Bossy Pants by Tina Fey

I wish I could have done a 24 hour rental with this book. The writing is large with perhaps 1.5" spacing. The pages are so thick and stiff that the paperbacks may last as long as the hardcovers. As you can see in the image, this 275 page book looks as thick as a copy of Moby Dick. (insert penis joke here). All of these things contributed to the psychological effect of a really-quick-read.

I loved it. Learning about her backstory helped bridge some of the gap between her 30 rock writing and her SNL jokes. It was especially funny seeing some of the same themes come up. The flat footed overeater she portrays in 30 rock was a tragic projection of one her jerk ex boyfriends. I felt her pain, I really did.

My biggest qualm, however, is too salient to ignore. I just wish she knew what she was writing about before she started writing. The book is hilarious, I give you that, but I think it would have been more powerful if she chose which story to tell. A whole book could have been written about her childhood, her rise to fame, and even how she handles being a successful woman today. Having all of that fascinating material glazed over in the book just made it a shallow read.

The lack of message was also evident in the pacing. I was sucked into her backstory for the first half, then sent into a sporadic blogpost style opinion essay about her random thoughts for the second. I was especially annoyed by her should-I-or-shouldn't-I essay about having a second child. It came off as a panicked journal entry and should have ended on the cutting room floor.

But its not often that great books are wonderful books, and this was a lovely and entertaining read. I mean, if I am going to laugh aloud in crowded coffee shops, then I should at least give the same impression of pleasure to you. Go read this book, you'll have fun.

Read the New York Times book review HERE.

Time Travelers Never Die

I picked up Time Travelers Never Die largely because of the title and the first few pages I read in the bookstore. I'd never heard of the book, nor the author. But the idea seemed like it held a lot of potential

The story starts when the main character, Shel's, father goes missing. Among his possessions, he finds a time machine.

It's a simple premise, but promises much adventure.

Lots of good science fiction changes only one thing about the world and explores the consequences. In this case, the only thing that separates the universe of the book from the one we live in is the existence of these time machines, being used by a small number of people. The setting is in the not too distant future and there's not much in the way of obvious technological progress between now and then. (Which is in itself slightly unrealistic, but it works.)

Time travel is explored in a very pragmatic way, which is unusual for these types of stories. Time is immutable, so there's no going back in time and changing the future. If a paradox is approached, unlikely events will happen to prevent it.

If there's one thing the book lacked, it would be an overarching plot or traditional story structure. The mission of finding Shel's father is accomplished well before the end of the book. The main reason for a lot of what the book does seems to be exploring the mindset of a time traveler, and it does this well. But, sometimes it just feels like the characters are screwing around, aimlessly.

Regardless, I enjoyed this book very much. Would recommend.

One Simple Idea by Stephen Key

I picked up One Simple Idea by Stephen Key because it was recommended to me by Tim Ferriss in The 4 Hour Work Week. I immediately didn't like it because the preface indicated that the author was prompted to write the book after the success that he gained after Tim Ferriss took his class. I suppose there are some people that really make a difference in this world.

Stephen Key's philosophy is that one can become rich, not by making a product, but by thinking of it then selling it. The bulk of the work is getting a company to buy it. He makes his money off of royalties and licensing.

This book made me want to do something. I wanted to go to the mall and watch people buy things, chat up store clerks and figure out what people actually want to buy. It made me want to be an inventor. I wanted to start a design company and cold call companies.

This book is equal parts encouraging and resourceful. It builds you up, telling you that anyone can do this, and then gives you the tools. The only downside is that the tools are a real bummer. Key doesn't lie, its a lot of hard work to play with the big boys and market to large companies. To be inspired you had to shift through 150 pages of procedure on the best way to protect your ideas and what items to put in your negotiation clauses. It wasn't what I bargained for. However, I was convinced at the end that it only took 150 pages of knowledge to start my new dream of being an inventor.

Overall I think this book had a rather high rate of return. I read it in a few days and in return I was empowered with entrepreneurial spirit. People on Amazon seem to think so too, so far it has been getting 100% 5 star reviews.

Women Who Love too Much by Robin Norwood

Today we are introducing an inspirational product suggestion. Women Who Love too Much is a book by Robin Norwood. Use the following  to determine if this product could be a meaningful contribution to your self help journey.

