scott stonehouse

Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler (Fiction)
I previously read The Book of Speculation by Skyler and really enjoyed it. I read this one because of that. Very different stories, which is fine. This is a very slow, relationship driven book. Although I enjoyed it overall, I am not sure I would recommend it because it was so slow.

Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger
How do you lead in uncharted territory? Bolsinger uses the story of Lewis & Clark’s expedition and how they dealt with the reality being very different than their maps and expectations as a backdrop for leaders now. Although it focuses on leaders within the church or Christian organizations, any leader could benefit from his insights. I recommend it.

The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Wow! I remember living through this! Lewis tells the story of what happened with the home loan crisis incredibly well. Learning the people involved and what happened was fascinating. If you saw the movie, you have the idea but, of course, the book is better. Much more detail. It will anger you to read about the greed, corruption, and incompetence of so many “smart” people. Highly recommended. I will be reading more of Lewis’ stuff. He is an excellent writer.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
This was a really fun book. A group of senior citizens living in a retirement community work together to solve a murder. Enough said. It has become a series and I look forward to reading the next one.

The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins
If you read any of my previous “What I Read in…” posts then you know I enjoy, and benefit from, self-help books. I also like Mel Robbins. Like Jon Acuff (who is probably my favorite), she is hilarious and insightful. Her latest book, The Let Them Theory, is a global sensation. I read it before starting this blog and think it can have a profound impact on many people who read it. The message is very powerful. This book is good, but didn’t have the same level of impact on me. Still, it is hard to tell what will impact you and when, so it is worth reading. It is a quick and easy read.

A Beautiful Constraint by by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden
I read this for work and really enjoyed it. I want to try and retain the perspective of the book that constraints can be beautiful and actually help us achieve more than we could without them. There were so many incredible examples of this in the book. I want to permanently shift my thinking to “How can this constraint help me?” One of the more tangible tools I learned from the book is the “We can if…” paradigm. Rather than saying, “We can’t do that…” we think through options and say, “We can do X if we do Y.” Even if you end up deciding not to pursue X, there is a significant difference in agency and attitude when you think “I chose not to do this because of A, B, or C” rather than, “I can’t do this.”

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