January Commonplace
BOOK REPORTS
AUDIOBOOK: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
This book tells the story of a doctor’s turbulent life in the Australian military during World War II. The Japanese captured him, and he lived in a work camp (building the Thai-Burma Railway) for five years. He is a high-ranking officer and in charge of many prisoners, trying to keep them alive under horrible conditions. But his time in the prison camp is not the main point of the story. It only adds to the main character’s emotional and psychological damage.
The book skips around in time, which makes it difficult to track. But it was the extremely descriptive narrative during his time at the prison camp that was unbearable for me. I had to put it down several times. There is a limited series on Amazon Prime Video that provides visuals for these gruesome scenes.
It’s a sad story with a sad ending.
BOOK: Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin A few weeks ago, I noticed a young boy intently reading a book and taking notes during Mass. Intrigued, I had to see what he was reading, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a nonfiction YA book about the atomic bomb. (Although he should have been paying attention to the priest.) I immediately downloaded it. The book is full of details and backstory that I didn’t know (or didn’t fully understand). It filled in many gaps in my knowledge. I also rediscovered the benefit of reading YA books and will be looking for more.
AUDIOBOOK: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett This is our Book Club selection for February. I listened to the audio version, brilliantly read by Meryl Streep. It is the story of a story, told by a mother to her three daughters. It captured my attention immediately, but began to drag, and I started to wonder where the plot was going.
MOVIE: Truth and Treason - Angel Network This movie from Angel Network tells the story of a seventeen-year-old Mormon boy who fought against the Nazi’s in Hamburg, Germany by writing and distributing leaflets speaking out against Adolf Hitler. Based on a true story, it is well cast and an easy story to fall into. It even demonstrates the cost of war for all sides. I watched this with my Mom friends, and we all enjoyed it.
MOVIE: The Great Escaper - PBS This sweet, true story celebrates a D-Day survivor who escapes from the retirement center where he lives to travel back to France for the 70th Anniversary of the Normandy invasion. Along his journey, he connects with young and old veterans who also struggle with memories and guilt from their time in the service. I loved this movie.
COMMONPLACE
“New goals don’t deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.” — James Clear
“Improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are. The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader. The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to become a runner. The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician. Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This year, focus on the identity you want to build.” — James Clear
“Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.” — James Clear
“Every moment is a moment of grace and wonder - we, and we alone, can give it meaning.” — Elie Wiesel
“When you drink water from a cup, it becomes part of you. When water falls on you like rain, it evaporates a few minutes later. Similarly, thoughts can be consumed or dismissed. Is this thought nourishing? Is this feeling something you should drink? Or is it more like getting caught in the rain? You’ll always feel the rain, but you don’t have to drink the rain. You can let the thought pass and in a few moments the sun will return. You don’t have to claim everything you feel.” — James Clear
“If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.” — C.S. Lewis
“The ultimate form of preparation is not planning for a specific scenario, but a mindset that can handle uncertainty.” — James Clear
“The more you create, the more powerful you become. The more you consume, the more powerful others become.” — James Clear
“The truest form of intelligence is designing the life you want to live.” — Graham Weaver, Founder and Investor
“Success is often found by practicing the fundamentals everyone knows they should be doing, but find too boring or basic to practice routinely.” — James Clear
“Work is endless. Exercise is endless. Parenting is endless. Same with marriage, writing, investing, creating, and more. You get to choose the parts of your life, but many of the important things in life cannot be ‘finished.’ Do not approach an endless game with a finite mindset. The objective is not to be done, but to settle into a daily lifestyle you can sustain and that allows you to make daily progress on the areas that matter. Embrace the fact that life is continual and look for ways to enjoy the daily practice.” — James Clear
