Your Decade, Defined

You know that whole reading 20 books thing? Apparently trying that the same year as getting a puppy was a bad idea. Leo is a wonderful dog, and has definitely grown up a lot, but he's still a puppy and requires a lot of supervision. At this point it's still pretty hard to have him inside and not be giving him at least 30% of my attention - more than I can spare while doing any meaningful reading. But oh well. The latest book I finished was for our book club and is number five for the year.

Apparently I'm at an important stage of my life. The book, titled The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - And How to Make the Most of Them Now, talks about how things need to be done while you're in your twenties so you're ready for the rest of your life. It proposes that the seemingly common idea with people in their twenties of, "now is a time to have fun and real life can wait until thirty," is not a good one. In fact the author, Meg Jay, instead suggests that the twenties are crucial to setting a course that will ultimately influence your future and that mishandling these years can cause irrevocable damage to your potential for long term success and happiness.

Jay is a psychoanalyst who specializes in helping twentysomethings figure out what to do with their lives. Topics in the book spanned choosing a career (and the importance of actually getting started in that field), the benefits of friends (as well the risk of never branching out from that group), and why taking dating and relationships seriously matters (especially with regards to forming a family). There were a few other topics that fit between those, but these are probably the biggest ones. Or at least the ones that stuck out to me. All of the topics she speaks on are accompanied by stories of her clients to provide examples of what going through these difficulties actually looks like.

The book is written well enough, I suppose. I didn't find her writing to be particularly compelling and certainly didn't find myself getting lost in the book. I'd often just skim over paragraphs and pages or find my mind wandering. This could partly be because it's hard to write nonfiction in a way that holds the reader's attention, but I've certainly gotten wrapped up in nonfiction before and don't think that's much of an excuse (see Predictably Irrational and The Black Swan). I also disliked her overuse of the word "twentysomethings" - it just feels clunky and almost like a placeholder word she meant to cover with something smoother later. The tone of the book also bothered me a little. She claims to be writing the book directly to the very people it's about - twentysomethings - but still came off as condescending. And perhaps I'm nitpicking, but it all added up to make a less than enjoyable reading experience. And we haven't even gotten to the content yet!

I found it difficult to relate to many of the patients Jay recounts in her book. "I just feel so lost, like I'm drowning in the ocean with no direction to my life," or whatever they all seem to say, is completely not me. Apparently I'm the oddity - married, with a career, living in the 'burbs with my two cats and a dog, and the opposite of Jay's expected instability. And I'm not saying I'm better than people dealing with these issues, I just can't relate. This made some chapters (lots of chapters, actually) a bit pointless for me.

But I can't criticize the book entirely. There are sections that I liked. One dealt with the idea of weak ties and how people you don't know that well - people not in your immediate circle - can play a big part in moving your life forward. I've always thought this idea makes a lot of sense and is one of the reasons I don't plan on getting rid of Facebook anytime soon (and the same reason I bother having a LinkedIn profile to begin with). You never know what you'll need and who can help. For instance, I interned for my current employer while I was still in college. Since I'd be in Indianapolis for the summer I knew I'd need a place to stay, so I filtered my Facebook friends by people living in the area to see if there was anyone I knew well enough to contact about finding somewhere to live. And what do you know, a friend from high school (one that I don't think I'd even talked to since high school) was living in the city. I messaged him and it just so happened that one of his roommates was going to be gone for the summer and was looking for someone to sublease. I ended up sharing that house with my friend (paying a very reasonable rent, I might add) and had a great summer. All this because I messaged a guy from school. Now, he wasn't the first person I normally would have asked (no offence, Nate) because he wasn't one of my close friends, but just by keeping in contact with someone lead to all that. Yay weak ties!

As for the rest of the book, while I didn't personally get a lot out of it, I'm sure there are people in my age bracket that would benefit from this book (and maybe therapy?). A lot of what she says on the importance of your twenties makes sense. I'm very glad Leslie and I are in the position we are now - one that's faced towards success. We have stable jobs, money in the bank, retirement accounts, and a plan moving forward. Not that things couldn't go terribly awry for us at any moment (and hopefully don't), but I think we've done a lot to set ourselves up to succeed. It seemed to come naturally enough for us (big thanks to our parents for teaching us good practices and principles), but for those it doesn't this book could be a helpful motivator. While I didn't find it personally useful I certainly recommend it to anyone in their twenties feeling "stuck". (And I think I'll keep it around for our kids to read before they go off to college... or something like that.)

Dinosaurs Go Boom

Most boys like dinosaurs at one time or another. And what's not to like? They are, at least in the movies, giant monsters with big teeth that run around eating each other all day. That's pretty appealing stuff to most boys (and the likes of Michael Bay or Guillermo del Toro too). And I was no different. I remember having dino toys, books, movies - the whole bit. I even remember reading about paleontology and thinking how cool digging up dinosaurs would be. Now don't get me wrong, I was no Ross and I never considered that as an actual career path, but I did love dinosaurs.

