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Brent M. Jones - Connected Events Matter

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Exploring the unexpected connections that shape our lives

 

 

 

Book Reviews, Comments & Stories,       Quotes, & Poetry & More

 

 

 

"Connections and Why They Matter"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of what happens in our life will spark a connection.  Life connects with what has been found in books. Books connect with what happens in life. Use the connections to help you see more clearly. A love of reading and writing is what motivated the creation of this blog. Thank you for coming to the blog. 

 

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Brent M. Jones - Connected Events Matter

  • Home Page |
  • Author-Page |
  • My Books |
    • "My Books" Section Home Page
    • The Power of Authentic Communication: Speak Clearly, Listen Well, Connect with Confidence
    • Finding the Best Version of Ourselves: The Interview of Self
    • Interviewing Yourself and Asking The Right Questions
    • Networking With a Purpose: The Informational Interview, It's Use ...................l
    • "The Human Factor: How Finding Your Dream Job Starts By Getting To Know Yourself’
    • Why Professionals Use LinkedIn
    • Work Matters It takes Technology..
    • Work Matters Insights & Stategies for Job Seekers in this Rapidly Changing Economy →
    • Terminology Is More Than Words
    • Embrace Life’s Randomness: Path to Personal Reinvention
    • Why Life Stories Change Are We a Result of Choice or Circumstance
    • Philosophers are Self Help Authors
    • Mastering the Art of Communication: The Power of Precision in Language
    • Readers Comments Ads
    • Ad Focus for My Book Marketing
  • Literary Influences |
    • Literary Influences Overview
    • Book Reviews
    • Book Review Index A-Z
    • Book Lover Information
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    • Favorite Authors
    • Essays
    • Poetry Favorites Reviewed
    • Poetry by Brent M. Jones
    • Stephen King
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    • Writer Symbolism
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    • Attitude & Feelings Matter
    • Art & Reviews
    • Artificial Intelligence - AI
    • About Free Will, Determinism & Self Help Authors
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    • Career Development
    • Creativity
    • Coaching & Mentoring
    • Career -Insights
    • Communication - All Factors Matter
    • Employment Trends
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Education or Experience
    • Fiction & Fantasy
    • Finding Inspiration
    • Interviews & Resumes
    • Informational Interviews
    • Iconic Life Events
    • Jobs
    • Kindness , Doing Good, & Helping Others
    • LinkedIn - Using it
    • Linked Home Page - Summary
    • LinkedIn Newsletter Articles
    • Manipulation
    • Marketing - Publishing, ETC
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A Jumpstart to Life Experience can be gained through Reading →

February 19, 2023 Brent Jones
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Many book lovers write about their lifelong love of books. I didn’t start my love affair with books until I finished college. I remember a family of one of my Uncles and what seemed to be an absolute devotion to readers when the cousins were growing up. The books I saw in the girl’s rooms during our visits over the years impressed me.

I recall seeing an interview conducted by Prince Harry with President Obama. He asked him many questions, some seeming insignificant. What kind of boxer briefs do you wear? Obama said that was off-limits. Good for him. Who cares? Questions about Royal Weddings were attractive to many. The comments on social media were good ones.

These men have had exciting lives, but they have some insight beyond their path of experience. Wouldn't it be interesting to know what books had been essential and of interest to either Obama or Prince Harry? What books influenced Gandhi, Lincoln, Putin, and maybe my father and their fathers?

The books with the most significant impact on our lives change and evolve, but so do we. Some books may always make our top list. Some new ones have come. So, this year, I had several new ones that will likely stick with me. "American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee and Nothing to Envy, Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick came to mind and impacted me, but many others did.

Recalling what books I read when I was young is challenging. Unfortunately, I only read books with deeper meanings and influence once I was almost out of high school.

One time in my early teens, I recall visiting my uncle’s family on a trip our family took. He had a large family, and the two girls that were the closest to me in age were sharp. Socially, probably ahead of me at the time and perhaps even a little brighter (I can't believe I said that). Walking down the hall in their home, I remember seeing many books in the girls’ rooms. So I asked them to show me what they were reading, and they were books with more profound meaning and influence than I was used to.

This wasn't my life a-ha moment for loving books, but it was an important one, and I did up my own game and added some better books to read.

When I was about 3 or 4, my parents would take turns reading to me at bedtime. They read kid books, probably from the Little Golden Books series. At about eight years old, I started reading funny books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Donald Duck, and Uncle Scrooge. At about ten years old, I began reading Boy's Life. At around 12, I started reading movie magazines. I read the TV guide, Reader's Digest, Popular Mechanics, and everything around the house.

After about the 9th grade, I became interested in well-known dystopian books such as 1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm. By the time I started college, my interest in philosophy had led me to The Republic by Plato, Aristotle and The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, to name a few.

After High School, I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and many self-help books.

When I finished college, I began reading many business books. Robert Ringer's book "Winning Through Intimidation" impacted me. I also started reading church books. I have read the scriptures over and over throughout my life.

I have read Ulysses by James Joyce several times to determine if I could understand it. I have read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and most of what Shakespeare wrote. Moby Dick is a book that I read several times and started out hating, but after the last reading, I saw it as a great book. Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience are books I have read several times.

My love of these books led me to pick the authors that stood out. Edgar Allan Poe, Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Charles Dickens are all authors I like. Hemmingway and Mark Twain are authors I have read but don't care for. I have read great books, such as Faulkner, Nabokov, T.S. Elliot, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, and Franz Kafka.

I love the authors but love the poets even more sometimes. Robert Frost is a favorite poet, and a new poet I like and want to hear more from is Amanda Gorman. Her inauguration day poem for President Biden, "The Hill We Climb," is amazing.

Ok, I have some fallback favorites. Stephen King always gets my attention. There are several dozen authors I should have included. (Apology to Maya Angelou, for example) There are lots of modern and exciting authors.

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

~ George R.R. Martin.

In Books direct us Tags Readiing, Life
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