Learning To Speak Alzheimer's - Joanne Koenig Coste

 Just listening to this book and the few-minutes-long antidotal stories made me frustrated.  I have learned that I am unlikely to be able to deal with caring for an Alzheimer's patient.  My whole life's view is based on logic, which is totally devoid in an Alzheimer's patient.  I have a grandparent on each side who had it and I will not be able to care for one of my parents if they develop this. 

I completely support the ideas for care and the themes in the book.  I completely believe the author has laid out the best way to care for someone suffering from this disease.  This method is the most compassionate and effective method, and I just could not ever do it. (I'll take this moment to point out that I could not ever care for children for the same reasons.) 

Much of the author's ideas make so much since once you understand how messed up an Alzheimer's patient's mind is.  Their brain no longer understand or recognizes what they are looking at so they think their reflection in the mirror is a stranger, or painting/coloring the floor/vanity/walls around important items like toilets or sinks a sharply contrasting color to make it more visible and obvious what it is so the Alzheimer's patient can see and recognize it.  When they ask for impossible things like going back to their childhood home or speaking to their dead mother, do not tell them that's impossible but rather ask them to describe their mother/home.  Basically, divert them into talking about whatever it is they want instead.  Make the old doorknob defunct and install a new, higher one so they can't open the doors and walk out.  Feed them finger foods like a child because they can't use utensils.  Making sure they change their underwear and drink water and reassure them there's no boogey man under the bed (or in my grandmother's case, outside in the car or barn).  It's basically like caring for a small child and everything I hate about that process. 

Day Trading: A Step by Step Guide to Creating Passive Income and Financial Freedom - John Josefh Mallardh

 Lots of smart advice like practice first before risking real money, if you are in a slump just get out for a bit to clear your head, and most importantly do not ever use money you can't afford to lose! The patterns didn't translate so well in an audiobook but I know of them and could look them up.  I assume they are all in the print version of this book.  But for me, the biggest take home is I don't have enough money to do this and won't ever if only looking at my personal income.  Apparently, no one will let you day trade without tens of thousands of dollars.  So now I see why stuff like Robinhood took off so hard, even after all the closures and sketchy business practices were publicized.  

The Jungle - Upton Sinclair

 Here we have another book that I somehow got through all of school without reading.  This one is a long-term classic and it is referenced often not only in media but in government related affairs too, so it was a pretty obvious one to put on my list.  I'm glad I finally got around to it.

This book was fascinating and anxiety-inducing and great, up until the last few chapters that devolved into some sort of communist manifesto.  As immigrants who don't understand the trap, you are filled with dread for all the MC's.  Everything goes wrong in all the predictable ways and the author has done a wonderful job of capturing the suffocating helplessness of their plight and those like them.  This is not a happy book, but I still think everyone should read it!  It is amazing how far we have come as a society!  

"I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."

Sinclair wrote this book to open the eyes of the established Americans to the unfair struggles of the poor and newer immigrants.  Apparently, no one gave a shit about poor children drowning in mud or women needlessly dying in childbirth or unemployment leading to death, but the horrors of the food impurities stuck because those people had to eat it.  They didn't care about the problems that didn't touch them.  While it wasn't his goal, I'm very happy that no longer have to worry about rats dead of poison being swept into the sausage machine. There was considerable good that came out of this incredibly long expose, even if it wasn't the outcome the author intended.  This book was the reason we created the governmental oversight in food and drugs so every American should read it. 

Changes - Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files, Bk. 12)

 My first knee-jerk reaction to this was, "Oh no, this is going downhill."  It was that internal groan of "why do children have to be a plot twist?"  As a general rule, any time surprise children show up, it's bs.  

Oh, how convenient!  You have offspring that, despite never having met, you feel suicidally protective over for no reason and completely without bonding.  But you never had to be bogged down with the actual work and sacrifice that leads to caring about a child's well-being.  (Let's be honest.  There are people who do raise their own children and still don't care about them.)

The whole plot is basically the child has to exist for the MC to give a crap and do something about it.  Then "for her own good" the child is shoved off in some unknown corner of the world where the MC still doesn't have to do any of the actual work to raise it and you know she will come back in 5-8 years as a teenager full of angst/rage/confusion about where her real parents are, bla bla bla.  

I hate children as plot devices so much.

1776 - David McCullough

 Every American needs to read this book.  It is an amazing trip through the American revolution in only the year 1776.  The war for freedom went on a long time, but several of the battles in this year were important in getting the message to Britain that the Americans were serious.  Up until the end of this year, the king and parliament thought it was just a small uprising, even after Bunker hill.  

But the reason I so highly recommend this book is the details.  You have heard of these battles in your boring high school history class, but the details are what bring the story to life and a HS class just doesn't have time for that.  Knox dragging 60 cannons from the Canadian border to Boston, Greene running out of a snowstorm on Christmas taking the Hessians by surprise, Washington pushing his men so deftly that the British estimated he must have 14,000-20,000 men in the American army when they really had only 8,000.  All of those fantastic and amazing stories get lost in the speed with which the material is covered in an American history class, so revisit that time.  You will come away with a much great appreciation of everyone involved in that whole time period.

Stock Market Investing for Beginners - John Josefh Mallardh

 A great overview but I was definitely left feeling like I needed a lot more details on each topic before jumping into it myself.  I guess that makes this book a good place to start when you're considering investing options.  

Click, Click, ChaChing!: Learn the best and easiest way to build a passive income in 2020- Raphael Leonardo

 Despite the horrid title, this book was a reasonably interesting and diverse in its topics.  I think the author's varied approach was honest and the potential negatives were addressed even if the plus side was over emphasized.  The author focused more on methods that seemed more likely to be successful like online stores and advertising as opposed to barely mentioning blogging or selling photo, which makes sense if the purpose is to create revenue.  I'd say this is a good book if you just want to think of what's out there for you to try, but there are no secret details that will really help get your head above the rest.