Reading Fanatic Reviews
Advice and How To NonfictionWoozie (Grandmother) Wisdom by Lynn Hubschman
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Woozie (Grandmother) Wisdom*
Life, Sex, and Love Advice from Therapist and Grandmothter
The author is both a grandmother and a professional therapist with a career spanning 30 years focusing on relationships and sex. As the subtitle suggests, the book is divided into three sections: life, sex, and love. Each section is further divided into short, vaguely interrelated articles headed by an interesting quote. The author shares her personal experience and professional wisdom about each topic. The life section looks at things from parenting to stress to grieving. The sex section looks at the emotional meaning and relationship enhancing aspects of it as well as sexual practices. Finally, the love section covers such topics as dating, control, and how men and woman can perceive each other wrong.
There were some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. The author seems to have an eclectic style with a love of semicolons that sometimes impeded meaning or impact. Word choice was at times odd or wrong. For instance, I believe there was a place where she meant to say that a man was concerned about being virile rather than virulent.
The author frankly discusses all these topics, so if you’re a little squeamish about reading about the details of sex and sexual practices, this aspect of the book may make you feel uncomfortable. She discusses some generational differences with each of the topics as well. Imagine It must be interesting to grow up with a mother who was a relationship and sex counselor; I wonder if it is as surreal for her grandchildren as I imagine it would be!
Mini Style Guide by Denise O’Hagan
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Mini Style Guide*
OK as Far as It Goes
I’m an editor myself, so I was curious about what this book would have to say about style. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is the largest and has to do with good writing—like how to write in plain English, commonly misused words, and copyright—as well as a punctuation guide. The second section looks at manuscript presentation while the final section gives a brief look at the publishing industry today (traditional vs. self-publishing). The appendix at the back has letters and forms that were mentioned in the main text.
The author is Australian. There are sections in the front that discuss British vs. American English, not just the one that is entitled that. I am an American myself, so I found her examples of American English sometimes to be inaccurate, like the discussion about sneakers and gym shoes. At least where I live in the western United States, we rarely call them sneakers; we are more apt to say tennis shoes or tennies. In one example that I thought was rather amusing, she stated that Americans are more prone to turn brand names into verbs, but then the example she gave of such a transformation is one that is never said in America; it’s a British term.
As an editor, I had hopes that this book would be something I could recommend to my clients to help them understand how to approach style and good writing better. I thought the initial sections of the book didn’t directly apply to what most writers want or need today. In the parts that would be most applicable, the descriptions were either too wordy or not explanatory enough. I would have liked this book to have been something an author could just pick up, flip to a particular question about style and find a quick, easy, and applicable answer to get them going on their way.
I think, too, that Americans could be confused by the style used in this book itself. Perhaps we need a streamlined guide similar to this but written by an American editor so that the gap between what the writer should be going for and what the writer reads in the guide isn’t so large.
For a book about style that has been edited, there were inconsistencies about punctuating the examples. Some of these examples seem like complete sentences but didn’t have periods, or full stops as this author would say. I thought that the sections on manuscript presentation and publishing were too short to be of much use.
Your Rebel Plans by Tikiri Herath
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Your Rebel Plans*
Part Two of Living Your Best Life
I was lucky enough to have reviewed the first book of this three book series, Your Rebel Dreams, which I loved for how it gets you focused on your values and vision. The author continues the Rebel Diva series with another exceptional book to help you figure out how to bring your dreams into fruition with goals and a solid plan. As in the other book, the author is teacher and cheerleader. She gives solid guidelines to help you figure out your goals and action plans, and she truly comes across as someone who cares whether or not you’re able to do what this book lays out.
The book is structured thus: a long introductory section on a variety of topics meant to get you ready for the process, the core of the book split into weeks with concrete goals for each week, and a wrap-up section. The first portion is meant to knock down barriers and build confidence through structured exercises. The weekly part that follows is broken down into making smart goals, making an action plan to achieve those goals, checking in to see how you are doing, and how to get it done. At the end of each week, there is a little check-in section to see how you’re feeling about the process. The final section is something I think has great power even though it is short. I love the ideas of making a pledge to yourself and having long-term check-ins and reevaluations.
The author is so supportive that I think this series is worthwhile for any woman who wants to coalesce what her dreams are and bring them to fruition so she can have the life that she wants. It is a beautiful process that has been outlined by a caring person who has clearly walked the talk. She adds fantastic freebies that enhance the book, like a printable PDF that you can use as you follow along as well as a free book about busting your fears. The author means to empower women to live openly and joyously aligned with their values, and I think she has created a series that can do just that.
