Coronavirus - 5 months in

 We used to be worried about toilet paper. Now we're just wondering what the new normal is going to be.

It takes a while to establish norms, and I think that's the period we're entering. There's talk that this virus isn't going to go away - there was that talk at the beginning, which seems absurd - and that's starting to sound like the most likely scenario. So, we're going to have to create some new norms, for social interactions, for shopping, for employment, for exercise, for a lot of things. 

Right now, there's so much up in the air. 160,000+ deaths, and I was thinking that 60K would be a catastrophic event. Ha. Now we're not even thinking about the numbers, we're just thinking yeah, a lot of people are dying, but it's not us or people we know, but let's not say that too loudly because the next thing you know it will be us and the people we know and I have a sore throat tonight, and I'm serious.

Milestones - 6 years, six months

 I mean, we don't really count in months anymore. The kid is 6...and change.

Milestones

Today

-Made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich by himself, without telling anyone he was going to do it

This year

-Goes poo by himself - wipes and everything, though were not sure how well. 

-Plays The Entertainer on Piano

-Learns borrowing (Subtraction)

-Learns a lot of Chinese due to his immersion class, but now that that's over because of the virus, who knows how much he'll learn...

And he swims underwater now, though he doesn't swim as well as when he had regular lessons at the YMCA...and will the YMCA ever have lessons again?  Who knows.

-ND

Kid Sayings - gas stations

Today (July 10, 2020 - Kid is 6 years, 5 months old)

Just went to a gas station. He stayed in the car. Really didn't think it was much, but it did delay our 10 minute drive to his grandparents' house.

I hop back in the car. Start to drive.

Me: See. That was fast. Fast gas.
Kid: I hate gas stations.
Me: Ahh. Ha. That's a little dramatic.
Kid: Gas stations make your life longer.
Me: Ha.
Kid: All I want for my birthday is a Nintendo Switch, and to never have to go to gas stations again.
Me: Alright, alright, I get it...

Coronavirus - 1 Week In

How different a few weeks make...

I feel like I should be keeping track of some of the things that are happening, perhaps just for my own perspective, or history, or whatever you want to call it.

It's Tuesday.   Last Thursday, Governor Newsom gave at stay-at-home order, and ordered all non-essential businesses to close.

But, here we are at work, with some people working from home. We're a very small business, so we were already spread out, and now even more so.  Most of South El Monte seems to be operating as usual, so we're not sure how the wholesale and shipping businesses are doing, or how any law applies to them.  I assume that people still need stores stocked, so the essential businesses that are open, like grocery stores - also need the suppliers to be open.  This is no where in any official literature...

We're bringing the boy to work, and since he's six now, we're developing a curriculum for him.  He loves learning Chinese, and also digs math and even reading.  Thank god.

Of course, he also goes on the iPad and laptop a lot.

This week I'm developing a plan for him so that we keep track of all the worksheets he does, and can earn rewards for certain amounts.. Like say, he does 100 worksheets, gets a video game.  I mentioned that if he does enough, we'll buy him the next video game system in the Nintendo family (which would be the GameCube.  We started with NES, then SNES, and he's currently on N64, obsessed with Super Smash Bros.) 

Not exactly sure why we continue on this path of video games, but we do.

Wine.com changed their slogan to Alcohol, Delivered.  Or maybe it has always been that, and they're just advertising now?

Wife started giving us haircuts, because we're not about to go to the barbershop / salon.

Started a garden on the side yard.  Tomatoes are coming... in like, two months.

Right now, no one knows what's going to happen in a few days or a few weeks.  All we know for certain right now is that traffic is really light.

-ND

The Best Books I Read (or Reread) in 2019

The Best Books I Read (or Reread) in 2019

This year I read a mix of celebrity memoirs, parenting guides, business books, classic literature, poker strategies, essay collections by nerd/actor Wil Wheaton, and novels about slavery the incorporated magical realism.

If 46 books seems like a lot, like, maybe you're thinking a neglected my job or parenting duties (or both) let me just say, most of these were audio books, consumed while driving or doing chores around the house.

My wife says audio books don't count, since you listen to them instead of reading them with your eyes. But, the LA Public Library has a program for kids to read 100 books before they get to Kindergarten....and by "read" they mean "books read to them" because 99% of preschoolers can't read. In other words, WHO ARE WE TO ARGUE WITH LIBRARIANS!?!  AUDIO BOOKS COUNT!

