Reading Fanatic Reviews
All Nonfiction ReviewsKeto Diet for Beginners by Bicha Belle
eBook no longer available after my review.
Keto Diet for Beginners*
Content Taken From Other Sources
This will not be a normal book review like I typically write. I considered not leaving a review, but I considered it my duty to warn other readers about this book.
This book has taken material from at least two other works. The introduction of this book is taken from the introduction to the Ketogenic Diet Cookbook for Beginners by Laura J. Leoni. Not all the introduction was re-used here, but a fair percentage was taken nearly word for word. Eight of the recipes in the breakfast the section were also taken directly from this book. I didn’t go on to research all the rest of the recipes after I found out how much had been taken from one source, but I did check out a few other recipes. One of them, a turkey crust pizza with bacon recipe, appeared to be taken from a food blog that has been taken down but was still indexed by Google.
Here’s the link to the true source of some of the material in this book on Amazon.
The book had spelling errors, including on the cover. The title on the cover at Amazon doesn’t match the title of the book.
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.
The Taboo Conversation by Dixie Maria Carlton
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Taboo Conversation*
It Isn’t Over Until It’s Over
How to start talking about the taboo conversation! This is a guide to dating, intimacy, and sex for women over 50. The author was inspired to do so after having a frank, impromptu, but fascinating discussion about sex with two women in their 60s and 70s. In this book, the author gives a ringing endorsement to all manner of intimacies as people approach later middle age and in old age itself. She first talks about attracting a mate and dating if you don’t already have a significant other. She touches on topics like cheating, body image as a woman ages, and protection. Then, as she says, she gets to the good stuff, the seduction and sex itself, whether you prefer vanilla or multiple flavors. She also doesn’t shy away from talking about potential problems and pitfalls and how to avoid or solve them. In most chapters, she touches on how sex and intimacy change as we age, mentally and physically.
The book feels like a conversation you would have with a more experienced girlfriend who knows a lot about and cares about sex. There are a few naughty words here, as you may expect, but surprisingly, not as many as you might think given the topic. But this is certainly not a book for prudes, as the author discusses all these topics openly and without hesitation. The book is a fun and sometimes enlightening read. I loved the quotes about sex and intimacy throughout the book as well as the random collection of fun facts at the end. More than one made me smile.
Big Heart Ventures by Tina Ruseva
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Big Heart Ventures*
Purpose Beyond Profit for Entrepreneurs
What are big-heart ventures? In this book, the author discusses the concept of purpose-driven entrepreneurship. What is this? The author defines it as a business with both effect and efficacy, meaning that it can add value for customers (thus allowing profitability) while keeping ethics and the bigger picture in mind (the heart part). She believes that a false dichotomy exists between for-profit and non-profit businesses. A purpose-driven business is profitable but not at the expense of long-term values, both on a personal and global level. She discusses this dichotomy, a little about the history of entrepreneurship, and goes on to detail what she means about purpose-driven entrepreneurship.
I think, in general, that her ideas are good ones. We definitely have seen lately, and throughout history, how businesses quite often do what we as consumers and humans considered to be reprehensible or unethical. Big companies have made recent headlines about how they’ve abused the trust we put in them to keep our data and privacy safe. As consumers, we would be able to trust businesses more if they weren’t just about the bottom line but saw the bigger picture and acted ethically.
The author is of Bulgarian descent and has spent much time living in Europe. It is clear that English is not her first language. Still, having chosen to write this book in English, she should have had it edited by a native English speaker. I am not sure if it was edited at all. There is definitely awkward phrasing, wrong words, and incorrect punctuation. This does distract some from reading, and therefore, from the message.
Advertising, Branding & Marketing by Dixie Maria Carlton
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Advertising, Branding & Marketing*
May Help New Small Business Owner with Lack of Marketing Knowledge
This brief guide’s original subtitle suggests that it will help a small business owner make their branding, marketing, and advertising more effective. However, in my reading of it, I didn’t get the sense that this book was about effectiveness; the author must have agreed because the subtitle was changed to say that the book is a “quick and easy guide achieving great marketing outcomes in a small business.” I think both subtitles overstate what the book can offer. It is more like a rough sketch describing aspects of marketing including, but not limited to, branding and advertising. Some topics she touches on include targeting your market, positioning your business, customer service, networking, promotions, and online marketing. The author’s goal is to help you understand the basics of these so that you can grow your business through a good marketing plan.
Just to be clear, this guide is aimed at small business owners of actual brick-and-mortar establishments. While some information may be relevant to online businesses, it is mostly about local, walk-through-the-door businesses.
