June Books Read

Here we go....

Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road (NF 2000/2005) – Donald Miller
Not as enjoyable or as thought-provoking as some of Miller's other books, but still a good read.

The Book of Three (YA 1964) – Lloyd Alexander
I read this book several years ago and (as mentioned yesterday) since Alexander's recent death, I decided to read the whole series. The book has held up for 40+ years for a reason.

The Black Echo (1992) – Michael Connelly
Connelly's first Harry Bosch novel and first novel period. Nobody is better at procedure than Connelly. Excellent for a first novel.

Countdown: The Race for Beautiful Solutions at the International Mathematical Olympiad (NF 2004) – Steve Olson
You don't have to be a math whiz (I'm certainly not.) to enjoy this look at several contestants from the International Mathematical Olympiad. It's much more than "Hoosiers with Calculus." Olson examines how we learn, the question of talent vs. hard work, and much more. A fun read.

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) – Ernest Hemingway
It's Hemingway. What else do you need?

Over Sea, Under Stone (YA 1965) – Susan Cooper
Like the Alexander books, the first in a five-part series collectively called The Dark is Rising sequence. When you've run out of Harry Potter, read Alexander and Cooper.

Softspoken (2007) – Lucius Shepard
About halfway into this one, I was mildly disappointed, but by the time I got to the end and spent some time thinking about it, the more I realized that Shepard's hit it out of the park once again. Chilling in a very unexpected way.

The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't (NF 2007) - Robert I. Sutton
I saw this on audio at the library and couldn't resist. The subtitle, "Building a Civilized Workplace" wasn't on the audiobook cover, so I was a bit disappointed that Sutton focused only on the workplace. Still, that's the fault of Recorded Books and not Sutton. It seemed like most of the book was geared more to employers and management than employees, but still a good read/listen.

That's it for this month. Go read.