The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox

The Goal is a business book told as a story. The protagonist is in charge of a factory that is in trouble. There is risk of the company shutting them down. He is struggling to find a way to turn things around. A non-business professor, Jonah, appears and helps pinpoint him in the direction he needs to go to find answers. Meanwhile, his wife is stressing out at home due to his time spent at work and lack of attention to his home life. At work, he looks at the big picture and realizes that the small metrics won't help. He needs to improve things all around. The improvements eventually lead to a focus on constraints. Inventory should be kept as lean as possible. Effort should be focussed on improving areas that are constraining the system. He even gains some ideas by seeing how boys hike together on a boy scout hike. The teachings are primarily applicable to manufacturing organizations. However, applications can be found in other areas, including family life.

Tracker

Tracker by Gary Paulsen

A boy's parents died when he was young. He is being raised by his grandparents in rural Minnesota. His grandpa has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Now the boy is hunting on his own. In most of the novel he is out tracking and hunting deer by himself. He spends time contemplating death of loved ones and animals.

Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technologies

Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technologies - Updated Edition by Charles Perrow

Increasingly complex systems are increasingly susceptible to cascading risks. The book goes through many detailed examples.The first one is a contrived example from regular life. A man has many small issues happen that cause him to miss a meeting at work. Any of the items alone would not be a problem. However, they all built on top of each other to create a catastrophe. Bigger catastrophes were detailed, such as three mile island nuclear disaster. Many things had to fail together to cause the meltdown. Some of the safety and redundancies helped contribute to the problem.

After an incident occurs, there is usually a desire to assign blame. However, in today's world, it is difficult to assign single blame. Many of the actions that lead to the disaster would not normally be a problem. However, they became an issue when everything was linked together. In the afterward the author is thankful that society has become more willing to acknowledge these system issues rather than continue to try to assign individual blame. (Alas, there is a still a strong legal incentive to assign blame.)

Today's society is increasingly susceptible to system issues. Redundancies are eliminated from systems in the name of efficiency. That works great when things are functioning normally. However, it also means small things can cascade out of control quickly and bring down entire systems. Attempts to make systems more "safe" can sometimes be the source of failures. A warning that fires too often may be ignored. Automatic safety responses could lead to damage to different systems.  Areas such as nuclear power and genetic engineering have power to destroy society if systems break down. How do we protect the world? This book is extremely detailed in the exploration of the problem. It does not pose any simple solutions to a problem that eludes them. 

Richard Scarry's The Best Mistake Ever! and Other Stories

Richard Scarry's The Best Mistake Ever! and Other Stories (Step into Reading) by Richard Scarry

The stories in this book are simple and unpretentious, but for some reason, also appealing. The three stories are:

The Best Mistake Ever

Huckle Cat's mom asks him to buy some things at the grocery store. He forgets the list. Luckily, he runs into his friend, Lowly Work, who helps him "remember" what was on the list. However, he ends up with "orange soda" instead of oranges and "apple pie" instead of apples. When they get home, mom is mad that they got party food instead of what was on the list. Just then some friends come over and they have a party. Thus, the "best mistake ever"

Mr. Fixit

Huckle gets in a bike crash racing home with the new cuckoo clock he got for his mother. He takes his bike and clock to Mr. Fixit. When he gets them back, the clock makes a bike bell sounds and the bike bell sounds like a cuckoo clock.

Best friends

Huckle's best friend, Lowly work, seems to be ignoring him. That makes him sad, especially since it is his birthday. Then he discovers the reason - they were setting up a surprise party for him. they are still best friends.

Willy the Wimp

Willy the Wimp by Anthony Browne

Willy is a "wimp" that would not hurt a fly. He is tired of getting teased by other stronger apes. He sees an add for training plant that would make him strong. He orders it and then follows it. At first, he is just a wimpy ape hanging working out with strong athletes. He remains persistent and becomes stronger and bigger. Now the suburban gorillas are afraid of him and run away when they see him. He helps save Millie and is on cloud nine when she thanks him - and then crashes into a post. It is a well told story of persistence and hard work, but still staying yourself.

Reasons and Persons

Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit

This is a long book that explores ethics and morals. What makes something ethical? Sometimes there appear to be simple situations. Then there are complex situations. The temporal dimension adds many challenges. Would you do something now that negatively impacted you of the future? Can you complain about those of the past since you would not be there without them? What should you do for the future? How does this differ from impacts of other people? There are challenges with many different philosophical theories.

A big section of the book explores science fiction topics. What entails your identity? If you have a device that transfers you to a different place by reading your body and reassembling it elsewhere, is that new person you? What if both the old and new are maintained? What if there are small changes made to you?  There are challenges for multiple definitions of "sameness"

There are a number of interesting arguments here, though it does go on for a long time.

