The Power of Moments by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

 

I was searching for books for my work book club and I came across The Power of Moments. I liked the topic (exactly as it sounds) and I knew this would be a good read as I enjoyed reading other books by Chip and Dan Heath.

The Power of Moments is about creating moments (vs expecting them to happen) though elevation, insight, pride, and connection. Moments can happen at peaks, milestones, or even pits. They are more memorable when they are unexpected and infrequent. Stretching for goals - and failing - creates moments. Recognizing others in a personal way (not programmatic) creates moments. One interesting part was how people often know what the right thing to do is, but it is much harder to quickly act on that judgment. Moments can help people find their purpose (purpose is more important than passion). And a deep connection, rather than length, is the best for relationships.

The examples used throughout are great. Things like high school students announcing where they are going to college, the couch-to-5k initiative, redesigning the MRI machine to be children friendly, and the hotel popsicle hotline. At the end of every couple chapters, there is a brief summary and application of the themes. 

This book hit home on many levels - work, personal, and as a coach. The book club also really seemed to enjoy this book. I highly recommend this for anyone.

My rating for The Power of Moments: 5 stars out of 5. Get it here!

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

 

This was the second book I read on my second honeymoon. It is a very unique concept - a library with an infinite number of books, each telling your life story if you made a different choice at any point in your life.

This story chronicles Nora, who tries taking her own life. As she approaches death, she enters the midnight library, where she reads about different lives - if she married her long-term boyfriend, if she traveled with a friend, if she stayed in a band, if she dated a different guy, if she pursed swimming (which she excelled at). She finds that while some stories bring happiness, there can be unexpected lows leaving her wanting more. She keeps reading, trying to find the answer.

Like I said, this is a very unique concept, and something everyone probably day dreams about every now and then. The book was darker than I expected and frankly not really a light read on the beach. But, it was interesting.

My rating for The Midnight Library: 3 stars out of 5. Get it here!

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

As I was getting ready for my honeymoon (and summer in general), I wanted to stock my shelves with books to read. I asked around for suggestions and did some Googling. This was a suggestion and it really caught my eye as a light, fun read. Indeed, that is what it was.

The book is about a husband who disappears when a major fraud occurs at his company. He leaves behind a note for his wife to "protect her", implying for her to protect his 16-year-old daughter from a prior marriage. The wife and daughter do not get along, but they both really want to find out what happened to their husband and father. A U.S. Marshall and FBI agents meet with them to gather more information, but the two go on a journey as the daughter recalls information from her earliest years. They quickly find out he is not the man he pretends to be, as he has a complicated past.

The book is a page turner as you want to figure out A) will they find this guy before the investigators do and B) what exactly occurred in his past to make him go on the run. It is a very easy read as I finished it in one day on the beach. In my opinion, the story was a bit cliché and felt like it was written as a movie script...which it would not surprise me to see this turned into a movie some day. I should also say this is a very new book. It came out in May, so expect to see this book near you this summer.

My rating for The Last Thing He Told Me: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!