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| Patti/Thanksgiving in Florida at her church |
Keep in touch, Ms. Patti.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Ms. Patti said Hello from FL
Keep in touch, Ms. Patti.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
November Read/2
Author: Ries, Al; Trout, Jack
Call Number: 658.8 R559T 1993
Subjects: Marketing
Book Description from amazon:
There are laws of nature, so why shouldn't there be laws of marketing?
As Al Ries and Jack Trout—the world-renowned marketing consultants and bestselling authors ofPositioning—note, you can build an impressive airplane, but it will never leave the ground if you ignore the laws of physics, especially gravity. Why then, they ask, shouldn't there also be laws of marketing that must be followed to launch and maintain winning brands? In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Ries and Trout offer a compendium of twenty-two innovative rules for understanding and succeeding in the international marketplace. From the Law of Leadership, to The Law of the Category, to The Law of the Mind, these valuable insights stand the test of time and present a clear path to successful products. Violate them at your own risk.
My Read:The 22 laws are:
1. The law of leadership-It's better to be first than it is to be better
2. The law of the category-If you can't be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in
3. The law of the mind-It's better t be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace
4. The law of perception- Marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle of perception
5. The law of focus-The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect's mind
6. The law of exclusivity- Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect's mind
7. The law of the ladder-The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder
8. The law of duality-In the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race
9. The law of the opposite-If you're shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader
10.-The law of division-Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories
11. -The law of perspective-Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time
12. -The law of line extension-There's an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand
13.-The law of sacrifice-You have to give up something in order to get something
14. -The law of attributes-For every attribute, there is an opposite, effective attribute
15. -The law of candor-When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive
16.- The law of singularity-In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results
17. -The law of unpredictability-Unless you write your competitors' plans, you can't predict the future
18. -The law of success-Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure
19. -The law of failure-Failure is to be expected and accepted
20. -The law of hype-The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press
21.-The law of acceleration-Successful programs are not built on fads, they're built on trends
22. -The law of resources-Without adequate funding an idea won't get off the ground
Monday, November 16, 2015
November Read
Title: The
Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium
Author:
Csikszentamihalyi, Mihaly
Call Number: 155.7
C 958E 1993
Subjects: Genetic
Psychology; Behavior Evolution
Book Description:
From Publishers Weekly
In
this wise, humane inquiry, Csikszentmihalyi ( Flow: The Psychology of Optimal
Experience ) argues that genetically programmed behaviors that once helped
humans adapt and multiply now threaten our survival. These traits include
obsessions with food and sex, addiction to pleasure, excessive rationality and
a tendency to focus on the negative. A University of Chicago
My Read:
The following is the one I found pretty
interesting from page 292:
“Strange as it may
seem, life becomes serene and enjoyable precisely when selfish pleasure and
personal success are no longer the guiding goals. When the self loses in a
transcendent purpose, it becomes largely invulnerable to the fears and setbacks
of ordinary existence. Psychic energy becomes focused on goals that are
meaningful, the advance order and complexity, that will continue to have an
effect in the consciousness of new generations long after our departure from
this world, even after we are long forgotten.”
The WOW Family Is Definitely GROWINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
 |
| Chez Ms. Kayla/11-16-15 |
 |
| At Ms. Kayla's/11-16-15 |
Thank you my dear family members for inviting me to have lunch with you all.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Next Stage/October 27, 2015 A Tuesday
October 25, 2015, a Sunday, is my last day at the branch in which I began my library career. The branch is my root where I discovered what I would like to do and do what I would like. It's the place I found my new self. Eight years, since January 17, 2007 I have spent my golden waking hours collecting, sorting, shelving, shelf-reading, weeding library materials. Then later years I served as an adult librarian; answering reference questions, giving information, running programs, etc. During those learning years, I have acquired friends whom, some, I call "mom." Patrons become my dear friends and one became my colleague. The place provided me a training and learning ground but it's the people who grew and nurtured me. Million of thank-you to my precious patrons.
The attached pictures came from my new branch.; I reported to the new branch October 27, 2015, a Tuesday. As you can see we are getting ready for the grand opening day. Everyday I walked in, I touched the books, and I felt I am filling in my energy and passion into the new branch. I am going to live in with my best friend in the library: the library collections. People come and go. Assignments changed. But Collections are always there. They may come in and get out with good reasons. But they will be there all the time as I get to work. My best friend will listen to me, talk to me, and give me comfort when I am in need of such.
