This is a truly big picture book about a man who dies, with a seemingly empty life, and explores what it was all about with the five people you meet in heaven. It is a big picture book. It reveals connections that make me reflect on the ones I make. I really enjoyed it.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Girlo’s Check this out

One of my favourite authors for young women attempting to navigate their way in the world is Anthea Paul. Her Girlosophy books are a great read and I’ve never given one to a young woman at school without having her rave about how much it made her feel better about herself. That is surely all that needs to be said to recommend them to you.

There is a new Girlosophy website! There are some great links and articles on there as well as groups. I can’t rate her and the work she does highly enough.

I think girls of all age deserve to indulge themselves in Anthea Paul’s philosophy on living on your own terms.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

This book is subtitled “How Little Things Make a Big Difference” and since I’m always interested in doing more with less (by product of being lazy I think), I was very engaged with this book. I really like the variety of examples he uses to make his points about things like what makes something take off. They range from books to educational experiments to epidemics.

There is a summary of the book on wikisummaries: The Tipping Point but I enjoyed hearing all the studies in a bit more detail than I would have just getting a summary of the theory. It really made me think. I especially enjoyed the findings about Sesame Street and the idea that once an organisation has more than 150 people to deal with it loses it’s effectiveness. I could relate to the information about having zero tolerance for smaller crimes such as vandalism and fare evading helped to reduce more serious crimes of violence. I think I am seeing something like that happen in our school as we focus on issues like uniform and stick with our standards, the overall tone of the school improves and there are less of the larger issues to battle.

I recommend this book. There is a whole lot more than I have mentioned here.  It’s very thought provoking.  Now I have to wait for him to write another…

Popularity: 1% [?]

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell explains what outliers are on his website Gladwell dot com. His audiobook, read by him (bonus) was full of interesting stories to demonstrate why people experience success and how it is not so random or bizarre, but a natural result of practise, their cultural heritage and the times they were born into. He draws on examples from almost every field you could think of. I couldn’t help but be interested in it… even when he was talking about sporting successes.

He is convincing. He tells his stories well and I am reminded that if I practise something for 10 000 hours, I will be an expert. I have recently downloaded ‘The Tipping Point’ and am looking forward to listening to that during the holidays.  His writing facinates and engages me and I find my self thinking how obvious what he says is, and I’m glad he has investigated it enough to prove it.

My favourite quote for my students “Repetition leads to discovery” by Buckminster Fuller remains current. I have been amused at how many year 12 students that I taught in year 7 remind me of it still with a smile on their faces as though they have discovered the truth of it for themselves. I’m not sure if I have for myself though and that could be why I keep learning about it.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Massage was Great

Great with a capital G! I have not been so impressed or rejuvenated by a massage for a long time. I haven’t had many this last year though to be honest. I waited until today to sing the praises though because I was waiting to see if I pulled up sore. It’s not always a bad thing to feel a bit tender the next day, but I don’t want to be crippled. I just feel great. I think after my second week of exercising that I’m finally starting to feel good in my body again.

I have to thank my daughter for referring this woman to me. She has been telling me for years to go to her, and I guess when she first told me I had been seeing Lynda for ages and was really satisfied with her. After trying a few other people who were just ok, I was reminded when I bought Asha a gift voucher for Christmas. Here it is March and I’ve finally got around to acting on that intention:-)

I’ve been listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” whilst I’ve been exercising. It is just as gripping as “Blink” was. Each night when Darin gets home from work I tell him another thing I’ve heard. He won’t need to read those books. Did you know it takes 10 000 hours to be an expert at something? I have been trying to think if there is anything useful I’ve done for that amount of time other than sleep and breathe.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Disquiet by Julia Leigh

Disquiet tells nothing directly yet reveals a world of pain in the simple descriptions of a very macabre story. It’s a story I could have lived without, yet once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I needed the conclusion, the funeral to take place so I could feel it was done with. The testimonial on the front cover says it all….

‘Julia Leigh is a sorceress. Her deft prose casts a spall of serene control while the earth quakes underfoot’. Toni Morrison.

