Reading Fanatic Reviews
Advice and How To NonfictionDon’t Feel Stuck in Love by Jaclyn Nicole Johnston
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Don't Feel Stuck in Love*
Wonderful Collection of Exercises and Journaling That Could Be Used For More
I was surprisingly delighted by this book. I tend to be a very picky nonfiction reader because I have written some myself, and I really think that nonfiction should promise what it’s going to deliver and deliver on that promise. This book did that and then some.
While this book is about love, specifically finding your perfect ideal relationship, the exercises that she gives throughout the book could actually be applied to anything that you want to help bring about in your life, like pursuing your passion instead of just having a job. For instance, exercises and journaling about things like clearing blocks and figuring out what you really want can apply to many situations.
She sells herself short in the subtitle. This is not just a book about journaling. While each section has a journaling exercise, she has done so much more. She gives you actual tactile exercises to do for many topics, which do appear as though they would key into different aspects of your right and left brain and subconscious and conscious minds. The book is a bit jargon-y in places, with buzzwords like “kaizen” and mindset being used. But the exercises she offers are rock solid. Excellent job, Ms. Johnston.
13 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Don’t Do by Catherine R. Booth
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NOT with Kindle Unlimited
13 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Don't Do*
Would Barely Fill Up a Few Sheets of Paper
This has got to be one of the most ridiculous “books” I have read in a long time! It is barely more than a thin pamphlet (maybe three-typed Word pages), offering little more than no-brainer platitudes with no explanation or examples. You will gain as much from the book by reading the table of contents as reading the actual book itself. Each “chapter” is one paragraph about the topic heading. Even within this paragraph, the author is sometimes contradictory. Don’t waste your time.
You Can Build a Profitable Online Business and Love Every Minute of It by Ankur Agarwal
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, and Bol.de
You Can Build a Profitable Online Business and Love Every Minute of It*
Decent Overview, But Not Enough Detail
Everybody wants to get into online businesses these days. With so many people out there on the web, entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs see a potential gold mine. This book seeks to show how to build a profitable online business, as the title states. The bones of the book are sound in terms of the skeleton structure needed for modern online marketing. He discusses research and development, product development, funnels, mailing lists, social media, and webinars. Unfortunately, he only gives a paragraph or two for some subheadings in these topics, not enough to really tell you anything about how to actually build a profitable online business. If you’re completely new to the topic, this could be a good overview, but there isn’t enough detail for you to actually go out and start an online business.
How to Say No by Steven Hopkins
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How to Say No*
A Good Start
I am a person who has a hard time saying no on a variety of levels, and I have come to the point where I realize I need to change this to improve my quality of life—which is why this book appealed to me. It is a relatively short, well-organized read that focuses on the people-pleasing aspects of saying no. I wished the author had also explored this concept a little deeper, as we sometimes have to say no to something, not someone. But for what this book has, it is actually a decent guide to saying no to others when it is appropriate—without hurting their feelings or making you feel guilty. In the early sections, the author preframes the concepts to come by looking at why we are afraid to say no to others. He follows this with two chapters on assertiveness, what we can gain from it and how to become more so. Two chapters follow about how to phrase your no so that others won’t be hurt or offended and so that you won’t feel bad about doing so. He ends the book—in a section he calls a bonus but really seems to be a true part of the book—giving examples of how to say no with different types of people and in different situations. Too many of his examples rely upon using family, specifically children, as your reason to say no; he should have given multiple examples in each section, particularly giving examples for people for whom immediate family concerns, or children, may not be the pressing issue. That said, if you have trouble saying no to people, I think you will find value in this book.
