10% Happier :How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris

For those of you who do not know, I work for PA's Department of Education issuing teacher certifications.  Our peak season is usually from college graduation in May (new graduates who want to become teachers) until the start of school in September (schools trying to get their staff situated) each year.  As May approaches, I start to feel a cloud of anxiety hovering over the office.  Before you have time to realize it, you're already drowning in work.  In preparation for this year's busy season, I thought this book might be the perfect thing to help get me in the right mind set.  I mean, who wouldn't want to be 10% happier?  Especially if I could hone into that right before chaos rains down at work.

Dan Harris, the author, talks about his rise through the ranks as a news anchor from a small town local station in Maine to shows like Good Morning America and Nightline.  Throughout the book he covers the fears he faced like receding hair lines or the subject matter of his stories.  He talks about the competitiveness of the job and the need to stay relevant to the public.  In 2004, Dan has a panic attack on live TV.  Since he is still trying to climb the ladder to bigger and better stories, he doesn't tell his coworkers exactly what happened to him and instead starts a quest to calm his panic attacks.  He used his current assignment, covering faith and religion, to seek out influencers and self-help gurus to interview.  Dan uses his journalism connections to meet with Deepak Chopra, Ekhart Tolle, and Ted Haggard to name a few.  Through those connections he starts to resonate with Buddhism and specifically mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness meditation is bringing awareness to the present moment versus the older ideas of clearing your mind completely.  Most mindfulness practices guide you to find acceptance, peace, and non-judgement in the present moment, your current circumstances, and any struggles or pain you're currently experiencing.  The initial concept is the same to the stereotypical meditation.  You can sit or lie down, close your eyes, and concentrate on your breathing.  From that point, you have to focus your thoughts on the present moment.  This is the hardest part for most people.  It's pretty easy to think about your grocery list, the 500 things you have to clean in your house, or your screaming kids down the hall.  It is a lot harder to really focus in and continually redirect your mind to this exact moment.  Not the future, not the past, but this exact moment right now.  Some guided practices will have you think about things like the feeling of your breath as it expands your chest or the feeling of your clothing on your skin to help keep you in the present moment.  In moments of chaos or stress, mindfulness meditation can help bring you back to reality.  So many of us focus on our growing to-do list, deadlines, or past failures.  Instead, we can take a moment to remember that in this present moment I'm breathing, I'm capable, and I'm okay.  Then you can start to tackle your to-do lists with a clearer mind-set and less panic.

I know there are other books specific to mindfulness meditation and guided meditation out there.  The only other one I've personally read is "You Are Not Your Pain" by Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman, which is specific to chronic pain meditation.  It comes with a CD with guided meditation practices.  The book explains the concepts and idea of mindfulness as well as an overview of the guided meditation that will be covered on the CD.  I strongly encourage you to look into the other books and CDs available if you are looking for a more guided practice to mindfulness meditation.  Mindfulness can be a huge game changer when it comes to stress relief, but it is a learned skill.  It takes practice and patience to work it into your every day life.

In regards to Dan Harris's book though, I found it more so an ode to journalism or a memoir rather than a self-help book.  To me, it felt like he wanted to outline his self-help journey.  So while it did explain how mindfulness meditation was the end result that worked for him personally, it isn't necessarily a book that I would recommend for someone who is interested in the basics on meditation.  But as a memoir, you can really see Harris's journalism background strongly at work.  He includes enough of his first-world drama to make you feel sympathetic at times, but doesn't forget to name drop all of his friends to even out your sympathies.  He explains his thought process to try and resolve his rising panic problems, and how he used his journalism ties and connections to his advantage in finding solutions.

While I'm glad I read the book, it was more so a general reminder to me that I need to start back up on my meditation practices this summer.  Dan Harris's book isn't something I can pick up and flip to if I need help focusing or tips on meditation.  Dan's goal is to break the stigma of meditation being a bunch of robed men sitting in a zen garden chanting to a statue.  You can practice meditation to help you fall asleep at night, right after you get home from work to help clear your mind from the day's stress, or even in a moment of gratitude.  It's a beautiful practice to help you remember that you need to live in the present and accept where you are and what you have with no reservations.  If you decide to skip Dan's book, I at least suggest you start practicing mindfulness meditation.


Rating: 2 out of 5
* Positives: Reminded me to start meditating again!  Why did I ever stop?

* Negatives: Name dropping was a bit of a turn-off.  Also expected it to be more so a self-help book and less of a memoir.

Game of Thrones aka A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin


Prepare yourself for some overwhelming numbers here... The first book "A Game of Thrones" has 694 pages.
The second book "A Clash of Kings" has 768 pages.
The third book "A Storm of Swords" has 973 pages.
The fourth book "A Feast for Crows" has 753 pages.
The fifth book "A Dance with Dragons" has 1040 pages.
The sixth and seventh books are still in progress.
If you were to listen to the audiobook versions of the entire series, it would take you 198 hours and 53 minutes.

