Success

"You can't have success without trust. The word trust embodies almost everything you can strive for that will help you to succeed. You tell me any human relationship that works without trust, whether it is a marriage or a friendship or a social interaction; in the long run, the smae thing is true about business, especially businesses that deal with the public." ~ Jim Burke, Former Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson

Room, by Emma Donoghue

"Emma Donoghue's writing is superb alchemy, changing innocence into horror and horror into tenderness. Room is a book to read in one sitting. When it's over you look up: the world looks the same but you are somehow different and that feeling lingers for days." --Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry.

Harper Collins Canada has written this about Room:
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It’s where he was born and where he and his Ma eat and play and learn. At night, Ma puts him safely to sleep in the wardrobe, in case Old Nick comes.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it’s the prison where Old Nick has kept her for seven years, since she was nineteen. Through ingenuity and determination, Ma has created a life for herself and her son, but she knows it’s not enough for either of them. Jack’s curiosity is building alongside Ma’s desperation -- and Room can’t contain either of them for much longer...

Told entirely in the inventive, often funny voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of the resilient bond between parent and child, and a brilliantly executed novel about a journey from one world to another.

Donoghue states:

ROOM, by Emma Donoghue from era404 creative on Vimeo.

From her website:
Born in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is a writer of contemporary and historical fiction whose novels include the bestselling Slammerkin, The Sealed Letter, Landing, Life Mask, Hood, and Stirfry. Her story collections are The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits, Kissing the Witch, and Touchy Subjects. She also writes literary history, and plays for stage and radio. She lives in London, Ontario, with her partner and their two small children. For more information, go to: www.emmadonoghue.com.

Our culture is constantly telling stories about psychos who capture women. I deliberately kept my kidnapper out of the spotlight. The more I read and thought about it, the more it seemed to me that there is no comfortably fixed moral distance between a kidnapper and the rest of us. (The existence of entire slave-owning societies reminded me that humans often find it both convenient and pleasurable to own others.) It was not Old Nick’s evil that fascinated me, but the resilience of Ma and Jack: the nitty-gritties of their survival, their trick of more or less thriving under apparently unbearable conditions.

Room is the WINNER of the 2010 Rogers Writers' Trust Award for Fiction. It was also shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and the 2010 Governor General's Award.
 
I read Room this summer. It was such a different book from any other I've ever read. Truthfully, if someone had told me what the story was all about I would never have read it. A story with the underlying premise of an abducted woman living in a tiny room with her 5 year old son is not one I'd normally pick up. However, the story of Jack, how he sees his world, and his relationship to his mother creates a compelling tale, which Donoghue has executed masterfully.


It is a story that has stayed with me, months later, one that keeps me thinking about rereading it!

Trust

"For some people, becoming a leader can be a real power trip. They relish the feeling of control over both people and information. And so they keep secrets, reveal little of their thinking about people and their performance, and hoard what they know about the business and its future. This kind of behavior certainly establishes the leader as boss, but it drains trust right out of a team." ~ Jack Welch

Quick Baked Beans with Apples

This recipe has been adapted from a recent Best Recipes show. (The show's picture is featured here)

Ingredients

1 cup apple cider
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of  crushed garlic
2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper

Cook ingredients on medium in saucepan to combine the flavours and cook down the onions and garlic

Add:
2 cans Navy Beans that have been rinsed (until there are no more bubbles coming off of the beans) and drained
2 large apples cut into 1" chunks (they'll cook down)
Place in a casserole baking dish.
Place the slices of 2 large apples over the top of the beans mixture, overlap slightly.
Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees

This recipe is called "Quick" because it uses canned beans. You can replace the canned beans with beans that have been soaked overnight.

Optional:
Some people prefer to have ham, bacon, or another type of pork in their beans. You can add chopped up meat in this dish, but there is also lots of protein in the beans.

E-Readers: Kobo, Sony, Kindle, Nook and iPads

The premise of the e-readers is fairly simple: you buy electronic books and download them from your computer on to the reader. Most formats are Adobe PDF and can also be read on a Blackberry, iPhone, or your desktop computer. Some booksellers sell the books in a differing format, so the e-readers are not necessarily interchangable, nor do all e-books work on all e-readers.


