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

TIMELESS BUILDING Christopher Alexander (1979). The Timeless Way of Building. Alexander earned the first PhD in architecture from Harvard University, has written several books...his magnus opus being the four-volume set called, Nature of Order...this Timeless building book is the first in a series of three books that were written before the Nature of Order series. The detailed table of contents provides essential principles and a summary of the book...the writing is personal with stories and examples among the 552 pages. the quality without a name brings order from within us, and from that place that is ALIVE in us, we intentionally create the building/space/place, and then sit in the place/space and ask ouselves if it "feels good" (up to 95% agreement is found when people sit in a space and describe if it FEELS good or not)...there are forces within us that seek to be in harmony with the external world around us, and when there is this alignment, we feel alive and at peace w...

NICE Kurt Vonnegut (2015). If This Isn't Nice, What Is? Vonegut never graduated college, yet he took graduate coursework in anthropology...the book is a series of graduation speeches edited by Dan Wakefield. overall, i was disappointed...there is so  much negativity about the world among the few bits of wisdom that shine through...among the bits of wisdom: the code of Hammurabi (king of Babylon 4k years ago) became the rule of societies justifying war, prision, and the death penalty as in an "eye for an eye"...the Hammurabi rules were broken by the love and forgiveness of Jesus of Nazareth, showing that there is another way...unfortunately, most of the world has yet to embrace this "new way" and are still living by the old Hammurabi code.  "Practicing an art...is a way to make your soul grow." p.181   for practice, notice when your life is "going good" and say, "if this isn't nice, what is" (this is a phrase one of Vonnegut'...

  ROMANCE Mary Balogh (2020). Someone to Romance. This is the 8th book in Balogh's Westcott series set in the Regency era of England. The relationship between Lady Jesscia Archer and Gabriel Thorne, who returns from a successful business venture of 10 years in America to claim his rightful place as Earl of Lyndale, is central focus. Gabriel learns to see Jessica as a person in addition to her role as an aristocrat. some of my favorite parts: "...not music that has been frozen onto a sheet of parchement but music that is living and breathing inside you....It all came from some unknown somewhere inside him, yet it seemed too vast to fit within his frame." 313, 119 when music comes from the heart and not the page, some unique place inside oneself, perhaps one has tapped into the univeral consciousness of which we are all a part. "It is not the rose that makes me happy....It is the fact that you give them to me. That you care..." 322 ideally, in gift giving, our car...

BRAIN FOOD Uma Naidoo (2020). This is Your Brain on Food. Naidoo is a medical doctor and psychiatrist specializing in nutrition and mental health. The book chapters are organized as separate mental health diagnoses and corresponding foods to avoid and foods to consume to support better gut health as the connection between the gut and the brain is foundational to well being. Cheat sheet summaries at the end of each chapter are helpful as well as the appendixes and a thorough bibliography of mostly empirical research on the brain--food connection. Disappointed in the emphasis on eating meat and consumption of oils...moreover, there is much repetition across chapters, e.g., almost all mental health issues suggest avoiding foods associated with the "western diet" of highly processed foods, white flour and white sugar products, as well as large quantities of meat, especially beef. On the flip side, most of the nutritional advice includes:  berries and beans of all types,  tumeric ...

REKINDLED LOVE Mary Balogh (2019). Someone to Remember . This is the 7th book in Balogh's Wescott series set in England that describes the relationship between Matilda Weestcott and Charles Sawyer (Viscount Dirkson)...they both fell in love in their early years, but Matilda's parents didn't approve and ended the relationship...30 years later their love is rekindled through a set of extraordinary circumstances. Some of my favorite quotes: Being a parent is a hard job...one so very much wants one's children to be happy. One wants to do all in one's power to prevent their being miserable. But where does wise guidance end and blind interference begin" (p.127).  A message for parents to consider...is our action guidance or interference? Love is not a finite thing to be equally apportioned among a limited number of people It is infinite and can be spread to encompass the whole world without losing one iota of its force (p. 154). Love as much as you can...it will not ...

PLACES THAT SCARE YOU Pema Chodron (2001). The Places that Scare You:                                               A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. Chodron earned a BA in English Literature and a Master's in Elementary Education before becoming a Tibetan Buddhist nun and teacher of Buddhism--she has written many books. The book provides insight into everyday living through the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, translating traditional Tibetan Buddhist terms/practices into clear and useful practices in everyday language, often supported by personal stories. Practices: teaching begin with an aspiration to be open, curious, treating whatever is learned as an experiment in life, and ending with the intent to use the teachings for the benefit of others (not keeping them to ourselves). BE REAL acknowledge and accept the present moment as it is, wit...

TRUST Mary Balogh (2018). Someone to Trust. This is the 5th book in Balogh's Wescott series set in England describing the relationship between Elizabeth Overfield and Colin Handrich (Lord Hodges) which begins at a Christmas party and a jest about marrying each other (she is 10 years his senior) that over time turns into something more serious, culminating in a series of waltzs at a ball, but not without developing trust through a series of delightful incidents... eventually they marry. favorite quotes: ...one knows very little and must be ever open to learing and changing and adjusting (p. 46)... ...we all have the choice of whether to be defined by the negatives in our lives or to make of our present and future and our very selves what we want them to be (p. 112). practices: stay open to learning, regarding everyone as a teacher, and bravely embraces changes that make life more wonderful for everyone reframe the "negatives" in life as challenges to drill into like making...