book review – Page 2 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Wise Blood: A Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | January 1, 2020January 1, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

O’Connor wrote about the strange world she found herself living within in twentieth-century rural Georgia. Her characters were exceedingly strange, even grotesque. However, as her stories unfolded, the reader got inside these characters’ world-views. Indeed, they became relatable and empathy for their condition grows. Wise Blood is no exception for this trend. This work is O’Connor’s first great work. She tells the story of the relationships between several characters who, to say the least, are…

Books

2019 in Books: A Year in Review

By Scott J. Pearson | December 29, 2019December 29, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

116 Books Read; 38,852 Pages ReadThis year, I set a goal for myself to read and review 100 books. That averages to about 2 per week. My average book size lies between 300 and 400 pages, so I had to read about 700 pages a week. I read more on Saturdays and Sundays than Monday through Friday. I don’t plan on keeping up this intense schedule down the road. (There is much more to life…

Fiction-Stories Religion-Philosophy

The Power and the Glory

By Scott J. Pearson | December 13, 2019December 13, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

I picked up this highly regarded work because I like books that put an interesting spin on meaning-of-life issues and religion in general. I had heard that this book was ranked as one of the greatest 100 books written in English in the twentieth century. It did not disappoint. The author Greene was a Englishman who travelled in Mexico – the setting of this novel. He wrote about a “whisky priest” – an alcoholic. The…

Healthcare Science

TIME Mental Health: A New Understanding

By Scott J. Pearson | November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

It’s often said that brain science (neuroscience) is the moving frontier of the twenty-first century. The field of modern psychology took shape in the twentieth century. The output of the intersection of these types of study is still taking place, but TIME magazine’s focus on mental health could not take place at a more opportune time. One in five Americans have dealt with one form of mental illness in their personal health. The annual spending…

Biography-Memoir Writing-Communication

Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past

By Scott J. Pearson | November 2, 2019April 1, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

William Zinsser is famous for being an excellent coach for writers. He has mastered the art of communicating through words. He has followed an alternative career path that has brought him success and fulfillment. He shares his insights in this memoir of his life while coaching the reader how to write about her/his own life. Zinsser’s style is humble and consistently strikes the right tone for sharing the memory. That skill – sharing memories –…

Psychology

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

By Scott J. Pearson | October 28, 2019October 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

My wife came home from church one day and said, “I want to take that Sunday School class on the Enneagram.” I’d heard of it, but I knew nothing about it. Over the next few weeks, she kept calling people numbers. “You’re a five.” or “I’m a six.” Intrigued, I decided to read this book to learn more about it. I was – and still am – very cynical that human personality can be broken…

Fiction-Stories

Light in August

By Scott J. Pearson | October 13, 2019October 13, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Any work by William Faulkner is going to be heady, confuse sometimes, and be filled with long, descriptive prose. Light in August, one of Faulkner’s earlier works in Yoknapatawpha county, Mississippi, is no exception. In it, he compares the plight of the American negro in the early-twentieth-century South to the sufferings of Jesus Christ while interweaving several points-of-view into a coherent tale. Joe Christmas (whose initials suggest that he is a Christ figure) is a…

Management-Business Writing-Communication

Crucial Conversations

By Scott J. Pearson | October 11, 2019April 1, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Do conversations ever catch you off-guard? Do you ever feel unprepared for conversations that pop up spontaneously yet seem to matter a lot and to affect dramatically the course of our lives? These situations often occur in families and in businesses, and this book attempts to prepare us better for handling those weighty situations. This book came recommended to me as a part of a book club at my workplace. I can see why. It…

Leadership Management-Business Psychology Writing-Communication

The Skilled Facilitator

By Scott J. Pearson | October 6, 2019September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Successfully resolving conflict is one of the most important tasks in management and leadership. Schwarz, a Harvard-educated organizational psychologist, teaches us how to do just this in this well-received book. Its success can be demonstrated by the fact that it now resides in its third edition. (This review only applies to the second edition.) Schwarz tells us how to be not just a facilitator but a skilled facilitator of discussion within organization. He consults with…