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kristenstieffel's reviews
460 reviews
War by Bob Woodward
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
While the topic of this book is important, after the election I just did not have the heart to listen to more stories about felon 45**/47. Just makes me sick. Maybe I'll come back to this someday.
Content Warnings
The name of the felon is mentioned over and over and over … 🤢
Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World by Jen Psaki
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This book is a combo memoir and instruction book but doesn’t quite pull it off. The memoir parts are great, but the parts where Psaki draws a lesson on communication from her experiences feel forced in. The book is still excellently written and very interesting; it just could have been structured better.
I listened to the audiobook, which Psaki narrates herself, and it is extremely well done, including audio clips from some of her press conferences. I wish more audiobook producers would include media like that when it’s available.
I listened to the audiobook, which Psaki narrates herself, and it is extremely well done, including audio clips from some of her press conferences. I wish more audiobook producers would include media like that when it’s available.
By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson
5.0
This is a fabulous fantasy adventure. Jill Williamson has crafted a deeply interesting storyworld with a rich culture. The kingdom of Er'Rets is fraught with internal conflicts, as nobles jockey for positions of power. Achan, a mistreated slave, is drawn into the country's power struggles when he's enlisted as a squire. Meanwhile, Vrell, the daughter of a duchess, masquerades as a slave to evade an unwelcome royal suitor.
The characters in this story are engaging and well-drawn. Williamson understands young people, and wonderfully captures the fickleness of young attractions, as Achan's heart wavers between his childhood sweetheart and a lovely young noblewoman. I found myself rooting for them in their struggles as the fabric of their culture shifts around them.
I'm sorry I didn't read this book sooner. But at least I was able to get Books 2 and 3 even while I was still working on Book 1. Finished Book 1 while sitting in an airport waiting for my connecting flight. Wrote this review. Started Book 2. I love this story, and look forward to spending more time with Achan and Vrell and their knightly comrades.
The characters in this story are engaging and well-drawn. Williamson understands young people, and wonderfully captures the fickleness of young attractions, as Achan's heart wavers between his childhood sweetheart and a lovely young noblewoman. I found myself rooting for them in their struggles as the fabric of their culture shifts around them.
I'm sorry I didn't read this book sooner. But at least I was able to get Books 2 and 3 even while I was still working on Book 1. Finished Book 1 while sitting in an airport waiting for my connecting flight. Wrote this review. Started Book 2. I love this story, and look forward to spending more time with Achan and Vrell and their knightly comrades.
How Full Is Your Bucket? Expanded Anniversary Edition by Tom Rath, Don Clifton
4.0
Every manager should read this book.
Like parents who focus on the F's on a report card rather than the A's, many managers focus on critiquing weaknesses rather than developing strengths. But as "How Full is Your Bucket?" points out, our emotional buckets are filled by positive encounters and drained by negative ones.
Among the authors' key points:
* The Number One reason people leave their jobs is they don't feel appreciated.
* Praise must be meaningful and specific.
* Recognition is most appreciated and effective when it is individualized, specific, and deserved.
* Every interaction is an opportunity to fill someone's bucket -- or drain it.
* We are at our best when our buckets are full, and at our worst when they are empty.
* When we fill other people's buckets, we simultaneously fill our own.
Mind you, it's not possible to simply offer groundless praise. Every worker has room for improvement. But constructive feedback about what needs fixing is more effective when it's bracketed by genuine compliments and praise for strong points. Employees, like students, and writers, need to build on their strengths in addition to improving their weaknesses.
Individualization is important, because while one worker may appreciate a plaque to hang on the wall, another might prefer some extra time off to spend with family. To aid in this, the book includes a "Bucket Filling Interview," which can help managers learn about what really motivates each employee.
The only drawback to this book -- although some might call it a strength -- is its brevity. I suspect there is much more to say on the subject of positive reinforcement in the workplace.
How Full is Your Bucket? will not only help managers encourage employees, it will help anyone see where they've been missing opportunities to fill other people's buckets.
Like parents who focus on the F's on a report card rather than the A's, many managers focus on critiquing weaknesses rather than developing strengths. But as "How Full is Your Bucket?" points out, our emotional buckets are filled by positive encounters and drained by negative ones.
Among the authors' key points:
* The Number One reason people leave their jobs is they don't feel appreciated.
* Praise must be meaningful and specific.
* Recognition is most appreciated and effective when it is individualized, specific, and deserved.
* Every interaction is an opportunity to fill someone's bucket -- or drain it.
* We are at our best when our buckets are full, and at our worst when they are empty.
* When we fill other people's buckets, we simultaneously fill our own.
Mind you, it's not possible to simply offer groundless praise. Every worker has room for improvement. But constructive feedback about what needs fixing is more effective when it's bracketed by genuine compliments and praise for strong points. Employees, like students, and writers, need to build on their strengths in addition to improving their weaknesses.
Individualization is important, because while one worker may appreciate a plaque to hang on the wall, another might prefer some extra time off to spend with family. To aid in this, the book includes a "Bucket Filling Interview," which can help managers learn about what really motivates each employee.
The only drawback to this book -- although some might call it a strength -- is its brevity. I suspect there is much more to say on the subject of positive reinforcement in the workplace.
How Full is Your Bucket? will not only help managers encourage employees, it will help anyone see where they've been missing opportunities to fill other people's buckets.
Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase
5.0
I taught this as a small-group study at church, and the class loved it. It's full of thought-provoking ideas. I was pleased to say that a lot of suggestions we could check off as "got it," but there were still plenty of creative ideas to implement.
The author is Methodist and most of his examples come from that tradition, but I am sure any Protestant church -- any church, probably -- can glean information from this book to use in its own congregational life.
I found the author's Biblical examples to be a little thin, but then he wasn't writing a Bible study. I was teaching one, though, so I found a parable to illustrate each practice.
I especially appreciated the way Schnase shows how each practice provides a foundation for those that come after it.
The author is Methodist and most of his examples come from that tradition, but I am sure any Protestant church -- any church, probably -- can glean information from this book to use in its own congregational life.
I found the author's Biblical examples to be a little thin, but then he wasn't writing a Bible study. I was teaching one, though, so I found a parable to illustrate each practice.
I especially appreciated the way Schnase shows how each practice provides a foundation for those that come after it.