Creative Confidence

 

When people you respect and admire literally send you a book in the mail, there's probably a reason and you should read it.

A brilliant man named Tony Thompson read this in a business class and thought it might appeal to my management style. Not only was it a great read with great lessons, it was a quick read - especially for what could be considered a "business book."

David and Tom Kelley are brothers and creators; they're the guys behind IDEAO and the Stanford d.school. Their mission is to help people understand the power of creative thinking in creative new products and pathways. It's filled with fascinating case studies about how creativity allows people to look at the world differently, in turn becoming more useful and successful.

There are so many great case studies here, but my favorite is one where a company was trying to create more useful kitchen tools. As they developed an ice cream scooper, they could have made the handle better, created better leverage, etc. Instead, they simply watched people use ice cream scoopers. What they discovered is every single person did one specific thing: they licked the scoop before putting it in the sink. So, how did they use that information? They made a scooper with smooth lines to make that last act of ice  cream scooping more enjoyable!

There are more complex ideas here, too, about medical advancements and other major business innovation made possible just by people unlocking their creative thinking. At one point when I was reading this, I wanted to crawl out of my skin because I was so excited about different ways to look at the things I do every day.

This books is useful and powerful AND interesting to read. I'm now waiting for Tony to send me another one...

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who bought this book because it sounds a lot like Daisy Jones and the Six. 

I'm sure I'm also not the only one who found it to be similar in style only, but was a rich and powerful read on its own.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is told as an oral history of a group that had a moment of glory in the 70s. Opal was a Black woman from Detroit; Nev was a nerdy musician from England. Together, they found a unique chemistry that brought them close to musical stardom. But what people actually ended up remembering them for was the aftermath of a violent riot provoked by race.

The story is told through many characters, thanks to interviews done by a magazine editor who is writing a story about the duo and a possible return to the stage for the first time in decades. She happens to be the daughter of a drummer killed in that riot, who was having an affair with Opal. You read the story from the perspectives of the major players in their musical rise and fall.

It's a story about racial tension in the 70's, music, family and - more subtly - the appropriation of Black pain for entertainment. A picture of Opal and Nev during the riot took on a life its own and it was that picture and people's interpretation of it that carried their legacy forward.

I liked this book when I read it. I like the style. I connected with the characters. But, it meant something more after I heard the author on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. It brought to light a perspective I missed the first time through. 

A solid read with a deeper meaning, this book resonates with where we are right now.

Swallowed Man

 

"I am writing this account, in another man's book, by candlelight, inside the belly of a fish. I have been eaten. I have been eaten, yet I am living still."

How awesome is that opening line?

This quirky, tidy little book was exactly the palate cleanser I needed between two heavy stories about race and violence.

It's the story of Gepetto, written from inside the big fish. He's writing in a captain's log he found in an abandoned ship, also swallowed and left to languish. He's yearning for Pinnochio, yearning for his life, hoping his story will survive.

Does that sound weird? That's exactly why I wanted to read it.  

Edward Carey's writing starts with that incredible line and never lets up. His writing is charming and perfectly odd, as a book about a man inside a whale would have to be. He calls pockets 'trouser cupboards' for crying out loud! How could it not be perfection?

This book made me smile, even as we watch Geppetto go mad. And, you're left with a smile on your face and hope the old man is reunited with his wooden son once again. 

The Prophets

 

This book is on every list this year and is surrounded by hype. The hype is why I was hesitant, but when a co-worker handed this book over before I left on vacation, I thought I better see if it was worth all the talk.

The Prophets is a story rarely (never?) told. Two gay slaves in the plantation south. While much of this story (and the talk surrounding this book) is about them, there's far more here than just that.

The story of Isaiah and Samuel is touching and forbidden, but not at all a secret on their plantation. You find yourself understanding the refuge they found in each other in a place where love - especially Black love - was not something valued by those around them.

The book, too, is about memory. Blood memory. With flashbacks to Africa and villages pillaged, you realize the power of connection and that what is seen as unusual (the love between these two men) goes back generations where constructs of society were not even considered.

You read about their love, but also the torture of slavery. The sexual abuse of slaves, how they were treated as commodities in every way. The love between these two men becomes clear when they won't serve their purpose to reproduce and sire children with other slaves. 

One part, in particular, still haunts me now, weeks later. A plantation worker, disgusted by the slaves living as animals - while he's the one who has put them in that position to begin with.

This book is beautifully written, haunting in every way. It picks up momentum from page one, all the way to the end. There's a point about 80 percent in where my jaw dropped and my heart stopped, reading the horror that has become such a forgotten part of America's past in many ways.

This book was on every "best book of the year" prediction list. It will likely end the year on those final lists as well. Powerful, sweeping, haunting, real.

Valentine

 

Read this book.

Trust me.

From the opening chapter about a young girl's sexual assault in the Texas desert, I was hooked. Plain, yet powerful language and a heartbreaking story, along with powerful women characters makes me wonder why this book sat on my shelf for two months before I read it.

Our young teen's sexual assault touches off a divided community and ripple effects, even for people not directly involved. The fact she is an immigrant girl in 1970's oil-boom Texas adds a level of conflict that feels present, even if it's set more than 30 years ago.

The author reveals societal conflict here without being heavy handed. Young girls, abandoned. Fathers, struggling. Widows, soldiers, immigrants, victims. The whole thing comes together in such a beautifully tragic way. 

I know for sure this will be one of the best books I read this year. 

Greenlights

 

This, my friends, is a one-flight read.

Well, actually two flights. A connecting flight in Seattle interrupted my flow.

Still, this was the perfect book to start a week-long vacation and was utterly satisifying.

I'm such a Matthew McConaughey fan, but I don't think you need to be to really get something out of this book. He goes out of his way to say it's not a memoir because he's not done. But, it truly is a journey through his life, punctuated by the "greenlights" he mentions as the things that cleared his path over the years.

He's a fascinating dude, which we know already. But, the stories about his childhood and parents and Airstream journeys across the country make for such a fun read. I especially love reading about a bizarre night in a Montana bar with a cast of characters that could make its own movie, and his story about being cast in The Pelican Brief, which launched his career.

I've heard from several people that the audio book is even better, as it's narrated by the man himself. But, if you choose to read it, it's his voice in your head all the way through. 

Hamnet

 

Did you know about William Shakespeare's dead son? The way it may have inspired one of his best-known plays? Or the family he left behind while pursuing his dream in London? 

Most of us did not. And while this book is a fictional interpretation of those events and never actually mentions his name, it's an enlightening (though often slow) look at the possible motivation behind one of the best writers the world has ever known.

We know from history that Hamnet Shakespeare was William's only son. We know he died at the age of 11 and left behind his grieving family and twin sister. Beyond that, much of Hamnet's life and death - and, its connection to his father's work - is the subject of scholarly speculation. 

But, it's a heck of a jumping off point for this book.

O'Farrell's story of Hamnet weaves together his family's history and his death from the plague. You know it's about Shakespeare, but the name is never uttered. Hamnet's father is written about only as an unnamed man. But, the details revealed about the boy's life and death also reveal the complicated relationships the famous playwright had with both his son and his own father, and allows the reader to infer how those relationships likely impacted his writing.

The subject matter is fascinating and as someone who studied Shakespeare in college, it was a fascinating look behind the (speculative) curtain. The middle was slooooow.... But the end provided enough of a reward to make me glad I didn't give up.