Emotional Intelligence Handbook by Stuart Banks
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NOT with Kindle Unlimited
Emotional Intelligence Handbook*
Not Quite What the Title Says It Is
I think this book bundle is inaptly named. Only the first book in this 2-book bundle is specifically about emotional intelligence; the other book is about procrastination. Personally, I don’t think that self-discipline or procrastination have anything to do with emotional intelligence. The introduction to the book on emotional intelligence let me know that the way the author perceives and defines emotional intelligence is different than the way I do. You might want to take a quick look at the book’s intro and table of contents to see if his vision of it resonates with you. It did not with me. This first book in the bundle is well organized given his take on the topic, but I do question his inclusion of chapters on positivity and mindfulness. It makes me think that the author is grasping at other popular pop-psych buzzwords to bolster what could be seen as an inadequate take on emotional intelligence. There definitely are a few tiny nuggets of interest in this book, but most of them don’t really have to do with emotional intelligence. Some of his discussion of what he said was EI, too, didn’t really seem to be about EI. Again, rather, they were more about general pop-psych topics that were only peripherally about EI.
The second book is actually called the Mastery of Self-Discipline, but you will note that I stated above that it is about procrastination. To me, that is what the book seems to be more about rather than self-discipline. I think if a book is about a topic, an author shouldn’t prevaricate. Call it what it is! Again, there are interesting little nuggets here, but little that has not been talked about in other books about procrastination.
How to Be F*#%ing Amazing by Deborah Lucero
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
How to Be F*#%ing Amazing*
A Little Too Much of Author’s Story in Self-Help Book
I am drawn to self-help books as I am curious about other people’s insights into life, and I found myself intrigued enough to want to find out what this author might offer as her healing insights. The book comes from a 70-day course that the author has. The author has been through much in her life, and we learn a lot about that in this book. While I think that the author’s life should be reflected in an intensely personal book like this, I think that her story actually overshadows her insights. Each insight starts with her own story about it, which is usually quite lengthy with a fair amount of graphics and somewhat overshadows the rest of the information contained in the insight. Some of the insights themselves didn’t seem particularly “insightful.” After some initial paragraphs on thought, beliefs, and hope, the book is divided into 5 main chapters that contain the healing insights: detox, releasing emotions, mindset, reprogramming your mind, and exercise/physical activity. To me, the sections on mindset and reprogramming overlap greatly; I didn’t quite see the distinction she was trying to draw. I think this book would have been better if the author had taken herself out of it just a little bit. Again, her story seems to overwhelm the insights.
Global Career by Michael T. Swigunski
Available at Amazon only
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Global Career*
Be a Global Citizen
If you’ve ever thought about studying or working abroad, this book is jam-packed full of personal experiences, information, and tips about how to do so. The author has lived and worked all over the globe, and this book is a distillation of all that he has learned. He does give some straight-up facts as well as share his personal experiences. I think this book would be particularly helpful for people under 30, as there are far more options for younger people to live and work abroad. The United States has reciprocal agreements with several countries for working holiday visas. But the author does give some other pointers that could apply for people who are north of 30, including how to work for an American company remotely. The book is laid out well. The first chapters deal with studying, interning, and working abroad. Further chapters explore working abroad in more depth, like the visas needed, their requirements and costs. The book ends with chapters on how to live as an expat and traveling tips. All in all, if this is something you are considering, this book will make the possibilities seem more real and point you in the right directions if it is something that truly interests you.
The Magic of Assuming Command by Johnny Welch
Available at Amazon, Kobo, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
The Magic of Assuming Command*
Historical Lessons in Personal Mastery
This is a rather intriguing book, that, while not a simple read, is a profoundly engrossing and fascinating one. I think the author overstates the book’s potential in the blurb, but there is much of value here. The author gives us a glimpse of larger than life historical and contemporary figures through the lens of power and personal mastery–how to assume command. The introductory chapter is long but necessary. The author preframes the topics that will be looked at and addressed in the later sections that are actually about the historical and contemporary figures. I like to read and review nonfiction books, so I have often seen modern books on a lot of the topics within this book. I liked seeing the usually historical examples of personal growth and mastery. It is interesting to see the choices and circumstances that made well-known figures who they are/were. We can do well to learn from them, both from their failures and their successes. The book includes a variety of people (mostly men) from different walks of life. Some of the historical figures highlighted in this book are Benjamin Franklin, several presidents, Walter Chrysler, and Tesla. There are even a few stories about contemporary figures, like Steven Spielberg. The author groups several historical or contemporary figures into one chapter under a guiding principle. Some of these guiding principles include seizing initiative, asking for what you want, and authorizing yourself.
