Written by the FranklinCovey team, a great introduction for first-line managers, and an excellent reminder for those beyond the first-line. Discusses one-on-ones, goal setting, delegation, getting and giving feedback, leading through change, and managing your own time and energy.

I'm always on the hunt for short novels worth the time. This is Tookie's list of short perfect novels, from The Sentence. I managed to find 7 on here that are new to me and I'm excited to read. I'm finding the tagging system in #Storygraph to be so helpful in remembering why I'm adding books to my list. These are tagged “short-reads-Erdrich“ so I can remember where they came from.

I liked the writing, and the characters are so realistic you would expect to see them on the streets of Minneapolis. The story was strong for the first half, and then the pandemic hit, and then George Floyd. I appreciate that she tried to incorporate such timely and dramatic events, but it wasn't successful for me. It felt forced and the original tension and development got lost. Each event was well done, just not cohesive to the original story.

After mentioning Tantalus to describe a difficult customer (which I now know is a myth where a man is punished by standing in water that recedes when he tries to drink and under fruit just out of reach, basis of the word tantalize).

“Severed from its roots, unable to taste the starlight.”
Talking about an uprooted tree.

Interesting connection to the main story about a ghost trapped in a bookstore.

When I creep into our bed, there is the joy and relief of a person entering a secret dimension. Here, I shall be useless. The world can go on without me. Here I shall be held by love.

Audio version. Loved the narrator. The story was good. It took me awhile to get into the characters though. I prefer Sundown Motel from this author but this was strong enough to put her on my must-listen list.

https://youtu.be/DeZTYQL4sW0

This story was mentioned in These Precious Days (A. Patchett) and I found this amazing audio version on YouTube. There‘s some potentially offensive language about black people but true to the written word. I enjoyed hearing the accents, made hearing it a richer experience.

Give a little bit of understanding to the possibility that life might not have been fair.

Fictionalized account drawing heavily on Pavichenko‘s real life as a Russian sniper in WW II. I adore how Kate Quinn can spin multiple character lines together, twining together events in a way that creates a solid plot knot at the climax.

Narration by Saskia Maarleveld is also excellent. She brings each character to life, with their own pace, accents, and intonations. A very easy and fulfilling listening experience.

Finally made it to Parnassus on a quick trip to Nashville. Amazing place with a great book-people-are-awesome vibe. Bringing back a sackful of signed copies of various things for Easter presents!

Excellent telling of one possibility for the life and death of Shakespeare‘s young son. I like how the prose matches the time period while still being very readable. I was struck that I didn‘t notice until the end that Shakespeare‘s name was never mentioned. He was the tutor, the husband, the father, bit never Bill or William. I didn‘t notice that until nearly the end because it was so well done, adding a feeling of his absence. Highly recommended

Why do some authors/editors think having no chapter numbers is a good thing?

A lyrical futuristic romance, like Romeo and Juliet if the parents were different societies. The writing and plot movement is complex to the point of confusing, but especially in audio, the language is so smooth and sharp that you want to keep listening. Recommended for anyone looking for a beautiful political romance that will leave you thinking long after you close the book.

Read many years ago. Time has not been kind to the language, but the concepts are still valid. At this point though, there are better Managing 101 type books out there. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this any more.

Full review at: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/63009f4e-52ac-4610-91e5-ef7d2adf64ac

Witty and sarcastic writing, but with a deep and disturbing message. Timely and poignant. Solid recommend.

Not sure how Litsy gave this a 70% when all the reviews are positive. An interesting look at how different choices about motherhood impacted Rose‘s life. Confusing in parts but I enjoyed seeing how each decision opened and closed different opportunities for the characters. My daughters have chosen not to have children, and I so related to Rose‘s mother, who struggled between wanting grandchildren and just wanting her daughter to be happy.

After reading the book, decided to watch the movie. Good adaptation of the events but it missed all the strategy behind the decisions that were made. It also made Costner‘s character (Special Assistant to the President Kenneth O'Donnell) the main character which made Kennedy look weak where the book, written by Robert Kennedy, made him look strong. As is typical, the book was so much better!

