We have all seen him.
A man parked in a wheelchair, his body crumpled in horrific positions. You probably heard him desperate to speak in his own language of garbled noises.
After reading this YA novel, you will never look at someone like him the same. Petey is a story about a boy born with severe cerebal palsy, which leaves him with almost no control of his muscles. In 1922, when Petey is born, he is misdiagnosed as severly retarded. Not knowing that their son could think and feel and communicate, his parents commit him to an insane asylum. There he grows up, experiencing friendship, love and heartbreak under horrific conditions. As an old man, Petey is moved to a nursing home and has almost given up on life, until he mets a teen named Trevor Ladd. The two form a strong friendship and give each other a new purpose and outlook on life.
A very simple, yet inspiring read. I added this to my "Highly Recommend" list.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
May's Pick - Imagine: How Creativity Works, by Jonah Lehrer
Book Summary (from Amazon)
Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms?
That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help
you double your creative output?
From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively.
Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.
You’ll learn about Bob Dylan’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You’ll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You’ll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’s office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation.
Collapsing the layers separating the neuron from the finished symphony, Imagine reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind, and its essential role in our increasingly complex world.
Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms?
That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help
you double your creative output?From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively.
Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.
You’ll learn about Bob Dylan’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You’ll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You’ll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’s office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation.
Collapsing the layers separating the neuron from the finished symphony, Imagine reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind, and its essential role in our increasingly complex world.
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