Seriously, audio books are amazing. If you live in LA County, get a free app called Libby through the any branch of the LA County Library and you can listen all of the audio books on this list FOR FREE as well as tens of thousands of others...

What follows is a title-author list of books read in 2019 ranked from BEST to "I can't read any more of this..." followed by a slightly more detailed explanation behind these choices.  I highly recommend the top 10, somewhat recommend books ranked 11-25, and the books further down on the list, well, they're still better than 98% of all podcasts I've listened to.  Seriously.

Enjoy! And get Libby already.  Seriously.  -ND

1. 1984 - George Orwell
Literature / Fiction - Audio / Libby - Reread

It's been 20 years since I read this, and still can't believe how good it is.  Really a treatise on how the use of language controls and shapes our society disguised as a thrilling science fiction book, 1984 is profound and never more relevant in 2020.

2. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Literature / Fiction - Used - Reread

Gatsby used to be my favorite book, but this is the first time reading it since I've become a dad. And well, most of what they do in here seems trivial and goddamn silly.  It's still poetic and a sharply critical of the upper classes, but really, some dude expects that he can just swoop in after being gone for 6 years and expect a mom to leave her husband and kids? Really? Daisy should have just say, "That was six years ago, man, I've got kids now! Move on, gangster! (Spoiler: Gatsby is kind of a gangster)"

3. Kindred - Octavia Butler
Literature / Fiction - Library

Finally read this classic sci-fi / historical, bent-reality book. Frighteningly vivid, Butler captures how jarring it might be for anyone from the present to experience the Antebellum era.

4. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
Literature / Fiction - Audio / Libby - Reread

Third read, first time as an audio book. I really can't get enough of this love-letter to 80's nerd culture. Read with just the right amount of emotion by actor Wil Wheaton, who's real-life persona exists in this future dystopia as an old uber-geek, and well, if you understand why that may be, you'll probably love this book.

5. The Power - Naomi Alderman
Literature / Fiction - Audio / Libby

What if women suddenly had electrical power in their fingertips?  Would there be a dramatic shift in power between the sexes?  Alderman takes this premise and goes so many places, you begin to question pretty much everything about gender relations in the world we live in.

6. The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead
Literature / Fiction - Audio / Libby

If you're going to read only one fictional account of slavery with magical realism this year, read Kindred.  But if you're up for another, check out The Underground Railroad. Well written, intimate, and brutal. But the sci-fi hook of an actual railroad existing underground felt more distracting than magical. A minor distraction though, for a great book.

7. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Bachman
Literature / Fiction - Audio / Libby

I cried at least twice (four times) listening to this portrait of a strange curmudgeon in small-town Sweden. The humor sucked me in, but the cheesy, heart-warming story somehow kept me engaged throughout.

8. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels - Jason Schreier
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby

For lovers of video games and who also share a fascination with the business world.  Schreier dives deep into what it takes to create video games in the modern age.  Each chapter is a detailed case-study of the creation of a popular video game, and the madness behind the creative and business decisions that have to be made to keep these games from self-destruction.  And it's so much madness.

9. Lessons from Lucy - Dave Barry
Essays / Humor - Audio / Libby

So many corny jokes - and a lot of good ones, too - mask Barry's excellent writing in this direct and warm memoir. The epilogue is shockingly heartfelt and emotional - especially when you hear Barry himself read it on the audio book - and propels this casual ode to his dog and middle age to one of the most sincere life-guidance books I've ever read.

10. Calypso - David Sedaris
Essays / Humor - Audio / Libby

Read by the author, including a number of chapters read in front of a live audience.  I'm a huge Sedaris fan, and this recent work - focusing mainly on the current state of his family - does not disappoint.

11. Native Son - Richard Wright
Literature / Fiction - Used

I've wanted to read this classic for years, and expected a meditative, racial discourse similar to Invisible Man, since they are often mentioned together. Well, Native Son is quite different - a dark, violent exploration of a murder, police pursuits, and a lengthy courtroom drama featuring communist ideas, with early 20th century race relations as a general theme running throughout. I'm not even sure if I liked it, but, I couldn't put it down, and won't forget it any time soon.

12. Yes Please - Amy Poehler
Biography / Humor - Audio / Libby

Perhaps the written book isn't as good, but Poehler's own reading of her work is phenomenal - hysterical and peppered with touching emotion.

