Book Nook Cafe discussion

Here is the Folder to tell us what your monthly reads for September 2020 were.

Please provide:
~ A GoodReads link
~ A few sentences telling us how you felt about the book.
~ How would you rate the book

September was a slower reading month which is OK as I enjoyed the two novels I read (historical fiction):

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

Windy City Blues by Renee Rosen

I only managed to read one book in September.

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
Rated: 3/5
Narrator was Brittany Pressley
I enjoyed this audio book. I liked the breezy tone. It was just enough information and didn't get bogged down in minutia or battles. The narrator did a good job.
A plus was this book also fit my Presidential Challenge. Which can be found in the Folder: Determination Lists & Challenges

Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm going to start off by saying that although some readers were unhappy with the thematic arrangement, preferring a chronological linear approach instead, it worked very well as far as I'm concerned. He covers the issue of slave-owning presidents, including an objective look at Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. Solid audio narration.


Swimming in the Dark ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Story of two young men in Communist Poland (1980) in a sort of Romeo-and-Julius relationship. Beautiful writing that should appeal to fans of Marilynne Robinson. A couple of graphic sexual references, almost blink and you miss them. Otherwise it's solid literary fiction. The second-person pronoun "you" was disconcerting at first, but effective.


Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends ⭐⭐⭐⭐


This is kind of a tough one to review. Not that there's equal negative and positive aspects, it's a great book! More that he made it seem, perhaps, a bit easier for him than it was overall. There was frustration, especially towards the end, though it's very much an upbeat book overall.


We Are All Shipwrecks ⭐⭐⭐

I want to round this one up to four stars, but can't quite bring myself to do so. It's well-written, with good audio narration, but just didn't live up to my expectation.

The author's mother's murder is emphasized for promotional purposes, but is dealt with fairly quickly at the beginning, and later (more directly) near the end. Between those, it doesn't so much overshadow the story, as get sidelined. It's essentially her story of overcoming a strange, dysfunctional childhood.


The Honjin Murders ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Locked-room puzzle murder set in 1937 rural Japan. Introduces a detective who reminded me of a far-younger version of the American TV detective, Colombo. I'm planning on reading the other in the series that's also currently available in English.

Nice reading choices.

Alias, good progress on your Presidential challenge.

John, I tend to have difficulty in rating memoirs, too. It's someone's personal story, so how can I judge it? LOL.
The Japanese mystery sounds interesting and fun. I'll look that one up.

I have had a slower reading month. I've been getting the yard & garden ready for winter and meeting people in the park, since these activities will come to an end soon.

Dear Committee Members - a fun collection of letters. I read a few letters a day and really enjoyed the humour in them.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lost in a Good Book (audio) - a fun series and very well done on audio. It's a quirky story with a fun heroine. Sadly, the third instalment isn't available in audio at the library but I'll enjoy the written version, too.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Simon, i think you had two strong books last month. At least they sounded good to me. I hope you continue to like the Follett.

Alias, given all you accomplished in September and the trauma of moving & purging, storing goods, i'm impressed you could finish any book. Let alone one from your challenge! Well done. I hope October finds you as fortunate on the reading front.

John, naturally the Honjin mystery appeals to me enormously, even though i'm not a fan of historical mysteries. The Japanese angle...not to mention the locked room dilemma..is drawing me to it. Thanks for the title & info.

I am a fan of what i've read from Robinson, so appreciate your comment about the Tomasz Jedrowski novel. I have a list of books which folks are akin to her, as well as those similar in style to Anne Tyler, from which i draw when "needing" something like them.

Petra, i think this is the first time i've read all the books someone here has posted about reading. I had pleasure in reading both books, so know you had a delightful reading September. That, plus getting out with folks sounds ideal.

John wrote: "Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm going to start off by saying that although some readers w..."

A very nice reading month, John.

After reading the reviews on Dead Presidents, I am going to recommend it to a friend. This may sound weird, but she enjoys reading about the cemeteries. She finds it fascinating to read about the people who are buried there, the history of place and she also likes visiting various cemeteries. She also enjoys history. So this should be one she would enjoy.

I'm putting it on my TBR list, too.

Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: "Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm going to start off by saying that although s..."

