Two Non-fiction Books to Read

by MK French

Did you make a resolution to read more non-fiction this year? Today, I review two rather short non-fiction books that might also help with other resolutions you may have made this year.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

Cheat Sheets for Life by Ayesha Ratnayake

February 2021; Indie; 979-8587515901
ebook, print (131 pages); self-help

Ayesha is a busy CEO, and started working on self-help ideas while on the go. She not only did a lot of research, but she also started putting them into bite-sized actionable lists for other busy people. Cheat Sheets for Life is a collection of those lists and has some actionable plans. Each list is divided into different areas of life, so it’s easy enough for the reader to skip around and go to the chapter that they need the most.

I’m sure a lot of people will go through the book and think “But I already know all this!” and discount the intention. Yes, a lot of people know there are techniques to be happier or combat stress. How many actually set aside time to do them? Or even know how to begin? Even if one of the actionable items on a list is to download an app, there are suggestions on how to proceed and what to do; the chapter on emotional resilience distills down a lot of things suggested by therapists to combat stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. This is not to say that this book is a replacement for actual visits to a therapist or psychiatrist if that’s needed. Certain mental health issues might worsen with the tips, such as the “weigh yourself daily if trying to lose weight” piece of advice can worsen anxiety in someone with an eating disorder. As with any self-help book, advice has to be tempered by knowing your situation.

Think of this book as a starting point. Are you having difficulty managing money or habits? Take these chapters as a starting point to look into those habits you want to change and which ones you want to keep. Following the chapters of lists are the actual articles and books that the sound bites were taken from, so this is a fantastic jumping-off point to do further research of your own into an area you need additional help in. After all, self-help books are supposed to make you want to think and improve yourself. This just might help you do that.

Buy Cheat Sheet for Life at Amazon

(The ebook is a free read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers and only 99 cents for everyone else.)

Floyd's Rule Book of Bad Grammar by Jonathan Floyd

August 2018; Wild Ideas; 978-0962003110
print (125 pages); nonfiction

Guidance counselor Jonathan Floyd wrote this book full of examples of bad grammar, poor spelling, simulated reading, and the like. This is billed as a book that "will put you in touch with the writing style of students in today's schools who are on the cutting edge of the educational decline." In other words, it's' a sendup of grammar instruction books.

By starting with rules of bad grammar, this slim volume actually points out some rules of good grammar in English. This is a language full of contradictions and odd words anyway, so this is a humorous way of approaching grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Reading Floyd's Rule Book of Bad Grammar sneakily teaches you grammar rules, and it mentions sentence diagramming. I haven't ever done that in my own school days, so that was interesting to see. As long as you realize this is a comedic slant, and that some "rules" are inverted, this is a good way to figure out how to structure high school essays and how to study for tests.

Buy Floyd's Rule Book of Bad Grammar at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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