{"id":1584,"date":"2014-07-15T01:12:39","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T15:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/?p=1584"},"modified":"2014-07-15T01:12:39","modified_gmt":"2014-07-14T15:12:39","slug":"what-i%e2%80%99ve-been-reading-plus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/?p=1584","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019ve Been Reading Plus"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>What I\u2019ve Been Reading Plus<\/p>\n

I had my preadmission appointment early on Friday after an all too short disturbed sleep.\u00a0 I felt seedy all day and for the next two days but not bad enough to prevent a spot of simple weeding and vacuuming etc.\u00a0 I made some yoghurt last night despite forgetting the need until the last minute.\u00a0 The last step in its manufacture is to cover the container with a blanket for 8+\u00a0 hours.\u00a0 I always use the two crocheted ones usually found in the lounge room.\u00a0 However, it\u2019s been so bitterly cold recently I\u2019d put one on my bed a few night ago. \u00a0Of course, the Steel Claw in the Velvet Paw, well known by my dining chairs, also known as Indie, was lying on it.\u00a0 Fortunately, I made her an offer she couldn\u2019t refuse so I escaped the claw and got my blanket. \u00a0\u00a0This morning I had 3kg+ of yogurt to pot up.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the greatest as it contains no additives, simply milk plus a tiny bit of a previous yogurt, but it\u2019s not milk anymore and very cheap, edible and quite edible if post production additives of sugar and\/or fruit are added.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Indie as a cat sandwich a few weeks ago<\/p>\n

It proved a useful form of defence following her repeated incursions onto my lap and then chair when I got up.\u00a0 She was very happy for many hours.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Have been reading a variety of books lately and thought I write about some.\u00a0 These days I borrow books from the library based upon recommendations I read about or hear on the radio.\u00a0 I then save them to sticky notes on the computer, far superior to the piece of paper which I used previously and which used to get lost.\u00a0 I then order the book from the library and while not all are there, most are. Usually by the time I get the book, unless it\u2019s a well known author, I\u2019ve forgotten why I wanted it.\u00a0 This was the case with two of those I\u2019ll write about. \u00a0I also pick up some of the ones left lying around by library staff for fast selection.\u00a0 Most times it\u2019s a good choice, a few are poorly written rubbish which I don\u2019t finish.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Saree \u00a0\u00a0by Su Dharmapala<\/p>\n

It is a very thick but very readable tome. \u00a0It starts in Sri Lanka with the story of friendship between two young male friends from different ethnic groups.\u00a0 One has a passion to unravel silk from a cocoon without killing the silkworm within it. He was about to throw up an opportunity to attend university to follow his dream with silk when war broke out. The next chapter\u00a0 seems completely disconnected apart from including a sari making factory.\u00a0 The next several chapters also seem disconnected but contain certain completeness within and in various ways continue the theme of silk.\u00a0 With time the connections slowly emerge and the major characters slowly reconnect in a different country. \u00a0Themes including beauty, decision making and love in its various guises are intricately woven into a modern story involving ancient crafts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After Romulus by Raimond Gaita<\/p>\n

He is an author and philosopher and is to talk at one of our universities in a month or so.\u00a0 I\u2019d seen the film and read his book, Romulus My Father, a kind of memoir and biography.\u00a0 I thought I\u2019d read his other books before the talk.\u00a0 After Romulus is an odd book and won\u2019t suit everyone.\u00a0 It talks about Romulus My Father and some of the comments he received following its release with his attempt to explain further. \u00a0It includes some very philosophical sections, which he says in the Introduction, are difficult to read and deserving of being read twice to try and understand them.\u00a0 They are difficult and I\u2019m glad he said philosophy is difficult.\u00a0 Makes me feel a little better given my brain had turned to mush when I\u2019d tried to philosophy before.\u00a0 He explains goodness in a philosophical but clear enough way by using the innate goodness he saw in his father and another character. \u00a0His discussion of madness is very clear, honest and respectful. \u00a0Not so sure about the rest of the book as it doesn’t remain in my memory but am looking forward to the lecture.\u00a0 He also has a book called The Philosopher\u2019s Dog which deserves to be read even if just for the title.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Anchor<\/p>\n

Again no idea why I ordered this from the library but order it I did and now I\u2019ve read it.\u00a0 It\u2019s based on a model of positive psychology by the author, previously an academic and now consultant.\u00a0 It\u2019s an intensely readable book containing squillions of simple examples and experiments demonstrating his concepts, arguments and examples.\u00a0 He talks of criss crossing the world to consult with major companies to assist them to improve morale, productivity etc and mentions some very simple\u00a0 techniques for improvement. \u00a0He has a lot to say about the world of work not least because it is a major part of most people\u2019s lives and very influential regarding their happiness and that of their families. \u00a0He writes of habits and the concept of \u201ccommon sense\u201d and why it doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0 It all sounds too plausible and slick yet he uses simple examples and experiments which we can relate to.\u00a0 One example he gave was of creating a new improved habit of playing guitar ever day, to replace an old undesirable one of flopping in front of the TV on arrival home. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He developed a plan but after 3 weeks had only played 4 times. \u00a0He simplified access to the guitar by always having it in sight, one of his concepts revolving around reducing energy required to create a new habit, and he achieved his goal. \u00a0I\u2019d say a lot of what he\u2019s written is not new or rocket science but he has the ability to communicate it easily and make it accessible and doable.\u00a0 When I checked the web he appears quite often including video talks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What I\u2019ve Been Reading Plus I had my preadmission appointment early on Friday after an all too short disturbed sleep.\u00a0 I felt seedy all day and for the next two days but not bad enough to prevent a spot of simple weeding and vacuuming etc.\u00a0 I made some yoghurt last night despite forgetting the need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[87,98],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-1584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animals-2","category-australia","tag-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1584"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1593,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584\/revisions\/1593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}