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Showing posts with label self help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self help. Show all posts

September 20, 2023

Shitty Craft Club: A Club for Gluing Beads to Trash, Talking about Our Feelings, and Making Silly Things by Sam Reece ~ a Review

by MK French


Sam Reece went viral several times across various social media sites, and built up a community called the Shitty Craft Club. In post-pandemic times, gathering odds and ends to make something silly and fun is a great way to inspire happiness. There's no need to be perfect, and that's the point of the club.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

June 24, 2023

3 Books to Help You Tackle Your New Year's Resolutions

by MK French


Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? We are halfway through 2023 - how are you doing with them? Here are a few self-help books to get you back on track or motivate you too keep working on your resolution.

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

July 15, 2021

No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability by Francine Falk-Allen ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts


As we age, we all begin to have physical difficulties to contend with.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

May 28, 2021

Living Your Best Life by Robert Kiltz, MD ~ a Review

by MK French


Dr. Kiltz is a reproductive endocrinologist, making a name for himself by taking a more holistic approach to treating his patients. A lot of that was borne out of treating their issues, as well as on a personal level when his sister died, his best friend died from cancer, his marriage was failing and he had a poor relationship with his daughter. He sought to pursue health and wellness, not just treating illness; the culmination of all this is to cope better when there are setbacks and challenges in life.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

May 11, 2021

The Joy of Living by Barry Shore ~ a Review

by MK French


Barry Shore is the self-proclaimed Ambassador of Joy and has a new book with the idea of helping others beat stress and learn to live better. He certainly knows how stressful life can be, opening his book with the story of how he suddenly was paralyzed in 2004 when his peripheral nervous system shut down. He sought to find meaning in his life, and since then has worked to help others.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 28, 2021

Drive: 9 Lessons to Win in Business and in Life by Kelley Earnhardt Miller ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts


I don't read a lot of self-help books and definitely don't read how to succeed in business since I'm retired and it doesn't apply to me. However, when I saw that this book was written by Dale Earnhardt's daughter and because I live in Nascar country, I decided to give it a read.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 7, 2021

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.

July 29, 2020

6 Books of Nonfiction to Read

by Susan Roberts


One of my personal reading goals for 2020 is to read 10 or more non-fiction books. I haven't deliberately avoided non-fiction books but I haven't read many of them in the last couple of years. As of the end of June, I've read 7 so I think this is a goal that I'll be able to meet. Can you suggest other non-fiction books that will help me meet my 2020 goal?

February 8, 2020

The Clutter Free Home by Kathi Lipp ~ a Review

by Donna Huber


It is almost time for Spring Cleaning! Though I prefer to do my big clean out in the fall and over the winter months when I'm stuck in the house, I usually do a bit of cleaning to welcome the new season. After reading The Clutter Free Home, I realize what I'm doing is more decluttering than cleaning (though I do wash the windows so that the sunshine can sparkle into my house). If you find that you have stuff everywhere and not sure how to tackle the dreaded "junk drawer", then Kathi Lipp's new book is for you.

November 12, 2019

Fit For Flight by Casey P. Zack and Shelby P. Zack ~ a Review

by MK French


Whether you're a flight attendant or frequent flyer, you are always on the go. Any career that involves constant travel - and thus includes multiple time zone changes, long flights, hotel living, trekking through busy airports and tackling transportation in a new city - makes learning how to manage a daily routine and maintain a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle frustrating if not seemingly impossible. (p. 1)

September 27, 2019

The Only Skill that Matters: The Proven Methodology to Read Faster, Remember More, and Become a Super Learner by Jonathan A. Levi ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts


I don't read many self-help books - I figure that you can't teach an old dog new tricks so why bother reading about things that I can't change.  However, the title of this book grabbed me right away - is there a way to learn how to read faster and remember what you read?  If so, I want to learn it.  I read fairly fast but don't ask me the title of the last book that I read or the plot because I just don't remember it. This book isn't just aimed at students and young people but also addresses learning for older people and  I did learn some things in this book that I can use in my reading life.

November 28, 2018

An Everyday Mama Finds a Passionate Life by Olga Pyshnyak-Lawrence ~ a Nonfiction Review

by Donna Huber

I have met Olga a couple of times this year at local book events. She is definitely a passionate person. You can't help but feel your spirits lifts when you talk to her. I like reading local authors and since it is Non-Fiction November, I decided to pick up her book from the pile (even though I'm not a mama).

