The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Again, loved it.  As I said in my comments on The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, these books are generally ageless, yet there are a few more adult themes in this book, yet they are left as themes.  You don't find adult scenes or major plot elements.  Concepts such as marital infidelity are still approached from the eyes of 10-year old.  I recommend this book, as I enjoyed it as much as its predecessor.

Question of the day:  What is the real series-wide conflict?  Is it the potential loss of Buckshaw?  Or is it the broken family relationships?  Or Harriet's apparent death?  (Yes, I said apparent.  I held out hope for Harry Potter's parents until Book 3 or 4, so I can afford Flavia the same optimism...)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two things come to mind when thinking about this book that I love in almost all of my favorite books.  Characterization and agelessness.

Characterization is a big word, so let me use some smaller words to explain what it means to me.  It means that the character is real to me.  They have a past, present and future.  Personality traits color their dialogue and perception of the world.  Acting for their own reasons, they shape the plot in an unconscious way, and yet at no time does the reader find them acting in a way inconsistent with who they are.  It is for this reason that I love the Junie B. Jones books, and with this bias is no possible way that I can't love riding on Gladys's handlebars with Flavia de Luce as she solves mysteries.

Flavia, a precocious 10-year old, is the star of Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and its progeny.  Her actions are consistent, her voice is contagious and her humanity is key to the plot.  I can't say enough good things about Alan Bradley's ability to introduce us to such a unique character.

So the other stand-out quality in this book is its agelessness.  By that I mean that it has a potential audience of anyone who can read a 300 page book.  There isn't a demographic that I can think of that wouldn't find something enjoyable about this plot or cast.  As an adult who favors juvenile literature, I really appreciate a story that can apply to all ages.  It is an art that is lost in many of today's action-oriented thrillers, philosophical book club favorites, and overly graphic love stories.

I must give some small comment about the fantastic nature of Flavia's chemical knowledge.  I don't see this as a character flaw, as much as an oddity of the plot or book as a whole.  Being a fantasy reader, I am ok with these kinds of exceptions to reality, and the passion that Flavia has for the subject carries the day for me.

Solid 5 stars.  Go read it now.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second "fable" by Lencioni that I have read, and I find his books enjoyable and useful for several reasons.

1. The "fable" format works, and I feel a little better about adding them to the Fiction Room blog since they include actual fiction. They are highly consumable and fairly concise. That is what I want in a business book. It is still work, after all, and I would like to get the info I need, along with examples of how to try it out, and then get back to my own recreational reading...

2. The content of both 5 Dysfunctions and Death by Meeting are simple, yet profound concepts that speak to pain points in today's business environment. I don't need multiple studies to prove something that I already know (ie, that most meetings are broken and that most teams don't know how to get results.) I just need suggestions on how to address them that can be tested/implemented fairly quickly.

If I were to include a criticism of this book, it would be that while the story works, the drama/characterization is a little over the top sometimes. Maybe over the top is not what I mean, maybe it is just a weak point in Lencioni's style (we all have weak points.) His creative writing is not bad, but obviously not his first passion.

I recommend Lencioni (it is now required reading for my team) and look forward to products he has to offer.