Every month we show what is on our reading table.

Comments on current reads:

  1. “Monsters and Magical Sticks: There’s No Such Thing As Hypnosis?” (208 pages, paperback, reprint 2017) by Steven Heller and “How to Hypnotise Anyone – Confessions of a Rogue Hypnotist” (112 pages, paperback, reprint 2014) by The Rogue Hypnotist. I always thought that hypnosis was hokey fiction: “Breathe deeply, follow this watch, you are getting sleepy, when I snap my fingers you will bark like a chicken, when I count to three you will awaken with no memory.” But Scott Adams’ books and Robert Cialdini on “Persuasion” convinced me to give hypnosis a serious consideration.
  2. “The Torrid Zone” (300 pages, paperback, 2014) by Alaric Bond. I read and reviewed the first five books in this British Naval Fiction, “His Majesty’s Ship”, “The Jackass Frigate” True Colors”, “Cut and Run” and “The Patriot’s Fate”. I give them high marks. Now that I read the first five installment in the series, I like it even more. I learned that the author does not center the series and each book around the captain. All the other series are about the captain rising from humble or noble beginnings to the end of an illustrious career. In Bond’s world, he follows a cross section of the crew, from the lowest to the captain. You are never sure who will survive and who won’t. In the first book, the captain, who I liked, died at the very beginning of the climactic battle.
  3. “Empire” by Steven Saylor: This is the second (middle) book in the three part history of Rome; from founding to the last days of the empire. I found this book on research about the rise of Christianity during my review of Pastor Jeff’s recommendation, “The Rise of Christianity”. Saylor writes historical fiction. I have read and greatly enjoyed his “Sub Rosa” series of books about a ‘detective’ in Ancient Rome during the transition from Republic to Empire. Again, here he fictionalizes history while remaining true to the known, historical sources. He recounts the history of Rome (mostly the emperors) from the end of Augustus in 14 AD to Marcus Aurelius in 141 AD by inserting the fictional Pinari family in the center of all the action. I am reading the three book series, out of historical order; last first, then middle, next beginning.
  4. “Fourfold Kingdom of God” (239 pages, paperback, 2020) by Gerald Paul Kooye: I bought this book after reading “The Holy Longing” based on a recommendation from the Stanford Magazine. The book looks at God’s kingdom from a mathematical and physics perspective.
  5. “Be Our Guest” (244 pages, paperback, 2011) by Disney. This has been ‘on the table’ four years. My daughter worked the summer at Christ Church in Phoenix in 2017. They use this book as a training tool on how to treat ‘guests’ at the church. Here is Executive Pastor Rev. Dr. Jeffery Schrank doing a Concordia University Irvine recruitment seminar in 2015:
  6. “The Power and the Glory” (240 pages, paperback, 1940) by Graham Greene: I am a big Graham Greene fan and am re-reading this book because it came up in a conversation about charging late fees at our medical practice, Ahwatukee Health and Recovery. We just started charging late fees and no-show fees since everyone was taking advantage of our mercy. In the book, the ‘whisky’ priest is advised that he should always charge for giving Mass and baptisms or the peasants will not appreciate the sacraments. Here (Part 3, Chapter 1, p169) he is bargaining on the price of baptisms:
  1. “Succeeding” (316 pages, paperback, 2011) by John T Reed. Reed is a noted real estate guru with a sharp wit and no uncertain opinions of other gurus. I had read the 2nd edition of this book 15 years or so ago. The 3rd edition is updated and most importantly has been rearranged to be more effective. John’s take on other guru’s is hysterical and correct. His real estate advice is sound although he does have a strange dislike of 1031 exchanges.
  2. “”The Encyclopedia of Commercial Real Estate Advice” (528 pages, hardback, 2020) by Terry Painter: Still in work. The few times I dipped into it; I was impressed. This is dragging on and it shouldn’t be. The content is interesting. We just closed one commercial loan refinance ($750K) and are working on another ($6M) so I should have some motivation.

Not pictured:

  1. “Investing in Senior Housing” (119 pages, paperback, 2018) by Gene Guarino and Jim Guarino and “Blueprint: How to Start a Residential Assisted Living Business” (116 pages, pdf, 2020) by Gene Guarino. I will discuss these as one book since they are by the same authors on the same subject in roughly the same publishing time. These books are basically informercials for Gene’s “Residential Assisted Living Academy”. If they were not any good, I wouldn’t give them a bad review. I just wouldn’t mention them. I enjoyed these books for two reasons. Gene and his brother Jim have some interesting life stories and the information on running an assisted living facility has valuable financial, organizational, and business insight. You can get the pdf for “free”; just by giving Gene your email address. Then you get a constant stream of solicitation emails. Eventually I will just unsubscribe. But the personal stories in the books are interesting and the information is accurate based on our personal experience with our mother being in an assisted living facility. In fact, we are looking at buying an existing assisted living business. That is one reason I got these books. The business includes the underlying real estate. More on that later.
  1. “Intercessory Prayer” (275 pages, paperback, 1996) by Dutch Sheets: I just started reading this. I have read the first two chapters. If the rest is as good, and as documented, this is an OUTSTANDING book on what is intercessory prayer and how to do it. I like his explanation of theology and how he backs each claim with scripture.
  2. “The Drama of Scripture” (272 pages, paperback, 2014) by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen: Recommended by Pastor Jeff. I skimmed the first two chapters and really like this approach. Let’s see how it ends.
  3. “The One Year Bible” with help from the “Lutheran Study Bible“.