Reading Fanatic Reviews
All Nonfiction ReviewsSocial Skills Training Collection by Gerald Confienza
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Social Skills Training Collection*
May Help If Socially Awkward or Introverted
This box set includes three different books that the author states will help you in social situations if you consider yourself to be socially awkward or introverted. The first book covers what the author considers to be social intelligence, including understanding body language and voice tonality, and then branches out into ways to put your best foot forward in conversation, work environments, dating, and social media. The second book is geared toward the social introvert. The third book is about conversation and drills down into specifics like how to maintain the flow at the beginning, middle, and end of a conversation as well as how to handle difficulties if they come up and specific ideas for particular scenarios. Each of these topics is relatively short, but the author actually does have some good tips and insights on all of these topics. Two of the books within the set end with a 30-day challenge to get the reader engaged. While this book wouldn’t teach a socially awkward or introverted person everything they need to know about these topics, it does provide some key concepts that could help make social interactions less awkward by giving the person strategies for different situations.
Narcissist by Keith Coleman
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Narcissist*
Narciccism, For Those Being Manipulated by It
This is a surprising book. After having read so many nonfiction books that take a shallow look a topic, this was refreshingly detailed yet concise. The author first describes and then defines narcissism, even using and explaining the detailed clinical definition. Clinical narcissism has an exact definition that the ordinary person may not think of when they hear the term. It is not just merely being self-centered; someone diagnosed with narcissism is manipulative of those with whom they are in a relationship, often to the detriment of the other person. He then digs deeper and discusses the weapons that narcissistic can use against people they interact with. This book is meant for people who are at the mercy of the narcissist, not for the narcissist himself or herself. So a further section gives ideas about how to cope with a narcissist if you must have one in your life. He ends the book with tips on how to overcome narcissistic abuse. If you have a controlling and manipulative person in your life who only seems to think about themselves, whether or not you term him or her a true narcissist, this book will help clarify what may be going on and give tips and strategies for dealing with the situation.
How to Find Your Passion by Steven Hopkins
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
How to Find Your Passion*
Not the Definitive Guide, But Some Useful Tips
At the beginning of this book, the author states that he believes this is the ultimate guide for finding your passion. While I don’t quite agree with that broad statement, I do think this book does have some worthwhile tips and processes that will help you figure out more about yourself as well as give you clues as to what could drive a more passionate life for you. There are some familiar tools here, like the Myers-Briggs test, but there are also some concepts that were relatively new to me, and I found to be actually quite helpful. I had heard of ikigai before but had never seen it really explained or explored. It fit in perfectly in this book and actually gave me quite a bit to think about.
This is a relatively short book, so there is no way that it could be the ultimate guide to finding your passion. In fact, in the section on how to turn your passion into a career, the length of the description of the steps is almost laughable. Still, in each chapter, the author does give some useful pointers as well as some exercises and other food for thought. All in all, I found this to be a good read that got me thinking. I like books that do that!
100 Stocks that a Young Warren Buffett Might Buy by James Pattersenn, Jr.
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
100 Stocks that a Young Warren Buffett Might Buy*
Interesting Analysis of Historically Winning Stock Strategy
In this rather long book, the author first gives some background on both Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, his right-hand man, before giving a brief analysis of their investing style. The author then goes on to provide just a little bit of advice about how to manage your portfolio and other stock advice. But the bulk of the book by a large margin is the hundred stocks mentioned in the title. The author does give his choosing criteria based on his analysis of Buffett and Munger’s investing style. This is definitely not a book that you sit and just read straight through. You can do that with the first part, the more theoretical part, but the section on each of the specific stocks themselves should only be taken in small doses. The author made me curious enough that I think it would be interesting to follow these companies to see if he is correct in his assessments. All in all, I found it to be an interesting glimpse into two men who have amassed such wealth, as well as into the mind of the author—whom I’ve read before. I find books were people make analyses like these to be fascinating.
The Soul Frequency by Shanna Lee
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Soul Frequency by Shanna Lee*
Not Quite What I Was Expecting from the Subtitle and Blurb
I am trying, and having a hard time, to put my finger on exactly what this book is about. What the author says in the subtitle and the blurb of the book doesn’t quite match up with my experience of it. It felt like a series of small essays about things that happened in her life where she learned something, and each of these little essays ends with a series of questions for you to ponder the theme of the essay (or ideas brought up in it). Some of it was interesting and insightful, but a lot of it felt like just navel-gazing without depth or true purpose, an all too common ailment of books written by personal coaches. If you already know and like this author, you will most likely find this book that delves into much of her personal life (and the insights gleaned) to be interesting. As someone for whom this book is the first introduction to the author, at times I felt like I was experiencing a bit of TMI overload.
Debt Cleanse by Jorge P. Newberry
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Smashwords, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
Debt Cleanse*
Excellent Tips (and Legal Ones) to Help if You Have Crushing Debt
As someone who was put into pretty deep debt by my ex-husband (tanking my credit rating for years), I can say that this book has some excellent tips and advice for people who are experiencing soul-crushing debt. The author clearly has a lot of personal experience with debt, and he generously shares his knowledge with us so that if we’re having problems with this, we can find legal solutions. The book is organized cleanly, looking at specific types of debt like mortgages, student loans, credit card debt, and medical bills. There are nine types that he gives specific strategies for. There’s also a section on living debt-free. A section of action tools at the end are further guides. I wish I had this book back when I was having debt issues with my ex. While not everything would have worked for me or us, there are definitely nuggets here which would have helped keep the wolves from the door.
