Oh, awesome! I'll let you know once I finish too, then we can exchange more of our thoughts
I believe Wilfred Thesiger was an explorer in Arabia some time after Lawrence captured Damascus, or possibly at the same time. I think he mentioned Lawrence a few times in Arabian Sands. It's a very good book, it captures a very different perspective than Seven Pillars (not saying Seven Pillars is bad or anything, it's just different from AS). Thesiger is very fascinated by the desert and Bedu culture.
Yes, I think the Collins Classics version of the Odyssey is by Lawrence. It's not in poetic form, though, which is why I didn't finish it and switched to Fagles.
The Young Writers Summit sounds really interesting! I don't think I've heard of it before, but I'll look it up.
Yes please, I can always use book recommendations
Edit: : and D together as a smiley face automatically get replaced as
. Whyyyyyyyy
I will certainly check out Arabian Sands soon! Thanks.
For the Recommendations
Brett Harris gave the incredible opening talk on mindset, deliberate practice, and passion -
He recommended:
- Do Hard Things by Brett Harris and Alex Harris
- Grit: The power of passion and perseverance by Angela Duckworth
He also mentioned these
books in his talk; not necessarily as reading:
Peak: secrets of the science of expertise
The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance
by K. Anders Ericsson, Robert R. Hoffman
Developing talent in young people by Benjamin bloom
Betsie Farquhar of the Redeemed Reader did her presentation on reading and recommended many books to illustrate her points. These stood out to me:
- The Mabinogion (I had heard of this before. She said a professor recommended it to her but she did not read it until many years later; she wished she had read it sooner.)
She recommended a few Middle Eastern/Arabian books which you are interested in:
- Everything Sad is Untrue
and to read deeper in this recommended:
- Family edition of the Arabian nights
- Teacher of Nomad Land
I personally do not know much about these myself though.
Andrew Pudewa actually did his talk based on this book (which he recommended to be read many times over):
- How to think like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education by Dr. Scott Newstok
He was currently reading and recommended
- Theo of Golden by Allan Levi
as well.
You may want to check out the various speakers at the Summit (as many write books):
- S. D. Smith
- Millie Florence
- Betsy Farquhar
- Wayne Thomas Batson
- Kimberley Woodhouse
- Andrew Pudewa
- Candace Kade
- Erin Phillips
- Chuck Black
You should attend the summit next year if you can - there are
so many other recommendations that you have to hear yourself to pick out ones that interest you; besides everything else shared! I personally have an every growing list of books; they seem to be scattered all over the place though... I need to do some organization. Maybe if you are interested in a certain topic I could share particular books.
On the emojis - Yes, I get you! I wish you could just use symbols sometimes instead of a smiley face - it often fits better.
P.S. I cannot help but share these takeaways from Brett:
I. He emphasized this definition of passion which is so helpful:
It is not an emotion but, "an abiding interest and a willingness to suffer for it."
II. Deliberate practice ("key to improving any complex skill")
has 6 characteristics. the more you have, the more successful you will be:
- it takes place outside your comfort zone
- designed/overseen by an expert
- specific goals (not vague improvement)
- regular feedback
- effective mental models/
organizations for learning
- fundamentals first