Over the years, I have learned precious lessons from my mentor: to always serve the public, and be positive.
It's the latter one that changed me and gave me a new life. Instead of saying challenge I see opportunity.
Now I left my root, it means that I graduated from kindergarten and look forward to being a first grader.
It's a new page I am going to write as a librarian, a real one.
The following are my guidelines and motto:
五十知天命
修身養性
真善美
養氣
靜
Thursday, October 29, 2015
October Read/8
Title: The Road to
Character
Author: Brooks, David
Call Number: 170.44 B873R
2015
Subjects: Character;
Virtues; Humility
Book Description from
amazon:
“I wrote this book not sure I could
follow the road to character, but I wanted at least to know what the road looks
like and how other people have trodden it.”—David Brooks
With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his New York Times column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In The Social Animal, he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in The Road to Character, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Responding to what he calls the culture of the Big Me, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “résumé virtues”—achieving wealth, fame, and status—and our “eulogy virtues,” those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed.
Looking to some of the world’s greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character. Labor activist Frances Perkins understood the need to suppress parts of herself so that she could be an instrument in a larger cause. Dwight Eisenhower organized his life not around impulsive self-expression but considered self-restraint. Dorothy Day, a devout Catholic convert and champion of the poor, learned as a young woman the vocabulary of simplicity and surrender. Civil rights pioneers A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin learned reticence and the logic of self-discipline, the need to distrust oneself even while waging a noble crusade.
Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, The Road to Character provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities, and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth.
“Joy,” David Brooks writes, “is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes.”
With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his New York Times column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In The Social Animal, he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in The Road to Character, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Responding to what he calls the culture of the Big Me, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “résumé virtues”—achieving wealth, fame, and status—and our “eulogy virtues,” those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed.
Looking to some of the world’s greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character. Labor activist Frances Perkins understood the need to suppress parts of herself so that she could be an instrument in a larger cause. Dwight Eisenhower organized his life not around impulsive self-expression but considered self-restraint. Dorothy Day, a devout Catholic convert and champion of the poor, learned as a young woman the vocabulary of simplicity and surrender. Civil rights pioneers A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin learned reticence and the logic of self-discipline, the need to distrust oneself even while waging a noble crusade.
Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, The Road to Character provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities, and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth.
“Joy,” David Brooks writes, “is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes.”
My Read:
I
didn’t have time to finish the whole book so I took the author’s advice to skip
to the end and read the last chapter titled “The Big Me.” In the last chapter
the author has a list of statements under the title “Humility Code.” I enjoyed reading the list. But the part I read
more than once came from the introduction of the book. Here are the highlights:
“Occasionally,
even today, you come across certain people who seem to possess an impressive inner
cohesion. They are not leading fragmented, scattershot lives. They have
achieved inner integration. They are calm, settled, and rooted. They
are not blown off course by storms. They don’t crumble in adversity. Their
minds are consistent and their hearts are dependable. Their virtues are not the
blooming virtues you see in smart college students; they are the ripening virtues
you see in people who have lived a little and have learned from joy and pain
(page xvi).
Sometimes
you don’t even notice these people, because while they seem kind and cheerful,
they are also reserved. They possess the self-effacing virtues of people who
are inclined to be useful but don’t need to prove anything to the world: humility,
restraint, reticence, temperance, respect, and soft self-discipline.(page
Xvi)
They
radiate a sort of moral joy. They answer softly when challenged harshly.
They are silent when unfairly abused. They are dignified when others try to
humiliate them, restrained when others try to provoke them. But they get things
done. They perform acts of sacrificial service with the same modest
everyday spirit they would display if they were just getting the
groceries. They are not thinking about
what impressive work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at
all. They just seem delighted by the flawed people around them. They just
recognize what needs doing and they do it.(page Xvi)
They
make you feel funnier and smarter when you speak with them…
These
are the people who have built a strong inner character, who have achieved a
certain depth. In these people, at the end of this struggle, the climb
to success has surrendered to the struggle to deepen the soul. (page Xvii)”
I
found the “Humility Code” served well at self-reflection moment.
The elements listed in the list serve well as
checkpoints.
