by John Chandler

Years ago, I read How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, by Stephen Gelb. That left me with a mild interest in Da Vinci which isn’t that unique to say but it makes me feel all renaissance man and stuff.

Isaacson does here what Isaacson does, which is write a thorough and detailed biography of Da Vinci’s life. I found myself hoping for more of the interpretation early on, but halfway through I just settled in for the amazing details that made up Da Vinci’s life.

I read this one back in January and, as expected with a title like that, it was a good one to start the year with. Not a lot of new ideas but some good challenges to review my own habits. Main one I started after reading it was adding a habit tracker to my bullet journal. It’s helpful to have the visual both for motivation and to recognize patterns.

One of these daYS I really need to write about my experience of switching to a bullet journal.

I’ve read each of the Scandrette’s last three books and always appreciate the unique angle and way of living they brings to things. So, I was glad to see them tackle family life. For anyone trying to cultivate some healthy intention in their family, and especially if you want to include some faith perspective, this will provoke good conversation. And hopefully good rhythms.

Between my experience reading The Nightingale, and some of the recommendations I heard from others, I had high expectations going in. They were all met.

It was hard to read, and it was hard to put down.

There are an awful lot of words in the deep archives of this blog about my faithful commitment to task management through the GTD method and OmniFocus. But when I shifted to a new role at Help One Now, I thought it might be a time to mix it up, so I learned the basics of Bullet Journaling. There is a more detailed posting waiting to happen, I suppose.

But, I can say I took to it and it’s working pretty well for me. I was running into some limitations before reading the Bullet Journal Method, and that helped me see further how to use the system.

This book splits some time between practical description of bullet journaling and deeper philosophical meanderings of intentional living. While the latter was fine, I would have appreciated more detail on the former. Or just a shorter book.

I suppose there are two genres you could use to categorize this book. One would be post-apocalyptic fiction. The other would be deliberate and thoughtful storytelling about interesting people in interesting realities. The latter is why I liked it. Well, and it took place where I grew up.

One of the things I looked forward too about moving into the marketing and communications role for Help One Now was a return to more writing. I’m not as prolific as I once was in ‘publishing’ written words, but I spend more time drafting them and moving them around of late. And I like it.

This was a book recommended to me as I started the new job. There are other books I’d recommend for someone who wants to really explore writing as a craft. But as a contemporary primer and a practical overview on writing skills, I’d toss this someone’s way. In fact, I think I just talked myself into using this book as a homeschool assignment for my daughter.

I’ve been aware of, and curious about, the Enneagram for about 15 years, and done quite a bit of reading on it. This year, though, brought me to a new level of understanding. I’ve learned a great deal about myself within it, and how I relate to others. This book was a helpful part of that, and listening to the audio version, read by Suzanne herself, made for a great experience.

Moving into non-profit development work, it was a no-brainer to read this one. It seems to be one of the most influential books for faith-based non-profits, and rightfully so. Really, though, it deserves a much wider audience than that, offering a view of justice or development work that empowers those in need to find their way forward.

This book didn’t come recommended to me — I didn’t hear it mentioned in a conversation or on a podcast. I think I just saw it featured in the library or a bookstore, and that’s a rare cause for me to read a book. But it looked interesting enough from the front cover, and all the way through to the back cover it held up. An interesting look at how the trends of big data can help us understand cultural forces in ways we’ve not been able to before. It’s rare that an audiobook keeps me engaged throughout many different drive times, but this one did.

Loved the idea of this book, but about 80% of the book was about the accelerations and only about 20% was about the Thriving. Found myself wishing it was at least 50/50. Still, it left me with much to consider which is what I most ask for in a book.

Rereading an old friend. I’d forgotten much of how the book resolves, but some of paragraphs in the first few chapters were still completely memorable. Is it okay to say this was one of the most formational books of my childhood? Don’t panic.

I started this for my final sermon series at aMS. Volf writes about how Christianity should be engaged in the greater good of humanity, and like everything by Volf it is so well though out. Proved even more to be a timely read for my new role with Help One Now.

A quick listen of an audiobook. Not going to make to it recommendation level in any conversations I have with other readers, but interesting enough to finish it. Chose it because I’ve been shifting to a handwritten Bullet Journal (which I really need to write about) after years and years and years of digital task management. And by years and years and years, I mean my whole adult life.