Quiet by Susan Cain

I'm back. It's been a full two months. Clearly I took some time off from reading. But I'm getting back into it. I recently finished two books that I was reading at the same time and I've ordered five more from Amazon that should be in any day now. With that being said, I'm going to take up writing reviews again.

Quiet has been on my radar for a while. I've never read it because I thought it was an uninteresting and somewhat depressing topic to read about. The book is about the power of introverts and offers a thousand reasons why being an introvert is not bad. The author does a wonderful job tying together the enormous amount of research that has been conducted on this topic over the years. She participated in classes and activities geared towards introverts. She met with numerous academics and leaders in the study of introverts.

The author admits she is an introvert, which maybe makes her a bit biased. However, according to research, one-third to one-half of people are introverts. Most would probably say I'm more on the introvert side of the spectrum. Although I'm in agreement with the author that you are not always an introvert or extrovert...it changes depending on situations.

I know this isn't the most exciting thing to read about, but the way the book is written is as entertaining as a knowledge-sharing book can be. It is not dry or boring. It provides a lot of insight into motivations and thoughts of both introverts and extroverts. I think it is really practical for considering other members of any team you may be on. Quiet was not marketed as a leadership book, but in my opinion this is one of the better leadership books out there.

My rating for Quiet: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!

P.S. For the longest time, I've tried to figure out a way to sneak a TED talk into one of my posts. Well, Susan Cain delivered a TED talk basically about her book. Check it out.

Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

I know I know. This blog has been inactive for the last few weeks. While I could make excuses like I was in Las Vegas or that I've been coaching basketball, the truth is I haven't been reading as much. I finished Killing Kennedy on the Vegas plane ride. A co-worker recommended it for me and it turned out it was right up my alley.

The book chronicles JFK's presidency and assassination. If you remember, I read a too-thorough JFK book a year ago that I didn't end up finishing. Killing Kennedy was more to the point and told a story. There were a bunch of random facts, such as JFK's friendships with stars like Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. Or the more unnecessary details of JFK's womanizing. Shocking to hear but no one has ever made a stink about it.

There are many reasons while I liked the book. I love true stories. Recent history is interesting. The story was told in a way that made you want to keep turning the pages even though you knew the ending. I did like the background info on certain people and situations as I was a naive on some of that.

One thing I would have liked the book to do more is delve into some of the conspiracy theories. I'm not big on conspiracy theories, but I'm pretty sure there are some out there that have some substance to them. Killing Kennedy hones in on Lee Harvey Oswald and doesn't give more than a paragraph that conspiracies exist.

Also, books with two authors...who actually wrote the book? Like is Bill O'Reilly just using his name to sell copies? It's always one famous person and one true author. Always wondered about that.

My rating for Killing Kennedy: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!

Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto

I'm trying to read all the books that somehow ended up on my wish list on Amazon. Some of them have been on there over a year. Frankly I'm not sure how others, like Weapons of Mass Instruction, ended up on there. But I decided to give it a shot.

John Taylor Gatto taught for nearly 30 years in New York City. He was named teacher of the year late in his career, and then quit because he had finally had enough of the school system. He has some radical takes on schooling. His main point his schools do not truly educate students. He spends the entire book trying to support this notion.

While I think some parts of his argument are right (and some parts are out there), I don't think he offers a real solution. The two biggest takeaways were to have students write on their tests "I would prefer not to take your test" or get home schooled. Not sure that is the answer. He says, "You either write your own script, or you become an actor in somebody else's script". Well, if everyone wrote their own script, there would only be monologues.

I will say that the book is filled with a lot of interesting facts. I actually used post it tabs to bookmark a few spots. And he was an English teacher, so the vocabulary is top notch and the grammar is spot on. I think it's good to read books you may not completely agree with. It is good to expand your knowledge on certain topics. Education is one of those topics considering its impact on life and society.

My rating for Weapons of Mass Instruction: 2 stars out of 5. Get it here.