A passion for dinosaurs, however, is not what made me buy my latest book (number four of the year for me), T. rex and the Crater of Doom. I may have lost an interest in dinosaurs as I've grown older, but my interest in learning has grown with me. I try to learn a bit about everything - astronomy and art, physics and politics, economics and exegesis. I don't consider myself an expert on anything (except maybe Primavera P6) and I like it that way. I'd rather listen to the overture than the entire opera. I'll learn about sustainable fishing or using music as medicine from TED, but I don't plan on pursuing doctorates in agriculture or medicine. And that's part of why I loved this book.

T. rex and the Crater of Doom was written by Walter Alvarez, one of the researchers who discovered evidence suggesting that the non-avian dinosaurs, along with 75% of all life on the planet, were killed by an impact event. Essentially, the book covers (spoiler alert, I guess?) the initial findings that Walter and his team made that suggested an asteroid caused the mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, the research that went on for a decade after that to prove it, and a brief explanation of some of the ideas and science behind it all.

I absolutely loved this book. While I had already known about the Chicxulub crater, I was endlessly fascinated by it all. Alvarez did an amazing job writing a book about geology in a highly accessible way. The level of detail he gives is perfect - I never felt like what I was reading was over my head, but instead it got me more and more interested in the science as it went on. The early chapters were especially fun for me, as they introduced some of the basic concepts of geology and showed how they fit in the context of the impact story. I also enjoyed Alvarez's description of the events leading up to the discovery of the impact site and all the work done in the process. His writing makes you feel like you're moving - you're right there next to him as he's swept from discovery to discovery, always struggling on towards the goal of finding definitive evidence for an asteroid impact. Somehow he makes the decade long hunt and all the monotony of geology a quick-paced adventure. Alvarez also does a great job showing the value of cooperation between scientific disciplines and is quick to compliment other scientists, even those who worked hard to poke holes in his theory. He worked with a number of great scientists and makes sure to mention their contributions and hard work that helped him along the way. Just by how he speaks so well of others I can't help but think of him as a friendly guy that I'd like to have a drink with.

This was a great book, but I can't recommend it for everyone. It is science-y, so if you don't care at all about geology or paleontology then it probably isn't for you. It is, however, very accessible, so if you're like me and enjoy learning about a lot of different things then maybe this will fit nicely into your library as it has mine. I learned a lot from this book and found it to be a highly enjoyable read. It's just too bad textbooks are never this much fun... I would have done a lot better in school if they were.

Owl Essays

What do Thai food, jazz music, CPA's, and owls have in common? Not a lot, usually, unless you're talking about the book club Leslie and I recently became a part of.

Shortly after the holidays one of Leslie's friends started talking about forming a book club with us, some of their other Purdue friends, and friends from work (an accounting firm). It sounded like fun and, since it only meets once a month, a time commitment we could actually make work. So we joined and our first meeting was at the end of February at La Margarita. We all hung out, ate tasty Mexican food, and picked a book to read - Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris. A month later we met at Bangkok Restaurant and Jazz Bar to eat Thai food, relax to smooth jazz music, talk about trivia from the 90's, and discuss the book (my third of the year).

Book Club Group Shot!

Delicious Thai Dumplings Appetizer

Live Music 

The book is a series of essays, intentionally disjointed yet somehow cohesive. His humor is unique. One minute you're reading along, just minding your own business, and suddenly you brush past a joke almost without realizing it. The whole book is that way... not overtly funny, the humor just sort of sneaks up on you. A lot of the essays change direction part way through as well. You can be reading a section that starts off talking about him taking up swimming again, swings to examples of how his father never really showed any pride in him as a child, and then brings it all together in the end. But that's only if you're lucky. Some sections are just the start of an idea and then a tangent. I found that to be engaging - always leaving me wanting to read on to see where he was going next - rather than confusing or annoying. Every new chapter was something different with little more than an occasional glance back at a previous story. And I liked that. Or at least the restless side of me, the one always itching for something different, found that compelling.

But my thoughtful half, the one that likes things just so and never wants to do anything uncomfortable, found plenty to appreciate as well. There are a couple of chapters that bring up some good, thought provoking issues. My favorite of these is one where he's talking with a woman in Australia and she asked him to picture a four-burner stove. The idea is that each burner stands for something - your family, your friends, your career, and your health. She says that in order to be successful you need to cut off one of your burners, and to be really successful you need to cut off two. This got me thinking. Do I value success enough to cut out a chunk of my life like that? Or am I already switching off burners? What do I even equate with success? And, if I had to choose one to cut off, what would I give up?

I did enjoy the book, though it has pretty much nothing to do with diabetes or owls. It's an easy read with short chapters that go by quickly and easily slide you into the next. His anecdotal humor made me smile at times and laugh audibly at others. Owls is a good mix of the serious and the lighthearted, the emotional and the educational. While it is probably not for everyone, it is worth a read if you enjoy people's stories. But if you're not one that enjoys glimpses through the eyes of another, then keep moving and maybe we'll find you something else to read. Like our next book club book: Escape From Camp 14.