There are very few people I consider "close best friends" own a strong inner character, the one the author points out in his book. It's a privilege to walk on this planet with them around me. It's almost like a live and living shield I wear to fight against adversity and negative forces. Millions of thanks I have owed to this finest group of people. Thank you all.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
October Read/7
Author: Lahey, David
Call Number: 658.3 L183p 2014
Subjects: Personnel management; success in business; employee selection
Book Description from amazon:
Make the right hires every time, with an analytical approach to talent
Predicting Success is a practical guide to finding the perfect member for your team. By applying the principles and tools of human analytics to the workplace, you'll avoid bad culture fits, mismatched skillsets, entitled workers, and other hiring missteps that drain the team of productivity and morale. This book provides guidance toward implementing tools like the Predictive Index®, behavior analytics, hiring assessments, and other practical resources to build your best team and achieve the best outcomes. Written by a human analytics specialist who applies these principles daily, this book is the manager's guide to aligning people with business strategy to find the exact person your team is missing.
An avalanche of research describes an evolving business landscape that will soon be populated by workers in jobs that don't fit. This is bad news for both the workers and the companies, as bad hires affect outcomes on the individual and organizational level, and can potentially hinder progress long after the situation has been rectified. Predicting Success is a guide to avoiding that by integrating analytical tools into the hiring process from the start.
- Hire without the worry of mismatched expectations
- Apply practical analytics tools to the hiring process
- Build the right team and avoid disconnected or dissatisfied workers
- Stop seeing candidates as "chances," and start seeing them as opportunities
Analytics has proved to be integral in the finance, tech, marketing, and banking industries, but when applied to talent acquisition, it can build the team that takes the company to the next level. If the future will be full of unhappy workers in underperforming companies, getting out from under that weight ahead of time would confer a major advantage. Predicting Success provides evidence-based strategies that help you find precisely the talent you need.
October Read/6
Title: Flow: The
Psychology of Optimal Experience
Author: Csikszentmihalyi,
Mihaly
Call Number: 155.2 C958F
1990
Subjects: Happiness;
Attention
Book Description from amazon:
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's
famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what
makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called
flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and
a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic
work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be
controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can
discover true happiness and greatly improve the quality of our lives.
My Read:
Flow, to me, is some kind of status when a person is
fully engrossed in certain activity she truly enjoys and is good at. As the
author pointed out that such concept was mentioned in China
The part I read more than once is the chapter titled “The
Making of Meaning.” According to some psychologists there are four steps of
meaning of life:
Step One-Survival: at this
step the meaning of life is simple: it is tantamount to survival, comfort, and
pleasure (page 221).
Step Two-Conformity to conventional
norms and standards: the person expands the horizon of her/his meaning system
to embrace the values of a community-the family, the neighborhood, a religious
or ethnic group (page 221).
Step Three-The desire for
growth, improvement, the actualization of potential: the person turns inward to
find new grounds for authority and value within the self (page 221).
Step Four-An integration
with other people and with universal values: the person willingly merges his/her interests with those
of a larger whole (page 221 to page 222).
Reading the chapter I found myself recalling the
teachings I had received from the formal education in my youth. In middle
school students were taught the Chinese classic literature. One teaching was
about how a person could possibly to achieve goals in his/her lifetime. There
were four stages/standards a person could use as reference/checkpoint. It read:
修身; 齊家; 治國; 平天下.
In a person life I believe that we would have learned
enough from formal and informal education. It takes a person years to grow
enough to collect the dots and make the connection and if lucky enough, at the
right timing a person is able to realize what life is about and the meaning of
life would be obvious to her/him.
Another chapter I enjoyed reading is called “Enjoyment
and the Quality of Life.” The author pointed out the difference between
pleasure and enjoyment. Pleasure is a feeling of contentment but by itself it
doesn’t bring happiness. Pleasure helps to maintain order, but by itself cannot
create new order in consciousness (page 46). Enjoyment is rewarding. Enjoyment
is by a sense of novelty, of accomplishment (page 46). There are some elements
of enjoyment, according to the author and they are:
A challenging activity
that requires skills
The merging of action and
awareness
Clear goals and feedback
Concentration on the task
at hand
Control
The loss of
self-consciousness
The transformation of time
I enjoyed reading this book very much!