What it's about
This non-fiction is a self help by exposition. The story is driven by the tales of many women who have somehow contributed to their own demise by pursuing and falling for toxic men. The stories are dramatic, but not extraordinary. The author presents them in a way that exposes relationship follies that we make in our own, healthy relationships. We are able to make the conclusions by ourselves, but she also creates a take-away checklist at the end, giving us a few cardinal rules of relationships.

Why it inspires
Women often blame men for their crappy lives. Norwood's book tells us that perhaps it is our own toxicity that is causing our crappy lives. She does it meaningfully and gently, allowing everyone to take away a positive message. It is not just a guide on how to break up a toxic relationship, it could also inspire growth in a healthy relationship by allowing us to recognize our toxic behaviors

Who might be interested
Women in relationships. All women in relationships, especially those that use their relationships like drugs. You don't need to want the change to benefit from this book.

I found this to be an excellent read myself.

Interested in this book? Buy it online here


This is not a sponsored advertisement.

Blink by Malcom Gladwell

This nonfiction is structured as a series of anecdotes. Each anecdote is about how some snap decisions are magically and inexplicably right and how we rely on them to make the right decisions. For instance, he tells the story of a psychologist that can tell if a married couple will still be together in 15 years from a first impression. He also highlights an anecdote about how a few police officers incorrectly profiled a black man and shot him dead within 5 seconds of meeting him. His point is oblique. The book is entertaining because it frames multiple entertaining stories for us, but it is weak for the same reason. If he really knew what he was saying, he would have told us what he meant opposed to circling his idea with 200 pages of examples. He probably would have only needed one conclusion rather than the three disguised as concluding chapters and an afterward.

The author has a heart of gold, and his optimism shines through. He is telling us that our instincts are powerful and we should find out how to harness them. The anecdotes are simple examples of amazing people that have been able to use their instinct and powers of first impression like magic tricks, and also amazing people who are overconfident in their abilities to mind read. I didn't like how he told the story, but I liked what he meant. He is telling us to trust ourselves.

Who should read it.

• People who are fans of Malcom Gladwell. He is really creating a genre. 
• People who are fans of the New Yorker
• People who are fascinated with amazing people. There is a bit of hero worship with the people in the anecdotes in this book.
• People who think that there is something more than hard core facts and rational when it comes to decision making -- this book will re-enforce your beliefs
• Those left-brain people who discount thier feelings when making decisions -- this book will challenge your beliefs

Are you interested in reading this book? Buy it online here.

4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss lives an awesome life. In this book he explains how we too can change our entire lives by rejecting the common path and forging our own by joining the "new rich". He inspires goals, and gives rudimentary business advice and suggestions.

Although his techniques are unorthodox, it is fun to imagine a life where we aren't stuck in a box, being forced to work until a miracle age when we can stop. You too can travel the world on all the money you need by starting a business that makes money for you. It sounds plausible, and if anything, it can convince you to do something you may never have thought of doing before.

Leadership and Self Deception

Leadership and self deception

Salary.com recommended this book as one of the 13 top business books that could change my life. I almost immediately bought it for 8 dollars from the Barnes and Nobles NookBook store. I laughed when the book described itself as "straightforward". How astute.

It wasn't a great read, persay. The charactors weren't very fleshed out and I had a strange feeling that the reactions the charactors were having were what the writers wanted the readers to be having. The writing sounded  a lot like this:

"Important sentence"

"the charactor thought about that for a moment"

However, the concepts did stick with me. I found the box idea intriguing. I immediately was able to apply the box to people I know now. A person being in a box is an analogy for someone who can't see the bigger picture. Perhaps someone's ego is hurt, or they are being corrected for something unjustly. There must be a box in play, either the other persons or my own. Interesting stuff. It was a gentle analogy that could be used as charactor correction in an office.

My only qualm is that this story about a box isn't really what I thought I was getting into. I thought it was about deciving yourself of your original intentions, say in choosing a career. Oh well. At least now I have the feeling that I can rise above interoffice politics.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson

I don't know where I heard about this book. I don't think I know anyone who as read it. Despite all this, I bought this paperback copy from Target because I felt like Everyone was reading it. Four days later, I don't feel cheated. This book offered wonderfully griping suspense, damaged heroes, and despicable villains. Hundreds of pages passed seemingly with a blink of the eye.

