July was a good month for reading (aren’t they all?), primarily because I had several opportunities for long drives. This allowed me to listen to a couple of audiobooks.

 

Active Listening Techniques by Nixaly Leonardo

OK, but nothing that stuck with me.

 

The Art of Active Listening by Heather Younger

Same as above. OK, but nothing that stuck with me.

 

Difficult Conversations by Stone, Patton, Heen

This is a re-read for me. Along with Crucial Conversations, this book gave me tools to have good conversations. I review it regularly. With really good books, one or two insights or phrases can be worth the price of the book. This book has many. A handful of examples:

• The distinction between blame and contribution (sooooooo important!!!)
• Talking about how to talk about it
• Acknowledging before problem-solving
• Acknowledging is not agreeing
• Say what you mean: don’t make them guess
• “In a difficult conversation your primary task is not to persuade, impress, trick, outwit, convert, or win over the other person. It is to express what you see and why you see it that way, how you feel, and maybe who you are. Self-knowledge and the belief that what you want to share is important will take you significantly further than eloquence and wit.”

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

 

The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien (FICTION)

Life is too short to spend time on bad books. One way to avoid that is giving up on books you don’t like quickly. I am getting better at that as I age. Another way is to re-read books that you love. The Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite series. This is book #1 in the trilogy. I am already enjoying being back in Middle Earth! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

 

Inside the Box by David Epstein

This is a book about how constraints are good for us. It reminded me of the book “A Beautiful Constraint,” which was also good. It is a helpful reminder that often the constraints we complain about can be the very things that help us. Lots of examples and research. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

 

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (FICTION)

This book was fun, creative, and quick. Imagine reliving the same day over and over, trying to solve a murder, but each day you wake up as someone else. I enjoyed it. RECOMMENDED.

 

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton (FICTION)

Same author as the previous one. Another quick, enjoyable read. RECOMMENDED.

 

The Way of Excellence by Brad Stulberg

This was a good book. Really. However, because I read many of his articles, it felt like a review. That isn’t a bad thing, but I didn’t take new insights from the book. If you aren’t familiar with his work, you will probably get more out of it than I did.

 

Tiny Experiments by Ann-Laure LeCunff

An excellent book! It pairs well with Atomic Habits but with a valuable distinction. Habits are long-term things that you want to establish in your life. Making them small (which is one of the senses of “atomic” that James Clear intends) makes it easier to establish them. However, not everything will be a habit. There are some things we won’t know whether we will like or not until we try, but we are afraid to try. This is where LeCunff’s book is really helpful. Run tiny experiments in your life.

There is much more to this book. As I said earlier, sometimes a single idea, phrase, or tool can be worth the price of the book. This book has several. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.