Week two of Cheers to the Weekend and still going strong. Have I hit a streak yet? Thanks for checking back in and signing up for the newsletter! I hope everyone has a great weekend and gets to read some of the great new books out this week. If there is a beer close by while doing it then I think you are winning.
What I'm Reading:
Erik Larson writes books about historic events that even people who hate history would love. All of his books share the same trait in that they are meticulously researched and woven into a story that reads like any novel would. This is the story of the Lusitania and it's sinking in 1915 amidst the chaos and confusion of World War I and Germany's U-Boat war. Jumping back and forth between all of the parties involved it
really sets the stage both on an individual level and a geo-political level. Highly recommend this one.
Check out a couple of his other amazing books as well: In The Garden of Beasts and The Devil in the White City
Easily one of the most thoroughly researched books on Creativity I've come across. While a lot of other books take the high level approach to creativity and provide practical and personal ideas, Given Mihaly's research background he starts by first building a study by interviewing great creative minds across a variety of fields. From the distilled information, Mihaly builds a case for nature vs. nurture, practical advice to kick start our own creativity and also provide some stories and anecdotes from those interviewed. Definitely worth a read.
Perhaps Mihaly's most seminal work, if you are interested in the author then also check out his book Flow that even today is generating an incredible amount of thoughts on the topic.
What I'm Drinking:
Russell Beer IP'eh!
A Canadian beer for us Canadians that has a great balance between caramel and toffee flavours and hops. I was pretty impressed with the taste coming off this one. The drinkability rating on this one is high and I'll definitely be trying it again. I'm a few months short of Canada Day on this one but the spirit is still there as you can see from the book pairing!
For more info on the beer: Russell Beer's Site
Toolshed Brewing Prairie Pride
This 4.8% all Alberta ale really was tasty. It's really incredible to see the growth of the craft beer industry here in Alberta and this beer is a testament to it. All ingredients were locally sourced and produced right
here in Calgary, Alberta. A tasty farmhouse ale with banana flavors this one went down smoothly. Let's hope they continue to make this one.
For more info on the beer: Canadian Beer News talks Prairie Pride
Outcast Brewing Neon Dreams
Outcast's first canned beer coming in at 6% is a great double dry hopped New England style pale ale. Sadly for everyone it sold out so quickly that only a few got to taste this dreamy pale ale. Lots of fruit coming off the top of this one and drinks nice and smooth on a hot summer day. A hazy yellow amber with some carbonation. If you do find a can drink it soon as it is a small batch with a drink before date
that's quickly approaching.
For more info on the beer: Outcast Brewing
What I'm Listening To:
An updated and revised version from the original, this book goes further to describe where we are today with genetics all stemming from the discovery of DNA and the double helix less than 100 years ago. The rapid advancement in this field will no doubt be one of the pillars of technology going forward as we learn what the full impact on society will be of technologies like Crispr. Great read, especially the second half as the latest advancements are described and a great discussion on ethics and morality follows suit given our ability to modify and manipulate ourselves grows ever closer.
If you are a fan of this one you should also consider Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Gene and The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. The latter is an incredible tale of the history of cancer weaved through the lives of individuals and where we are today. It won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction.
This book was a surprise for me. Having read all of Brene's previous works I wasn't aware this was in the works and was pleasantly surprised when I had a chance to listen to the audio book narrated by Brene herself. A topic that carries more weight, belonging seems to be at our finger tips and yet slowly disappearing. We become more connected and yet more alone. This book provides some incredible stories that we are accustomed to hearing from Brene and also truth about what each of us needs to do in order to foster that belonging. We are facing a wilderness that is uncharted and must remember who we are as authentic individuals. Great listen for sure.
Brene has a great site with a lot of awesome videos. If you haven't heard of her I'd check out the TED Talk on vulnerability first to really get a sense of where she comes from.
Random Thoughts:
Random Shoutout: Theardentbiblio
Beautiful photos of books and the lifestyle that surrounds it. They have really great website over at Theardentbiblio and post those beautiful pictures @theardentbiblio so be sure to go check them out and leave a comment if you enjoy!
A Quote:
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book Creativity contains so many great words of advice. One of the quotes that struck me most was about our impact in the world.
"The world is our business, and we can't know which part of it is best suited to our selves, to our potentialities, unless we make a serious effort to learn about as many aspects of it as possible."
It reminds of another quote I once read by George Bernard Shaw on the idea that our lives matter but we must take hold of them and due to everything we can, regardless of failure, to make them better.
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
- George Bernard Shaw
Final Thoughts:
60-80% of blogs apparently fail after the first month because the blogger gives up. That gives me two more weeks. If you want an extra week sign up to the newsletter.
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