What Is It?
The 1992 book Spy For The Night Riders by Dave Jackson and Neta Jackson.
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Tag: Goodreads
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The Dune Encyclopedia
What is it?
The 1984 collection of essays in paperback book form written by Willis E. McNelly and various other contributors as a companion to Frank Herbert’s Dune series of science fiction novels.
What is it about?
This is how Goodreads describes this book:
Eight years in the making, the work of painstaking scholarship and research, containing thousands of entries and cross-references…
Futurist, journalist, bestselling author, world-maker Frank Herbert’s magnificent future history, The Dune Chronicles, has proven itself the most popular and enduring work of speculative fiction of our age—not only for the grandeur of its epic sweep, but for the complexity and intricacy of its world. Now, for the first time, Dune is revealed in panoramic detail—the people, the desert planet, the ecology, the history, the entire universe of the visionary masterpiece!
– The legendary history of Paul Atreides, the Kwisatz Haderach
– Salusa Secundus: The prison planet
– Fremen Desert survival techniques
– Duncan Idaho (10158-10191): Swordmaster of the Ginaz
– A complete guide to the heraldry of the major house of Harkonnen
– “How Muad’Dib got his name”: a folktale from the Oral history
– The Dune tarot; or the Golden Path
– The assassin’s handbook: a complete guide to professional Chaumurky
What is it?
The 2018 book Can You Learn To Be Lucky?: Why Some People Seem To Win More Often Than Others by Karla Starr.
What is it about?
This is how Goodreads describes this book:
“I don’t know when I’ve been so wowed by a new author”
-Chip Health, co-author of The Power of Moments and SwitchA talented journalist reveals the hidden patterns behind what we call “luck” — and shows us how we can all improve outcomes despite life’s inevitable randomness.
“Do you believe in luck?” is a polarizing question, one you might ask on a first date.
Some of us believe that we make our own luck.
Others see inequality everywhere and think that everyone’s fate is at the whim of the cosmos.
Karla Starr has a third answer: unlucky, “random” outcomes have predictable effects on our behavior that often make us act in self-defeating ways without even realizing it.
In this groundbreaking book, Starr traces wealth, health, and happiness back to subconscious neurological processes, blind cultural assumptions, and tiny details you’re in the habit of overlooking.
Each chapter reveals how we can cultivate personal strengths to overcome life’s unlucky patterns.
For instance:
Everyone has free access to that magic productivity app–motivation.
The problem?
It isn’t evenly distributed.
What lucky accidents of history explain patterns behind why certain groups of people are more motivated in some situations than others?
If you look like an underperforming employee, your resume can’t override the gut-level assumptions that a potential boss will make from your LinkedIn photo.
How can we make sure that someone’s first impression is favorable?
Just as people use irrelevant traits to make assumptions about your intelligence, kindness, and trustworthiness, we also make inaccurate snap judgments.
How do these judgments affect our interactions, and what should we assume about others to maximize our odds of having lucky encounters?
We don’t always realize when the world’s invisible biases work to our advantage or recognize how much of a role we play in our own lack of luck.
By ending the guessing game about how luck works, Starr allows you to improve your fortunes while expending minimal effort.
Final Thoughts
I was working one Saturday in December 2018 at my job at The BP Library at the very end of the work day when a book flew off the shelf from being on display in the beginning of the adult non-fiction section after I had already passed by on my way back to the shelving room because it was about time to go.
I was confused by how this book had flown / flew off the shelf like that, I picked the book up and it was the book Can You Learn To Be Lucky?: Why Some People Seem To Win More Often Than Others (which I did not bother even looking at the title of at the time), and I put the book back on display when I noticed the book next to it on display which was the book Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide.
The book Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide caught my attention even though it was not the book that flew from the self, I did not even bother looking at the title for that book, and I decided to check out Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide because the topic seemed like something that could help me and the other book flying from the shelf was almost like a sign.
My female coworker JB checked the book Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide out for me at the front desk, I told her about how the other book had flew off the shelf but it was the book on display next to it that caught my attention, and she suggested that I go back and get the book that flew off the shelf like it was some kind of sign (which was the book Can You Learn To Be Lucky?: Why Some People Seem To Win More Often Than Others) so I did.
I checked out both books, I finished reading the book Eye that my male coworker Mr. JF let me borrow, then I read the book Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide, and then I read the book Can You Learn To Be Lucky?: Why Some People Seem To Win More Often Than Others.
This book Can You Learn To Be Lucky?: Why Some People Seem To Win More Often Than Others started as an easy read and it covered more topics in relation to luck than I had expected, which was nice and it reminded me of a more entertaining Sociology lecture from my college days when my favorite college professor Mrs. C taught the Sociology classes that I attended, but near the end this book got a bit repetitive and it felt like it was padded out a bit to make it a bit longer than it should have been.
Even with it becoming more difficult to read at the end, it was still a short book, and overall it was still a pretty easy read with some helpful mentions of some scientific research along with some helpful life advice.
This book basically gives you some life advice that anyone can apply to their lives to increase their luck / chances et cetera in life, and Ms. Starr added a bit of her own personality and style to it.
I am glad that I read this book too like my coworker JB suggested, and so thank you JB for the advice.
The end,
-John Jr
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Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide
What Is It?
The 2018 book Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide by Brandon Webb.
What is it about?
This is how Goodreads describes this book:
From New York Times bestselling author and former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb comes a simple yet powerful five-step guide to transforming your life by making your fears work for you instead of against you.
Brandon Webb has run life-threatening missions in the world’s worst trouble spots, whether that meant jumping out of airplanes, taking down hostile ships on the open sea, or rolling prisoners in the dead of night in the mountains of Afghanistan.
As a Navy SEAL, he learned how to manage the natural impulse to panic in the face of terrifying situations.
As media CEO and national television commentator, he has learned how to apply those same skills in civilian life.
Drawing on his experiences in combat and business, along with colorful anecdotes from his vast network of super-achiever friends from astronauts to billionaires, Webb shows how people from all walks of life can stretch and transcend their boundaries and learn to use their fears as fuel to achieve more than they ever thought possible.
“Fear can be a set of manacles, holding you prisoner,” writes Webb. “ Or it can be a slingshot, catapulting you on to greatness.”.
The key, says Webb, is not to fight fear or try to beat it back, but to embrace and harness it.
In the process, rather than being your adversary, your fear becomes a secret weapon that allows you to triumph in even the most adverse situations.
In Mastering Fear, Webb and his bestselling coauthor John David Mann break this transformation down into five practical steps, creating a must-read manual for anyone looking for greater courage and mastery in their lives.
Categories
Eye (Short Story Collection)
What is it?
The 1985 book / collection of short stories called Eye by Frank Herbert.
What is it about?
This is how Goodreads describes this book:
The only collection of the best stories of Frank Herbert, Award Winning author of the legendary Dune saga!
Eye features the startlingly original collaboration The Road To Dune, a walking tour of Arakeen narrated by Frank Herbert and illustrated by acclaimed British artist Jim Burns.
Also included is an introduction by Herbert describing his personal feelings about the filming of David Lynch’s movie version of Dune; Herbert’s own favorite short story, Seed Stock and tales from throughout his career, some never before collected.
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