Try Softer

Try Softer, by Aundi Kolber

10/60 | Started 09.12.25 • Finished 02.18.26 | 3.5 stars

This book came highly recommended from a few friends, and I've also seen it touted as impactful on various review pages in various circles. The premise is that instead of white-knuckling our way through life, we need to "try softer," a phrase Kolber picked up from a former mentor-type person.

The book is divided into two sections, the first of which has to do with the scientifics of the brain, attachment, and something called the window of tolerance. In the second section, chapters are divided into a "try softer with ___________" format. So more of a practical application, or how to apply the principles learned in the first section.

In some chapters I underlined extensively. Others not at all. There were some really poignant statements and there were some pretty woo-woo ones. So this book was kind of hit or miss for me. I think if you're more into the therapeutic world, this might be more up your alley than it was mine.

Little Britches

Little Britches, by Ralph Moody

9/60 | Started 02.09.26 • Finished 02.17.26 | 5 stars

I love this little book about Ralph and his family. At the beginning of the book, they relocate from New Hampshire to a ranch in Colorado that isn't all they thought it was going to be. With a lot of sweat and hard work, Ralph and his father make a go of it. The book is filled with stories that show Ralph coming of age both at home and on neighboring ranches. Along the way, he and his father learn about water rights, severe weather, raising livestock, planting crops, and training horses, among other things. There are a lot of lessons about becoming a man of character. Ralph himself becomes quite the horseman and someone his father can trust. A really delightful read-aloud (read it to the boys years ago) but I also enjoyed reading it for myself.

The Twenty-One Balloons

The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene du Bois

8/60 | Started 01.15.26 • Finished 02.09.26 | 5 stars

The book is about a man named Professor William Waterman Sherman. He is a balloonist who tries to fly across the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon called The Globe. Instead he crash lands on the island of Krakatoa. He finds a group of people living secretly on the volcanic island. He sees the diamond mines, experiences the restaurant government, and takes a ride on the balloon merry-go-round. Then one day the volcano explodes and everybody escapes on a balloon platform. The Professor crash lands into the Atlantic Ocean and is rescued. He is then taken back to San Francisco where he tells the story of his adventure.

Carolyn, age 9