Letters to Falcons

To you, young Falcons,

The one book I think everyone should read is Moby-Dick. Aside from being a great adventure story and description of a fascinating, demanding and brutal industry, it is a thought-provoking philosophical journey.

Herman Melville questioned the meaning of existence with postmodern storytelling techniques that were a hundred years ahead of their time.

To you, young Falcons,

It is hard to decide on one book that is my favorite – I have read many, and liked different ones at different times.

At times my favorite has been the Odyssey because of all that it has in it – love, loss, courage, challenge, faith and faithlessness.

It is all wrapped up in a world that is more simple than our own, quite different from our own, and yet very familiar.

To you, young Falcons,

A favorite book of mine is titled Breakfast with Seneca by David Fideler.

The book teaches its reader to think like a stoic, which involves only commenting on events and human interactions one can control, and ignoring the ones we can’t.

To you, young Falcons,

After giving it some thought, the best I can do is give you one of my favorites.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas was my favorite book for a while in high school. I loved the sense of adventure, the ideas about ethics and justice in the book, and how ideas of revenge and forgiveness are woven through.

To you, young Falcons,

The Midnight Library is about a young woman named Nora. Nora is an extremely depressed 30-year-old who decides to take her own life. But before she could die, she was transported to a middle ground between life and the afterlife. Here, she could look back at every decision she’s ever made. She is presented with a book: 'The Book of Regrets,' which takes her through every regret she's made.

This book is amazing for those who tend to carry things from the past on their back. It is an eye-opener to how meaningful and meaningless those regrets can be. If you are a person who struggles to let go of certain events of your life, this is a book you should pick up.