The Upside of Stress (Kelly McGonigal)

 

This is a great book! It is definitely one to read again and read it regularly.

NOTES

- People who thrive under stress have a different sort of hardiness (courage to grow from stress):

    - they think about stress differently. They see it as a normal aspect of life
    - they see it as an opportunity to grow
    - they believed that difficult times require staying engaged with life rather than giving up or isolating oneself
    - no matter what happens, you can continue to make choices and change the situation

People who are good at stress allow themselves to be changed by the experience of stress. They find ways to make meaning out of suffering.

The book is divided into three important ways to deal with stress:

Engage
Connect
Grow

p. 102: Mindset interventions don't just stick; they also snowball. Every time these students perform well despite - or perhaps because of - their nerves, they learn to trust themselves under pressure. 

p. 103 Do you see stress as helpful and giving you motivation? Or do you see it as harmful?

    "If you experience stress of anxiety, try to channel or use the energy those feelings may arouse in order to do your best" and "You are the kind of person who performs better under pressure."  
vs 
 "If you experience stress or anxiety, try to focus on the task and do your best."
vs 
 " Please try to do your best."

Students who learn to channel and use the energy stress arouses outperform others.

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters (Priya Parker)

 

After more than a year of no gatherings, thanks to Covid, I was really interested in what this author had to say about why we gather. I'm keen to be purposeful, now that things are opening up, in what I spend my time doing, who I get together with and how our time is spent together. This book didn't disappoint! 

Being purposeful about the reason for an event, who should attend, how to communicate those purposes, how to make being together meaningful and ending well are things to think through. This is a book to read (or listen to) annually. It gave me many ideas for ways I could make gatherings better.

Goodreads says:

A transformative exploration of the power, purpose, and benefits of gatherings in our lives: at work, at school, at home and beyond.

Every day we find ourselves in gatherings, Priya Parker says in The Art of Gathering. If we can understand what makes these gatherings effective and memorable, then we can reframe and redirect them to benefit everyone, host and guest alike. Parker defines a gathering as three or more people who come together for a specific purpose. When we understand why we gather, she says -- to acknowledge, to learn, to challenge, to change -- we learn how to organize gatherings that are relevant and memorable: from an effective business meeting to a thought-provoking conference; from a joyful wedding to a unifying family dinner. Drawing on her experience as a strategic facilitator who's worked with such organizations as the World Economic Forum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the retail company Fresh, Parker explains how ordinary people can create remarkable occasions, large and small. In dozens of fascinating examples, she breaks down the alchemy of these experiences to show what goes into the good ones and demonstrates how we can learn to incorporate those elements into all of our gatherings. The result is a book that's both journey and guide, full of big ideas with real-world applications that will change the way you look at a business meeting, a parent-teacher conference, and a backyard barbecue. 

Mothering With Spiritual Power (Debra Sansing Woods)

I bought this book years ago and recently re-discovered it on my shelf. Since I have more time in the mornings these days because there is no seminary each morning, I have been spending the first hour(s) of my mornings reading. This book has been a joy to go to each morning. It's worth re-visiting again and again. I am going to add a note in gospel library so that when I come across each of the scriptures she starts each chapter with I can go back to it and re-read those chapters. I can see this being a good resources when preparing talks or lessons. The author has a sincere sappy-free approach to sharing her insights.

Goodreads says:

Mothering with Spiritual Power is an eloquent and heartfelt book that speaks to mothers of the sacred nature of motherhood and the awesome spiritual power available to them through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Using twenty-five favorite Book of Mormon scriptures as inspiration, Debra Woods shows mothers how they can find answers to a myriad of parenting questions and challenges as they raise their children in the latter-days. Through stories and experiences taken from her own life, she offers simple suggestions for making meaningful connections with your children - suggestions on how to turn weaknesses into strengths, ideas on how to foster an atmosphere of peace and harmony, ways in which mothers can support each other, and helps for the mother who must forgive her children, and herself. Mothering with Spiritual Power is a celebration of motherhood, family life, and the difference the gospel of Jesus Christ can make for mothers and families everywhere. 

Slim for Life (Jillian Michaels)

I listened to the audio book. Jillian Michaels is hilarious. I love how real she is.

This is a great book. It is one that I should buy a copy of because it is one to read every six months and to get a plan for new habits to add to healthy living. This book is full of great ideas. I like that she doesn't expect you to wipe out any food groups or take any weird pills or starve. Bonus!

New habits I will incorporate:
1. Always have a plan
2. Carry healthy snacks
3. Eat every four hours

Goodreads says:

Stop battling your weight and slim down for life with this no-nonsense, insider's plan from America's health, wellness, and weight-loss guru: Jillian Michaels. She has helped millions lose weight and feel great, and now she can help you, too.

Bestselling author and Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels swore she'd never write another diet book. But she realized that with all of the conflicting, overly complicated information being thrown at you each day, what you need is a clear, simple plan that cuts through all the confusion to deliver amazing results, fast. This book distills all she's learned about diet, fitness, and a healthy lifestyle to provide anyone seeking to be slim, strong, and healthy with an easier path to achieving dramatic body transformation.

No nonsense, no gimmicks, just actionable advice that gets incredible results fast!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Brian Selznick)

I'm not one to re-read books very often. I have read this book a number of times though and love it every time. I have done this as a read-aloud before (good thing for smart boards where you can easily show all the pictures!) and this year I decided to do it as a novel study. I have done other Brian Selznick books before. It has always been a fantastic experience. The tricky part is getting enough copies of the book. It is an expensive book to buy so I haven't even dared ask the school to buy a class set. Instead, the Calgary Public Library kindly got enough copies that we could share a book amongst two students. It was wonderful!