Sunday, October 18, 2015
October Read/5
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Book Description:
In this book, Perry Mason, the Lawyer, had two clients who were suspects of murder. Furthermore, it's the first book I have read the Perry Mason series with the acquittal as verdict, not because of innocence. It's interesting to read about how Perry dealt with unexpected events and how smart Perry was to figure out what had really happened.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
October Read/4
Books I read this October:
Title: The Case of the Glamorous Ghost
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Title: The Case of the Spurious Spinster
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Title: The Case of the Glamorous Ghost
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Title: The Case of the Spurious Spinster
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Title: Chinese Origami: Paper Folding for Year-Round Celebrations
Call Number: 736.98209 Y94C 2014
Author: Chen, Yue Hua
subject: Origami
Title: Buddhist Origami
Call Number: 736.982 R663B 2014
Subject: origami
There is this quote on page that made impression on me. It reads: "Be content with simple things and be free from craving for the worldly possessions."
One of the origami works named "Vase of Wealth" I like to make the most. Whenever I made this vase, calmness and peace surfaced allowing me to make the vase without difficulty. The meditative effect is wonderful and it brought out appreciation of life in me.
Monday, September 28, 2015
September Read/2
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Book Description (from the inside flap):
The client was young, blonde and beautiful, and she wanted to disappear. The trouble was she wouldn't say why, and she wouldn't give her name. So Perry Mason agreed to a code of identification based on her measurements: 36-24-36.
But according to Della Street, the figures were padded, and it turned out, so was everything the client said.
My Read:
I appreciate the following statement from the famous lawyer on page 190: "That's a duty that a lawyer owes to his client. Regardless of how many times he has been lied to in the past, he always has to keep the faith. He always has to believe that in the final showdown, the client is telling the truth and putting the cards face up on the table."
Monday, September 14, 2015
September Read
Title: Perry Mason Solves the Case of the Duplicate Daughter
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Book Review from amazon.com(by Acute Observer on June 5, 2015):
"This book is dedicated to Francis Edward Camps, M.D. who has achieved international distinction as a medico-legal expert in the United States and England (the Christie Case). Dr. Camps is the co-author of “Practical Forensic Medicine”. Too many murders have been diagnosed as suicides, and suicides as murder, because of a lack of medical knowledge and pathology.
Carter Gilman was eating breakfast and reading the newspaper. He asked his daughter Muriell to cook another egg and sausage. When Muriell brought this to the dining room she found Carter had disappeared without a word. But he left a note asking for Perry Mason to be called in case of any emergency. When Muriell finds hundred-dollar bills scattered on the workshop floor, she calls Perry Mason; he arrives as quickly as possible. Later that morning Perry Mason has a new client; Edward Carter (who is Carter Gilman). Edward Carter says he is a friend of the Gilman family and wants to prevent Nancy Gilman, Carter's wife, from being blackmailed by a Las Vegas private detective. Perry Mason assigns Paul Drake to investigate. A few hours later Mason receives a phone call from this Las Vegas detective, Vera Martel, who warns him to stay out of this case. Mason realizes there are a lot of assumptions and coincidences in this case, and he needs to recheck the stories that he is being told.
Paul Drake follows a daughter to Las Vegas, and uncovers startling news about a missing heir or heiress. Then they hear more shocking news about Vera Martel: murdered, and made to look like a car accident! The police arrested Carter Gilman on suspicion of murder. Then the police show up to question Carter's wife and daughters."
September Read/John
Book report for 2015-09-15/T
THE LITTLE BOOK OF SIGN LANGUAGE
Text: Written by Jason Rekulak
Dust Jacket & Interior:
Photographed: Steven Raniszewski/BCP
Designed: Terry Peterson
Produced: In cooperation with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
This book, being both small and with only 127 pages, is meant as a teaser to entice ones interest in American Sign Language (ASL). Like a dead battery can be 'jumped' by a good voltage source, ones pursuit might well be stimulated to passion by the well illustrated lessons given in easy to read fonts for detailed texts describing this language's uniqueness. The beginning 'signing' is well covered along with the explanation that eye contact, facial expressions, and body language play a crucial role.
First, the alphabet is covered. Then their excellent way of showing the numbers zero through ten, and how their signs work while having to use only one hand. Greetings and salutations come next, covering from hello and goodbye, then to congratulations and excuse me, to the very important 'magic words' of please and thank you. Also included are some emotions, family members, favorite foods, animals, and references to learn more.