For those of you who have managed to avoid all of the hype surrounding Game of Thrones, I'll give you a brief overview on what to expect.  It is a mix of King Arthur and his knights of the round table mixed with Lord of the Rings.  You have swords, epic battles, and political overthrow while also mixing in high fantasy with names like Daenerys Targaryen, dragons, and a map in the front of the book showing you new continents like Westeros and Essos.

George R. R. Martin published the first book in the series in 1996, but he has been writing since the 70's.  All but the first book in the series has reached the New York Times weekly bestseller list.  However, George R. R. Martin is infamous for taking an extraordinarily long time to write the books.  Readers have been waiting since 2011 for the next installment in the series.

Also in 2011, HBO premiered the first episode of their fantasy drama adaptation of the books, which has since skyrocketed the series to fame and fandom.  The TV series has received 38 Primetime Emmy Awards.  This means that they have won more Emmy's than any other primetime scripted television series.

So the big question...
is it worth it to read the books?

First, I'll give you the overview of how I experienced them both.  Derrick and I joined the TV show bandwagon late.  We started watching right before Season 7 started.  For context, season seven started July 2017.  I set myself a goal to read the books before we watched the TV series.  Derrick bought me the box-set of the books for my birthday on July 2016.  I had one year to read the books and then hopefully watching the first six seasons of the show before the newest season started.  I thought I started out strong!  Book One, Book Two, and Book Three took about two to three months each to finish.  They were exciting, new, and I knew I had a deadline.  I have to be honest, the books can be confusing because they introduce you to a multitude of characters, background history, and they expect you to follow along with different story lines without getting confused.  I'm very much a visual reader.  Too many characters or story lines can make it difficult to conceptualize how the character's lives are meant to tie together or crossover.  Then we started watching the TV show, and things started to go downhill.  On one hand, I had a better understanding of the plot and character arcs with the visuals from the show.  On the other hand, the TV shows are made like movie productions.  The momentum was so much stronger than the books, and I started to lose interest in my reading.  I began to read the books merely for the sake of completing them versus any enjoyment in the book itself.  Nevertheless, I was able to finish Book Four and get about halfway through Book Five all while watching the first six seasons of the TV show.  We were able to watch Season 7 on time as it aired.  Around that time, I began to realize that the book plot and TV plot weren't necessarily lining up the same way.  I remember re-reading sections because they were so different from what I had seen on the show, and I couldn't image that George R. R. Martin would have signed off on such a drastic turn of events!  By the time the TV show ended, I had no desire to finish the last book.  Book Five sat on my bed side for 6+ months, with maybe a few pages read here or there in between other books, but no real progress ever being made.  Finally, in the last month, I decided to finish the book and just be done with it!  Now that there had been time away from the TV show and the book, I realized how far apart the book and TV show plot lines are at this point.  The TV show has delved well into the unwritten book's plot lines.  Yet somehow, previous crucial moments in the books never made it to the TV show.

You may be surprised by this, but I think there will only be two main instances where people will enjoy reading the books:
1) They love the fantasy genre.
2) They are die-hard Game of Thrones TV show fans.

Problem One: George R. R. Martin takes too long to write them.  If I didn't have to wait 7 years in between each book, then I don't think I would lose interest.  I can't imagine being a fan of the books and seeing an entire seven series TV show being produced before a new book could come out.  So disheartening!

Problem Two: High fantasy is tough.  I like to believe that most people read books because they like seeing themselves in someone else (struggling teenager sees himself in reading about a struggling teenager) or because they c an escape (struggling teenager can read about adventures and mystery instead of worrying about real life problems).  It is hard to feel like you're truly escaping into a book when you're trying to remember the differences between Khal Jhaqo and Khal Pono.

Problem Three: The TV show is such a high production event.  Each episode costs an average of $10 million to make.  With all the money and investment, they want the show to be interesting and exciting.  They are only going to show the most crucial and exciting parts.  While there are a lot of details that you miss while converting the books to TV, I don't think George R. R. Martin would allow critical moments to be exempt from the script.  Apparently, George R. R. Martin has told the showrunners "how it all ends" to ensure that they don't go too off script.  Even though the plot lines are so far apart now, I can’t determine if there will be a huge difference between the forthcoming books and TV show.  It’s probably a lot more exciting to watch a high quality HBO show than it is for the average person to read the massive book series.

My only fear is that he will have two different endings.  One for the TV show and one for the books.  Only time will tell us if that is the case!  There are also people who are concerned he may not ever finish the book series, as he’s currently 69 and not the healthiest person around.  Perhaps we may only have the TV show left if the book series is left unfinished.


Regardless, I wouldn't recommend the books to anyone outside of the two categories I mentioned before.  It is such an investment of time and energy to read through those books without any knowledge of the TV show OR without anticipation of a new season egging you on to finish the series.  Without hesitation I would tell someone to watch the TV series though.  They are fantastic, exciting, interesting, and it is well worth the HBO subscription!