I love it how kids take more care with illustrations. In this book you cannot ignore the illustrations. They tell the story as much as the words do, and sometimes tell you parts of the story the words have not told you.

Most of my students have not read a book as big as this one (although many claim they have...they are really moreso in the Geronimo Stilton mode as a whole, it seems). This one is a great stretcher and hopefully they will go on to read Wonderstruck and The Marvels this summer.

Recently, I have been reading Notice and Note and have tried to implement its strategies when I'm reading. I definitely plan to start using these strategies next year with book club.

Some of my favorite quotes and some of the Notice and Note signposts I noticed:

This is a great look into how we often can't know everything about someone else. Sometimes people do things that seem mean and they would totally not give themselves the same label because they have reasons for what they're doing.
p. 168 Hugo blinked. He had never thought of himself as mean before. The old man was mean, not him. Hugo had no choice...he had to keep secrets, but he couldn't explain this to the girl.

Again and again (Everytime Hugo is about to steal something he tubs his buttons):
p. 186  Hugo continued flipping through the book, seeing if there was anything at all about automata, but the book was silent on the subject. Still, Hugo wanted it very much. He knew that Monsieur Labisse lent books to Isabelle, but Hugo didn't want to just borrow this one. He wanted to own it.
He slipped it under his arm and inched toward the door. He rubbed the remaining buttons on his jacket...

Ah ha moment (Hugo and Isabelle realize maybe they can help Papa Georges find happiness):
p. 374 "Did you ever notice that all machines are made for some reason?" he asked Isabelle. "They are built ot make you laugh, like a mouse here, or to tell the time, like clocks, or to fill you with wonder, like the automaton. Maybe that's why a broken machines always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do."
Isabelle picked up the mouse, wound it again, and set it down.
"Maybe it's the same with people," Hugo continued. "If you lose your purpose...it's like you're broken."

then on p. 494 Isabelle and Hugo find out that Papa Georges was the one who painted an interesting picture of Prometheus that they saw. He says: "Then you know that Prometheus was rescued in the end. His chains were broken, and he was finally set free." The old man squinted one of his eyes and added, "How about that."

Goodreads summary:

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. 

Wild (Cheryl Strayed)

Good Reads summary:

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wildpowerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her. 

This book is a story of a woman trying find herself. After her mother's death, breakdown of her marriage and sibling relationships, she decides it is time to go find herself by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. 

P. 31 Blood is thicker than water, my mother had always said when I was growing up, a sentiment I'd often disputed. But it turned out it didn't matter whether she was right or wrong. They both flowed out of my cupped palms.

It took me way longer to read this book than it should have. I kept having to put it down because Cheryl Strayed stressed me out! 

I was disturbed by things this girl did and I worried about her....I had to take breaks but I also couldn't stop reading. I had to make sure she was going to be okay. From riding with hitch hikers to losing her boot and walking in duct tape to having no money to waking up to being covered in frogs to sex with strangers (although, there isn't as much of that as I originally worried) to losing her toenails. I reeled at the way she chose to make connections:

P. 269  Speaking of her mother: It felt like she was with me always, metaphorically at least. And in a way it was literal too. When we'd finally laid down that tombstone and spread her ashes into the dirt, I hadn't spread them all. I'd kept a few of the largest chunks in my hand. I'd stood for a long while, not ready to release theem to the earth. I didn't release them. I never would.
I put her burnt bones into my mouth and swallowed them whole.

The story starts off with her mother dying. I read that chapter as my mother was in the hospital getting a pacemaker. I had to take a break from reading because the idea of losing one's mother was a little too real in that moment. 

Her stories of what life was like with her siblings seemed so (potentially) real to me. It was heartbreaking. Her mother dying fractured her family.

She talked about getting divorced from her husband even though she loved him. She respected him. He felt the same about her, it seems - but somehow their life fell apart. Her story seemed so real and so relatable. It is frightening how quickly life and marriage can unravel. 

Cheryl Strayed has a great talent for evoking emotion. When I read about how fun her step dad was when they first met him, I smiled and laughed out loud. When I read about her having to put her mother's horse down I felt like I had to turn away. I was horrified. 

There was great symbolism as well. The pack that she carries is way to heavy for her - symbolic, I think of how she carried emotions way too heavy for herself as well.

So much regret in this book. She remembers her mother, on her deathbed, bemoaning the fact that she was always responsible towards someone, whether it was as a daughter, wife or mother:
P. 273 "I never got to be in the drivers seat of my own life," she'd wept to me.....I've never just been me."

Cheryl, in the other hand, learns to be comfortable with and by herself. That was one great triumph of her experience: 
...I liked him perhaps a thousand times.....For once I didn't ache for a companion. For once the phrase a woman with a hole in her heart didn't thunder in my head. That phrase, it didn't even live for me anymore.

Re: drugs and finding herself while on the trail p. 290 I'd finally come to understand that what it had. Been: a yearning for a way out, when actually what I had wanted was to find a way in. I was there now. Or close.

This is a great story. I totally recommend it, if you can hack the journey!

Warning: swearing is kind of commonplace in this book. While the author doesn't describe sex scenes in detail, there are a number of instances of casual sex

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Kate DiCamillo)

I have written about The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane for years. We read it last year. This post will take you back to other posts on this book as well. Every time I read it I gain a new appreciation for the writing. It is brilliant. This year it was an equally wonderful experience.

The Global Read Aloud chose this as one of their books, so a lot of people were reading it these days. There were opportunities to connect with people all over the world. One of our other campuses also read the book so we decided to connect with them. We had a video conference and the children were able to share their insights. Brilliant!

You can read more about our experience on our school's blog, here.