As I stated, this book is very short, just around 120 pages. So if you are looking for an in-depth discussion of the book’s topics, you won’t find that here. Within each topic, though, the author does provide definitions of key concepts as well as what the topic means to your business. Nearly every chapter could be a book itself. Some chapters are very short, positioning your business being only 5 pages and increasing your market share only 3!
Some ideas in this book seemed to harken back to business ideas that were more suited to business in the last millennium before the internet became such a prominent feature in our lives. I wonder at the efficacy print, TV, and radio advertising in the modern age where many get their news online and stream or read content that used to only be available through traditional media sources. I actually ran a brick-and-mortar small business in the early 2000s, and even back then, marketing and advertising were rapidly changing. While there is some mention of online marketing and social media in this book, it is a very small portion of the contents. I’m wondering at the relevance of some of what she talks about regarding advertising and promotion.
I think this book might be of value to a brick-and-mortar small business owner, or someone who is considering becoming one, so long as they understand its limitations in scope. The book gives a glimpse of critical factors that are important to the success of your business and does provide some idea of what needs to be done for each. Don’t expect to learn enough about, say, promotion or networking to fully execute a strategy. You will need to look elsewhere for more actionable ways to implement them.
The Vikings: From Odin to Christ by Martyn & Hannah Whittock
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Vikings: From Odin to Christ*
Post-Pagan Vikings
If you are familiar with the image of Vikings as portrayed in modern movies and culture, this book will paint a completely different and more historically accurate picture. It traces the progression of Christianity through the geographical areas that we consider to be Viking territory. Viking, as the authors point out, is a term that more accurately describes an action than a people, even though we tend to see it as the latter these days.
The book is nicely divided into chapters that show how the Christian transformation of Viking territory was not one simple movement. It was particular to each region, based a lot on the area’s history and the social context. The authors present both analysis and excerpts from old sagas. I appreciated that they included a very detailed list of names, definitions, and notes that I would recommend you bookmark so you can turn back to it as you follow the complex histories of these lands. I also appreciated that the authors took a neutral stance on paganism versus Christianity. The book is a nonprejudiced, non-demonizing, balanced look at how the societies changed with the coming of Christianity.
If you have any interest whatsoever in Viking history, you will find this book about their Christian age to be a fascinating and in-depth one.
From Idea to Author-ity by Dixie Maria Carlton
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
From Idea to Author-ity*
Thumbnail Sketch about How to Publish & Promote
As I have in the past published cookbooks as well as written some unpublished fiction and nonfiction books, I’m always interested in books that discuss writing, publishing, or book marketing. I was drawn to this title right away. The subtitle made me even more interested in reading the book, as I have been contemplating this exact idea: to use a non-fiction book to help promote my business.
The author starts at the beginning, first discussing writing your manuscripts and getting that first draft together. While eBooks are mentioned throughout, she emphasizes printed books, whether self-published or traditionally published. She has several chapters about getting your book ready for production, book options, and the publishing industry. The bulk of the book talks about how to market your book in a variety of ways, from publicity and distribution to online marketing options including social media. There’s a bonus chapter at the end about using WordPress as your website platform.
What I liked: Early on, she has a layout plan to help structure a non-fiction book. It is straightforward, but I could see how it could be useful in helping a writer organize thoughts before writing. She also breaks down the basic front and back matter components of a book; if you haven’t written one before, you may not have paid attention to these sections in the books you’ve read. In the book design chapter, I liked her bulleted list of things to think about to have a good internal format. The production and quoting lists are helpful. I thought the chapters on marketing gave a broad range of ideas.
What I didn’t like: Her discussion about getting a good editor, which happens in different parts of the book, wasn’t quite all it could have been. I am a freelance copyeditor and line editor myself, so I understand from a professional level that what she describes as editing may not be how a particular editor edits. There are levels and different types of editing, and the editors or proofreaders you may work with may not do what she says they do. Be prepared for variation in the real world.
The author does stress the importance of getting a book edited. I find it ironic, therefore, that this book has a significant amount of errors in grammar, punctuation, and formatting, particularly with commas. Specifically, they are often missing between independent clauses in a compound sentence as well as after the second-to-last verb phrase (predicate) before a coordinating conjunction in a sentence with more than three verb phrases. Some other punctuation in the book is unusual to American eyes, but I understand that she is Australian and believe these differences are okay by Aussie standards. However, I believe those comma rules I just mentioned hold true in either variant of English. I did receive an ARC of this book, so I may have read a pre-edited/proofed version. Some words were inconsistently spelled. Sometimes spaces were missing between words or were added before punctuation.
Each chapter is rather short and concise. If you’re looking for detailed information about how to put what she says into action, you won’t see as much of that here as you might like. She points you in the right direction (usually), but there are a lot of details you will have to figure out on your own. By the way, most of what she says could be applied to launching ANY book, not just non-fiction meant to help your business.