Worthy by Josephine Faulk
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
Worthy*
Stunning, Compassionate Blueprint to Help with Early Trauma
I am simply stunned by this book. I like to read in general, and I really love to read good nonfiction. Unfortunately, it feels like it’s harder and harder to find good nonfiction these days. With the ease of self-publishing, many would-be authors seemingly throw up any old thing online for immediate public display and hopeful purchase.
This book is what nonfiction ought to be. This author has written about a very personal and difficult topic, childhood trauma, which she has experienced herself, unfortunately. She also holds an advanced degree, which I imagine taught her good research skills, so she can bolster her own insights and experiences with science. What she has done here is put together the perfect blueprint for someone to heal from childhood trauma. The first chapters describe the symptoms and effects of it. The next chapters are a kind of “where are you now” section, explaining why it’s hard to understand healthy relationships if you suffered this way, why self-care may falter, and the monsters that still lurk even after time has passed. Then, she goes into how to dismantle and get past these traumas. But most remarkable, I think, are the sections on how to build a better now.
This book is meant to give you the baby steps to freedom from the effects of childhood trauma so you can embrace a better life. One might fear that an author with her credentials could be cold and clinical, but this book is far from that. While she has studied the subject in some depth, you can tell this is intensely personal for her. She not only openly shares her own trauma; she gives the impression that she truly cares that you heal and move on. Her compassion, as well as her insights, comes across on every single page. It has to be one of the most beautifully written self-help books that I’ve read. This book is not just for people who suffered sustained childhood trauma but also those who had the odd incident or two that may still affect them today. If you are a person has this in your past, no matter the extent, I highly recommend picking up this book and letting this author gently guide you through the difficulties that are still affecting you to a better place.
Cognitive Behavorial Therapy Box Set
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Box Set*
More Pop Psych than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This box set contains two books that purport to be about cognitive behavioral therapy. To me, the first book seems like it is more like a short pop-psych book with a little CBT window dressing. The second book gives a lot more information, relatively speaking, about actual cognitive behavioral therapy. I actually think that the order of the books in this set should be flipped. Interestingly, the first book seems to be relatively well edited while the second book needed a good copy editor to help with grammar, punctuation, and repetitiousness. At times, I thought the author’s tone was a little harsh, to “get real,” so to speak. I don’t think that kind of tone actually helps people who want to change their lives positively. All in all, the box set is disappointing because the bulk of it, book one, really isn’t about cognitive behavioral therapy beyond the first introductory chapters.
Homepreneur by Amanda Brown
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Homepreneur*
Good Information, But Subtitle Doesn’t Match the Content
This book has some reliable, straightforward information about becoming an entrepreneur who is based at home rather than having an office or a store to conduct business. I found the subtitle to be misleading, though, as it states that the book will be about running a home-based business for optimal work-life balance. Very little is actually said about work-life balance. There is a chapter that’s specifically about that, and within a few chapters, there are a few nuggets that could be seen to be about that topic. Really, the book is about setting up a successful home-based entrepreneurial business. I do think that informational nonfiction needs to be super clear and on point; the title and subtitle should actually reflect what is in the book. In this case, it does not, but the book does still have useful information. There were some issues with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage, the one jumping out at me at first was a mix-up of waiver and waver.
The book is split into four parts, and the author uses a construction model as a framework for the book. So, the Blueprint section discusses being a home-based entrepreneur in general, the Foundation section goes over key points like finances and routines, the Build section looks at ideas about marketing in a networked world and coping with change, and finally, the Interior Design section has topics that cover mindset, isolation, and habits. All in all, this book is full of good information, but it does not adequately address what it is promised in the title and subtitle.
Epic Vegan by Dustin Harder
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
Epic Vegan*
Fun Vegan Recipes that May Surprise You
If you’ve ever thought that vegan food is boring, this book will disabuse you of that notion! It is full of fun and tasty-looking recipes, some of which will definitely challenge what you think vegan food can or should be. The book starts with a tiny section about vegan essentials, but the book really is all about the recipes. Sections for the recipes include basics, breads, appetizers, pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and dessert. Some recipes are meant to mimic foods and textures that omnivores are familiar with, like a section on making your own fake meats; I think these kinds of recipes in particular appeal to those who are considering becoming vegan or are in the early days of following this diet. When I have tried veganism, the one thing I missed most was a creamy texture, like you get with dairy products. This book has recipes that definitely scratch that itch, with creamy dishes that don’t have dairy. Other recipes are simply wholly vegan, with no reference to omnivore recipes. A simple flip through this book will show you the creativity contained within and will perhaps inspire your own. Whether you are new to veganism or are an old hand at it, this book will most likely give you plenty of fun ideas for this way of eating.
Used To Build My Websites
NetGalley Badges