Category: NonFiction

The Arrow Writer's Handbook, Scholastic Inc., 2000 Short book (32 pages) for children packed with tips on writing. I particularly liked the tips on how to get more details into your writing: Use names. Think about exact colors, shapes, and sizes. Use comparisons. Notice all the details, even those that might not seem important at […]

100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter, by Elaine St. James, 1994 Easy to read, fun little how-to book on simplifying your life. Some parts are outdated (“Drop call waiting,” “Stop the Junk Mail,” and “Get rid of your car phone”) and there is no mention of social media, e-mail, […]

by Stacy Schiff, 2010 I read 2 chapters – gave up – too speculative – Ptolemy and on and on – couldn’t finish – Thanks to Wayne – No time for bad books.

by Slavomir Rawicz, 1956 (ghostwritten by Ronald Downingin) Dad’s book. Slavomir was a young man in Polish Army taken prisoner in 1939 by the Russians. They were convinced he was a spy. They tortured him for months, then took him – actually he had to walk with 4000 other prisoners – after a freezing cold […]

by John Ortberg, 2005 Great book. First Pres Lenten Study 2010. Wayne led small group: Dave and Norma Brown, Roger and Elizabeth Heins, Al & Rosemary Habernicht, Jim and Linda Wagner, Patrice Quadrel. Started out with a bad attitude because it’s not “The Hole in Our Gospel,” but ended up liking it very much. Especially […]

by Stephen Blanchard, PhD; Spencer Johnson, MD, 2003 Carolyn Worden’s notes: Front inside cover, “Help people reach their full potential, catch them doing something right.“ P. 61: You set one minute goals with your people to make sure they know what they are being held accountable for and what good performance looks like. You then […]

by Sy Montgomery, 2006 Very compassionate and animal-loving female author. “Compassion means “with suffering.” Went home to be with Dad when he was dying of cancer even though he had written her off when she married Howard Mansfield (Jewish). Then, her mother, who was really the culprit, got cancer too and again she went home […]

by Philip Yancey, 1997 Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden? Reads Bible from cover to cover in 2 weeks. Analyzes it from those 3 questions. In O.T. God was not silent or hidden – didn’t result in faith or obedience. Jesus – God not unfair, silent, or hidden. Holy Spirit – in […]

by James Michener, 1959 First 1/2 – excellent! Second 1/2 – hard to get through. First-Polynesians from Bora Bora. Then skipped to missionaries from New England. They were good people but prejudiced. Then the Chinese came to work in sugar. Learned about leprosy and Molokai. Then the Japanese came to work. Then WWII – Japanese […]

by Eric Weiner, 2008 The Netherlands – Happiness is a Number Switzerland – Happiness is Boredom Bhutan – Happiness is a Policy Qatar – Happiness is a Winning Lottery Ticket Iceland – Happiness is Failure Moldova – Happiness is Somewhere Else Thailand – Happiness is Not Thinking Great Britain – Happiness is a Work in […]

by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, 2006 Greg was rescued by villagers in remote mountainous area of Pakistan (Korphe) after he tried to climb K2. He promised them he’d build them a school. Was a nurse, lived in storage unit in California. Wrote 580 letters. Only Tom Brokaw gave him $100. An article in […]

by John Taliaferro, 2006 “The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, a Murder, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898.” Full of history of the Lopps, Tom & Ellen, who start a mission in Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, in 1890. Lots of info on whaling, reindeer, natives in Alaska.Very, very interesting. What incredible […]