From the beginnings of sign language in America in1694 when the deaf Englishman Jonathan Lambert moved to Martha's Vineyard (MA) with his seven sons, two of whom were also deaf, to the system used today, this informative book is an excellent way to begin learning this intriguing way of communicating. It's small size make it convenient to actually carry in ones pocket to enable studying throughout the day when small amounts of time can be easily snatched between other projects. This resource, then, is obviously highly recommended. So until another book report, picture me with my right hand up and my fingers moving up and down - as if I were waving goodbye.
THE LITTLE BOOK OF SIGN LANGUAGE
Text: Written by Jason Rekulak
Dust Jacket & Interior:
Photographed: Steven Raniszewski/BCP
Designed: Terry Peterson
Produced: In cooperation with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
This book, being both small and with only 127 pages, is meant as a teaser to entice ones interest in American Sign Language (ASL). Like a dead battery can be 'jumped' by a good voltage source, ones pursuit might well be stimulated to passion by the well illustrated lessons given in easy to read fonts for detailed texts describing this language's uniqueness. The beginning 'signing' is well covered along with the explanation that eye contact, facial expressions, and body language play a crucial role.
First, the alphabet is covered. Then their excellent way of showing the numbers zero through ten, and how their signs work while having to use only one hand. Greetings and salutations come next, covering from hello and goodbye, then to congratulations and excuse me, to the very important 'magic words' of please and thank you. Also included are some emotions, family members, favorite foods, animals, and references to learn more.
From the beginnings of sign language in America in1694 when the deaf Englishman Jonathan Lambert moved to Martha's Vineyard (MA) with his seven sons, two of whom were also deaf, to the system used today, this informative book is an excellent way to begin learning this intriguing way of communicating. It's small size make it convenient to actually carry in ones pocket to enable studying throughout the day when small amounts of time can be easily snatched between other projects. This resource, then, is obviously highly recommended. So until another book report, picture me with my right hand up and my fingers moving up and down - as if I were waving goodbye.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
August Read/Margaret
Sea Swan
When I bought this book, “Sea Swan,” a long time ago, I was just thinking it was for my grandchildren. Now a few years after retiring at home, I found this book was what God prepared for me to have during my retirement time. I learned a lot from the grandma in this book. She was always active. She even had a lot of people helping her in her life which made her life run very smoothly. One day when she was 75, she was determined to learn new things to improve her life. She bought a new swim suit and went to class to learn with young people to swim. She did not stop after she knew how to swim. She also enjoyed learning how to dive so she could see all the beautiful things in the world God created for us to enjoy. She even taught and encouraged others to do swimming and diving to see how beautiful it is under the sea. Then she planned her retirement life to have with her cat, close to the sea, so she could swim and dive. She even tried to learn cooking and to take care of herself. She is a very encouraging lady for me. You don’t need to feel old when you retire. You just need to go and see the outside world while trying to learn something new every day.
When I bought this book, “Sea Swan,” a long time ago, I was just thinking it was for my grandchildren. Now a few years after retiring at home, I found this book was what God prepared for me to have during my retirement time. I learned a lot from the grandma in this book. She was always active. She even had a lot of people helping her in her life which made her life run very smoothly. One day when she was 75, she was determined to learn new things to improve her life. She bought a new swim suit and went to class to learn with young people to swim. She did not stop after she knew how to swim. She also enjoyed learning how to dive so she could see all the beautiful things in the world God created for us to enjoy. She even taught and encouraged others to do swimming and diving to see how beautiful it is under the sea. Then she planned her retirement life to have with her cat, close to the sea, so she could swim and dive. She even tried to learn cooking and to take care of herself. She is a very encouraging lady for me. You don’t need to feel old when you retire. You just need to go and see the outside world while trying to learn something new every day.
August Read/Otoor
A Bible Story: Miriam and Her Brother Moses
Author: Jean Marzollo
This story relates to the Bible story about Moses. It shows how a brave little girl, her n name Miriam, helped to save her brother, Moses’s life. Moses led his people to freedom, after they were slaves during the Pharaoh’s time period. Pharaoh gave his soldiers a truly terrible order to throw all Hebrew baby boys into the Nile River, so they wouldn’t grow up to fight him. This happened the same year that Moses was born, so Miriam succeeded to convince the princess, daughter of Pharaoh, to save Moses’s life. Miriam also had special songs that she had taught Moses when he was a baby. When he became a prince, he wanted to help his family and all the Hebrew slaves so he led them out of Egypt.
