The Noticer

I saw a tweet last week that Andy Andrew’s book The Noticer was available for the Kindle for $2.99 so I snagged it. I’ve read The Final Summit and The Traveler’s Gift and enjoyed both of them.  Andrews is a good storyteller and he pulls you into the tale he is weaving.

One of the things I enjoyed about his other writings was the use of biographies of both well-known and somewhat obscure characters from history.

The Noticer, who goes by Jones (just Jones, not Mr. Jones) pops in and out-of-town and offers wisdom and advice to the people he meets.  He doesn’t seem to age and is always seen carrying a weathered, brown suitcase. The contents of the suitcase are a mystery to everyone he encounters.  He says his gift is noticing things and people just need a little perspective, so he offers that different perspective.  Much of what he shares with others comes from the lives of those in the past.  He refers to George Washington Carver among many others and provides helpful advice at the time people need to hear it.  He helps a couple struggling in their marriage, a business man trying to cut corners in order to be successful, a young man who is facing various difficulties in life and even dispenses relationship advice to teenagers. He shows up at the just the right place, at just the right time, with the right words for the situation.

One of the quotes I highlighted in the book was this:  “Have you ever considered how often we judge ourselves by our intentions while we judge others by their actions?”

The Noticer offers good advice and a different perspective to the reader.  Check it out.