Leadership for Saints - Rodger Dean Duncan and Ed J. Pinegar (4.5 of 5 Lost Sheep)

I was quite pleased with this book.  It is a wonderful resource for members looking to improve their leadership skills.  Duncan and Pinegar model all of their principles after the actions of the Savior.  Leadership for them is not about management techniques.  They are most concerned about helping you genuinely love and appreciate those that you lead.  Love is the great motivator.

They apply this principle to conducting meetings and interviews, preparing activities, holding people accountable, etc.  I thought their ideas were quite insightful and based in true doctrine.  I enjoyed their use of many real-world examples.  

Ducan and Pinegar realize that many saints are not currently in leadership positions.  For this reason, they also include suggestions for saints to gently guide their leaders without stepping on their toes.  However, they also mention that one should always be prepared for the calling that might be coming right around the corner.  I believe that all LDS members would benefit from reading this book.

The Little Book of Book of Mormon Evidences - John Hilton III (3 of 5 Well-Known Secrets)

I picked up this little book (80 small pages or so) at Smith's.  I read through it while following one of my friends around as he gathered groceries.  This book is basically just a superficial compilation of all the random facts you've heard in your gospel doctrine classes.  It covers such things as author writing styles, fossil records of elephants in the US, chiasms, Hebrew quirks, etc.

If you're looking for some deep doctrine, or a text for serious research, this isn't it.  However, if you want to share some light factual information with a non-member or perhaps a younger brother or sister, this might be it.  Besides the facts, it also includes a good introduction and close about how one should always seek a genuine witness from the spirit, rather than rely completely on facts. 

Space Station Seventh Grade by Jerry Spinelli

I love Jerry Spinelli's books. I think he is one of the best young adult authors writing today--and I read a lot of young adult novels. His greatest skill is in the voice of his narrators. All of them are teens, but Spinelli writes like he is a teenager. And I love it.

Space Station Seventh Grade is the tale of seventh-grader, Jason Herkemer's first year of middle school. Through gym class, suspension, and the inevitable first crush, Jason fills us in on the woes of 7th grade. To a middle school student, this book might be nothing to rave about. To a teacher of middle school students, this book is hilarious. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion.

Word of caution, Spinelli sticks strictly to his 7th grade "voice" and there is some profanity and discussion of some other matters that could be awkward to some readers...

Overall, a classic Spinelli--though definitely not his very best. Still, I am looking forward to the sequel: Jason and Marceline. Review to come later.

Civilization and Its Discontents - Sigmund Freud (4 of 5 Unhappy Germans)

Well...yet again, another one of my professors wants to discuss Freud.  This is now the second time that I've had to read this particular essay in college.  Yes, it's an interesting way of analyzing our current society.  Yes, it is has a couple insights here and there.  But as many of you know, it takes a whole lot to make Freud blush...

One of the core doctrines of Discontents is the Pleasure Principle.  Freud believes that at any moment a person is attempting to actively achieve happiness or avoid pain.  At the same time, he or she is dealing with instinctual urges from the unconscious.  The two primary instincts are Eros (love) and Agression.  In order to gain the protection of the society as a whole, man must repress his instincts.  This often leads to feelings of discontent.  Most people are able to effectively sublimate the urges into more socially acceptable forms of expression such as exercise or art.  Those that can't, well...they end up in prison.

Thoughts on Freud?

Strengths Finder 2.0 – Tom Rath (3.5 of 5 Desperate Football Players)

I found this book on the bestsellers list at Barnes and Noble.  It looked interesting, so I pulled it off the shelf and found a comfortable chair.  As you might expect, it’s another career finder self help book.  The self proclaimed mission of the book is to help you identify and cultivate your natural strengths.  According to the book, work x natural talent = success. 

The book begins with the example of our dear friend Rudy who worked his butt of to get onto the Notre Dame Football team.  After a couple years of beating his head against the wall, he finally made it onto the field for a few brief moments.  Inspiring?  Yes.  An effective use of time?  Not exactly.  Perhaps Rudy was born with some mad box making skills.  If he had spent those same two years starting up his own box making business, it’s reasonable to assume that he could have made enough money to just buy the team and declare himself quarterback. 

Poor Rudy.  If only he had read Strengths Finder 2.0, and then taken the online aptitude test to identify his natural talents.  But that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out...  After the introduction, follows fifty chapters, each one identifying a “strength.”  Some of these include Achiever, Command, Focus, Harmony, and Input.  The book outlines each strength and then gives suggestions for how you can cultivate them.  At the end of each chapter are also a few suggestions for dealing with people who possess these strengths.

I can’t say that my life was significantly changed by reading this book, but it did give me a handful of insights about how to focus on and cultivate the strengths that I do have.