Welcome to a new recurring #baldinbusiness feature called Book Club Tuesday. Each week I will spotlight one book, and have a little fun in the process.
Book: Where the Crawdads Sing
Author: Delia Owens
Length: 384 pages / 12 hours and 12 minutes via Audible
Why I chose to read it: This book profoundly moved my wife, Sarah, and she asked me to read it. I am including it on book club Tuesday to make the point that leaders should read FICTION in addition to non-fiction. Three benefits I have discovered about reading fiction are: It makes me a better story teller. It provides rest from the pursuit of self-improvement. It often teaches me something about life through the narrative.
My Takeaways (3 or less): I found my emotions wanting to do anything I could to protect Kya while reading this story. The more she was marginalized as the “marsh girl,” the more my compassion and empathy for the “other” grew. This growth makes this book impactful to my leadership. I suppose a final takeaway from this book was the reminder of the awesomeness of God’s creation, and how my soul is better when I am regularly in nature.
What does this book motivate me to DO? This book motivated me to tell more stories, give more to the poor, and spend more time in nature.
Who should read this book? Leaders that do not feel like they have time to read fiction. People that feel critical, or judgmental, about the poor.
I would sum my rating of the book as…The best fiction book I have read in 2019, but not the best I have read the last few years. If you have limited time for fiction, I would recommend The Nightingale, A Gentleman in Moscow, or All the Light We Cannot See first. Still, I highly recommend this book, fiction in general, and reading the books your wife asks you to read.
“If you haven’t read hundreds of books, learning from others who went before you, you are functionally illiterate. You can’t coach, and you can’t lead.” Jim Mattis