Good books

In dealing with my grief and new family situation, I've been reading some helpful books. One of them, a very stirring book which has been around for a long time and has been widely quoted and cited has given me some--not exactly new, but re-framed and reinforced--perspective: Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. The first part is a moving account of Frankl's time in Nazi Germany's concentration camps. He explains that even through the most terrible situation imaginable, deprived of literally everything, Man can and must find meaning in life. The second part is more of a scholarly scientific document. Listening to the audiobook was good, but I think I'll need to read it for myself to get all the stuff that's in there.

Another book, Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute, is also not exactly new concepts, but a very helpful rehashing of concepts that are familiar to me. Ultimately, it's about charity and loving thy neighbor, but reworked into a system that even I can grasp. I won't try to explain the principles here because I won't do it justice. It's an easy book to get through, with the principles laid out through a story with plenty of great examples. The audiobook was great, but I think I'll have to get the print copy so that I can highlight and underline and reread some of the passages.

I heartily recommend both books.

There are other books that have been recommended to me that I have purchased, but just haven't gotten to yet. I started Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson, and Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson, as well as I Don't Have to Make Everything All Better by Gary Lundberg and Joy Lundberg. I also read/skimmed through Jesus Wept by Joyce Ashton and Dennis Ashton which has a lot of good information on grieving and dealing with loss. Also on my reading list is Bonds That Make Us Free by C. Terry Warner, The Peacegiver by James L. Ferrell, and Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. No More Mr. Nice Guy by Dr. Robert Glover also bears another reading at this point in my life. All that, and of course, a chapter or two of The Book of Mormon every night and a few verses from Doctrine and Covenants in the morning with Cru before work and school.


I've also read some very good fiction as well. I recently finished the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson is excellent! His work (so far) is also something I can recommend to anyone who enjoys a good novel. I first read his stand-alone book Elantris which turned me into a fan. It was a fantastic book that left me wanting to read a lot more of his work. When I learned that Sanderson will be finishing Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series, I decided that I'd better read the first eleven books (and these are BIG books!) so that I can read the ONE that Sanderson is writing. Now that I've finished the Mistborn trilogy, I still want to read more of what he has to offer. I've started his Warbreaker, but because it's not yet available as an audiobook I haven't gotten very deep into it yet. If you want to give Sanderson a try, this is the book to do it with, since he's giving it away free (in PDF format, available on his website).