13. The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates
Literature / Fiction - New

Some really beautiful patches, but tough to finish as it just meanders through the middle. After Kindred and The Underground Railroad, it's possible I may have been tired of the slavery with magical realism genre. But, I found book reviewers that agreed, so how wrong could I be? While still a good book worth a read, though I'm not sure you need to get through all 400 pages.

14. Creativity, Inc. - Ed Catmull & Amy Wallace
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby

The amazing history of Pixar, and how Steve Jobs wasn't such as bad guy after all. If you're into business histories and/or curious about Pixar's development, check it out.

15. Daring Greatly - Brené Brown
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby

Sure, Brown is a little corny, but she's also somehow inspiring and motivational.  This one is about getting out there, trying and failing, or as she says, "get into the arena and fail if need be."  Some parenting advice, too - pairs well with The Gift of Failure.  Seriously.

16. The Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac  
Literature / Fiction - Used 

It's been a long time since I read Kerouac and I missed the rambling, rumbling, experimental prose - and this one really loves nature, so it's especially interesting - but what I didn't miss were the long stretches where nothing happens and Jack just muses on, and on, and on...

17. Dear Girls - Ali Wong
Biography / Humor - New

Funny with great insights into the stand-up comedy world, and keen, humorous observations, and hey, she mentions the wife of one of my friends in the book!  But wow - really, really dirty.

18. Still Foolin' 'Em - Billy Crystal  
Biography / Humor - Used

A little corny, but a surprisingly funny and personal memoir.  And boy, does Crystal know a lot about baseball.  I mean, a lot.

19. The Gift of Failure - Jessica Lahey 
 Parenting - Audio /Libby

 Let your kid fail, so they can learn on their own.  Simple advice that has changed my parenting style.  To non-parents, well, I know this sounds simple, like, you don't have to read a whole book to get it. But, ask any helicopter parent of our generation and they'll tell you how freadking hard it is to do.

20. The Happiest Days of our Lives - Wil Wheaton  
Essays / Humor - Audio / Libby 

Nostalgic and humorous, and more moving than JUST A GEEK. Wheaton has aged well, from child stare to a spokesperson for nerd-dads in their 40s everywhere.

21. Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari  
Essays / Humor - Audio / Libby 

Extremely humorous and still insightful examination of the modern dating scene that I thank god every day I'm not a part of. Would be ranked higher if I was actually on the dating scene and could relate to anything in the book.

22. The Icarus Deception - Seth Godin  
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby 

Make art.  No matter what you do.  Create.  Godin is convincing and concise in this sweet motivational book.

23. Purity - Jonathan Franzen 
Literature / Fiction - Used

Good characters, well written, a real pleasure to read, but stopped after 200 pages because hell, this story isn't going anywhere and there's 300 more pages to go! 200 good pages, but seriously, Franzen, The Great Gatsby is only 185 pages.  You're good, but you ain't no Fitzgerald.

24. Just a Geek - Wil Wheaton  
Biography - New

Wheaton writes about a time in his life - around 2001 - when he struggled as an actor, and with his Start Trek identity, launching his now-famous website (WilWheaton.net), and accepting himself as a leader of geek culture.  On a personal note, I briefly met him around that time, working for the talent agency that couldn't get him acting work.  Sorry, Wil.  Bought your book, though.  Hope it makes up for it.

25. Braving the Wilderness - Brené Brown
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby

A quick dose of motivation and a plea to get off social media and have more face-to-face conversations. Sounds good, Brené!  But first, let me finish this post...

26. Brief Answers to the Big Questions  - Stephen Hawking  
Science - Audio / Libby

The questions are far too big, and answers not so brief, but still an enjoyable, intellectual, and even - at times - humorous read.  Nice work, Stephen, wherever you are. (Astrophysics joke that doesn't quite make sense...because NEITHER DOES ASTROPHYSICS.  Seriously.)

27. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories - B.J. Novak 
Essays - Humor - Used

Stopped at 175. Humerous, witty essays.  Feels frontloaded though - the humor and wittiness begins to fade around page 120.  Still, that's 120 pages of good stuff.

28. Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book - Phil Gordon
Poker - Used

Excellent poker tips from one of the most humble - and accomplished - players in the game.

29. Dancing Barefoot - Wil Wheaton 
Essays / Humor - Audio / Libby

Another collection from the nerd-dad spokesman of Generation X/Y.  Still good, but three books by Wil Wheaton is my yearly limit.

