Marines honor, remember fallen brother in southern Helmand [Image 10 of 16] (Photo credit: DVIDSHUB)
The Longest War: Stories from the Battlefields of Iraq & Afghanistan by John F. Holmes, ed.
“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.”
Franz Kafka
Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron
Ani Pema Chödrön (Photo credit: albill)
As usual, this work is perceptive and easily digested. Also, as is common with her other works, Pema Chodron approaches the topic with the knowledge that her readers are, like herself, fully human. If you find yourself in the same emotional rut day after week after year, or perhaps you continue to take the same actions expecting different results, there is something in here for you.
52 Small Changes: One Year To A Happier, Healthier You by Brett Blumenthal
OK, folks, THIS is how you do it! Brett Blumenthal has broken down a healthier, happier lifestyle into 52 bite-sized chunks. You make one change a week. Absolutely doable. She gives the why along with the what and the how.
Included in each week’s “assignment” is a “Roadmap to Success” which breaks each bite-sized chunk down even further. If you’ve already mastered one of the changes, she includes “Extra Credit” to help you step it up a notch. This not only helps you improve in that area, but reinforces the habit of making one change a week. You never have to skip a week.
One of the greatest strengths of this work, to me personally, is the attitude with which she presents her program. I know without a doubt that Blumenthal believes heart and soul in the changes that she is advocating. Similarly, I can say without hesitation that she believes in stewardship of the planet and careful use of resources. However, not once did those beliefs manifest themselves in sermonizing or condescension.
This is really a program that anyone could follow and be happy about.
A Daring Life: a Biography of Eudora Welty by Carolyn J. Brown
I took a photo of Eudora Welty at National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. U.S. government collection, public domain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is advertised as a work “for all ages,” but I believe the target audience would be on the younger side of young adult. 4 stars based on that audience (2 stars for an adult reader). In that context, it is a great introduction to the life of one of our great Southern writers. It has a plethora of photographs which really add to the text.As one who hasn’t seen the younger side of young adult for decades, I would not necessarily recommend it to someone who has already read a biography of Welty. Brown relies heavily on the work of Suzanne Marrs and for most adult readers, it would do just as well to go to that source.
The book is due in early August of 2012 and I received my copy free from the publisher.
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