Navigating the Afterlife

One of my favorite books is Yann Martel's Life of Pi. Something about the way he tells such a fantastical story and makes it so believable and lifelike really stuck with me after reading the book. It's one of only a handful of books that I've bothered to read multiple times. Somehow I have yet to tire hearing of Pondicherry Zoo, the Tzimtzum, the floating island, and, of course, Richard Parker. So when I saw a Yann Martel book that I had not read I couldn't resist buying it. It may have taken over a year for me to get to reading it, but here we are at long last. Beatrice and Virgil - Martel's third novel and my second book for the year.

This is an odd book. There are no chapters, sections, or formal breaks. The cover art doesn't reveal much of what's to come and neither does the beginning of the book. I was about a quarter of the way through when Leslie asked me what it was about. I simply had to reply that I didn't have a clue. But I wouldn't trade being lost in this book for anything - Yann Martel somehow does an amazing job talking about seemingly nothing and making it the most fascinating thing you've ever read. In Life of Pi, he talks about about animals, religion, and grade school for a good chunk of the beginning of the book. These discussions aren't necessarily essential to the story itself - the story of a boy, a lifeboat, and a Bengal tiger - but hint at the overall nature of the book and its claim that it's "a story that will make you believe in God." Martel brings his incredible ability to elevate the mundane to extravagant in Beatrice and Virgil as well. There's a good seven pages spent describing a pear - and it's one of my favorite parts of the book!

So what is this book about? Somehow, as strange as it sounds, it's about the Holocaust. Like I said, it's an odd book. But then what about the title characters, Beatrice and Virgil? What about the donkey and the monkey on the cover? What's going on here?! Well, I guess you'll just have to read it to find out.

I really enjoyed this book. Yann Martel is an author whose writing really resonates with me for some reason. I think it's because he writes how I wish I could think - smooth language, imaginative imagery, and ideas that seemingly meander about until coming together in a beautiful story. I enjoyed Life of Pi and I enjoyed this book, but if you weren't a fan of little Piscine Molitor Patel and his shipmate then this probably isn't the book for you. While less magical, the writing style of this book certainly matches that of Pi. However, if the thought of plunging into a book that's headed in an unknown direction sounds like your kind of adventure, then hop in and enjoy the twists and turns - it's a good ride.

Concerning Hobbits

I've taken the first step in my mission to read twenty books this year. I decided to start with a book my sister gave me for Christmas titled, Hobbit Lessons: A Map for Life's Unexpected Journeys. The author of the book, Devin Brown, is a professor where my sister attends school, Asbury University. She went to a special lecture he gave and picked up a signed copy of the book for me there. It's a small book, easily read, and divided into only a few chapters, each with its own little lesson. It looked interesting and I was curious to see what insights Brown, who is quite the authority on Tolkien and his works, would pull from The Hobbit. It also seemed appropriate given the origin of the this blog's title and the recent release of the second part of Peter Jackson's film adaptation. Plus, reading a fun, short book like this would hopefully keep me from getting bogged down in one of the thick biographies or other, longer books I have in my queue.

The book begins with a prologue stating the intended audience is anyone "undertaking an adventure and leaving behind a life that has been familiar, comfortable, and predicable." While I may not fit directly into the examples he gives - such as those recently graduated or moving to another country - I don't think that means I, or even you, can't get anything out of this book. The chapters, with titles like "When Adventure Comes Knocking, Let It In (Even If It Makes You Late For Dinner)" and "Have Your Friends' Backs (Someone Has Yours)" have words of wisdom any of us can appreciate. Each section has its own little message to impart, speaking on the dangers of greed, the value of humility and friendship, and how much of the world you miss out on if you're never willing to risk the comfort you cling to so dearly. Brown intermingles moments of The Hobbit - typically counsel Gandalf gives Bilbo or events that define Bilbo's transformation from complacent hobbit to accomplished burglar - with his take on the lessons Tolkien is telling us and bits of biblical wisdom. These short sections combine gave me a good bit to think on after each reading.

My favorite chapter, "Be Fond of Waistcoats, Pocket Hankerchiefs, and Even Arkenstones (Just Don't Let Them Become Too Precious)", deals with appreciating things of the world, but at an appropriate level. It always seems that the more someone has the harder it is to give to others. I never want this to be said of me. Every blessing is an opportunity to bless others. Am I always good at this? No, not by a long shot. But it's something that I want to make an effort to do a better job at. Leslie and I even included a few goals (that didn't make it into our blog post) that deal specifically with this. But even beyond generosity, we need to appreciate the simple things of life. One of my favorite lines from The Hobbit that Brown cites is Thorin telling Bilbo that, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." This serves as a good reminder for me to appreciate the value in the simple comforts of a warm home, a loving wife, a good job, adorable pets, and a full pantry and fridge. I don't need to chase after money or success to achieve happiness. And I think that's a worthwhile lesson, even if I take nothing else from this book.