Making Numbers Count

MAKING NUMBERS COUNT by Chip Heath and Karla Starr is all about “The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers.” Kirkus sums up this text as follows: “Astute advice for business people and educators.” The authors note that their book “is based on a simple observation: we lose information when we don’t translate numbers into instinctive human experience.” They offer over 30 possible translation techniques (e.g., use calendar time – like every day for almost 4 months instead of saying 112). Heath and Starr explain the value of visual comparisons – like a pack of cards instead of a 4 ounce portion or thinking of all the world’s water as filling a gallon container (saltwater from the oceans) and three ice cubes (fresh water) with humans only able to drink the few drops melting off the cubes. Memorable, right? Other sections of the book suggest using emotional numbers and translating to a human scale. The examples go on and on, including the New York Times effort to convey the loss of human life to Covid-19 by posting the names and a small fact about just 1000 people -- still filling over 5 pages. Our Library collection has included numerous other texts by the Heath brothers (e.g., Switch; Decisive; Made to Stick; and The Power of Moments) and we will be adding MAKING NUMBERS COUNT soon.

The Magnolia Palace and more ...

After having praised the deserving January 2022 Library Reads selection titled The Maid, here are a couple of other selections from this month – with female protagonists – that may well appeal:

THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis is a wonderful work of historical fiction from this very popular author. Like her other novels (The Masterpiece, The Lions of Fifth Avenue, etc.), this story features an iconic New York City location (Henry Clay Frick’s mansion in this case) and two time periods (1919 and the mid-1960’s).  Based on a real-life model, Audrey Munson, the character of Lillian Carter (or Angelica) has been a sculptor’s muse in New York – her position changes dramatically after the deaths of her mother and of her landlady. Through some fortunate coincidences, she ends up becoming the social secretary for Helen Clay Frick, the businessman’s daughter. It is fascinating to read about the family dramas and that Gilded Age time as well as the art collection with which a subsequent model, Veronica Weber, poses decades later. Locked in the mansion, Veronica and a young intern discover clues to a mystery that lead to a murderer from the earlier time. History and mystery – especially appealing to fans of the new HBO series. THE MAGNOLIA PALACE received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly (describing this title as “Davis’s best work to date”).

THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS by Eva Jurczyk is a debut work which seemed to move a bit slowly for me, but which was yet another a LibraryReads Selection for January. Professional reviewers tended to enjoy it as well, with Kirkus describing this mystery story as “The perfect gift for librarians and those who love them—and doesn’t that include just about every reader?”

As the story begins, Liesl Weiss has assumed responsibilities as acting as head of the Department and soon discovers that a recent rare book acquisition has gone missing. Was it somehow mis-shelved or stolen? The university President actively discourages police involvement while requiring a reluctant Liesl to “schmooze” with the donors. Soon a fellow librarian goes missing and theft looks more likely as the donors apply increasing pressure. Poor Liesl struggles to gain respect and find the valuable text. Book groups might well enjoy debating her predicament in the face of ageism and male chauvinism.

Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang

JOAN IS OKAY by Weike Wang (Chemistry) is one of those novels that you read relatively quickly because you care about the main character and want to know what happens to her. At the same time, you want to savor the clever writing and the many perceptive comments. Wang, an award-winning author and a “5 Under 35” honoree of the National Book Foundation, introduces readers to a 30-something female doctor who is defined by her work in a large urban hospital. Joan (or Jiu-an, her Chinese name, or Joan-na, as her mother calls her) is the child of Chinese immigrants and the distance between cultures as well as the distance between family members is hurtful and puzzling to her. For example, she asks, “Was it harder to be a woman? Or an immigrant? Or a Chinese person outside of China? And why did being a good any of the above require you to edit yourself down so you could become someone else?” Kirkus calls her an “idiosyncratic character,” and in many ways Joan does appear to have trained herself to suppress feelings about other people, to be somewhat neurodivergent in her ability to process social cues. That makes for some humorous interactions in this present-day story.  Wang also includes numerous references to the early days of the pandemic which will heighten awareness and emotions for readers. This excellent novel centers around a key question: “Who really wanted to be different? I wondered. And to be treated differently for things about them that couldn’t be changed. Most people who were different just wanted to be the same.” 

JOAN IS OKAY is a fabulous Book Group Choice since it will prompt much discussion – here is the guide provided by the publisher. Other favorite comments: “If learning required mistakes then teaching required watching different people make the same mistakes.” OR “I had become that daughter, the overprotective and possibly annoying kind, the daughter who believes that she is also the parent to a parent who doesn’t like being a child.” OR “And even if I hadn’t been born here, had I been one of those kids brought over by her parents at age two, five, twelve, then naturalized, what made them and their families any less American if they were the most American of all things, an immigrant in search of better days?”

Find your Unicorn Space by Eve Rodsky

FIND YOUR UNICORN SPACE by Eve Rodsky is another interesting self-help text designed to help readers “Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World.” Encased in the beautiful cover are a dozen chapters, divided into three sections: Time for a Reset, the Rules of Permission, and Cultivate the 3C’s of Creativity (curiosity, connectivity, and completion). Rodsky pushes readers to embrace life’s storms by “dancing in the rain,” or “the active and open pursuit of self-expression in any form, … an activity that you lose yourself in.” She bases her arguments on research (a Bibliography is provided) and contends that this activity is “essential and fundamental to your physical, emotional, and mental health as a whole person.” Pause for a moment and think about applying that to the upcoming course selection process for our students. Do they have time in a very structured school day to carve out the Unicorn Space of which Rodsky writes? Her text and numerous examples are actually geared more to young adults, particularly to young women and young parents with so many competing claims for their time in roles as partner, parent, and professional (whether for pay or as a caregiver). Throughout Rodsky provides personal exercises – a series of questions (e.g., Who had I always imagined myself becoming?) and pop quizzes that should be very helpful to her adult readers and could possibly be modified for adolescents. Take some time to pursue this book and, as Rodsky would advocate, to think about giving yourself permission to reclaim, discover and nurture creativity.   

The Power of Fun by Catherine Price

THE POWER OF FUN by Catherine Price is subtitled “How to Feel Alive Again” and seems like a timely read as we transition from one year to the next in the midst of a pandemic.  Price writes in an engaging manner with a conversational tone; she begins by sharing personal stories involving her daughter and husband. The first part of her book defines “fun,” distinguishing “True Fun” – that is, a source of energy and invigoration. Price argues that we can all “create space by doing fewer things, so that you can take advantage of opportunities for True Fun in your life that already exist and spend your free time in more targeted ways.” In the second part of the book, Price guides readers through a Fun Audit, discusses pursuing passions, attracting Fun, and keeping at it. She says, “breaking fun down into playfulness, connection, and flow made me realize that there were still ways to incorporate microdoses of fun into my life… delights to notice … friends to call… interests, hobbies, and passions…”  Take a few moments and reflect, do you agree with Price that “we pay far more attention to correcting what’s wrong – and finding problems that need to be “fixed” – than we do to enjoying and nurturing what is going right?” Her book offers valuable insights into changing what we want to pay attention to in the moment.  THE POWER OF FUN received a starred review from Library Journal. Look for it on our shelves soon. Similar titles include Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (referenced by Price), Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee, and works like  Super Better by Jane McGonigal.