Some e-readers have wireless capabilities, others do not. There are also different generations of these e-readers, with each version having more capabilities. For instance, there are some that also give you daily access to newspapers and magazines.


Some things to consider when deciding what to buy:

When comparing eBook readers, these are some of the most critical considerations:

Content: An eReader is of little to no good if you can't, well, use it to read what you want. In this regard, it's important to pay attention to the specs of any eBook reader you are interested in. Many eReaders can display the ePub open e-book format, while some eReaders (including the Amazon Kindle can't). Instead, the Kindle has a proprietary format, but has a vast content library compatible with the device as well as support for PDFs and Word DOCs. It's also important to consider how much content costs.

Display: How big is the device's display? What display technology does the device use? While a small screen may make a device that much more convenient, it may -- of couse -- make it more difficult to read. Displays using e-ink technology make text look just like it would on paper, and is often the preferred technology for eReaders.

Performance: For your basic eReader, performance is important -- but not hugely important. In the eBook reader world, performance often boils down to how fast a screen can refresh (effectively, how fast a page can turn and how quickly you can access menus) and how long it takes to power up. For eReaders built into more advanced devices like the iPad, performance becomes important in the sense that it is important to computers.

Wireless: Many eReaders offer 3G connectivity for downloading content wherever you are, and some eBook readers are also equipped with WiFi. Wireless connectivity is important for eReaders as it is a convenient way to get content on your device. The Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook, for example, offer free 3G wireless -- allowing users to download books, newspapers, blogs and more form virtually anywhere.


Storage space: The storage space, or capacity for content on an eBook reader, is important for obvious reasons. Of course, storage space determines how many eBooks you can store on your eReader simultaneously. It also determines capacity for other files, including music, pictures, and even in some cases (e.g. Apple iPad), movies.


Multimedia: As just alluded to, many eBook readers can display multimedia content beyond just eBooks. Many higher-end eReaders offer a built-in digital music player, and some even offer external speakers in addition to a standard headphone jack. Some eBook readers even offer the ability to store and display pictures, while the iPad (and surely other tablet computers) offer video playback.

Advanced features: Of course, every eReader can display eBooks. Yet, there are a number of other features that some eReaders do offer. Some eBook readers, including the Kindle, offer a basic, built-in web browsers that allows users to browse the web for free over the 3G network. Other advanced features includes music players, the ability to digitally lend books to friends, text-to-speech capabilities and more.


Battery life: Another important factor to consider when buying and eBook reader is the battery life of the device. Thanks to e-ink display technology that only consumer battery life when changing what's displayed on the screen (e.g. turning a page), many eReaders can provide up to an incredible 2 weeks of reading. In most ways, battery life depends on whether wireless is on or off, as well as display technology.

Price: Price is the most obvious factor when considering an eReader. Of course, price is directly related to features offer and the brand recognition of any given device. For a device with advanced features (like the Apple iPad that is more closely related to a computer than an eReader), buyers can expect to pay proportionally more. Source: EReader Leader

As a big fan of books, there are also questions as to whether or not this is the type of tool for you. Certainly some people love new gadgets and that is enough for them. However, if you are a reader of many books, the above factors and others are extremely important.

The Amazon Kindle is probably the best of the e-readers in that it has the wireless capabilities, plays music, and of course accesses the electronic books. Its downfall is that it will only use Kindle specific formats. Therefore there are certain e-books that are not accessible. As well, you can only buy most books that can be used on the Kindle from Amazon.

The Kobo reader, from Chapters (and Barnes and Noble) is a basic model. It does, however, allow access to many formats, not just from Chapters. Having used a Kobo for a number of months its limitations, for a reader such as myself, actually make it a bit of a waste of money. I read a lot, re-read many books and often refer back to them. The Kobo does not allow me to check back into books in an easy way. Page numbers displayed on the Kobo are not the same as in the actual book, you can't highlight or make notes.

The newest versions of the Kindle and Sony E-readers do allow you to highlight text on the screen and to make notes, which make these great devices for students, those who read more than fiction, and those who want to re-read or refer back to the books. I'd like to know more about them, though, to see if they'd really work for me.


