I Love Books!

Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman

Okay, so I'm a little late to the game.  Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives was originally published in 1980 and since then millions have read and loved it.  Now you can add me to the list.

It's hard to categorize this book.  Essentially it's the "basically true" story of Dan Millman's journey to discover himself.  Dan, a very successful college athlete feels empty, like something is missing inside, and meets a guide and teacher who helps him to find greater meaning and happiness.  It's part memoir and part how-to manual with a little bit of storytelling thrown in to tie the whole thing together.

I think one of the things that made it so compelling for me, was the "normalness" of Dan.  He didn't have a particularly wonderful or horrible life -- places we often think we need to be for things to really change.  Instead, he took his everyday, regular human-ness, and found something greater within himself, and could see the world in a different way.

Millman has a whole series of books (and you already know how much I like a good series!) and I've just checked out Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior: A Companion to the Book That Changes Lives .  It's builds on some of the concepts from the original book.  I'll let you know what I think.

Metafiction

I didn't know my favorite genre was a recognized genre until I was flipping through The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class.  In it, the authors describe Metafiction, or fiction about fiction.  My favorite type of Metafiction is when an author takes an existing story and builds on it from a different perspective, such as in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  This is the story you know from The Wizard of Oz, but told from the wicked witch's perspective.  It explains how she became who she was in the original story, and is also an interesting discussion on the nature of evil and wickedness.  Other books by Gregory Maguire build on different well-known stories.

When I was a kid, books that were part of a longer series had the highest priority in the reading stack.  I'd browse the aisles of the library looking for series.  In addition to the Wizard of Oz series, I loved Walter Farley's Black Stallion and Island Stallion books.  I loved how the stories built on one another and the characters grew and changed.  And there was the thrill of realizing that at the end of one, when you'd have that feeling that you didn't want it to end, it didn't really.  You had the next in the series to enjoy.

Reading Metafiction is like this, only better.  It let's you revisit a story that you already loved once, and see it from a new perspective.  It gives you the story behind the story. 

The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards

I'd been hearing about The Memory Keeper's Daughter for awhile, but hadn't managed to put it on my reading list until I sat next to a very interesting man on a plane who highly recommended it.  He and his sister had been separated at a young age as a result of divorce.  They didn't reunite until decades later.

Like my seatmate and his sister, the siblings in this story were separated and grew up without each other.  Except The Memory Keeper's Daughter has a few different twists.  In this engrossing novel which begins in the early 60's, the daughter is born with Down Syndrome.  The father, a doctor who delivered the twins, decides that life will be better for everyone if the baby goes immediately to an institution.  He enlists the help of his nurse to deliver the baby girl.  He tells his wife that the girl died.  The nurse, appalled by the conditions at the institution, leaves town with the baby to raise her as her own.

The way each character in the story, the parents, the nurse, the children, live with and without each other is fascinating.  The way they each cope, suffer and love is irrevocably changed by that one act and the ripples it creates.

The chapters are written from alternating points of view and sometimes overlapping timelines.  The writing for the different characters was distinct and easy to follow.  I felt as if I were really in each characters head and felt the story from each point of view.

I have two friends that have daughters with DS.  While I wouldn't call this a "book about Down Syndrome" Edwards does what seems like a good job of telling an honest story of what it can be like to have a child with DS.

The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield

As a Life Coach, I read a lot of personal development and self-help type books.  I'm always looking for ways to better help my clients (and I might learn a thing or two myself!).  This book was recommended to me by friend and client, Janine Adams. 

The Success Principles, How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is one of the most thorough personal development books I have ever read!  It seemed a little overwhelming at first with 64 principles and 475 pages.  Really, who can be expected to remember 64 principles that take an average of seven pages each to explain?  But then I started reading it.  It is well-written, easy to read, lots of great examples and really powerful information.  If you use it like a workbook and actually do the exercises and experiments that Canfield recommends, you could turn your life around in a very short time.

Not just theoretical, this book really covers how to be the person you want to be, do the things you want to do and have the life you've always dreamed about.  It is like having your own personal coach in book form.  I'd love to hear your personal experiences in using the principles Canfield recommends.

For more information, visit The Success Principles Website.

Do you love books too?

I remember signing up for my first library card (which I still have).  A whole new world opened up to me!  Each week, I'd check out the maximum number of books allowed, 15, and return the following week to get a new stack.  My reading volume has fluctuated a lot of the years, but I've always had a book going.

The book club I'm currently in gets together about once a month.  We're a new enough group that we're still  actually talking about the books when we get together, but, it's not enough. 

Join with me and share your love of books.  Comment on what I'm reading, what I've read, what you think I should read.  If you love books too, join the discussion.