I'm active at Find a Grave myself!

Petra wrote: "IDear Committee Members - a fun collection of letters. I read a few letters a day and really enjoyed the humour in them.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....."

This sounds interesting. I'll add it to my TBR.

madrano wrote: "Alias, given all you accomplished in September and the trauma of moving & purging, storing goods, i'm impressed you could finish any book. Let alone one from your challenge! Well done. I hope Octob..."

Thank you, Deb.

John wrote:
Swimming in the Dark ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Story of two young men in Communist Poland (1980) in a sort of Romeo-and-Julius relationship. Beautiful writing that should appeal to fans of Marilynne Robinson. .."

I was speaking to a friend the other day about Robinson and she mentioned she just came out with the new book in the Gilead series.
Jack: A Novel--Marilynne Robinson

The the other two books are:
Gilead
Lila

Another good reading book for me. Several were for my DL and a couple were books that are part of my (boxed) library, which i can now donate to the Friends of Library because they were fine but not keepers.

Hound Dog Man--Fred Gipson, the same author who wrote, Old Yeller. This is about a 12-13 year old boy in mid-Texas around 1930s or so, who goes hunting with a family friend. The misadventures are funny and i still learned plenty about living rough in small home in desperate times. The humor was lovely and the sentiments strong.

Parable of the Sower--Octavia E. Butler. Set in the not too distant future, the US is in turmoil and neighborhoods bond together to stay safe, protect one another & survive. Part road trip, part as scary as today's headlines, at the end i realized it was the beginning of a short series. I liked that the female lead was a teenage girl who believed in this neighborhood system but was also creating her own sort of spiritual movement. The book offered problems one might not consider when thinking of such events.

Plantation Shudders and other "Cajun Country mystery" in a series--Ellen Byron. This series is set in Louisiana, not on the gulf but also not too far inland, as both New Orleans & Houston seem easily nearby. There is gentility, humor and romance, but also there is plenty about Cajun and Creole traditions. Also, covered are how small towns cope with reduced funding and violent weather. The MC is an artist and tour guide for a plantation, while also helping her parents run a B&B.

Tales of the Alhambra--Washington Irving. While visiting Spain, Washington Irving spent 3 months living in former Islamic fortress, Alhambra. He collected stories about early Moors settling and creating the structure, as well as met neighbors who shared stories about Spaniards. Later, he created tales from what he'd learned. In one way it was a travelogue, but in another, a story telling adventure.

Plays: The Misanthrope andThe School For Wives and Critique for same--Molière. Amusing plays about class, manners and style in the 17th century. They were quite popular but not always. After reading the second, i "had to" read his short, one-act play which was a reply to the critics of School. Love that & the unconventional individualism of some characters.

The Black Skimmer--Philip Hart. The title is a ship where young Van Arvin joins an expedition. The book was published in the '30s. Most of story is set on the marine route to Florida, where the professionals intend to explore the Everglades for unusual flora & fauna. There is adventure--is the crew smuggling? Will there be romance? Is Van being screwed out of his father's estate (this is what got him into this trip, awaiting the outcome)? Not terrific, which may be why it's no longer available & i cannot even find any info about Hart.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks--Jeanne Theoharis. A political biography of Parks, which shows she was active long before and long after her famous bus ride which is credited with invigorating the Civil Rights movement in the '50s. There is much to the woman most of us didn't realize--for instance, did you know she later helped raise funds for Black Panther projects? I felt the author over utilized personal interviews because so many people said the same thing. On the other hand, Parks was rather secretive, as well, which meant the author had to share more to make her point, i suppose.

Savage Season--Joe R. Lansdale. An apparently popular series, set in east Texas, features a guy who burned his draft card in the '60s  & went to prison, who is now buddies with a guy who went to VN. Their adventure was the result of a visit by an ex-wife who wrangles them into helping to recover money lost in a bank robbery over 15 years ago. At least this was short. It served my challenge by having an ugly cover.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz--Erik Larson. A good look at the British during the heaviest bombing of the UK in the early 1940s. Utilizing diaries the government encouraged citizens to write (great idea!), as well as those by government employees who worked with Churchill, the book offers many small details many of us never knew. As always, Larson writes well & the history flows.