The Stress Eating Solution by Laurel Mellin
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Stress Eating Solution*
Rewire Your Brain
This book purports to help you quit stress eating—which the author loosely defines as eating nonhealthful foods when you’re not hungry for emotional reasons like pleasure, comfort, love, or fear—by using the brain’s inherent neuroplasticity to rewire itself into more healthy, authentic constructs. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of neuroplasticity, it simply means that our brains are more adaptable and easier to change than we think. The brain has billions of neurons that make physical connections that allowed us to think, feel, move, and do everything in life. These neurons fire together in patterns to bring up memories, make us move, and organize our thoughts, amongst other activities.
I am an RN, and neuroplasticity was something that interested me while I was in nursing school. I read quite a bit about it. Our brains are amazing organs that have truly untapped potential.
So, when I found out this book had to do with neuroplasticity and what the author calls “emotional brain training,” I was curious. In the Welcome section of the book, she describes some structures of the brain and recent thoughts on brain science. She credits those from whom her ideas spring. While she tries to simplify it, the descriptions do get a little technical at times. In this Welcome section, she also set up some concepts like a joy inventory. Before you start the first 30 days of the program, she also has you tell your story of weight and overeating so you can work with your personal narrative in the pages that follow; she then tells you how to set up the practice that you will be following over the two months of the program and afterward.
The work that is meant to be done over the first month takes up the bulk of the book. In this section, she gives you tools to better understand yourself, to incorporate joy, and to work on specific circuits that have to do with eating and releasing weight. Each day is divided into a mini-essay about the topic of the day, why it is important, how to do, other little tips and insights, and a checklist of what precisely you should do that day.
The scientific aspect of the work is not the only potentially difficult concept that you will have to work with. It is clear the author has been working with this training for a long time—I believe she is one of the founders of EBT—so she has created a lot of jargon and buzzwords to describe EBT concepts, tools, and practices. Even some regular words, like sanctuary and freedom—are given special meaning within this system. The book, I believe, really needs a glossary so that you can more easily dial in on the precise definitions of these concepts as you are working through them each day. I found this particularly confusing in the Using Tech to Connect section, where she tells you ways to connect (which appear to be an integral part of the process). There is a lot of jargon there that has not been introduced so that it is actually meaningless to read it before you dive into the rest of the book. A brief glossary in that connection section would have been helpful or a few words that describe each EBT buzzword or phrase within the suggestions themselves would be useful as well as a glossary at the beginning or end of the book that can be easily flipped to.
At the beginning of the book, she states that each day’s work on this process should take about 10 minutes. This is definitely not true. It might take you that long or less to read about the days topic but to actually implement it will often take continuous work throughout the day or more than 10 minutes at a given time.
The book has some of the common problems with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The book is said to have two editors, but I am curious whether there was an actual copyeditor and/or proofreader.
One thing that the author should fully disclose on whatever book sites she sells this on—and I am letting you know here—is that her website in support of this book is a membership site. While the connections that she says are essential to this process can be made if you find like-minded people interested in the program, she definitely promotes her website’s telegroups and app. I’m not sure if the app is free, as I haven’t looked at it, but nothing else is. At the time that I write this, the price for different levels of what you might need or want range from $39 to $699.
All that said, I find the concept of this book fascinating and wonder at its efficacy. I am tempted to try it out—my own personal free version—but I am unsure if I will truly be able to devote the time that I believe it will actually take to do correctly.
A Morning Routine by Lola R. Marie
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
A Morning Routine*
Start the Day off Right
The author shares her thoughts and ideas about the importance of the creation of a good morning routine. In the introduction, she states that she has struggled with her daily routine in general, but setting up a solid morning routine has been helpful. She’s open about her successes and failures; she tested out a variety of ideas while she was figuring this out in her own life. The latter half of the book is meditations that you can incorporate into your morning routine. The first section is eight chapters that first discuss the waking up process and the benefits of a morning routine. She spends some time discussing the sleep environment because good sleep is the foundation for a good morning. As an insomniac, I can tell you that it is true. Then, she starts talking about the elements of what could make up your morning routine, like waking up your body with exercise or your mind with meditation or journaling as well as some thoughts on grooming. She wraps up this section of the book by discussing how to create your own personal routine and telling you how you may be able to extend the routine to others you happen to live with.