I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, i couldn‘t get through it well enough to do it justice. There‘s a predominant “all corporations are evil and out to suck the life from you” vibe in the first parts and in the summary. I skimmed the majority of the book. The one piece of good advice I saw was to do a time audit and talk to your manager if your time is being spent on things not in your job description. Your results may differ

I love me some sarcastic media-loving antisocial artificial intelligence bot! And now I have my husband tagging along too!

Fascinating insiders account of the Cuban Missile crisis. A definite recommendation for negotiation training. I especially enjoyed the way three alternatives were prepared to help Kennedy make the decision of how to respond. The original position papers are available on line and make for additional fascinating reading.

https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10-12mSupp/ch34

Lessons learned (my words):

If you have the benefit of time, use it. Don‘t rush to action.

Build friends & bridges so you‘ll have support when you need it.

Seek out differing opinions, from all positions, sides, & ranks.

Don‘t just focus on how to execute, but on what the response of the other side will be and where it will lead - understand the potential consequences.

And this image quote - allow the other side to back down gracefully.

Personalities change when the President is present, and frequently even strong men make recommendations on the basis of what they believe the President wishes to hear.

This wasn‘t for me. I think much may have been lost in translation.

Excellent! I liked hearing from the artificial friends perspective. Interesting to see life from an outside perspective. So many interesting themes too. What is love, what is life, how does faith begin, do souls exist. While the story is relatively light, the themes are definitely not simple questions. Ishiguro isn‘t everyone‘s cup of tea. The book does unfold slowly. But I‘ve enjoyed his writing style & how he develops such interesting questions!

Excited for this one. The audiobook releases on March 7. Equally as excited about that small print. “Album of 12 original Dolly Parton songs written for the novel.”

A fun mystery, the second in the series. You‘ll follow along better if you‘ve read the first book but you‘ll still follow if you haven‘t. The middle got a bit confusing - too many characters and some weird twists and turns. But overall a funny and well written mystery. The narrator was good too.

…the extent to which humans, in their wish to escape loneliness, made maneuvers that were very complex and hard to fathom…

I read this one because the ending was supposed to be incredible, and it was. Unfortunately, the lead-up to the ending was not as good as the ending itself. The characters weren't very likable and were somewhat flat. I listened on audio, and I'm not sure I'd have finished if I hadn't. But it was a quick easy read with an intricately plotted mystery wrapped up well at the end so worth the listen.

So excited about the 2021 wrap-up page on #Storygraph!

“You felt all the feels, got wrapped up in intrigue, and reflected on ideas.”

It‘s exciting to see how the platform continues to develop every day. Nadia and her team are such thoughtful readers who really go out of their way to incorporate feedback. And with a public product roadmap, you can see there‘s lots more on the way! If you haven‘t tried it, I‘m a huge fan.

This is one of those books that‘s festered on my TBR for way too long. So a cold weekend was the perfect time to try the four part miniseries. Amazing story of how hard family can be. Makes me want to read more about it so leaving the book on my TBR to fester a little longer.

Pic is from the last season. Bill Murray showed up at the perfect moment, when it was almost too much to bear.

I‘ve put this one off for so long because of the Dust Bowl setting. Hannah is so good at character development and this was no exception. It‘s a strong pick for me but definitely a tragedy so make sure you are in the mood for that.

It turned out that a parent‘s disapproval was a powerful lingering voice that shaped and defined one‘s self image.

“It still amazed her that a person could go to a store, pick our an automobile, and drive it home the same day.”

Funny. Hannah meant this to show how different things were in the 1920s. But 100 years later, we‘ve been shopping for a new car and there is NOTHING on the lots. Dealers can‘t get cars. Even ordering one is difficult. We had to put a significant amount down to buy one that‘s estimated to arrive in March.

I‘d be amazed too!