Author: Jean Marzollo
This story relates to the Bible story about Moses. It shows how a brave little girl, her n name Miriam, helped to save her brother, Moses’s life. Moses led his people to freedom, after they were slaves during the Pharaoh’s time period. Pharaoh gave his soldiers a truly terrible order to throw all Hebrew baby boys into the Nile River, so they wouldn’t grow up to fight him. This happened the same year that Moses was born, so Miriam succeeded to convince the princess, daughter of Pharaoh, to save Moses’s life. Miriam also had special songs that she had taught Moses when he was a baby. When he became a prince, he wanted to help his family and all the Hebrew slaves so he led them out of Egypt.
August Read/Sherri 2
The Matzo Ball Heiress
Lauri Gwen Shapiro’s book, “The Matzo Ball Heiress,” is light, humorous and an easy read. The story
is centered around a dysfunctional family that long ago lost their Jewish
identity due to the large expansion of the families prosperous business. The
irony is the family money that supports their gregarious life style, is reaped
from the Kosher Jewish community. The largest profit time is centered around
the Jewish Holiday called Passover. The business is dwindling and so is the
family. The family is given an opportunity to rebuild their family relationships and busines but in
order to accomplish this they must come together to present a Sedar on TV. The challenge
is they are all estranged and have not had a Sedar in years. The story unfolds
like an old vaudeville comedy of characters , from the Egyptian Consulate
member, to the father’s flaming gay boyfriend, to the grandfather’s secretary/
ex-mistress, to the pothead assistant, to the three trust fund characters who
want desperately to keep their inheritance a secret. A calamity of errors
happens throughout the story keeping it funny yet edgy.
August Read/Sherri
Fall of the Marigolds
“Fall of the Marigolds” is written by author Susan Meissner.
Susan writes her books with an object that pulls two time period together.
There are many correlations between both stories. In this book, the object is a
scarf with a print of marigolds . The first time period takes place on Ellis
Island in September 1911. The second time period is during the 9/11 fall of the
Twin Towers. The two stories intertwine and eventually are pulled together by
the story of the scarf. What I liked most was Susan’s storytelling techniques.
I like reading a story, that leaves you wishing for the rest of the story and
curious as to how it will unfold yet not wanting the story to end. The
characters are revealed by their choices and actions. This book is about
family, friendship, love, bravery, fear and humanities view of two difficult
times in American history. The big lesson here is the beauty of perception and
how we all have a choice in our perceptions in life. Given we don’t always know all the
information or sequences of events to know if our perception is correct. Knowing
the other sides of the story can make all the difference in our truly
understanding the challenges we all meet in life. Sometimes if we are lucky as
our characters, we learn, with time, the whole story and how our influences in helping others to meet
their challenges, will be reviled to us.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
August Read/2
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Book Review by P. Mann VINE VOICE from amazon.com
"A young woman under the influence of the "truth" serum sodium pentathol confesses to her doctor that she poisoned the older man in whose house she had been living. After the man's death, she says, she threw the bottle containing the poison into a lake. The doctor, armed with this information and a recording of the session, consults Perry Mason, bringing the famous lawyer into the case.
The police have no knowledge that anyone has been murdered. The possible victim's cause of death was put down to natural causes years before when he died. Now, though, the police get wind of the confession, and Mason finds himself racing against time to determine whether a crime has been committed at all. He goes to the lake and succeeds in finding a bottle that, thankfully, does not contain poison. Apparently, the case is at an end. The "confession," he thinks, was just a product of the woman's imagination and guilty conscience. However, just when Mason thinks he can rest easy, the police recover a second bottle.
Now, not only is Mason's client back in hot water, but Mason himself is also facing legal trouble. The police, it seems, suspect Mason of having planted the first bottle."
My Read:
After I closed the book last night one word by Perry Mason was running in my head as I tried to close my eyes and sleep. The word is "Overlooked." It was repeated more than once by the famous lawyer at the very last chapter. Here is one quote from the lawyer: "There's one other alternative," Mason said," and I think you have all overlooked the significant thing in Newburn's testimony which was to the effect that when his wife slipped out toward the dining room, there was no one in sight, that she couldn't find Nadine or Cap'n Huge, that the double boiler containing the chocolate was on the stove, all melted, and-"..."He told us he was in the dining room all the time, washing windows." "Jackson Newburn didn't see him."-page 153-154
In real life, how many did we overlook things to miss important messages? At least, after reflection as I closed the book, I found myself victim of overlooking stuff. It's something to ponder over for me.