The Library of Lost and Found--Phaedra Patrick. UK volunteer librarian Martha is left a book full of stories she wrote as a child—how did it get published? It leads her to learn much about her late mother and father, who ruled the household strictly, as well as her grandmother. I found the book quite full of sadness, despite it being one of those quirky-people filled books which are a pleasure to read. It seemed to me so much of  Martha's life was...well, i don't want to spoil the story. :-)

John, i, too, frequent Find A Grave website (https://www.findagrave.com/ ). It's given me a number of directions to look for family history and seek true dates.

My family seems to have had a love affair with cemeteries. I have fond memories of my folks visiting old graves just for the stones, having no family there. I don't know why my mother was drawn to them, but i followed her. One of my favorite photos of my daughter was of her running around in one.

We like visiting them on vacations, too. There is a whole history to the more park-like cemeteries such as NYC's Greenwood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green-W...), Richmond's Hollywood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywo...) and national cemeteries such as Arlington's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlingt...).

Some small towns in which we lived offered graveyard tours, reveling in the history of citizens and the gravestones themselves. I'm tickled to know we are not alone in our fascination of them. (Oh! i forgot to mention that i really liked visiting them in the Dakotas, as many were non-English, particularly Lakota Sioux and Norwegian.)

Alias, thanks for the Robinson's Jack link. I couldn't find it, probably because i didn't include ": A Novel"! Sometimes Goodreads can be a pain when seeking short-titled books like that one.

On the other hand, i'm quite glad it's available.

Deb, September has been an outdoorsy month for me. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm a tad concerned (?; not quite the right word) about the prospect of being more disconnected from people over the winter. The Health Authorities are giving strong warnings that we should be keeping in isolation and tiny "bubbles" over the winter. So, I'm enjoying the park visits while they last. With luck, the Health Authorities will change their tune, too.

Alias, I hope you enjoy the book. I got a chuckle out of it.

I haven't yet started the Gilead series. I'd better get hustling on it if a third book is already published. LOL.

Re Old cemeteries: I love wandering through old cemeteries. The stones are so lovely and elaborate. Also, the family graves sometimes show heartbreak (tiny babies/children) and possible (hopefully) happy lives (couples who lived long).
In Victoria, BC is an old cemetery I like wandering through if we walk by it. It has the graves of many of the settlers and big names of those who were here when BC was being settled. It kind of makes the history seem more real.
A weird enjoyment but, apparently, I'm not alone. :D

Deb, you've had a terrific reading month!

madrano wrote: "Another good reading book for me. Several were for my DL and a couple were books that are part of my (boxed) library, which i can now donate to the Friends of Library because they were fine but not..."

Wow ! Excellent reading month, deb. I am back on the list for the Larson book. I'm glad to see it met your expectations.

Petra, i think winter isolating is going to be a mental challenge for millions. While early '20 isolation was a bit in winter, it was all such a novel circumstance. Now, we are impatient and still worried. We used to say we would have to stay in place until a vaccine but now we are saying we need to see how well it works before taking one. And so, winter approaches. I'm lucky to be in Texas where the frigid temps rarely strike. My sympathy for those of you who must face lockdown inside for weeks at a time, shivering.

On the up side, the masks should help keep us warm.

Pollyanna Deb

My September reads
Maigret and the Pickpocket by Georges Simenon
Rating 3/5
This is part of Simenon Maigretnseries. It can be read as a stand alone. Although written in the 1930's the mystery is well devised
Trace Elements byDonna Leon
Rating 4/5
This is nimber 29 in the Commisario Brunetti series, These are intelligent mysteries that take place in Venice. Reading these books is like visiting old friends
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg
Rating 3/5
This is book 3 of the Elwood Springs series. This is a humeous light novel with exaggerated situations and characters but are people you can identify with
[[book:All the Devils Are Here|49127539 by ]author:Louise Penny|194243]
Rating 4/5
This is the latest Inspector Gamache novel. The majority of the novel takes place in Paris and centers around Gamache's family connections
Away with the Fairies byKerry Greenwood
Rating 4/5
This is number 12 of the Miss Fisher series. The story is set in 1928 Australia.
The Case of the Baited Hook by Erle Stanley Gardner
Rating 3/5
This is number 16 In the Perry Mason series. As this is one of the earlier books in the series written in the 1930s the language is somewhat old-fashioned but the mystery is well crafted

Meredith wrote: "My September reads
Maigret and the Pickpocket by Georges Simenon
Rating 3/5
This is part of Simenon Maigretnseries. It can be read as a stand alone. Although written in ..."

