Reviews!

All Creatures Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot (Adult Nonfiction)

The second book is just as wonderful as the first and feels like a smooth continuation of the first set of stories from All Creatures Great and Small. Herriot is one of those rare writers who can capture moments in their entirety and make the reader feel like they're right there in the moment. Favorite stories from this book include Albert Crump and his wine, Mrs. Donovan and the rescued golden retriever, Mr. Kirby and his underwear-eating goat, and the stories about students tagging along with Mr. Herriot. I can't get enough of his stories, writing style, and rich descriptions.

Clarity & Connection by Yung Pueblo (Adult Poetry)

Not really poetry but close, Yung Pueblo's subject matter and writing style feels like Hugh Prather has come back to life. Both have a bit of wisdom to share and have also mastered the ability to simplify that wisdom down into as few words as possible. Sparse but fulfilling. Yung Pueblo does tend to repeat himself though! This book is insightful, positive, and healing as all get out but can easily be half the length. 

Resilient by Rick Hanson (Adult Nonfiction)

There's not a lot of new info here, but it's easy-to-understand with some helpful points. I've read other Rick Hanson books, and I really enjoy how he takes big ideas and simplifies them in a way I can understand. I particularly enjoyed the section on grit and agency where Hanson references Angela Duckworth. Reading the agency section was a bit of an aha moment for me. I realized I have some of the essential ingredients for resiliency, but I just need to make sure I'm using them and bringing to light the skills I don't think about (self-confidence for example). Here's to aha moments that encourage growth!

Modern Bestiary by Joanna Bagniewska (Adult Nonfiction)

The Modern Bestiary is fascinating, wondrously gross, and contains the kind of stuff that inspires nightmares and comical conversations with others. Each chapter is super short, so you can read as much as you like, but you can stop any time and you're not mired in information overload. The introduction is a masterpiece. I don't always read introductions, but this is one you shouldn't miss. There's a hilarious section about what the author learned while researching this book, including how the thesaurus built into Microsoft Word is too "prudish" to find synonyms for words like fart, poop, and butt. This book is for anyone who loves wildly entertaining animal fact books and wants to know more about percussive foraging, "real-life" cooties called face mites, how naked mole-rat siblings feed their younger siblings poop "in true older-sibling fashion," and what kind of pet a tarantula keeps.