3 X 5's: Index Card Wisdom from Best of Books

LUCKY Dr. Seuss (1973). Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? Dr. Seuss is a pen name for Theodor Seuss Geisel who graduated from Darmouth college with a BA in English...he was planning to get a PhD from Oxford but he met his wife who encouraged him to write. This book is one of over 60 children's books written by Dr. Seuss. The book begins with an old man sitting on a prickly cacti in the desert, giving advice to Duckie, a young lad also sitting on a prickly cacti (see cover of book below). The theme on every page is BE GLAD you don't have it as bad as "so and so" who has to do "such and such" every day...the usual Dr. Seuss imaginative drawings accompany every page.  Disappointed with the negativity, presenting problems and reframing them as "aren't you glad this isn't you"! Why not FLIP IT? Tell about all the WONDERS of life, the MIRACLES of existence, the GIFT of being alive...now that's the kind of book i'd like to read (and h...

GUT-MIND CONNECTION Emeran Mayer (2016). Mind-Gut Connection:                                                How the Hidden Conversation Within Our                                                   Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and                                             Our Overall Health. Mayer is a medical doctor who has researched brain-body connections for 40 years...he specializes in  brain-gut microbiome interactions. While i appreciate the scientific descriptions and explanations of the brain-gut interactions and the neuroscientific mechanisms by whi...

NAPPING SARK (1999). Change Your Life Without Getting Out of Bed:                               T he ULtimate Nap Book SARK is a pen name for Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy. SARK is a self-made artist and writer (i could not find information about her education)...she became famous for a poster called, "How to be an Artist" (i have the poster hanging near my computer as i write)...she's authored 16 books as of 2024, many of which are best sellers...she is the CEO of a successful organization called "Planet SARK," a remake of a previous organization that didn't do as well in the early 1990's. In this book about naps (she never defines what a nap is, but after reading the book, i would say a nap is "resting"--not necessarily sleeping but could be--outside of the regular longer period of sleep that accompanies most people's nocturnal rhythm). SARK makes the following claims:  Naps are good for us Na...

FATHER SKY  Matthew Fox (2024). The Return of Father Sky. Fox is a theologian, former Catholic priest, now Episcopal priest, prolific writer, especially  in new creation spirituality. This book is a departure from his scholarly writing to a children's book about creation spirituality, emphasizing the departure and return of "Father Sky." The book begins with losing the connection to the Father Sky through machines and war; next, the cosmogenesis is introduced, beginning with the big Bang, where the Father Sky unites with Mother Earth, producing all of creation, a cause for great joy and gratitude. While i appreciate the trajectory of the story, and the perspective of unifying father sky and mother earth in the creation story, the words of the story itself don't flow for me, they seem disjointed, they don't rhyme, and the images of the artwork aren't consistent but seem disjointed as well...further, in the attempts in include all races, sexes, religions...a cle...