I've been going through the Maigret stories as audiobooks, roughly halfway through: Madame Maigret's Friend comes next.

Thanks for sharing, Meredith. For those that love series you've given them a lot to try.

Nice listing, Meredith!
I am still waiting for the new Penny Louise book. There's a huge line-up at the library.


Deb, we don't get ultra freezing temperatures either. Sometimes there's a deep freeze, but not often. I still try to get outdoors for a run or walk when I can.
We didn't have lock down in January or ever. I hope that continues. We've been asked to self distance, which is easier in the summer when we can meet outdoors. Meeting and keeping distance indoors will be a lot trickier.
LOL! The masks should keep us warmer.....they are darn hot in the summer. LOL!

Meredith, what a terrific reading month you had. As always, i'm tickled to see where you are on the Mason books.

Petra, good for you in not letting the cold keep you in. Black ice is my fear when walking in cold after a snow. It'll drive a person mad when cooped up due to frigidity.

My reads for September are as follows:

The Raven by Jonathan Janz - 5 stars. Kind of an urban fantasy mixed with horror. I have read this author before in horror so was familiar with his writing style.

Bone Snow by David Haynes - 5 stars. Horror mixed with folklore - this was a great read.

Just Add Water by Hunter Shea - 5 stars. Creature feature horror - this author knows how to write about creepy creatures.

Haunting in Hartley by Janice Tremayne - 4 stars. New author - more like a mystery/horror - really enjoyed this one and will be seeking more books out by this author.

The Witch Board by David J. Cooper - 4 stars. New author - mystery/haunting/horror but it wasn't real spooky - more mysterious than anything enough to continue on with the rest of the series. There are about six more books in the series, but the author has a great writing style.

Misfits by Hunter Shea - 5 stars. Another Hunter Shea book - I was just in the mood for some creature feature last month I guess. lol :)

The Ghosts of Jasper Bayou by Jeff DeGordick - 4 stars. I have read this author before and have enjoyed his stories. This was a spooky read and it involved ghost pirates.

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas - 5 stars. This was the most original haunted house story that I have ever read. New author to me. This was the author's debut book as well so I will be pursuing more work by this author.

Marie wrote: "My reads for September are as follows:

The Raven by Jonathan Janz - 5 stars. Kind of an urban fantasy mixed with horror. I have read this author before in horror s..."

Looks like your Sept reads would be good for Halloween/October. :)

Nice reading month.

Neat choices for haunting, Marie. Do you have books selected already for October reading? I hope they spook your socks off, metaphorically speaking.

The final one on your list, by Scott Thomas, has received overwhelmingly great reviews here on GR. It sounds as though he was able to take an old idea & make it very fresh. Always fun!

Thanks for sharing the titles. Now there's no reason anyone wanting to read a scary book won't have a book title.

Alias Reader wrote: "Looks like your Sept reads would be good for Halloween/October. :)

Nice reading month. ..."

Thank you, Alias! :)

madrano wrote: "Neat choices for haunting, Marie. Do you have books selected already for October reading? I hope they spook your socks off, metaphorically speaking.

The final one on your list, by Scott Thomas, ha..."

I do actually have some listed out to read for the month - I have a personal Halloween challenge with about six books and then I have another Halloween challenge going on in one of my horror groups but that challenge only consists of three books with two of them already read. So I have one more for that challenge.

Yes, author, Scott Thomas has definitely made an impression on the horror scene so far. He has a couple more books out that I need to check out at some point.

Thank you, Madrano! :)

Marie, it's such a pleasure to read your enthusiasm for this genre. You've introduced me to some fascinating titles. Enjoy your October books!

Marie wrote: "I do actually have some listed out to read for the month ."

Interesting. I wonder to most hear plan out their month or their next few reads?

