Paper Chase – Page 6 – The Light Appears

Q2 2023 Read It

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Michael

George R.R. Martin’s fourth book in the Songs of Ice and Fire series, A Feast For Crows, comes in at a mere 976 pages. Martin wrote a lot more for the novel but instead split up the plotlines and moved them to the next book. This means the reader gets very little Jon Snow or Dany Targaryen. Some of the storylines are not as interesting as others. The scenes taking place in Dorne and the Iron Islands are not nearly as interesting as Cersei’s scheming, Jaime and Brienne’s relationship, or Arya becoming no one. Not as intense as the first three books but still entertaining, especially as it ends with Cersei in much trouble and begging for her brother’s help.

8/10

There have been several great books written about the astonishing career The Smiths over the years. This list includes Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance by Johnny Rogan, Songs that Saved Your Life by Simon Goddard, and A Light That Never Goes Out by Tony Fletcher. Perhaps it rubbed Morrissey the wrong way watching others write about both his life and his band without him having a say in the matter so 10 years ago he published his own autobiography that includes his life after The Smiths. The book starts out on a high note as Steven Patrick Morrissey writes about growing up in Irish Manchester in the 60s and 70s. Across 100 pages, it brings to life the areas and homes that he lived in as a boy then teenager.

For readers expecting an equal amount of love put into writing about his music, they will be sorely disappointed. Instead, Morrissey writes extensively about his court proceedings with former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. Then takes endless swipes at managers, record labels, ex-bandmates, etc. It turns into a slog of reading about perceived slights and encounters with other singers. The book then finishes as a sort of tour diary where he writes about concerts, towns and theatres. It’s a tiresome read that is sadly light on the music he’s created over the years.

5/10

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is one of those books that appears everywhere since it was published in 2016. It appears on bestseller lists, critics lists, front and centre in bookstores, and on Instagram pages – all for good reason. Harari writes about 70,000 years of evolution, development, and accomplishments of Homo Sapiens. This includes subjects such as empires, agriculture, science, culture, religion, etc. The writing style is easy to follow and includes little asides and humour throughout. It’s one of those books that grabs readers immediately and makes them want to explore further into the history of Sapiens.

9/10

Paper Chase

Q4 2022 + Q1 2023 Read It

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Michael

Discipline is Destiny is Ryan Holiday’s second in a planned four part series following the four stoic virtues of Courage/Temperance/Justice/Wisdom. It follows his familiar style of a general theme broken up into short chapters about historical figures. The themes include The Body, The Temperament, and The Soul. Some of those figures here include Marcus Aurelius, Queen Elizabeth, Lou Gehrig, and Angela Merkel. It’s another inspiring achievement for the author who has dedicated his life to the stoic one. 9/10

A classic re-read of an all-time favourite, A Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger’s novel from 1951 follows protagonist Holden Caulfield around New York City after he gets kicked out of yet another boarding school. Meeting up with former school mates, girls he’s dated, a few scoundrels and best of all, his sister Phoebe. Young Phoebe is the voice of reason in Holden’s troubled life and one of the most endearing relationships in popular reading. She’s not enough to save him from himself as he makes mistake after mistake. One of the best novels of all time, Catcher in the Rye remains a must read. 10/10

Steven Pressfield’s latest book, Put Your Ass [Where Your Heart Wants To Be] has a straightforward concept – if you want to get stronger, go to the gym. If you want to write, get up early and write. If you want to be in the movies, move to Hollywood. It is a swift kick for a lot of us that put things off and never seem to get to them, for one reason or another. The chapters are short, often less than a page long so easy to fly through the book. My favourite part was the story about James Patterson who would go into work two hours early to his advertising job and work on his books/writing. If you focus, and put the time in, it’s amazing what can be accomplished in just a few months or a year. 8/10

Psychology of Money is one of those books that frequently appears on Instagram pages as a must read business book. Written by former Wall Street Journal columnist, Morgan Housel, his first book covers a lot of topics and uses stories throughout to help make his point. He talks about various financial crises, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Amazon. Housel writes that we all bring different ideas to money depending on who we are, our beliefs, life experiences and the era we grew up in. The basic tenants of the book are to invest early, invest often, don’t be distracted by outside noise, and stay the course. It is boring advice but Housel shows that slow and steady more often that not wins the race. 10/10

Paper Chase

Q3 Read It 2022

Posted on October 16, 2022October 13, 2022 by Michael

The third book in the A Song of Fire and Ice series, A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin won several awards after being published in 2000. This section of the story contains several weddings including Joffrey’s, Tyrion’s, and the dreaded red wedding. The latter is no less shocking having seen it on TV and now reading about it. In other chapters, the Night’s Watch are on the move back to the wall, Khaleesi marches onwards, and Arya travels with the Hound in one of the novel’s best plotlines. This epic book rivals the first for its staggering achievement and thrilling action.