The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection

The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection by Beverly Cleary (illustrations by Tracy Dockray )

This is an audiobook collection of the Ramona books. She starts out as a preschooler and ends up in fourth grade. She is rambunctious and cares a lot about how people feel about her. However, she often reads people incorrectly. The books were written over a period of 44 years, with each book seemingly set in an idyllic version of those days - generally in anonymous Portland area.

Beezus and Ramona (1955)

This is the most distinct book in the Ramona series. It is more from the view of the other characters than Ramona herself. Ramona is always getting into trouble. She wants big construction equipment. She invites all of her preschool friends over for a party - without telling anyone else. She is just a big pain. However, mother and her sister had similar issues when they were young.

Ramona the Pest (1968)

Now the series is more from Ramona's point of view. She is in kindergarten. It is interesting that back then it was perfectly normal for kindergarteners to walk to school themselves.

Ramona the Brave (1975)

Now she is approaching first grade. Some kids call his sister a name and Ramona defends her - offending her sister. Ramona does other "brave" things.

Ramona and Her Father (1977)

Her father loses his job. Money is tight. He also smokes at home. Ramona and his sister work to get him to stop smoking. In the end, he gets a job at a supermarket. I was wondering what the smoking thread would be like. Looks like it was new enough to identify smoking as "bad". (Newbery honor book)

Ramona and Her Mother (1979)

Dad has a job he doesn't like. Mom still works her job. There is a fight with mom and dad over pancakes. Mom helps with some sewing. Beeezus wants a haircut from a beauty salon, but it ends up bad. There are other random episodes.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1981)

Romona has a degree of unintentional mischief. She cracks an egg on her head - only to find it is a raw egg. She throws up all over the school. She feels her teacher does not like her. However, it is all a misunderstanding. She is gradually growing up. 

Ramona Forever (1984)

Things start to change. Howie's uncle visits. He later becomes engaged to Ramona's aunt. Ramona's mom is pregnant. Ramona will now have to deal with being a big sister. Ramona and her sister also take care of burying the cat. Dad has teaching jobs far away. However, he decides to take a grocery store manager job instead so they can stay close.

Ramona's World (1999)

Ramona is now in fourth grade. She has a baby sister. She gets a new friend. While playing, she falls through the floor into the downstairs ceiling (and gets stuck there, only to be rescued.) She is old enough to cat sit - and even watch her baby sister for a bit. The world has moved on to be more modern. The author has done a nice trick of moving the life of the characters forward a year at a time, while keeping the setting "modern" as it moves a decade ahead.

Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window

Totto-Chan is a free-spirited little girl that is a teacher's worst nightmare. She is delighted by the world around her and easily sidetracked. Even when obeying rules, she will do it in a way that drives the teacher crazy (such as repeatedly opening and closing the desk to complete small tasks.) She is kicked out of her her school and required to go to a new school. Luckily, she ends up at Tomoe Gakuen, with headmaster Mr. Kobayashi. He listens to what children have to say. He gives them the freedom to explore their interests. There are various rules and rituals that the students buy into. The school also includes a diverse group of children, including some with various deformities and disabilities. The children all learn to respect each other while learning academically. Alas, world war 2 intervenes and the school is destroyed. The child-focussed instruction by the headmaster remains as something that inspired his students.

Bradbury 13

Thirteen Ray Bradbury stories were dramatized as semi-modern radio plays. The quality is well done. The stories often end with a cliff that leaves you pondering. (And the "screaming lady" story that ends with everything neatly wound leaves you feeling odd that it was so neatly concluded.) Bradbury loves to use the colonization of Mars to comment on our current society. Earthlings freely disregard the Martians - even in cases when the Martians are merely assimilating earthlings from the past.

The dramatizations are top notch. The stories are "science fiction" in a very loose sense of the word. Bradbury spends a lot of time exploring space ships and the colonization of Mars. However, he is primarily telling human stories. Replace space with the oceans and Mars with the new world, and we have the same story in a historical setting. "Time Safari" is one of the few stories that would qualify as "science fiction" when removed from its surroundings. People travel in a time machine to hunt dinosaurs. However, they are careful to stay on the paths and only hunt a dinosaur that was about to die anyway. Even the smallest change from that many years ago could potentially have great ramifications in the future. (Though you have to wonder if even the mere alternate execution of the T-Rex could also have serious impacts.)

Neuromancer

I remember hearing everyone rave about Neuromancer when it came out in the 80s. It was supposed to be one of the coolest books around and something on the "must read" list for every computer geek. Accordingly, it had been on my "must read" list for a long time. However, I never got around to it.