Me, I never know what I will read next. A lot depends on availability from the library.

madrano wrote: "Marie, it's such a pleasure to read your enthusiasm for this genre. You've introduced me to some fascinating titles. Enjoy your October books!"

Awesome Madrano! I am always happy to help with increasing readers tbr shelves! :)

Alias Reader wrote: "Marie wrote: "I do actually have some listed out to read for the month ."

Interesting. I wonder to most hear plan out their month or their next few reads?

Me, I never know what I will read next. ..."

Some of my friends do plan out what they will be reading for the month and in some of my groups we do buddy reads too so we all have to decide what are schedules will be like to squeeze in those buddy reads. :)

This year my DL has taken more command of my reading but some of that also depends on library availability. Usually, i'm the sort who hasn't planned ahead. I must add that this year i have followed more books mentioned/suggested on this board than previously. So, while i can't tell you exactly what i'll be reading this month, i do have 10 books a touch away to pursue.

I see that visiting cemeteries for pure interest is a thing... good to know. I'm interested mainly for family history purposes, which means none near me are actually useful. Just reading dates and relationships (whether from headstones - sites like 'Find a Grave' - or bios of ancestors on the site I use) makes me wonder about their lives.
Last month, I only seem to have read books that I started in August - NF tends to take me a while to read, because even though I'm very interested when I pick up the books, and when I'm reading them, I lack motivation to keep reading them... while novels are the opposite, usually.
Wired to Create: Discover the 10 things great artists, writers and innovators do differently - very interesting, for the most part. It helped me understand more about why things work for me the way they do, and I thought it would be interesting and helpful for friends/colleagues/family of people who are naturally 'wired to create'. I didn't love all of it, but have forgotten why... I think I gave it 4 stars.
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life - he gives some useful suggestions for combatting distraction, explains why it happens, and how to seek 'traction' as the opposite of 'dis-traction'. Some good and interesting things, some surface things that I didn't find that useful or new, and others that weren't applicable. Overall, a decent book. Maybe a 3.5? 4?
Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve Conflict, and Increase Intimacy - I got this to help me with a sibling relationship plagued by misunderstanding and interactions that turn negative and argumentative easily, yet has enormous potential. This is an excellent book, really. The authors' method is based on extensive research and practice, and feels intuitively correct. I can tell it would work - but it takes much effort and care. Like anything meaningful. I hope to implement it, at least on my end - and with more than just the one relationship - but probably won't remember most of it. I'm not sure what I'll give it as a rating.
A River with a City Problem: A History of Brisbane Floods So, I partially got this because it has a really good cover. The library had it on display, as a new item, so who was I to resist? A topic I'm interested in, and is important. Unfortunately, the author shows intense bias in her writing - where she could just write the facts, she constantly adds moral commentary which is annoying and distracts from the information that's actually useful. Often this commentary is then contradicted by what she includes next, which is confusing and, again, annoying. I'm not sure I'll finish it, but it's frustrating because I want to learn about the topic. I'm not sure on the rating yet - still 'reading'.
The Burning Page I started this on 29 September, and finished on 2 October, so it's a borderline Sept read. Third in the 'The Invisible Library' series, which I'm enjoying. Probably a 3.5-star rating? I'm not sure. I reserve 4 stars for books that are really good, but not amazing; 5 is for amazing, changed-my-life, best-book-in-the-world. 3 is for those that were okay, had some good bits, but were ultimately disappointing or just not excellent. So I'm not sure where to put it.

Tamara wrote: "I see that visiting cemeteries for pure interest is a thing... good to know. I'm interested mainly for family history purposes, which means none near me are actually useful. Just reading dates and ..."

You might appreciate Living Among Headstones: Life in a Country Cemetery

Tamara wrote

Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life - he gives some useful suggestions for combatting distraction, explains why it happens, and how to seek 'traction' as the opposite of 'dis-traction'. Some good and interesting things, some surface things that I didn't find that useful or new, and others that weren't applicable. Overall, a decent book. Maybe a 3.5? 4?

Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve Conflict, and Increase Intimacy - I got this to help me with a sibling relationship plagued by misunderstanding and interactions that turn negative and argumentative easily, yet has enormous potential. This is an excellent book, really. The authors' method is based on extensive research and practice, and feels intuitively correct. I can tell it would work - but it takes much effort and care. Like anything meaningful. I hope to implement it, at least on my end - and with more than just the one relationship - but probably won't remember most of it. I'm not sure what I'll give it as a rating.

Tamara, thank you for the great reviews.

Indistractable is on my TBR list, so I was interested in your thoughts on the book.

Words Can Change Your Brain sounds like a terrific book that would be applicable to everyone ! I'm putting it on my TBR list

Thanks !

John wrote: You might appreciate Living Among Headstones: Life in a Country Cemetery"

Passing this title on to a friend. I know she would enjoy it. Thanks!

Also this one - couldn't recall details until just now!

Shaking the Family Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist

Tamara wrote: "So, I partially got this because it has a really good cover. The library had it on display, as a new item, so who was I to resist? ..."

Who here cannot identify with that sentiment? I've harvested a few of those books, too. Such a delightful surprise, they are.

Neat topics. I find Indistractable intriguing. It's such an easy trap to fall into, isn't it?

Thanks for sharing with us, Tamara.

PS to John, thanks for the Shannon Applegate title. It sounds full of info. My family bought land in the '70s which had a small family cemetery on it. Neglected, we couldn't even recover the names from the headstones. :-(

Thanks, John. Not something I would ever have thought of reading! But it sounds actually interesting - those fascinating details about why people do what they do. The second one sounds nice, too.

madrano wrote: "I find Indistractable intriguing. It's such an easy trap to fall into, isn't it? "
It is. I think we all do it. He squarely puts the blame back on people's own shoulders, instead of blaming devices and other 'things' that we allow to distract us. The reasons he gives for being distracted are correct and honest. Some good insights. I found it amusing/curious/dastardly/a bit hypocritical that he's the same guy who wrote the very book that got companies using the irresistable (to some?) techniques for tech products that hook people in the first place. He also includes things that assume that we're all umbilically attached to those things and need help to detach. But maybe that's the audience for the book, and I'm an exception. The people who need that really need it. However, the chapters/insights about other kinds of distraction were very (and a bit painfully) relevant.

I love a good cover, but am too often disappointed by the contents. Deceiving packages! Like this one about the Brisbane River. But I still enoy the cover...

Tamara, it's a good topic for discussion. I'm with you on not feeling as tied to my computer-tech items but in the past i've found myself watching tv programs because i can think of nothing else to pursue. To me, tv has been a distraction much of my life.

Still, it is quite interesting that his is the guy who helped make some of these products irresistible in the first place. Possibly the book is a retort to folks who blame him, too. :-)

And the flip side is how freed we are when we can sever, even if temporarily, from those distractions.

madrano wrote: "Tamara, it's a good topic for discussion. I'm with you on not feeling as tied to my computer-tech items but in the past i've found myself watching tv programs because i can think of nothing else to..."

Oh, I use TV (catch-up) as a distraction, too. And social media. I'm not as distracted by my phone as so many are, though. I'm sensitive/responsive to input, so all the notifications originally on my phone were annoying - and distracting - to me, and made me feel anxious instead of being useful. So I turned all of them off, except for a soft tone and flashing little light for text messages. I'd rather choose when I read email and respond to social media.

I did like his suggestions for Facebook, and have started not reading the news feed as much and instead selecting friends whose wall/profile I look at to keep up with their happenings. A few at a time.

The thing that I think is most helpful in the book is understanding why we succumb to distraction - the triggers. That's really useful information to know about yourself. I already knew that I use TV or other entertainment, for example, to escape frustration, procrastinate, etc. It's fine to use for the first, because I can get out of the feeling and be calmer, but not for other reasons, like boredom or procrastination. So understanding what triggers those feelings, and then thinking about what actually would solve them - more useful activities - is very good.

I've also re-tried the scheduling idea, with some differences he suggests, and this is a good thing. I'm using it more with my tutoring students as well.

Tamara, it sounds as though Nir Eyal's book has been quite effective in altering your interactions. I appreciate your comments about how his ideas have been helpful. Many of us allow ourselves to get wrapped up in the techno-world and never give it another thought.

Continued success!