I finished the ten part HBO series of this last night. The story bounced around too much for my husband but the last episode completely absorbed him! I was much more engaged the whole way through since I‘d read the book and could follow what was happening better. If you‘ve read it already, I recommend the series. So interesting to see the characters come alive.

This slice of life novel is like living for awhile in post-war Oslo with family and old friends. While there is a plot and a few subplots, they are subtle. The real power of the novel is in the characters and in how their lives intersect and influence each other. A definite recommend for anyone looking for a slower pace of life for a little while.

#foodandlit
#norway

“Because the humdrum will lead us to happiness.”

Back to the one after a break for other reading priorities. This quote is so central to this entire book. Reading about the events of this little family in post war Oslo should be so boring. Instead it‘s a calming and comforting experience that I‘ll be sad to end when the story is done.

New home, new view, new library card! Happy to be settled and thrilled to find this one available for my first checkout. It‘s been on my list for awhile. Should be a good weekend!

Some good pieces, especially on building & streamlining processes & coaching people. I tell my managers that their most important job is to be the mirror & show people what they said they would do, what they actually accomplished, then let them figure out what‘s next.

“I don‘t impose my own goals on them. … I repeat what they said they want to accomplish…I‘m teaching them to be accountable to the high expectations they set for themselves.”

If Dorothy was a middle aged man, this would be her Oz. I wasn‘t sure about this one since I don‘t typically like fantasy, but it pulled me in. Good characters, good villains, good plot, good moral, wrapped up with a perfect single moment at the end. Highly recommended.

More enjoyable than a food memoir sounds like it would be. Read by the author which made it more enjoyable. I enjoyed hearing about his Italian American childhood, his career, and his health battle and success. While I found much of it to be a bit tedious, Tucci lives a very privileged life, my husband enjoyed hearing how the other half lives. Recommended for any foodie, especially an Italian foodie.

He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; and things so slight and insignificant that is impossible to add and count ‘em up: what then? The happiness he gives, it‘s quite as great as if it cost a fortune.

The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human maters, and had lost the power for ever.

The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was long and wound around him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cash-boxes,keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.

She looks at her hands. They are getting old, too. They are changing color. They are getting liver spots. They are disgusting. She tries to pull off her wedding ring, which Halfsan bought at David Andersen‘s in 1916 and he slipped on her finger in April of the same year, when her hands were young, before they had their hands full.

Scary take on what cyber warfare between the US and China could look like. The audiobook had a large cast of narrators which added a lot to the story development. It also included an interview with the Admiral author, explaining the reality behind the fiction and his hopes for the strategies we take to prevent such a disaster. A 4 star book in terms of pure writing but the originality & plot relevance push it to a 5 star for me.

Standing at the back is the best. From there you can see everything you leave behind. However it is not Jesper steering the tram. Not even the conductor is steering. It is the rails. It is the people who laid the rails, who perhaps died years ago, who are still steering the tram.

“Let us continue, not that there is any rush; on the contrary we have plenty of time. But to those who wish to accompany us, please adjust to our pace. That is the custom here.”

I missed the May entry for Norway of #foodandlit. But a cold slow holiday season seemed the perfect match for this slow paced family saga. I like that the prologue set the mood and the pace while giving a rich description of the place and time.

This was marketed as a thriller which it is definitely not. It‘s a good mystery, especially if you‘ve ever tried to parent a teenaged daughter. She really captured the angst and apathy of a teenaged girl. I enjoyed this a lot and the audiobook narration was excellent. We listened to it in one day on a long road trip and it kept us guessing and engaged the whole day.

Good plot, great pacing, intriguing mystery, Grisham is the best! Unfortunately the narration on the audiobook was horrible. 1.2x made us at least understandable, but she used the same voice for every character and lacked the necessary pauses between sections which made it very difficult to follow who was speaking.

Such an unsettling build up and a disturbing end, in the best way possible. Excellent writing. I liked that the pace was so quick. I couldn‘t settle into the story. Much as Blythe could never settle into her motherhood role.