The Bat
Book Notes Written with a loving hand by kitt some time around 15:09 on 3 November 2015
Okay, really now, this book surprised me completely.
It is the first Harry Hole series. The first Harry Hole I read, turns out, was book five in the series. Which meant, there were four books of character development that I completely missed out on. Which is surprising, given that this book was also in the stack of books from Mom. WHEN AM I GOING TO GET THROUGH THAT STACK? I swear, that woman has defined my reading for this year, and likely next.
So, this book, the first Harry Hole book, actually acknowledges the odd name, though most people in this book pronounce Harry's last name as Holly and Holy.
The book takes place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which I found ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL, as I started reading it when I was in Sydney. It made the story more interesting to me in the way the Harry Bosch series was engaging: I knew the area. I knew what the spaces looked like, I walked along the places, watched people in the different locations. I hadn't really realized how much that connection appeals to me.
This story also gives us a large part of Harry's background, which also made the character more interesting to me.
The plot is that Harry flies to Sydney to look into the death of a Norwegian citizen. Amidst a whole bunch of other deaths, a serial killer is discovered in investigation, and boom, now we have a plot. There were a number of Australian cultural references in the book that went along with the museums that Mom and I were visiting as I was reading the book, that made the story have a stronger impact.
I enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to the other Harry Hole books in the stack from Mom, unlike how I was after the previous Hole crime mystery thriller I read.
Recommended.
Make Me
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 22:09 on 1 November 2015
The latest in the Jack Reacher series, which means I'll read it. I have been enjoying the Reacher series, pretty much non-stop. I did try not to buy this book, opting for the library checkout, but became too impatient and just bought it. I suspect at some point I'll grow tired of the same-ish plot and same-ish highlights and the fact that REACHER ALWAYS GETS HIS MAN (no, not a correctly parallel sentence), but I'm not there yet. Enjoyed this one.
The basic premise of the book is the same as all other Reacher books, he's wandering without any destination, this place sounds good, he stops, and hey! what do you know? MYSTERY. He follows the clues, someone dies, likely someone else dies, and possibly another person dies, but that isn't a guarantee in all the Reacher books. There's a woman and he hooks up with her. In the end they part. Well, except for the love of his life lasted TWO whole books earlier in the series.
SPOILER: this one might last another book, too. We don't know, but it seems that it might be somewhat happening that way.
Part of me wonders when I will grow tired of Reacher always figuring things out. Another part of me is glad I'm not there yet.
If you like Reacher books, keep reading. This one is fun, with a clever mystery and a lot of Reacher Luck™.
Small Wars
Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 15:08 on 1 November 2015, kitt created this:
Okay, really, anything by Lee Child that has Jack Reacher in the book I will most likely read. No, that's not right, I will read. Mom has tired of Reacher, how EVERY book he has a new woman to f---, screw, eh, have sex with, and that's rather tiring. I can't say I blame her for not wanting to read the books, they are very much of the same plot flavor.
I, on the other hand, am still enjoying them. This one, Small Wars, as a short novella (Kindle Single, short story actually), was no exception. I read it on the flight from Sydney back to San Francisco, which was the longest flight I've been on since the flight to Sydney. This, and Make Me, the latest full-length Reacher book, kept me entertained on the way.
This book goes back to Reacher's career beginning, which means, of course, that Joe Reacher is still alive. Having been recently been reading Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series, I pretty much assumed that any action in the book was a misdirect of the actual events. Turns out, nope, what you read is what you get, except the WHY is what is important in this book. We follow along in the plot, and, of course Reacher figures everything, which I really can't understand how amazing he is, given he never makes a mistake.
Best part of the story is that we meet Frances Neagley when she is much younger. Totally great.
I enjoyed this book, but I'm enjoying all the Reacher books, so, yeah, I'll keep reading.
More for the skill
Blog Posted by kitt at 11:11 on 1 November 2015This was originally posted on The Pastry Box for 1 November 2015.
Okay, after I don't know how many years, I think I may have figured out the trick, the secret, the thing NO ONE TOLD YOU, about how to become good at something. Except, I suspect someone did tell me at one point, but I wasn't listening.
I had given a conference talk where the audience was a tough one: they were quiet and somewhat non-responsive to my interaction attempts. I had been warned that this was expected, so I wasn't overly concerned. The post-talk feedback was positive.
I don't believe the subsequent speaker had been warned. Her interaction attempts were stronger, and they faltered just as hard as mine had. Whereas I just kept right on talking, I think the non-response threw her a bit. She spoke nervously for the rest of the talk.
The content of her talk was fantastic, the presentation well put together. She was engaging and delightful in small groups. So other than the audience, what was the difference between the two of us? What made her nervous in a way I wasn't after the same experience? I pondered those questions on my walk from the venue back to my hotel that evening.
And that's when I came across the secret no one told you (and by you, I mean me, and by no one, I mean, again, someone):
"Be willing to look like a dork."
Embarrassment about what others think has to be the biggest block to any learning. Embarrassment of looking silly. Embarrassment of looking stupid for asking the question everyone else is wondering about but no one is willing to make. Embarrassment of making a mistake because NO ONE EVER MAKES MISTAKES.
Right.
In sports as a kid, I couldn't hit the ball, make a basket, kick a ball, or do any of the skills necessary to succeed in sports. Everyone was laughing at me (they weren't). Everyone was better than I was (they weren't).
What if I hadn't cared and kept trying anyway?
My first few years (and by few, I mean ten) of going to a gym were a full-on waste of my time. Everyone is watching me (they weren't). I'm doing this wrong (so what).
What if I had embraced looking goofy and kept trying?
My first public speaking engagement was a thorough disaster. "We shall never speak of this again," were my words to Jonathan as I stepped off the stage after the talk. I still cringe when I think of that talk.
What if I had been willing to look like a dork and try again?
I was willing. And I still look like a dork when I talk, on stage and off. I am now okay with my style of full-body talking. I am okay being the gangly, embarrassed kid I was years ago, in a way that I wasn't okay with when I actually was that kid.
I'm willing to look like a dork in front of a crowd of 200 people to have the opportunity to share some knowledge that excites me, to have the opportunity to show them how to make some part of their work lives easier. I'm willing to blunder through some failed attempt at interaction to know what direction to take the talk.
On the walk back to the hotel, I decided that has to be how you get good at something: you care more for the skill than you do about what others think about your learning the skill.
You're willing to look like a dork.
The Rosie Project
Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 22:11 on 31 October 2015, kitt created this:
Mom and I were wandering around Sydney after Web Directions, and wandered into Dymocks, a bookstore and stationery store, because, you know, paper. I was tired and winding down from the stress of speaking and giving a workshop, and I just wanted to be around paper. Thing is, I don't need more journals, so I pretty much just wandered around, picked up a few classic books, oogled over the fantastic number of well-bound classics, put the books and journals I had picked out back, and let her know I was ready to leave.
Mom, on the other hand, found The Rosie Project and told me I had to read it. Mom is often soft spoken about her book suggestions, so her enthusiastic recommendation meant a buy from me.
Wow, books are expensive in Australia. Oucharoo.
I started reading that evening as I was brushing my teeth, and it didn't take long for me to realize why Mom had recommended the book. It is a hysterical read, mostly in the way the fundamental source of the humour is never mentioned. The protagonist has difficulty meeting women, as he takes everything said as exactly literally, so decides to try a questionaire to weed out poor mate matches. As mentioned, hilarity ensues.
Worth the read. Highly recommended. Can't say I'm thrilled that Jennifer Lawrence has been chosen to be Rosie in the movie adaptation, but I prefer books anyway. Worth the expensive Australian price I paid for the book.