10/10

Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning is one of the most popular books that gets recommended as a must read. It has sold over 20 million copies and translated into 24 different languages. The powerful first half of the book describing day to day life in a German concentration camp is a must read to discover the power of human resilience in devastating circumstances. The second half describes Frankl’s logotherapy philosophy. Frankl’s main message here is that people must find something to live for and that will help them survive anything, even the horrors of a concentration camp.

8/10

Steven Hyden’s book This Isn’t Happening goes into great detail on the band Radiohead surrounding the recording and release of their seminal Kid A album in 2000. Recognized as one of the top albums of the aughts, Kid A is a recording that was initially panned by critics and many fans alike. The book also takes in the history of the band leading up to Kid A as well as the aftermath of their recordings and career. Hyden is a knowledgeable music writer and here he has created a fascinating look at a polarizing album.

9/10

Prairiefire Magazine – Winter 2021-22, Volume 42 No. 4

Paper Chase

Q1 + Q2 Read It 2022

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Michael

Reading this book in early 2022 while the trucker’s “Freedom Convoy” worked its way across Canada to then occupy downtown Ottawa was a stark contrast in realities. Colson Whitehead’s book, The Underground Railroad, from 2016 was hugely popular – it won a Pulitzer Prize before eventually being turned into a TV show. The book follows Cora as she escapes the plantation she is enslaved on in order to find a better life. In the book, the underground railroad is an actual railroad that takes ex slaves around America through secret tunnels. Even as Cora runs further and further away from the plantation, her past is never far behind. It’s a powerful book that should be widely read.

9/10

The first book in a series that will follow the songs of the Bee Gees decade by decade. Starting off in the 60s, this volume is split between the group’s Australian beginnings and it’s first brush of international fame with their first UK albums. The book written by several authors including Winnipegger (and friend) Grant Walters is expertly written with many in-depth anecdotes about the Gibbs’ brothers writing and recording history. It is a book that will keep both the hardcore and casual fans entertained throughout.

8/10

On top of work, working towards a Business Analyst certificate occupied a lot of my time in early 2022. This book taken for the Business Re-Engineering course was a companion for a few months. Workflow Modeling is a way of looking at the design of work/process mapping to gain more insights into where process improvements can be made. Certainly, dense with a lot of information, the second edition by Alec Sharp and Patrick McDermott has several interesting business stories and is swimming with swim lane diagrams.

7/10

Prairiefire Magazine – Summer 2021, Volume 42 No. 2

Paper Chase

Q4 Read It 2021

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Michael

A bit late with this posting, but here it goes:

A Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2

A Clash of Kings is the second novel in George R.R. Martin’s series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Like it’s predecessor, there is a lot plot covered in its many pages. A few highlights include the struggle between Stannis and Renly Baratheon to take the crown, Arya Stark’s journey, Theon Greyjoy’s heel turn, Tyrion Lannister becoming the king’s hand and Jon Snow travelling well behind the wall. With so many characters and plot points, it would be easy to get lost but Martin does a masterful job of keeping everything together. While it doesn’t pack as much of a punch as the first novel, it is still a terrific read and the description of the war at King’s Landing is a thrill.

9/10

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

The first of Ryan Holiday’s big three stoicism books is The Obstacle Is The Way. Released in 2014, the book is broken into three main sections – perception, action and will. The format is familiar to some of his other books of short stories taken from history. While summarizing some of those historic lessons, Holiday can make it all very simplistic to prove his point. After several years of reading his writing, some of the stories and lessons may be blunted by being familiar but Holiday does have a unique ability to make the reader want to learn more about the many stories he shares.

7/10

Sponsored Ad – British Classics. Great Expectations

Great Expectations is Charles Dickens’ 13^th novel and one of his most beloved. The story follows Pip, starting as a young lad who lives with his sister and her husband in the country with dreams of becoming a gentleman in the city. His dreams come true through a secret benefactor that pays his many bills. Along the way, Pip falls for the beautiful Estella who he meets through the mysterious Miss Havisham. Great Expectations is a very good story with many memorable characters and a few twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

8/10