When I first started reading the book, I almost felt a little overwhelmed at all she suggested, with the chapters on fitness/exercise, meditation, and grooming as well as the meditations. That’s a lot to pack into a morning! Luckily in the Creating Your Routine chapter, she suggests starting small, maybe first waking up just a little earlier or adding one concept to what you already do. She states throughout the book that setting up a morning routine actually makes her later day more productive. Not only because you might opt to prioritize your day during your routine, but also due to the fact that if you give structure to the start of your day, then you flow naturally into having more structure as the day progresses.
This is a fascinating concept. I do have a semi-routine for when I awaken but hadn’t really thought to nail it down precisely and follow it more days than not. I find myself intrigued as to whether or not the benefits she suggests are real, and I might be tempted to give this a try.
Emotional Intelligence by James W. Williams
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Emotional Intelligence*
Error-Filled Rehash of EI Concepts, Not a Mental Makeover
In this book, the author purports to give you a 21-day roadmap to improving your emotional intelligence. The book’s cover showing the title and subtitle do not wholly and accurately reflect what goes on in the book. From them, it appears that the book is about emotional intelligence on a personal level, but it is primarily about how to understand emotion in yourself and others as it relates to business.
I am a female, so something irritated to hear the author talk about mastering or managing emotions. To me, that is not what emotions are about; can one master or manage untamed nature? While we can strive to better understanding, we cannot. While I agree that self-awareness of your emotional state has value, I don’t think it should follow that knowledge about emotions should be a springboard to manipulate the emotions of others, which it seems this author suggest. In part one of the book, it seems odd to me that he equates “people skills” with emotional intelligence. People skills, as it were, are so much more than anything to do with emotion. Similarly, the phrase emotional intelligence suggests more than just people skills.
In reading through it, it didn’t come together as a “mental makeover” plan at all; rather, it is more like a collection of short essays about EI topics. I think this book needs a more precise vision or perhaps a different one. The cover should actually reflect with a book is about, for certain. I think it should be more tightly focused on what the author seems to care about, which is how emotions can be used effectively in the workplace as another tool for management and workers. Perhaps he even needs two books, one for the worker bee and one for leaders. The book could have used the hand of a developmental editor.
This book does not appear to have been professionally copyedited or proofread. It requires both. There are some inconsistencies within a text as well as errors with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Some words and phrases were overused; sometimes sentences were overlong. Some errors were glaring and did detract from the reading of the book; parts were difficult to get through.
As it stands, if you are hoping this book will benefit you on a personal level, not a professional one, these hopes may not be realized. At best, it is an error-ridden introduction to some of the concepts of EI.
Me, Myself, and Ideas by Carrie Anton and Jessica Nordskog
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Me, Myself, & Ideas*
Some Ideas about How To Brainstorm by Yourself
In these modern times of solopreneurs, freelancers, and those who are interested in developing side hustles, this book means to guide the reader about how to do solo brainstorming. This might seem like an impossible phrase, but it is really about finding the ideas and answers within yourself to problems you might face in your solo business career since you don’t have the support of a group. The authors are like cheerleaders, using bright colors, nonlinear page design, and sometimes wacky ideas in an attempt to get you to dig deep for them.
The first couple of chapters are about what to do before you brainstorm: setting ground rules, thinking about your personality in regard to brainstorming, setting up your space, and getting out of your common work-a-day headspace. The longest chapter is the one on brainstorming itself, where the authors set up models for how to structure your approach to brainstorming in the guise of assignments. The last two chapters are about what to do after your brainstorming session, letting it mellow and then coming back to decide what you might want to work with.
I thought the book was at times a little too over-the-top. Some ideas are so zany that I couldn’t see the practicality of them. There are certainly nuggets here that will help you as you try to come up with ideas, but it does take some work to separate the wheat from the chaff. I think a shorter book would have been better, forcing the authors to drill down and write in a focused fashion.
That said, if you are working for or by yourself and needing to come up with ideas, this book could give you some structure in how to best approach this.
Jane Hates Her Job by Tim Wilke
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Jane Hates Her Job*
Guide to Getting Better Employee Engagement
In this book, author Tim Wilke discusses 24 strategies that will help improve employee engagement. The first part of the book has the manager do some assessment about the current level of engagement that the staff has. In this part, he also discusses the cost of disengagement as well as giving the big picture of the 24 strategies and how to apply them. Part 2, the bulk of the book, lays out the 24 strategies. They range from very simple (like saying hello to your staff every morning) to ones that are a little more vague about how to implement (like showing respect to employees) to ones that would require corporate culture change (like doing away with annual performance evaluations).
