I Heard There Was a Secret Chord by Daniel J. Levitin

I HEARD THERE WAS A SECRET CHORD by Daniel J. Levitin (This is Your Brain on Music) is listed as Notable Non-Fiction in the August LibraryReads selections. It is a very well-written and accessible book which explores the idea of “Music as Medicine.” Levitin, a neuroscientist, musician, and best-selling author, splits the text into sixteen chapters dealing with topics like music memory, attention, mental health, pain, and trauma. He offers, for example, an entire chapter which discusses Parkinson’s disease, describing it as primarily a movement disorder, and points out how sometimes the tempo of music can be a help. Another chapter is titled Music in Everyday Life where Levitin explores concepts like the benefits of having music playing at home on a regular basis versus the potential distraction effect of having music playing in a workplace. There, he notes, “the optimal use of music is to step back from your work, close your eyes, and listen to music before going back to work.” What is another fun application of music he suggests? As an icebreaker before a meeting or class – I have used this technique, and it definitely works. There is much to learn about music therapy, memory stimulation (watch the smiles music evokes at an assisted living facility), or recent laboratory research. Levitin shares it all and includes an Appendix about Types of Music Therapy, plus a Glossary, and a Notes/reference section which together comprise about twenty percent of the text. I HEARD THERE WAS A SECRET CHORD received a starred review from Kirkus (“Levitin’s story is a fascinating piece of work, written with authority, empathy, and occasional humor.”). A few related texts are reviewed here. For a sample of Levitin’s writing, please see his recent opinion piece in The Washington Post, titled “A playlist for peace talks.”

What's Next Is Now by Frederik Pferdt

WHAT'S NEXT IS NOW by Frederik Pferdt, Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist, describes “How to Live Future Ready.” Pferdt, who taught at Stanford for a decade, outlines five key points: make your future happen; your mindset is critical; learn to expect the unexpected; pursue better (progress, not perfection); and check in with yourself regularly (i.e, what future do I want to create?).  After briefly introducing about a dozen “future ready” people (mostly colleagues from Google), Pferdt stresses values like optimism, openness, curiosity, experimentation, and empathy and offers exercises to practice and develop those habits. His “work is entirely focused on the future -- how to see potential and solve challenges in situations we haven't yet encountered.” This is an inspirational text and might make more sense to read as a team, reinforcing each other and re-emphasizing the hard work of shifting mindsets so as to adhere to the “belief that change is constructive, not a threat.” What fun, for example, to explore and play together with Google’s Arts and Culture resources. WHAT'S NEXT IS NOW is a 2024 Next Big Idea Club selection.  Pferdt’s emphasis on “future ready” made me think about the ALA program with that title from a few years ago.

Distracted by James Lang

DISTRACTED by James M. Lang (Small Teaching) is addressed primarily to teachers and explains “Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It.” Lang, professor of English at Assumption University, takes the provocative position that we need to “make a fundamental shift in our thinking: away from preventing distraction and toward cultivating attention.” That’s a tough call, especially in the COVID era, which he addresses in his updated preface. Throughout the text, Lang really stresses the importance of developing a community and actively encouraging mutual respect for other students. He also advocates adopting a more empathetic approach so as to "not jump so quickly to the assumption that a distracted student is a poor or inconsiderate one."  His research is impressive and well-documented with over 20 pages of notes.  However, the text itself feels fairly dense -- I would have preferred quick chapter summaries and more "tips and tricks" aimed at practitioners.