It’s a short book taking me a couple of hours before I slept over two nights. I won’t reveal anymore.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Feriss

I bought this book for Tom last year when he was doing VCE. The way he was studying I thought he could do with some alternative income producing strategies. Turns out I needn’t have worried. He left the book behind when he left for Airlie Beach. I started reading it when I was on long service leave, I finished it over the last couple of weeks. It’s about creating real freedom in your life. 

That money loses it’s power when you don’t have time to enjoy it and freedom to learn and enjoy each day is clear.  The ’4-Hour-Work-Week’ is full of strategies to minimise the time you spend ‘at work’. It’s an entire different philosophy and one I really like. I’m pretty convinced I couldn’t be a teacher in my current system and apply some of the most appealing suggestions in this book. I remain optimistic that could change or I could change positions. There is still plenty of useful information in the book for me. It inspired questions about lifestyle and that’s always a good thing.

The book has plenty of links and resources. I was impressed with that part of it. I liked he didn’t tell everything but left signposts to pursue things of further interest. It was funny. I enjoyed, in the middle of some dry information, was a bit of a laugh to be had… it kept me interested. I felt my time was respected reading this book.

One of the main things I enjoyed about the book was his outlook on learning. It’s functional and meaningful to him. He loves learning. There are some excellent strategies for learning on all levels in his writing, among other things. I have been doing a bit of reading over the holidays about learning, mostly online.  I’ve favourited some in the technoratti tags on this page.  I should have been reading school text books and writing up lesson plans for the five new subjects I have to teach next year. I will immerse myself in the curriculum soon enough!

Tim Ferriss has a blog and has recently republished the book with an expanded version. The disclosure page makes me smile. He has an irreverent voice that I enjoy.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray

I tried to read this book years ago, but it made me angry. I decided to revisit it when people around me kept referring to it. I heard the title about five times in a week and felt it was a sign. I got it from the library during my long service leave. I’m not sure what plugged me in last time. This time I read it, there were things that made sense. There are still some fairly difficult things for me to fully appreciate. I have accepted men and women are different and sometimes what I think I am communicating is not the message received and vice versa. I finally finished most of it though and returned it to the library last week. Now when someone refers to it, I’ll have a chance of knowing what they mean.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The Art of Trust by Lee Jampolsky

I bought this book a few years ago when I was feeling a lack of trust in my previous relationship. When I was bringing my books inside a few days ago I realised I never read it. It has been a really great guide to me for an interesting internal journey I’ve had over the past few days. I’ve had a lot of relationships and most of them haven’t lasted as long as I would have liked. I judge myself for that and it creates certain self defeating behaviours that I have been looking at over the weekend. Darin has been spending time with his mother and I have been spending time with myself. Just quietly I think I have had it easier!

I thought ‘The Art of Trust’ was written by the same author as ‘Love is Letting Go of Fear’. I read that book years ago when I was into reading psychology books and especially ones about relationships. I haven’t read any for a long time. I didn’t really feel like they worked. I didn’t feel fixed. I wasn’t getting results.

Reading this book has given me some peace of mind though. I know it’s not going to ‘fix’ me but it has guided me to look at a few thoughts I have been stuck on and I feel more peaceful. I recommend it to you if you think you may have any trust issues. I wish I’d read it when I bought it, but maybe I wasn’t here yet.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Yes, I’ve finally finished the ‘Twilight’ series. If it weren’t for the enthusiasm of the young people I surround myself with, I don’t think I would have got to that happily ever after ending, it was. I really didn’t see how it was all going to turn out. I’m not going to spoil it and give it away. It all tied up quite nicely. I was quite pleasantly surprised to be happy with the outcome when it all seemed so grim and impossible to me.

I think at least one of the books was a waste of my time. It could have been trimmed, but having said that, I’m happy with the journey of the story and I have to admit I am partial to brevity in storytelling, just like meetings at work…. cut to the chase!

Popularity: 9% [?]

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