Everything That Remains

by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (The Minimalists)

In some ways this book was very much in line with "The 4-Hour Workweek", which I just read, in that it makes you question the status quo. Like Ferriss, Josh and Ryan also ended up quitting their corporate jobs and living more meaningful lives, doing what they really love to do, but they went at it from a different angle.

They were both making way more money than I will probably ever see in my lifetime, and spending even more. They had giant homes (much too large for one person, as they were both bachelors at the time) that they stuffed with crap, until one day Josh came across a video on Twitter. It was about a guy (Colin Wright) who was featured on a morning talk show because he owned a total of 50 personal possessions.

Now, Wright is on the extreme side, and this book is certainly not trying to say that we all need only 50 items, but Wright talked about de-cluttering his life and opting out of the rat race and that struck a chord with Josh. He started looking around at everything he owned that he didn't need, and suddenly he thought about it in a different light. Over the course of the next eight months, Josh started getting rid of his excess belongings, stopped buying as much, and started paying off his debt. Ryan noticed that Josh seemed a lot happier and asked what was up. Josh explained, Ryan thought it sounded good, so they had a packing party for Ryan.

Unlike Josh, who slowly got rid of the things he didn't need, Ryan wanted to dive in head first. So they packed up every single one of his belongings, including his furniture and wall hangings. Over the next three weeks, Ryan unpacked items only when he used them. At the end of those three weeks, about 80% of his stuff was still boxed up. Except for some seasonal clothes, Ryan sold or donated everything that remained in those boxes.

After the stuff went, it wasn't too long before they started wondering why they were killing themselves at jobs they hated so they could make money they weren't spending. Their jobs didn't align with their values, so they quit (actually Josh quit, Ryan was fired shortly after, but he didn't seem to be too broken up about it).

The book is written as a sort of memoir of how they came to be minimalists and how it has changed their lives. It's written in narrative prose from Josh's perspective, with end notes from Ryan that act as commentary. Ryan's notes are pretty great, and definitely worth the use of a 2nd bookmark.

It's not a how-to-be-a-minimalist book, it's just the story of how these two friends came across and embraced minimalism. It includes conversations between them about their stuff and their jobs and why they're so unhappy. Those conversations feel a little awkward, like the made-up conversations that Plato had in The First Republic, but they're there to get a point across and they succeed in serving that purpose.

Personally, I have to admit that, for the past few years, I've started feeling overwhelmed by the consumer culture we live in. I think I was in high school when I realized that the joy of getting new things only lasts as long as the things are new. Packing all my stuff twice a year for college was also an eye-opener as far as just how much stuff I had. The last few years have kind of worn me down to a Grinch. Christmas is ridiculous, then there's birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, more birthdays, and then it's Christmas again. It's this endless carousel of giving and getting shit and I want off.

A few years ago, I tried to tell my mom I didn't want anything for Christmas and she said I wasn't allowed to do that. That was exasperating until I figured out the trick of asking for experiences, instead of stuff, and that has gone really well.

As far as getting rid of the stuff I already have, that was also something I had already been considering doing. I already pack up a box of books to give to my local library's book drive every year. This year I decided that, as long as I was doing that, I could get rid of some other things. I think I got rid of four boxes worth of stuff and it feels pretty good.

One of the things I really liked about the book was Josh talking about the various experiments he has conducted to push his limits when it comes to owning and buying less stuff. Just reading about some of the stuff he did made me cringe, but it was also intriguing. As he points out, if you're not pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, you're not growing. I'm pretty hesitant to get outside my comfort zone, but I guess that's what makes it a comfort zone.

The Battle of the Labyrinth

by Rick Riordan

This is my favorite Percy Jackson book so far, and I'm not even sure why. Maybe I was just in the perfect mood for something light and fun when I started reading this book. It definitely delivers on the promise for light and fun. This time Percy, the modern day son of Poseidon, has to venture into the Labyrinth, a magical maze that has a way of tricking and distracting anyone who goes in, and convince Daedalus, who created the maze, to help him and his friends at Camp Half Blood against Luke and those who have sided with Kronos.

It doesn't dive right into the action, the way the third book did, and I actually prefer that. Instead, it starts out much like the first two books: Percy, at school, trying desperately not to get kicked out, and failing. This time he gets into trouble before school has even started, on a kind of get-to-know-the-school day in the middle of June, whereupon Percy is promptly attacked by a couple of empusai disguised as cheerleaders. Turns out empusai are basically vampires and they consider the mortal children of the gods to be particularly tasty.

Fortunately, Percy has Rachel Dare with him. There's nothing particularly special about Rachel. She's just a regular mortal: not a god, not the child of a god, not a monster or part monster, but for whatever reason, she can see through the Mist that disguises most monsters and magical things from other mortals. She can see the empusai for what they are right away and she helps Percy snap out of it when one of them tries to enchant him. Also, she has some serious attitude and she might be my new favorite character. I'd hate to make Annabeth even more jealous, but Rachel is just awesome.

