Escape Velocity by Christopher Stasheff

This was a fun read. Nothing like a crew romping through the universe to save the world. There weren't really any quotes that stuck out to me. A few type-Os and a little light swearing. I enjoy good old-fashioned science fiction. The two main talking points seemed to be the ability to teach without actually having the role of teacher, and the mentality where one is willing to swap freedom for security.

Potty Training Your Baby by Katie Van Pelt

Wow. That was a quick read. I didn't know you could start preparing your child for toilet use before the age of one. As I read this, my baby is 13 months old. I should have read this earlier.

One topic discussed here that I like is the idea of not pressuring your child to go when just because you put them on the toilet. It's an opportunity, not a mandate. How would you like it if someone told you that you had to excrete wastes at a certain time each day?

I also like the point to explain to your child what is going on.... that way they know what a wet diaper is, what passing gas is, and what a bowel movement is. How are they going to know if someone doesn't teach them?

Zen and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss

Well, this appears to be the typical book about being one with the universe. It's a great reminder that we need to look on the bright side of things. How can I learn from this situation or how does it make me a better person? How is this in my best interest?

(I read this one before some of the other's in my queue because my mother gave it to me and suggested I read it. Sometimes I get depressed, so it helps to remember to enjoy life.)

Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Well, sorry it's been so long since I last posted. With baby here and working full time I hardly have time to blog about much. Now that I've had a little time off work I've been able to do some reading....

My favorite quote from this book (which I purchased at a thrift shop for 50 cents):
" ... for Peace is nigh
Where Wisdom's voice has found a listening heart."

I think that is so true. Oftimes wisdom will speak peace to our hearts. So I think we need to keep our hearts open to wisdom's whispering. Hearts can so often make rash actions or words that will spark contention. There is prudence in the patient heart.

Jules Verne

From Journey to the center of the Earth:

page 33: "... foreigners have their own libraries, and our first consideration is, that our humbler classes should be highly educated. Fortunately, the love of study is innate in [certain] people."

I like this quote, because "the love of study" is an attribute I would love my posterity to have. It's much easier to play than it is to study, and it's much easier to love play than study. The love of learning and the love of books / reading are practically in my mind the same thing - provided that we learn from the books we read. There are other books from which we don't learn, but are merely entertained.

This leads to another thought that I often talk about with my parents. Being a producer vs. being a consumer. If you think about your day, how many times have you been a consumer of goods compared with the number of times you've been a producer? I think the answer to that question is a good reflection of whether we value production or consumption. Children often inadvertently learn these behaviors from their parents.

What I've read so far in 2010

Well, I've decided that I'm going to keep my book reviews here on Blogspot.
That way you can get an idea of what I think about certain books and you can also see what I'm reading / have read.

Here's a list of books read this year:

• The Arthurian Omen by G. G. Vandagriff - good mystery book. Kept me on the edge of my seat.
  
• The Secret - this is a self-help book with no plot. Hard to keep my attention. Like reading a text book.
• Irish Fairy Tales - Nice short stories often with a moral associated.
• True Names... And Other Dangers by Vernor Vinge - fun, short, science fiction stories.
• 100 Malicious Little Mysteries - A collection of mysteries written in 2000 words or less. I didn't finish this, I only got further along.

I'm hoping that by having a place to retain book reviews of what I have read that I will do a better job of reading more and thinking about the books I've read.

I couple of good questions I found myself thinking about after reading The Arthurian Omen were:

If I found out I had a serious mental illness that affected others, would I be able to live with myself?

How far does forgiveness go? I know it's supposed to be a virtue and it's better for us to forgive everything, but there is a point where it is better that one man suffer than that the entire nation / population continue to suffer the misdeeds of one. "The good of the many outweigh the good of the one."

I think I'll also post from my collection of quotes occasionally as well. Right now my collection of quotes is in a spiral bound notebook. It would be much more accessible if I would post it online, along with comments of why I like the quotes.