The book is not light reading, and I suggest reading it in small chunks. One little point stuck in my craw. I don’t particularly like how the author used the term “hustle” in the book subtitle and in the book proper. It is such a contemporary concept that I am not comfortable with it being applied to historical figures (as most featured in this book are). I’ll admit that History’s Heroes of Hustle, as it states in the subtitle, does have a certain alliterative ring to it, but I think it almost trivializes what the book is about. If you have an interest in history or personal growth, this well-researched (and well-documented) book may be right up your alley.
Forex Trading for Beginners by Bill Sykes and Timothy Gibbs
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Forex Trading for Beginners*
Great Introduction to Forex Trading
While I don’t know a lot about trading currencies, I believe this book is a good initiation for people who are looking to go into that. The authors talk about what Forex is, defining terms and giving a little history. They share the mindset that you need to have to successfully trade in this market, or at least be comfortable with it. They go over the practical ideas, like the different platforms you can trade on and analytical software that you can use to help you figure out your plan. They get down to brass tacks, looking at different ways that you can analyze the market. The book gets completely hands on in the section where they tell you step by step how to set up your first trade. This book is chock-full of easily understandable information that can start you on your way to successful, or at least more informed, Forex trading.
Wicca: A Beginner’s Guide by Melissa Smith
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Wicca: A Beginner's Guide*
Some Confusion May Not Help True Beginners
This book purports to be a beginner’s guide to Wicca. By some measures, it is that. Wicca is a hard term and practice to define, especially the further and further we get away from Gardiner, and I think this fact is reflected in the book. The author attempts to define it and related terms right in the first chapter, but I think the author got a few things confused. She stated in several places that paganism falls under Wicca; I see Wicca and other earth-based religions as falling under the broader umbrella of paganism. Paganism is another word that is hard to define; some use the word to describe any religion outside of the big three while others say that any pagan religion’s tenets must come from a pre-Christian form of religion. Honestly, I don’t think the definitions really matter to the individual; it’s what’s in your heart and what resonates with you. I found it odd that the author discusses shamanism and druidism in the section where she defined Wicca. I don’t believe that shamanism relates in any way to Wicca (although it might be a part of a particular Wiccans spiritual reality), and druidism is what I might call a sister path to Wicca with deep roots in pre-Christian Celtic religion. On the chapter about the benefits of Wicca, the author also included a brief writing about dealing with others who might not accept you. Considering that this is meant to be an introduction to Wicca (perhaps for people who are not practitioners), I think this would have been better put in a separate chapter perhaps later in the book; there, it would make sense to have this information if once one has decided to go on this path.
The book is full of general information that can form a foundation of knowledge for someone interested in Wicca, but it is not detailed enough for someone who really wanted to start practicing. There are brief chapters on deities, holidays, and different types of witches as well as more practical aspects like rituals and spells. The book is potentially dangerous, giving simple spells for readers who haven’t been given enough background to know what they are doing. I think the book definitely could have been better organized; for instance, the “different types of witches” chapter might have been better if it were a part of the definitions chapter. I didn’t like that the author interrupted the book asking for reviews. I get why authors want reviews, but just put it at the end; don’t interrupt your book as it does ruin the flow of a book. Throughout the book, the author does talk about the different flavors of Wicca and modern paganism. I would have loved to have seen a Suggested Resources section at the back that an interested reader could follow up with if he or she wanted to know more about one of the branches of paganism discussed. Instead, there’s an oddly styled reference section of blog articles and websites that seem more general. All told, if you want to learn more about Wicca, you might be better off looking at books that have been around a long time, like the ones by Scott Cunningham.
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