Snippets: Good to Great

In contrast to the very I-centric leaders of the comparison leaders, we were struck by how the good-to-great leaders didn’t talk about themselves.… When pressed to talk about themselves, they’d say things like, “I hope I’m not sounding like a big shot.” … Those who worked or wrote about the good-to-great leaders continually used words like quiet, humble, modest, reserved, shy, gracious, mild-mannered, self-effacing, understated, did not believe his own clippings; and so forth.… The good-to-great leaders never wanted to become larger-than-life heroes. They never aspired to be put on a pedestal or become unreachable icons. They were seemingly normal people quietly producing extraordinary results. (27-28)

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Review: Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Langauge

Deborah Fallows book Dreaming in Chinese is a cleverly presented exploration of Chinese culture, as seen through her eyes as an expatriate living in China.  Her book is presented through the lens of a learner of Mandarin and Chinese culture, and is a record of the cultural insights she gains as she explores new facets of life in China.
     The book is well-organized, with each chapter beginning with a Chinese character and word.  This word serves as the launching point for the facet of language and culture she explores in that chapter.  Her chosen topics focus on aspects of everyday life, such as conventions of politeness, names, giving directions, and rule-following.  Other chapters focus more directly on the conventions of language, such as tone, dialect, and pronoun use, but then explore the way in which language has made its imprint on culture.  Much of the book is an exploration of the relationship between language and culture; however, it is neither dry nor theoretical.  Language and culture connections are explored through well told stories of the author's daily interactions while in China.
     Dreaming in Chinese is an excellent book for anyone interested in learning more about Chinese language and culture.  The book also captures much of the shared experience of anyone seeking to become a part of a new culture by learning its language, and resonates well with those on the culture learning journey.

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language

Snippets: Living Gently in a Violent World

I'm not interested in doing a good job.  I am interested in an ecclesial vision for community.  We are brothers and sisters, and Jesus is calling us from the pyramid to become a body.
-Jean Vanier

Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness (Resources for Reconciliation)

September Reading Log

This month has been a little more hectic than most, so the reading log for this month is a short one.

• Dreaming in Chinese:  Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language by Deborah Fallows
• With:  A Practical Approach to Informal Mentoring by Alvin L. Reid
• Set Apart: Calling a Worldly Church to a Godly Life by Kent R. Hughes
• God, Grace, and Girlfriends by Mary R. Snyder
• Living Gently in a Violent World:  The Prophetic Witness of Weakness by Jean Vanier and Stanley Hauerwas
• Speech is a River by Ruth Mead