Actually, my favorite character is Blackjack, the pegasus who only shows up for a few pages, but manages to make those pages some of the best pages in the entire book. I love his personality and his devotion to Percy. It's both adorable and highly entertaining.

As much as I love Percy, let's face it: he's kind of an idiot. I didn't really get that until this book. Some of it is just normal teenage guy obliviousness, and that I'm willing to overlook. Other times it was like, "Seriously, Percy, they totally told you how to get through the Labyrinth. Wake up already!" On the other hand, I think, by this book, he had learned to apply some past lessons. I was glad that he didn't entirely trust Quintus. Although he promised himself he wouldn't use the whistle Quintus gave him, you knew he was going to use it. Heroes don't get stuff like that so they can just sit in their pockets. On the other hand, I was just as skeptical as Percy when the whistle managed to reappear in his pocket alongside Riptide. That was kinda creepy.

As for Poseidon showing up at the end of the book and telling Percy that he's his favorite son, I'm not sure I bought it. I mean, it's sweet and everything, and I'm happy for Percy, it just doesn't fit with everything else we've heard about the gods not interfering in the affairs of mortals, not caring about their children, and the absent father that Poseidon has been up until now. Maybe I'm being a little too hard on Poseidon, but that particular part struck me as more wish fulfillment than truth to the characters.

Sell Your Book Like Wildfire

by Rob Eager

I actually downloaded this ebook a couple years ago, thinking I would get around to it when I was closer to being ready to publish my book. Well, I'm getting dangerously close to having a decent manuscript, so I figured now would be a good time to read this book.

Turns out, it was the perfect time. First of all: it's excellent. Second: every author knows the importance of having a strong platform before you publish, and this book gives you the tools to do it. Admittedly there was a lot of information in here that I already knew, like the importance of finding your target audience and marketing to them specifically (duh). His wildfire imagery was great, though. The idea that you can't light a wildfire by holding a match under a log is totally true. He explains that you need to build smaller fires that build it up into a wildfire, and that's as true in marketing as it is in the forest.

He also has some excellent tips for getting speaking gigs, and why those are so important. I never would have thought to approach the producer of a radio or television show, but now I'm seriously considering it. As Eager points out, you have nothing to lose by trying.

I understand that speaking engagements were a large part of his marketing strategy, but despite his insistence that all of his tips work as well for fiction as nonfiction authors, I do have my doubts. I don't think you can deny that fiction and nonfiction are different animals, and people expect different things from those two types of authors. Although a fiction author may certainly have information worthy of a speaking engagement, I think a nonfiction author who specializes in relationships is going to have a lot more opportunities to speak at events than a fiction author. I agree with his assessment that fiction authors still have something of value to offer, but I don't think it's necessarily as easily recognized as the kind of expertise that nonfiction authors bring to the table.

That being said, I thoroughly appreciated his final chapter on marketing specifically for fiction authors. Again, there was a lot of stuff in there that I already knew, but it also gave me plenty of new ideas and I can't wait to start implementing them.

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

I don't think I even have the words for all the feelings I have about this book. Rowell tends to do that to me. It's not even fair.

In this book, the main character, Cath, and her twin sister, Wren, are starting college and exploring everything that it means for both of them. Despite the fact that they're identical twins, their personalities are very different. Cath is the introvert who sits at home and writes fan fiction, while Wren is the party girl who goes out and gets drunk. When they register for dorms, Wren doesn't want to live with Cath and Cath is heartbroken because she doesn't want to share space with another person.

But it's totally OK, because then Cath has to live with Reagan and Reagan is the best thing that could ever happen to anyone ever. She is snarky and tough and kind of a bitch, but she means well. She's an upperclassman who did not want to have to deal with a freshman being all freshmany, but she finds herself taking care of Cath despite herself. Cath is just that helpless.

I know that John Green has been loaded with praise for his YA books, and that he's been called the "teenage whisperer". I don't want to belittle his writing, because I'm a fan of his as well, but I also don't want to heap praise on a man whose writing is impressive just because he's a man. If I had to choose between the prominent YA writers of our day, I think I would have to call Rowell the true teenage whisperer. She gets teenagers like nobody else does. Yes, teenagers are awkward and they don't know what to do with themselves, but they think they know what to do, so they go ahead and disaster happens and we enjoy reading about it. If you were wondering what this recent YA craze is about, that's pretty much it in a nutshell.

The problem (at least as I see it) is making teenagers realistically awkward without making me want to slap them. Rowell nails it. I love Cath. I frequently did not understand her decisions and spent much of the book urging her to just do it already, but I never ever wanted to hit her. She's too delicate. And too lovable.

I think Rowell manages this by giving Cath chances to be strong. She won't stand up to her teacher, but she'll rush to the hospital and nurse her dad back to health when no one else will. She tries to make sure he eats right and she's constantly checking on him to make sure he isn't teetering on the edge. All of these are things that no teenager should have to deal with, but Cath takes it all in stride. Yes, she tries to chicken out and quit after her first semester of college, but her dad doesn't let her, and in true storybook fashion, it all works out for the best.