Sven Severin

Fall in love with memoir

Revisado: 01-07-23

Mary Karr breaks down what makes a great memoir and then talks about how to write one. She’s very self aware. She talks about her intentions for her book but then the reality of what it really is in the overall endeavor of writers and writing. She encourages readers and writers of all abilities to enter the playing field and find a place in the choir of voices. The list of memoirs included at the back of the book is worth the price of admission.

Many people have carefully studied Kate’s work so it’s worth taking a half an hour and reading online how people have synthesized and organized their notes in her big ideas.

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‘Stutz’ the documentary 1st and now this

Revisado: 12-12-22

I watched Jonah Hill’s documentary Stutz and then started gobbling up YouTube videos. Just finished this book and now moving on to the next book by Stutz and Michels. These simple visualizations or protocols or tools are essential. Not the most original book but extremely practical.

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Perfect Intermediate Course for Italian Language

Revisado: 05-03-22

This is a perfect next step after listening to a handful of beginner courses for Italian on Audible. I’m almost done with Italian on Rosetta Stone and I’ve logged a lot of Italian programming on Lingopie. I listen to Italian language learning courses all the time on YouTube. This course is really exciting. The stories talk about all kinds of interesting contemporary topics. The new vocabulary keeps me interested and has helped me continue with my Italian language learning journey. I’m looking forward to more advanced conversations in Italian. Ciao

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Like an entire library of books about Christian contentment

Revisado: 03-11-22

I have pages of notes and ideas from listening to this book. It was like sitting in a room full of people and everyone sharing examples of everything they had ever heard about Christian contentment. The best parts of this book challenged how I think about afflictions and mercies and sorrow and joy. God is described as a loving Father who is willing to discipline us because the alternative is watching us perish in our sins.

This book does not offer simplistic ways of thinking. Again and again it addresses how we frame things in our mind. Out on the periphery of the examples and arguments the listener can hear the misogyny and classism of the time when this book was written but at it’s core this book emphasizes love and a humble approach with God.

There are loads of quotable moments with beautiful writing like “constant way of fetching supply” and “I know I am where God would have me”. There are memorable examples for things like minimalism where God takes away our possessions and we become a smaller more nimble vessel more ready for the storms.

The listener will also hear some of the achievement mentality and performance mentality of the stream of Christianity where the writer writes from. There is an empowerment to take action and not always an emphasis on grace.

The organization of the book worked well for me. The many small sections kept me engaged and I was able to listen to this entire book in a couple of days because I am very interested in this topic.

There are a few harsh moments in this book. There are far more patient and loving moments. The helpful arguments contained in this book appreciate the complexity of the topic of contentment and challenge the listener to go on this lifelong journey of acquiring this virtue with God’s help.

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Entertaining and Heartfelt Story

Revisado: 02-04-22

This book surprised me. The descriptions of the dad were hilarious. The family connection to an Italian village in the mountains was enlightening in how it described the many facets of Italian life during WW2 when Mussolini joined Hitler. The end of the book packed a punch with colorful personalities and internal dialogue about what family is really all about. It’s a multi-generational coming-of-age story. The narrator was especially good. The author wasted no time but still slowed down enough for the beauty of bicycling in Italy. The connection to historic cycling in Italy was a bonus I didn’t see coming. A trip to repair a bicycle at a bike shop becomes something more.

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Back to the basics

Revisado: 04-27-21

This audiobook is a great review of what it takes to be consistent and move forward to overcome challenges. The examples are a bit outdated already but the underlying truth of the wisdom in this book is timeless. Super motivational.

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NT Wright at his best

Revisado: 02-15-21

This is NT Wright with some of his strongest and more accessible content. He begins big picture and breaks down his points into bite-size chunks and deals with many of the surface questions that arise with Biblical interpretation. NT Wright reminds me to learn with humility from tradition and the history of the Holy Spirit interacting with the church and looking in the Bible for focus on Christ renewing all of creation. This is NT Wright at his best and the tones was not at all condescending for non academic readers. The narrator takes his time allows for the thinking that is needed when approaching these topics. When I was familiar with the terms being used and understood what was being argued I was able to speed of the audio to as much as 2X and then for parts of the book that brought up arguments with which I’m unfamiliar I then slowed the speed back to 1X.

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Mathew McConaughey Gets It Done

Revisado: 12-07-20

This is a book where I will recommend the audiobook over the book. There’s something powerful about hearing Mathew McConaughey use his own voice to read his own book and tell his own stories and make his own voices for all the colorful characters in those stories. Sometimes McConaughey was even yelling his bumper sticker quotes into the microphone. This book inspired me to keep living and keep learning. The book is also short enough that you might be tempted to listen to the entire book in one take.

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Listen to this book a handful of times.

Revisado: 08-19-20

Never boring, Palahniuk knows how to keep the reader’s attention whether he’s writing fiction or writing about his creative process. This is a book that I will probably listen to 3 to 4 times. One concept that stood out to me was Palahniuk’s encouragement to write stand-alone scenes or chapters that you workshop and read aloud and share with friends. This book is full of passion for writing with surprisingly very little cynicism. I think this book will age well. Palahniuk’s authenticity shines through even when it’s exaggerated to add entertainment value.

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Essential reading for continuing the lifelong dialogue about anti-racism

Revisado: 07-29-20

I just finished listening to the audiobook “Me And White Supremacy” by Layla F. Saad. This book clearly articulates language for continuing the dialogue about race. It also critiques some of its own word choices and gives arguments for and against phrases such as BIPOC for Black Indigenous People Of Color. The book makes reference to many contemporary thinkers and authors writing about race. One of the chapters began with this quote by Maya Angelou. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Since I am a white male who practices Christian spirituality it was very meaningful for me to listen to a black female who practices Muslim spirituality. The author is an African woman who grew up in Great Britain. She now lives in Qatar. The book challenged me to think not just about my intentions but also my impact. I was challenged to not always see myself as the exception to the rule. It was also valuable for me to begin the lifelong work of thinking through terms like tone policing, white centering, color blindness, tokenism, and white saviorism. I have lots of new things to confess to Jesus because of the ideas in this book. The book has a relentless number of journaling prompts for self-reflection. Because of this book I can see opportunities to try to do more good than harm. My prayer is that books like this help me to keep showing up for life-long anti-racism work in my heart and life.

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