Good read.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
August Read
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Book description from amazon.com
While Perry Mason and Della Street were away from the office a woman came in who feared for her life. But after giving her name, Adelle Hastings, she stepped out to the corridor and did not return. Then Perry received a phone call from Mr. Huntley L. Banner who is representing Garvin S. Hastings in the divorce. So Perry gets Paul Drake to investigate the individuals. Perry and Della follow the clues by flying to Las Vegas to investigate Adelle Hastings. Now the complications begin (Chapter Three). Adelle Hastings tells her story. Perry points out the inconsistencies, and says the police are too thorough and clever to be fooled by it. If Adelle was telling the truth she has an imposter pulling tricks on her. On the return charter flight Perry learns that a young woman had questioned the pilot about them (Chapter Four)! Adelle has realized that something is very wrong, and comes to see Perry at his office (Chapter Five). And yes, they learn that Garvin S. Hastings has been murdered. Then Huntley L. Banner calls with information he just got from Garvin Hastings! There is an educational part about people in a line-up who appear similar. Did Garvin fail to make a will to provide for Adelle, his third wife? Could his second wife have cooked up this scheme?
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
August Read/John
The True Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam
Published in 1983
Author: Lynda Van Devanter
with Christopher Morgan
Graphic horror: were words numbers to be added, that might total the sum of them. If it were possible to actually do so. Her wartime experiences as a young and naive nurse in Vietnam full of hope and compassion, who was not long out of nursing school, came vividly alive in gory detail. The book is an odyssey of a girl growing up, gallow's humor, suffering and healing, despair and redemption.
So too for the narratives that described her mental anguish and emotional suffering of the tortured existence she and so many others laboriously endured while giving the best of themselves to patch and help heal the broken bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits - including their own -of the grievously injured and sick under terrible conditions. They even persevered many times while under attack.
The PTSD she and others experienced from the uncaring hands of fate slowly built as she described PTSD's inextricable escalation. She then gave an account of what her life became during its harsh control, and the self medication by consuming copious amounts of alcohol, smoking grass, and failed relationships. And finally, she laid out the long and anguished journey back to a plateau of normalization by many hours of therapy, working with other veterans, a trip back to Vietnam, and help from friends.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
August Read/Kirsten
Number the stars (Lois
Lowry)
How begin a report
about this poignant book?
It takes place in
Copenhaguen, Denmark, in 1943, during the Second World War. Annemarie is 10
years old. She ‘s used to tell fairytales to her little sister Kirsti, with
queens and kings. Her best friend is Ellen, a Jewish young girl.
During the 1943 fall,
the German are beginning the “relocation” of all Danish Jews. But thanks to
some Danish politics “leaks”, the Jew community is warned during the New Year
that something was going to happen.
It’s the story about
the Danish resistance, helping thousands of Danish Jews to escape to Sweden,
which is not invaded by the Nazis. It’s this story told by a young girl, not
naïve, but who has genuine thoughts about the adult world.
I’m half Danish. But
from Denmark, I essentially know about culinary culture and Christmas. I didn’t
know anything from the Second World War. My grandmother told us a very few, as
we couldn’t speak Danish at that time. But I know about the rationing:
rye-bread and some potatoes, and that was all. I had no idea about how the
Danish people protected their friends. How the King Christian sank his float,
so the German couldn’t use it…
Sometimes, I’m
wondering if I would be as brave as Annemarie if I lived during the war.
Anyway, I would advise you this book, very well written, in a simple English
with just enough new words to enjoy the story AND learn English. The emotions
are simple, but very poignant.
Thank you Sherri, for
sharing this book with me.
Monday, July 27, 2015
July Read/4
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Book description from amazon.com:
On his way to finding out, Mason meets Mrs. Milfield, a barely distraught widow, and a slew of suspicious characters all intimately connected to the recently deceased, a man murdered on someone else's yacht. As the surprising scenario unravels, it takes a sharp mind like Mason's, the savvy of his secretary Della Street, and the legwork of investigator Paul Drake to pull all the clues out of the water before the case sinks like a deadweight.
My Read:
One thing I appreciated from finishing this book is a quote from one of the witnesses who was a watchman at the yacht club in which the murder was committed. "Don't you get lonely?" Della Street.