30. A War of Gifts - Orson Scott Card  
Literature / Fiction - New

A fun, but quick, shallow dive into a few side characters at Battle School with Ender.  If right now you're thinking: "Who's Ender?  What's Battle School?" then this is not a book for you.)

31. This is Marketing - Seth Godin  
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby 

Godin is fun to listen to, and his concepts sound really great when you read them, but after I finish most of his books I can't remember a damn thing about his concepts, nor how to apply them to our own business.  So, points for style, but points off for lack of impact.

32. Coach - Michael Lewis
Business / Motivational - Library 

Short book about Lewis's high school baseball coach, and how old-school methods of discipline and intensity pay off in life.

33. Terrorism and War - Howard Zinn
History - Used

Brief examination of American imperialism examining possible reasons people despise us (see: when we drop bombs on their heads).

34. How Successful People Lead - John C. Maxwell
Business / Motivational - Used

Quick explanation on what makes a good leader, and how to become one. Got it.  Thanks John.

35. The Year of Less - Cait Flanders
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby

Why do I keep reading self-help/motivational books?  Who knows. (If there's a book out there that helps people stop reading self-help books, I'll read it!)  This is a book more about addiction than living a simple life, but it somehow draws you in, even if you aren't addicted to alcohol and shopping, like the author.

36. BlacKkKlansman - Ron Stallworth
Biography - Used

Intriguing true story, but way too dry, and mired in police procedures. And because it's true, it lacks the drama of the film I liked so much.

37. Hold'em Wisdom for All Players - Daniel Negreanu
Poker - Used

Easy to read intro to basic poker strategy.  Really good for beginners, and a good refresher for everyone else.

38. Children of the Fleet - Orson Scott Card
 Literature / Fiction Audio / Libby

Yes, another Ender book. It all takes place after Ender saved the world in Ender's Game but before the world went to hell at the end of Shadow Puppets, if you're keeping track. The main character is a snooty kid that you don't want to root for - and it turns out you don't have to root for him because not much happens. In other words, this is the last book in the "Enderverse" I'll read for a while.

39. Raising Young Athletes - Jim Taylor
Parenting Library 

 Stopped at 100.  Some good theories and tips, but mostly warnings about not getting caught up in the "Youth Sports Industrial Complex," which seems scary, but he basically means, "You don't have to put your kid into so many sports even if other parents are doing it." Nice try, Jim. My kid is going to be a star!

40. The Telling Room - Michael Paterniti 
Literature / Fiction - Library

Stopped at 50.  Slightly amusing, but it felt like Paterniti couldn't decide between writing something humorous, investigative, or flippant, and seemed to error on the side of flippant.

41. You Are A Badass - Jen Sincero
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby

Self-help book with a few helpful tips (meditate, take deep breaths, focus on things you want to improve in your life) but ultimately disappointing as it doesn't really say that much.

42. Searching for God Knows What - Donald Miller  
Essays / Humor - Audio / Libby

I've read a number of Miller's books, and usually enjoy his writing, but this one just isn't up to par. Stopped somewhere in the middle, when the semi-amusing ramblings about god became just ramblings.

43. Sanctuary - William Faulkner  
Literature / Fiction - Used

Stopped at 50.  Never read Faulkner before, but I'd heard the hype. After pages of long LONG sentences, rambling descriptions, experimental punctuation, and lack of clear characters, I was not only confused, I was done.

44. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k - Mark Manson  
Business / Motivational - Audio / Libby 

Stopped about 2/3 of the way through.  The author's voice is so damn confident, I was fooled into going along for a while...until 2/3 of the way though when I realized he still hadn't said anything.  Maybe all the secrets are in the last 1/3 of the book?  I'll never know.

45. Uncommon Type - Tom Hanks
Essays / Humor - Audio / Libby

Stopped about 1/3 of the way through, after I realized the stories aren't that good, and they're not actually about Hanks himself.

46. Believe Me - Eddie Izzard
Biography - Audio / Libby

Stopped about an hour in. Funny at first, but Izzard goes off on so many "footnotes" and tangents, it becomes extremely monotonous, very quickly.  Maybe that's just the audio book, though?

And...that's it.  (You're still here? Thanks for reading!)

And if you're looking for something to read, check out any books in the top 25 on that list that sound good, and dive in.

Next year, I plan to get a wider range of viewpoints, read more books by non-white and not-heterosexual authors, and less books by Wil Wheaton or with a character named Ender.  Seriously.

Accepting recommendations.  Especially if it's an audio book on Libby.

God bless Libby.

-ND