American Exceptionalism and American Innocence by Roberto Sirvent and Danny Haiphong
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, and Angus & Robertson
American Exceptionalism and American Innocence*
Beware of Loss of Innocence if You Read this Book
This book was not quite what I had imagined it to be. In much of my nonfiction reading lately, I’ve been wanting to read about the concepts of fake news and truth as these are often topics of discussion in these modern times of the Trump Administration. While this book mentioned fake news on the cover, it goes far deeper than to expose current media. In fact, it looks at the course of all of American history through the lens of American exceptionalism and American innocence. The authors posit that these two concepts have created atrocities that the average American cannot appreciate.
First, let’s define the terms. American exceptionalism is the idea that we, as Americans, believe that we are the pinnacle of what democracy represents; how we create democracy, therefore, must be the right way. We believe we are exceptional and right. The concept of American innocence follows from this. According to the authors, this is what kicks in when we try to resolve the cognitive dissonance of seeing our sometimes morally abhorrent actions as laudable. We see these actions as such either because we believe the ends justify the means or we no longer see former reprehensible actions as relevant.
The book of explorers a variety of topics through these twin lenses, everything from Trump to slavery to Broadway’s Hamilton to global-reaching humanitarian efforts by celebrities. The book is always harsh in its appraisal of our past and present actions. This is not an easy read. In fact, I would say once it has been read, it cannot be unread. You may very well find yourself starting to see current issues and statements made by the government and the press through the eyes of exceptionalism and innocence. I think it is good to have an awareness all these issues, but I think the message could have been delivered in a less we suck way. A more kind and forgiving presentation—rather than a strident, shaming one—might be more apt to persuade and empower.
The Employee Millionaire by H. J. Chammas
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Employee Millionaire*
Everything You Need to Consider Before Becoming a Landlord
I’ve had an interest in real estate investing since college. This was reawakened in the last couple of years when I purchased my first home on my own. The realtor and his wife, as they were showing me a house, discussed the possibility of at some point buying up and having rental properties. This is what they have done.
This book is one that could give me the tools needed to pursue that option if I desire. If you are accustomed to reading non-fiction ebooks these days, you know that they are usually short and sometimes light on content. This book is neither, thank goodness. It takes you from analyzing your current financial state to financing a property and eventually renting it out. There is a lot of detail here. The author discusses why rental property is a solid way to wealth and financial freedom. He has you question why you want to go this route and figure out what your goals are. The plusses and minuses of different types of loans and all-cash financing are looked at. He discusses discounted properties. Due diligence and analyzing properties are fully detailed. I especially appreciate that he has several chapters about what to do after the purchase of a rental property, including how to rent the property and whether or not to use a property management company.
You can tell this book was written by someone who has walked the talk. If you have any interest in building wealth through rental properties while still working your regular job, this book is the one that can help set you up on the right way to do it.
Indie with Ease by Pauline Wiles
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters)
Indie with Ease*
Ideal Companion on Road to Indie Authorship
Being an independent author is not an easy feat. You have to juggle many tasks and often work with freelancers to get things like your cover and editing done. You put your book out there, and you may or may not see the sales that you’d hoped for. This book, written by a successful independent author, is meant to support you in your indie journey by giving you the inside scoop on a variety of topics, from self-care to productivity to marketing. Most importantly, the author wants you to help you have the correct mindset so you don’t stress out about the process or lose the desire to keep writing.
To this end, she shares information and insights in this book on a wide range of topics. She first looks at understanding your writing personality, time constraints, and other issues that have strictly to do with you. She’s a firm believer in self-care, and she encourages you to be realistic about what is achievable, both professionally and personally. Chapters in the middle section of the book range from organizing your time to the minimum viable needs of your book to the use of social media (or not). It’s not really meant as a how-to; you’re not going to get specific Instructions about how to do most of what she talks about. Instead, she brings up what she believes is essential to know about each topic. You learn not only from her; she quotes several other independent authors directly as well as linking to websites and suggesting books to read. Each chapter ends with a set of questions to get you thinking about how the chapter topic relates to you and your writing.
The book has one major drawback that I found frustrating. There is no written or clickable table of contents. I did receive a review copy, so I double-checked at Amazon to see if that version had one. It did not. There is so much useful information here that I would like to be able to get back quickly to a particular topic when I have a question or want advice. Too, as a reader, I always go over the table of contents of a nonfiction book before I start to read it so I know what to look forward to. I feel like it helps me organize my mind so that I am better able to assimilate the knowledge in the book.
This book is chock-full of information and support that will help you if you choose to become an independent author.
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