Cameron puffed contentedly on his pipe. "Nope," he said, "I've got books and -well, I don't know. You get lonely in a big house, but in a little cabin like this with everything ship-shape, you don't get lonesome. You get so after a while you can get along with yourself better than with anybody else."
Friday, July 24, 2015
July Read/3
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Book description from amazon.com
Rhoda Lorton doesn’t always marry the right men. Her first husband, Greg Moxley, took off with her savings, only to have his plane crash. Lorton has gone on to marry millionaire scion Carl Montaine when Moxley turns up alive and well and demands money to stay silent about Lorton’s first, extant marriage. When Moxley is found dead, two eyewitness claim to have seen Lorton kill him, and she says she killed him, too. But did she?
My Read: In this Case, Mr. Mason was able to think ahead and beat the DA. Mr. Mason's intention was always to protect his client's interests and found means and ways to unhook his clients off of the crimes they didn't commit and, at the same time, exercise his shrewd ability being a problem solver. I also appreciate Miss Della Street's efficiency being Mr. Mason's confidential secretary and her loyalty to her boss. Paul Drake, as usual, was also charming and capable.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
July Read/Kirsten
Title: About Death and Dying
Author: Elisabeth Kübler Ross
Hello,
Today I would like to share a very precious reading of mine. As I'm thinking about how to continue to help people (as I used to do as a medical doctor), but without doing the equivalence, I'm reading a lot of things on dying, living with a cancer or other critical illness.
The first time I went back to my library after my last 2 months in France, I found that very famous book for me: On Death and Dying. It's famous because I learned during my medical studies the different steps of grief, which come from that book. But I never read the book itself. So today I'm proud to tell you that I read it in its original version!!
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was a psychiatrist, born in Switzerland. She worked in France and in Poland, during a typhoid fever epidemic. She also discovered black butterflies drawn by children in Majdanek concentration camp ... After all these special life experiences, she moved to the USA where she became a psychiatrist, and dedicated her research to dying patients, and later dying children.
This book is the first that she wrote, while working in Chicago. She explains the seminar that took place at the hospital, initially with 4 theology students. The principle was to interview a critically sick person, in front of a one way mirror. Behind the mirror, at first 4 students but soon up to 50 people, nurses, medical students, theology students ... What impressed me is that I'm not sure that those interviews given in 1965 would be so different today. The only difference would be that no patient would remain without knowing his diagnosis from the doctor himself. At that time, so many patients would only be informed by their family of the severity of the disease ... So that's definitely some progress of the last 40 years.
But the 5 steps of grief are still so true. At first it's denial and isolation. "That's not possible!" usually quite short, but sometimes pathologically long. Then comes the anger: "Why me?" People can be angry at their doctor, their nurse. The important thing for caring staff is to remember that this anger is not against them in particular, but against "the entire world" for being sick. And that's a lesson that every new generation has to learn, that I learned a few times with patients...
The third stage is bargaining: people try to ask "nicely" to try to get something. To God, to their doctor... They try to stay functioning until a child's wedding for example.
When bargaining cannot be positively answered comes the fourth stage, the depression stage. People are sad, realizing the different losses in life (work, physical appearance ...) preceding the loss of life itself. It's a difficult stage to go through, because often there are some conflicts about how to deal with spouse, with children...
The third stage is bargaining: people try to ask "nicely" to try to get something. To God, to their doctor... They try to stay functioning until a child's wedding for example.
When bargaining cannot be positively answered comes the fourth stage, the depression stage. People are sad, realizing the different losses in life (work, physical appearance ...) preceding the loss of life itself. It's a difficult stage to go through, because often there are some conflicts about how to deal with spouse, with children...
Eventually, when those conflicts are dealt with, the patient enters the last step, aka acceptance. The patient gets detached from his family, is less hungry. That's the final stage of grief and dying. Not everybody is able to attain that stage, depending on the ability of his entourage to let him go...
Those stages, I did learn during my medical studies. But what I didn't learn really (or at least what I didn't remember) is to give hope at every stage. Not false hope, but Hope. At least respect the patients' hope, such as the discovery of a new treatment (rarely on time...). And I admit this is a hard thing to do in every day life as a thoracic oncologist... And that's what I would like to work on in the future.
This book is not just a dissertation about the different stages, it's most of all a collection of patients' testimonies about dying, and about life. I would recommend this book to every health care student, but also to everybody who has to take care of a sick person (does that mean quite everybody?). This book is very touching...
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