SunshineAndRain

Tips for Every Entrepreneur

Revisado: 08-30-12

The authors of this book run a well-respected program for high tech entrepreneurs, but even if you're a not a software person, the tips in this book about starting, running, and planning a business are extremely valuable. So many of the chapters stick with me months after I listened, especially "fail fast." Some tips are complex and structural for how to set up a business. Other tips are light such as "don't suck at e-mail." A great education.

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The experience of a refugee in America

Revisado: 07-24-12

What made the experience of listening to Inside Out and Back Again the most enjoyable?

Many students in the United States know the pain and loneliness of being the “new kid” at a school. But most Americans move from one city to another, or one state to another—not one country to another, and one culture to another. But reading allows children to learn about experience they’ve never had. And really good books allow children to feel the feelings described. Inside Out And Back Again is one of those tales. One can’t read it without changing as a person because the reader truly feels the feelings of Ha, the main character.

The story begins in Saigon, Viet Nam just before the city falls in the early 1970’s. Ha, her mother and brothers flee the country and are sponsored by an American family in Alabama. The first half of the story takes place in Viet Nam and the second half takes place in the US.

What did you like best about this story?

Ha goes through are real human emotions as she navigates the types of things all kids must endure when they are thrust into a new situation, only Ha experiences them a much greater extreme.

This is a wonderful story, well written, emotionally tight. Fifth through seventh graders will enjoy it.

Who was the most memorable character of Inside Out and Back Again and why?

Ha suffers the prejudice and crulty of the children at her school. She suffers the confusion of not knowing the language. And she muddles through the difficulties of having to eat unfamiliar foods and missing the treats she enjoyed in her native land. She also experiences the kindness of neighbors and learns the wonder of building new friendships.

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A story with heart and history

Revisado: 07-24-12

Would you listen to Heart of a Samurai again? Why?

What do Moby Dick and Edo-era Japan have in common and why should you care? The two eras overlap in the incredibly well-written and engulfing story by Margi Preus, Heart of A Samurai.

The story opens in the mid 1800’s. Manjiro is a young fisherman whose boat is wrecked somewhere off the coast of Japan. At the time, Japan was a fully closed society. Citizens had no contact with other nations, and if they did, they’d be excommunicated and banned from returning.

Stuck on a rock with little food and water, Manjiro and his mates are discovered by a whaling boat from New Bedford, Massachusetts. They spend several months on this boat as men on whaling hunts (a la Moby Dick).

Who was your favorite character and why?

Manjiro is the sole member of the Japanese fishing team who learns English. Despite the fact that his culture has taught him to think of Westerners as devils, he begins to believe in the American Dream and chooses to go back with the whalers to Massachusetts when the others are dropped off in the Sandwich Islands (known now as Hawaii).

Any additional comments?

Heart of A Samuari is about the tug-of-war between following one's dreams, while yearning for the security. This is the classic crisis that all children can relate to: who doesn't want to be themselves, follow their desires, and to uncharted territories—while also wanting the comforts of family and familiar customs. Which one should you choose when you can only choose one?

This story is well written and engulfing and provides realistic historical references as well.

Highly recommended, a Newbery Honor Book.

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A classic, old syntax and all

Revisado: 05-20-12

What did you like best about A Discourse on Method? What did you like least?

This is the real deal, Descartes' "I think therefore I am" masterpiece. Be forewarned it contains old fashioned syntax and an even more old fashioned view of the world. If you want to listen to this seminal philosophical work, it's all here.

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Interesting but sort of old news in 2012

Revisado: 05-20-12

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Very insightful, clearly the authors are experts in their field. The examples are fairly old by 2012 however. For example it talks about "Second Life" as an up-and-coming phenomenon.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Update with new examples.

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Fairly superficial mostly about lying

Revisado: 05-20-12

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I was curious to learn something new about perceiving the people around me by their body movements. This books is mostly about how to tell if someone is lying, but there is a lot of other behavior I was curious about that this book didn't cover. I felt overall the book was superficial.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More about how to perceive a larger range of behaviors.

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