Now I do most my "reading" with audiobooks from the library. I regularly look for "Gibson" books to see if I can find it. Previously, I did find an interesting nonfiction work and an awful fiction one, but no Neuromancer. Finally I saw it there, and checked it out. I was eagerly anticipating a great work.

Alas, it is was not to be.

Neuromancer was just awful. The story, the characters, the language. Ugghh. I find it difficult to get engaged. I thought maybe after a while I would get into it. After all, this was something I'd been eagerly anticipating. Alas, it was just not to be. It was simply not good.

It opened with "The sky was the color of a television tuned to a dead channel." I was hoping this would be the set up for a great story. Alas, it was just a bad metaphor. And it was one of the best lines of the story.

Like Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive has a great sounding title. However, I think I will be taking a pass on it also.

Job:A Comedy of Justice

The main character is on a cruise to the Polynesian Islands. They watch a firewalk, and in response to a bet, he attempts to walk on the fires. At the end, he faints. When he wakes up, he is in a world that seems like his. However, there have been some minor changes in the past century, that have left this a totally different world than he knew. (Everybody knows him, but his name is different than the one he had before.) He meets up with a girl, they fall in love, and then they get zapped to more new time periods.

Eventually they are caught in the rapture and he goes to heaven as a saint. She isn't there, so he goes down to hell to find her. She isn't there either - she is actually out fighting with Loki. Eventually, he discovers that he was victim to a game being played, similar to Job. He also finds his girl and becomes happy.

The book has two distinct parts. The first part deals with the "universe shifting." This is the more interesting part. How would you react if at any moment, all your material positions (including identity) were stripped from you, leaving you to start totally over materially. How would you change how you live your life? How could the world be different based on small changes that happen at times? (All the worlds seem somewhat similar to our modern worlds, but they all have their differences.)

The second (and shorter) part deals primarily with the main character exploring the afterlife. This is played as a comedy, with heaven and hell being portrayed more as something like a fraternity. It starts to get old and pretty goofy. The devout religion of the narrator (whatever his name may be at the time) is somewhat muted by his experience, but still seems to maintain its theological and moral base. Alas, the book would have been better without this ending.

Saints

Saints starts with a vivid account of a "middle class" early 1800s Manchester family that is having some marital struggles. The father feels that the family is holding him back from his painting skills and walks out on them. The family then becomes transformed to lower class, with the children and mother required to work. Through their dedication and intelligence, they are able to rise back to their "proper" space. However, they encounter many struggles in the process, that start to tear the family apart. Eventually they hear a Mormon preacher, join the church, and sail to the new world (and help others to make the voyage.) However, not everyone makes the voyage. One brother has become a big industrialist and doesn't believe in the faith. He also helps his sister's husband to take his children back in an attempt to prevent her from going.

I found the descriptions of life in 19th century England to be very well done, and felt an attachment to the characters. The conversion to the Mormon faith did, however, seem a bit rushed. Though, the internal narration of the novel somewhat acknowledges it. The major outward "life-changing" and historical events are given brief coverage. Most time is spent on the inward "character-changing" events.

The second half of the novel deals primarily with life as a Mormon pioneers in Nauvoo, Illinois. Their faith is tested in numerous ways, both physical and personal. One of the key trials is the humanity of everyone. Even the prophet is a human with all the appropriate foibles of man. At the other end, some people that seem good on the outside may only be putting on a show.

Plural marriage provides the key trial for Dinah Kirkham and her friends. Much time is spent covering the internal conflicts present with living in polygamy. It is neither the great caving to lost that detractors had put in place, or a rose-colored relationship that apologists proclaim. For most people, there was a strong reluctance to abide by the principle of plural marriage, with a strong internal battle needed to adopt it.

This provides an excellent characterization of "real" Mormon pioneers. They are by no means perfect, yet many of them are trying hard. (Though there are plenty that are there for other reasons.) The Kirkham family makes great sacrifices for their faith and are rewarded with a joyous family life and a measure of posterity in the end. (However, the family they left behind also achieves significant success.) We see significant events that cause characters to grow and change. It does a great job of bringing alive the unfiltered struggles of those making great life changes.

Who Put that Hair in My Toothbrush

A 15 year old boy works out all summer in order to make a good impression on a girl he has a crush on. Only problem is that she moves to a town 10 miles away. D'oh! He ends up hooking up with one of her friends and discovers where her school is. One day he decides to ride his bike over there and ends up getting pulled over for sailing down the hill at 51 miles per hour - in a school zone! Oh, and he also kisses the friend and at the end decides that he really does like her.

Then he has a sister that loves hockey and has her own set of foibles.

The story is told in "alternating first person", with each chapter alternating between him and her. They never repeat the same events, but linearly proceed forward in time. This narrative device works great here.

The book is a rollicking read of sibling rivalry, where they only become "friends" after struggling through harrowing circumstances.