So, anyway... by John Cleese

If you enjoy Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, “Fish Called Wanda” or anything else that John Cleese was involved in you want to read this book.  The book is an autobiographical account of John Cleese life up through 2014.  He goes into great pains to describe the trials and tribulations of growing up in England as an only child with one dysfunctional parent.  He describes how his parents, being an only child, frequently moving to different houses or towns and how his schools had a major impact how his personality was formed.  He explains that his real passion is writing and acting was just a chance encounter that he stumbled into not once but several times.  In chronological order, he talks about the people he has met, what jobs that lead him into and how that encounter leads him to the next situation.  The connection from when he graduates from college to present is amazing how everything fell into place.   By far one of the more entertaining books I have read this year and yes, it is extremely funny as expected.

I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for my honest review of the book.

Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy by Dinty W. Moore

Not looking for an instructional writing book…you found it

Let me first start by quoting the author from one of his many letters, “I just spent a good five minutes trying to make sense of your question, after which I took a good shower, toweled off, and had a two-hour nap.  Now I think I am ready to tackle my answer: What?”  If you replace five minutes with thirty minutes and the question with a book, that would be my response to this book.  Maybe it is my fault, I was hoping for a lighthearted instructional book on writing.  The book about writing but the questions and answers seem to miss the mark in my option.  One question asked if it is possible to write a novel on cocktail napkins.  The author’s reply is on cocktail napkins but it takes 19 pages.  Funny yes, but the humor ended after the fourth napkin. 

There is one section I enjoyed, the authors essay called “Don’t Red this Essay”.  The message driven home is people no longer read for fun or enjoyment.  We no longer have time; our lives are full of text messages, emails, twitters, blogs, etc.  Yes, this is reading but not what most of us would call fun or enjoyable.

I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for my honest review of the book.

Life on the Edge by Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili

If you have read Johnjoe McFadden’s “Quantum Evolution”, you will enjoy his new book “Life on the Edge”.  You do not need a doctorate or major in biology to appreciate this book.  Many of us have heard the term quantum mechanics, quantum evolution, quantum biology, etc. but most of us have little understanding how it applies to our lives.  The authors Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili lead you through examples most of us will understand to help grasp the ideas around quantum biology.  They begin with what is life then move on to the engines of life.  Further, into the book the authors use the example of robins migration and how they know when and where to migrate along with the connections to quantum biology.  They then explore the mind and its relationship with quantum biology.  They conclude the book with how life began and how the book got it name with a chapter talking about life on the edge of a storm, quantum life.

I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for my honest review of the book.