impacted others. Forgiving myself for my fears. Forgiving myself for.....

This is the shortest book on my reading list this year, 96 pages no bigger than a 4x6 index card. However, it is proving to be the most powerful set of 96 pages I have read in my life (yes, more powerful than the Bible, Abraham Hicks, or those neuroscience books I've been enjoying), and a vibrational match as I walk along my path.

Solid A/5-stars/whatever your highest rating for books is - and one that will live on my nightstand, being utilized daily.

I am sorry.
Please forgive me.
I love you.
Thank you.

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer

2019 Book List

The year 2018 marked a stark increase in the number of books that I read just for me. More than half were non-fiction. For 2019, eager to try something new, I challenged myself to read one book per week consisting of primarily fiction. 

I posted to Facebook and asked my community to share their favorite books, authors, series, etc. with me to consider. Based on the recommendations from people, I had over 100 book recommendations in about 12 hours. I consolidated the recommendations based on overlap between folks and my own curiosity. 

Here is the list of books I've committed to for 2019. As I finish each book, I will post my thoughts here and review via Goodreads. Out of the 52 books, only 4 of them are non-fiction. A significant improvement! :-)

(Note: I am not being incentivized for any of my reviews. They are purely to share with my network/community my thoughts as I read many books outside of my normal). 

First book that I started on 1/1/2019: The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. I also started Ho'oponopono (To make rightly right) on 1/2/2019. 

Happy Reading!
Jennifer

*******************************************************************
(In no particular order)

1. Ho’oponopono – Ulrich E. Dupree
2. The Inheritance of Loss – Kiran Desai
3. Hum If You Don’t Know the Words – Bianca Marals
4. Magic Bites – Ilona Andrews
5. Troubled Waters – Sharon Shinn
6. The Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss
7. The Phoenix Guard – Steven Brust
8. Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story – Christopher Moore
9. Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal – Christopher Moore
10. The Kill Artist – Dan Silva
11. The Four Noble Truths – Lama Zopa Rinpoche
12. Evolve Your Brain – Joe Dispenza
13. The Terrans – Jean Johnson
14. Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
15. Existence – David Brin
16. Record of a Spaceborn Few – Becky Chambers
17. Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng
18. Empire – Orson Scott Card
19. The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter – Theodora Goss
20. European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman – Theodore Goss
21. The Memory of You – Jamie Beck
22. Wear Your Dreams – My Life in Tattoos – Ed Hardy
23. Seveneves – Neal Stephenson
24. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
25. Children of Time – Adrian Tchaikovsky
26. Tell the Wolves I’m Home – Carol Rifka Brunt
27. Storm Front – Jim Butcher
28. Outlander – Diana Gabaldon
29. The Thief – Megan Whalen Turner
30. Homeland – R.A. Salvatore
31. The Templar Legacy – Steve Berry
32. Game of Thrones – A Song of Ice and Fire – George R.R. Martin
33. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
34. Wizard’s First Rule – Terry Goodkind
35. Bleu – Christopher Moore
36. Wool – Hugh Howey
37. Proper Gauge – Hugh Howey
38. Casting Off – Hugh Howey
39. Mistborn: The Final Empire – Brandon Sanderson
40. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
41. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell – Susana Clarke
42. City of Stairs – Robert Jackson Bennett
43. Ancillary Mercy – Ann Leckie
44. Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho
45. A Little Love Song – Michelle Magorian
46. Zero Sum Game – S.L. Huang
47. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
48. The Rainy City – Earl Emerson
49. Black Hearts & Slow Dancing – Earl Emerson
50. The Mark of the Assassin – Dan Silva
51. Until Proven Guilty – J.A. Jance
52. Practical Demonkeeping – Christopher Moore