For a heaftier price, there is the Apple iPad. Some advantages are that along with being a great e-reader, it has computer functions and the display is in colour. You can highlight, make sticky notes on the page you're reading, the page numbers reflect the book's, making it for easy reference.

I guess that this also means that you get what you pay for.

The smell and feel of a book is something I love, too, however. The crisp cover and uncracked spine of a paperback is enticing. A brand new text is amazing. The well-worn hard cover of a childhood book, read many times over, is just as wonderful. Each new book represents new ideas, ways of looking at the world, and possibility. Each previously cherished book represents lessons learned, history, and discovery. Well, at least that is how it is for me.

So, the question is, do I read enough that owning such a tool would allow me to 'be greener'? When I look at the shelves of books within our house, the answer becomes fairly obvious. I read an average of 3 books a week. Some weeks I read as many as about 5, but other weeks I only get through 1. The books I read are non fiction, fiction, texts...the list goes on. I am also one who re-reads all sorts of books.

Will I also be able to allow a thin piece of plastic and metal, that covers computer chips and data, to take the place of a book.

My Kobo isn't doing 'it' for me. Do I upgrade and continue purchasing e-books? Or, do I revert back to paper only? I need to do some more thinking.

Motivation

Daniel Pink has written Drive, a great look at motivating and engaging employees.

There's also a great video on YouTube that is based on some of his work.

Consider watching it.

The Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins

I recently found a trilogy that was of particular interest. Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy is fascinating and well-written.

These books tell the story of Katniss, a 16 year old girl whose father has died in a coal mine explosion. She spends most of her waking moments hunting in the forest, beyond the electrified fence that 'imprisons' her and the District 12 residents. She hunts to feed her family and to stay alive.

The time is the distant future. Their country is called Panem: the residents live in poverty. Panem (North America) is divided into 13 districts that surround the Capitol. Once a year, the leaders of the Capitol hold the Hunger Games. Two children from each district are chosen to compete to the death. The winner's district will receive more food; the winner will receive a new home and wealth.

The children are brought up in a propogandized world so that many look forward to the "honour" of competing in the games. Katniss, however, recognizes the brutal truth of the games and when her younger sisters' name is chosen, she steps up to volunteer.

The three books tell the story of the games and their aftermath.

Marketed as a YA series, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay appeal to a much broader audience than young teens with an interest in science fiction. The plot moves quickly, keeping readers turning pages and drawing them along with the suspense of the story. The central characters are well developed – flawed yet likeable, determined, resourceful, intelligent and passionate.

The deeper themes ensure that older readers and teens looking for more substance will find plenty to sink their teeth into. The Hunger Games and Catching Fire offer numerous opportunities to consider the influence of propaganda and political manipulation, the complex nature of trust and loyalty and the limits of human endurance (physical, emotional and mental) in a manner reminiscent of George Orwell's classic 1984.

There are elements of violence, as can hardly be surprising when the first novel is a description of a gladiator-like battle between children between the aged of 12 and 18. While descriptions of violent acts are never graphic, the underlying menace and brutality of The Hunger Games themselves has a significant emotional impact and will perhaps make these stories unsuitable for sensitive readers or those under the age of 13.

The science fiction aspects of the novels are evident in the futuristic setting and some technological advancement, but the characters could easily have been set in a more familiar modern setting and those readers who usually avoid science fiction should find the sci-fi aspects of these novels reasonably unobtrusive. Source

This trilogy is dystopian in nature. While it does evoke Orwellian comparisons as the reviewer, above, suggests; it also brings Huxley's Brave New World and other dystopias to mind.

I really like reading this sort of book. I find the author's ability to create a completely different world that is both believable and haunting to be a wonderful craft. I like how it makes me question humanity and makes me think about our very own world.

The books are 'page turners,' keeping the reader enthralled from beginning to end. That they have been written for young adults does not make them any less enjoyable for the adult reader. Perhaps the writing isn't as challenging, but the themes and story itself are definitely adult worthy. The only reason adults wouldn't enjoy these books is because they are not fans of sci-fi, not because they aren't quality works.