In each chapter about a strategy, he discusses research sometimes and also has you ponder your own experience or made-up scenarios that give insight into the strategy. He often tells what’s in it for management regarding the strategy, and he always ends by showing what personal needs of the employee are addressed by the particular technique. Sometimes, he gives detailed descriptions about what to do, and other times, they are more general.
For the most part, the strategies he suggests should be common sense for managers. Having worked in several larger organizations myself, I know that common sense is not so common, particularly with certain managers and typically more apt to be absent in a large organization. There are definitely dangers in misinterpreting or poorly implementing some of these strategies; the author does caution about some of these pitfalls. I’m particularly thinking about the “management by walking around” strategy. I had a manager who did this, but she used it to micromanage and belittle employees; the author does mention this as a “don’t.”
I would have liked to have seen more consistency in the way each strategy chapter was arranged. As you read through the strategies, except for knowing the end needs-met list, there’s no expectation about what you might learn about the topic. I think each chapter should have had a structure like this, if possible: any research that backed the idea up, case studies, imaginary situations, reflecting on your own knowledge of this strategy from your own life, what management gains, what employees gain, how to implement the strategy, and the needs list.
I think the cover and title of this book aren’t appropriate. The picture is shocking to look at, but it isn’t professional and doesn’t reflect the serious nature of the book. The title seems irrelevant; one should have been chosen that reflected what was within.
By the way, for the American readers out there, the writer is Australian, so some of the quotes, research, and facts reflect that. However, the concept of employee engagement is universal in its application.
Intuition is Your Superpower by Bernadette Balla
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Intuition is Your Superpower*
Listen to and Encourage Intuition
Are you curious about intuition? This quick read gives you the author’s take on this somewhat nebulous topic. It is intensely personal as the author shares her journey about how she has gotten guidance and helped heal some of her mental wounds by pausing to reflect on what her mind and body is telling her and actively encouraging her intuition. Each chapter contains both her personal experience and more general thoughts about how the reader can incorporate the chapter’s topic into his or her own life. She does get you thinking about trusting those flashes of personal insight and what our bodies tell us. Our brains and our bodies are capable of so much more than just rationality and what can be quantified and measured. They store wisdom, and that wisdom can teach us so much if we are willing to listen and perhaps encourage.
The author looks at topics including body wisdom, how to encourage your intuition by working with the symbols resonating in your life, how to use it to help unpack your emotional baggage, and trusting intuition more in everyday circumstances. She also talks about different ways to meditate. There’s also a fun quiz at the back to see where you fall on the rational-intuitive spectrum.
The author has an easy-to-relate-to writing style, writing as if she is your slightly more knowledgeable girlfriend talking to you about intuition. Kudos to her, too, for writing with incredible honesty about the difficulties she has had in her life. They have definitely made her stronger, yet she still comes across as compassionate and kind, gently coaxing the reader trust and encourage intuition. The book is short and can be read in less than an hour.
The Book Marketing Audit by Kilby Blades
Available at Amazon only currently
Not on KIndle Unlimited
The Book Marketing Audit*
Knowing Yourself and How to Tweak a Book Retail Page Key to Marketing Success
If you are an author or want to be one, this book gets you thinking about marketing in terms of your personality and author type, goals, existing books, and limits in the first section of the book. The next section goes over the most important pieces of your retail page of the book: your cover, title and subtitle reviews, blurbs, and pricing. The final section discusses which parts of the marketing plan you would like to do yourself and guidelines for working with others the things that you do not want or are unable to do.
I think this is a great book for any author or would-be author. The book is supportive and compassionate, and you can tell that the author has walked the talk. What do I mean by supportive? In that first section where she has you examined your goals and limitations, a key part of her strategy is forgiveness. She stresses that we should forgive ourselves for what we cannot or do not want to do in terms of our book marketing..
I’ve looked at a lot of book-marketing books as I have a few cookbook titles published myself, and I think this is a unique one amongst the thicket of book-marketing books out there. What makes it unique? It’s very practical. First, you look at yourself, your library, your goals, and what you do and don’t want to do to move your marketing plan forward. Once you understand yourself and your needs, you can start creating a marketing plan for your future. And then she goes into the details about the things that matter most on a retail book sale page, giving very practical advice about each component.
I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to other authors and would-be authors.
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