September 29, 2017

Basic Witches by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman

by Donna Huber

I wasn't aware that witches were such a hot trend these days but as the opening of Basic Witches declares, "Witches are everywhere these days. Fashion trends feature flowy black clothes and dark lipstick, magazines and websites run special witch-themed issues, and hipster covens are forming in Brooklyn." Since I wasn't aware of the trend, I wondered did they mean real witches or more in a pop culture sense.

July 20, 2017

#BookReivew: Oola for Women by Dave Braun and Troy Amdahl

Review by MK French


I will admit right off the bat that I'm not usually the kind of person that will go for self-help books because my free time is so limited that I'd rather read something fun. When the request for this book came through, it happened to come at a time when work had gotten markedly more stressful with a change of computer system along with less ancillary staff, my youngest deciding that tantrums were fun, and my older two children deciding that yelling was much better than screaming. Feeling a little frazzled, I figured that I could give this book a try. The world is certainly unbalanced, and I'd never heard of the Oola system before. Why not?

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Oola for Women
May 2017; HCI; 978-0757319846
ebook, audio, print (264 pages); self-help
The authors describe Oola as a state of balance, and created the term from "Ooh la la." The balance is between fitness, finances, family, field (as in career), faith, friends, and fun. Interspersed between stories women had written and contributed to the authors are their definitions of these seven areas and what it should look like in balance.

At first, that sounds simple, in the sense that you sit there and think "But I knew that!" I found myself breaking out the post it tags to mark up pages so I can go back and read them again, and took out a notebook to tally up where my life is at in those seven fields. The tally is rather subjective, but I think that's the point of it all: YOU decide what's lacking in these areas of your life, not someone you've never met writing a self-help book. Once you have that in place, then you can decide what your overall goal should be, and what your next step is going to be.

There's no quick fix, and the authors don't ever imply that there is one. The point of this book is that yes, the world is nuts and there is too much to do in so little time. If you sit down and map out the areas of your life that make it worthwhile, you can start to put problems into perspective and figure out ways to solve them.

It's very straightforward and easy to grasp the point, and the third section is all step by step advice on how to break down the larger problems into something smaller and more achievable. For most people, that's probably the hardest part to figure out, and this book gives great guidance for that.

Buy Oola for Women 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 golden retriever.


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February 10, 2017

Review: How to Manifest Money Effortlessly by Bruno R. Cignacco

by Donna Huber

July 2013; John Hunt Publishing; 978-1782790822;
ebook & print (253 pages); self-help
a free ebook was provided for this review
How to Manifest Money Effortlessly is Bruno R. Cignacco's take on the power of positive thinking.

Cignacco discusses the metaphysical principles that, in his opinion, can help the reader create wealth without extra effort. While on the surface I agree with many of his points - the good of a positive attitude, contentment, etc, I'm not totally sold on the idea that mediation and the placement of my furniture will land a $1 million in my bank account.

While organizing my ebooks at the beginning of the year I came across this title on my Nook and thought with everyone's New Year Resolutions it might be an interesting book to review. Apparently, it has been awaiting my review for a while and for the like of me I'm not sure why I accepted it for review. It was really not my type of book at all. But it had its interesting moments.

Though more money wasn't one of my resolutions, I tried to be open-minded about the book. However, I felt that the opening chapters were rambly. There was a lot more repetition than I felt was necessary. In my non-fiction reading, I prefer short and to the point. There were several places throughout the book that I thought could have been written more concisely.

The book was clearly written for a British audience (words with "s" instead of "z" and pounds instead of dollars), I don't think anything was lost in translation.

I have no idea if these techniques will increase anyone's bank account (though there have been studies that show that happy people tend to get more raises and promotions). I'm also not sure how Cignacco believes it either. He is just as apt to use riches, wealth, or prosperity when the terms can be as much of a perspective as it is an actual amount in the bank.

Cignacco takes a Universalist view of the world and largely uses the terms Universe and God interchangeably. The later chapters are steeped in New Age thinking.

Buy How to Manifest Money Effortlessly at Amazon


Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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