Saturday, February 8, 2014

Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher

"So,"  I wonder to myself, "how can a story about a girl in a sultans harem be kid friendly?"

Aside from the setting, Shadow Spinner proved to be a great tale for the kids.  There's excitement, suspense and stories within stories.  The unlikely heroine with an unlikely talent takes center stage with her candid quirkiness.  My favorite part of the book were the mini-lessons at the beginning of each chapter called "Lessons for Life and Storytelling."

Were almost finished and I can't wait until the end.

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli

I love a book that challenges my worldview and enlarges my perspective.   The Art of Thinking Clearly does both. Mr. Dobelli has spent years compiling a list of logical fallacies and cognitive errors. A healthy spread of applications from business to personal affairs makes the material very readable.  I personally loved the short, bite sized chapters.   This 358 page book is divided into 99 chapters making it easy to read a little bit here and a little bit there.

Overall, I feel that I am better equipped to evaluate big decisions in a logical manner.

On a side note, Mr. Dobelli missed one of the key cognitive errors I deal with on a daily basis.  I call it the PBJ Phenomenon.   It's the lapse in linear thought that is a result of trying to keep a middle school boy full.  Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner?  Those are merely 3 meals in an 8 meal day.  Perhaps,  we'll see a revised edition in the future.