The tale is about Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist that writes a story about a high powered CEO, and loses a trial because of it. He risks damaging the magazine of which he was a founder. A rich company owner takes advantage of his dire situation and asks him to help solve a murder that happened 40 years ago. New evidence is brought to light and events occur that lead Mikael to believe that it may not be such a cold case after all. I'm not going to spoil it for you. Besides, the plot is so intricate that explaining it might take as much space as the actual book.

What makes the book stand out aside from the compelling plot are the characters. The book offers two heroes. The girl with the dragon tattoo is Lisbeth Salander, a tough little young adult with major social disabilities. She has a stellar mind which she applies to investigative research, but she also has a repellent attitude that hints at an interesting back story. The lead male is adequately sharp when it comes to negotiations, but an idiot when it comes to women. 

I'm not saying that the book was perfect. Here are my chief complaints.

- It may be a low blow, but its awfully hard to read about something that happened in Sweden. Its unfortunate that my only experience with swedish language is from Ikea, but it has tainted my experience in ways the book can not help. Everytime I read the name of a city, I think of a delightful paper lamp.  I have no idea how to pronounce an umlaut. Its come to the point where everytime a swedish word is written, my eyes skim the word. If a reader skims words too often, their eyes will start to glaze over the page. Getting over the first 50 pages without being completely glazed over was the hardest hurdle in reading this book.

- The plot ebbed and flowed nicely, but when the mystery ended, I didn't care much about the corporate revenge. The Big Reveal should have happened at the end. As it stands now, the last 100 pages are a whisper.

- I see that the theme may have been about the hatred of women. I can't draw any conclusion about this. It seems that some women are poor murder victims and some just need to be beaten. At the end, did we find out that Mikael too hated women? I can't tell.

- Making up a situation where a forty year old murder could be so adequately documented and still solvable is brilliant. The village was isolated on an island with a blocked road, and everyone in town was photographed multiple times on a particular day. The fact that the solution lied outside of this hermetically sealed space felt cheap. How could I have guessed that?

All and all a good read. The book was 600 pages long, but I finished it casually in a couple of hours. I see amazon has copies for a 5 spot now. I can say that is an amazing value for this satisfying experience.

Scarlett by Alexandria Ripley

 I finished reading Scarlett, the Gone with the Wind sequel at 4am this morning. After that 900 page monster, I have a deep seated satisfaction knowing that love will prevail over all. I was worried at first about whether or not the book would end well, and it did, perhaps a bit too hastily.

The book starts off at Melanie's Funeral, with Scarlett making an ungraceful error that ruins her social standing in Atlanta. After moving to Charleston and failing to reconcile her marriage to Rhett Butler, she reunites with her Irish relatives in Savannah, who persuade her to visit her native land in Ireland. She is quite taken by the Irish plight and moves there, becoming the family matriarch and providing financial support to her loved ones. In Ireland, Scarlett discovers that she is pregnant with Rhett's child, but is caught offhand when Rhett divorces her and remarries before Scarlett can reveal her pregnancy. She unknowingly funds a peasent Irish uprising against the English that erupts when she begrudgingly accepts a marriage proposal from a shrewd English Earl. During the firefight, Rhett swoops in to save the day, confesses his love for Scarlett and his secret daughter, and they live happily ever after.

This book is a very good rival for the original. The tumultuous relationship defined by Scarlett's immaturity and Rhetts emotional betrayal is still true to Margrett Michell's vision. The writing style weaves a clear picture, detailing every lace collar and period mannerism, illustrating a true command of the south and the era. The book also wrapped up some of the tension that made the first one great. Scarlett grew into a mature responsible adult, learned to love her chidren, and ultimately ended up with Rhett.

The only problem was the pacing. There were about 400 pages right in the center of the book that came to a staggering halt. She was in Savannah getting to know her cousins, seeing houses.. getting to know people's names.. hanging out with her grandpa... going shopping, eating breakfast... and thats about it. I understand that this author might be an absolute authority in period lifestyle, but at the end of the day, her plight with her grandfather contributed nothing to the plot. She got nothing at ouf it and it did not fuel anything later in the book. This period also took an uneven proportion of the temporal scale. Her time in Savannah must have only been 6 weeks, enough time for her pregnancy to gestate without her knowing. The rest of the book took place over the course of 6 years.

The situation with Rhett also felt synthetically paced. He would pop in randomly in strange intervals as if the author was trying to remind us that he was still here and not to be bored by whatever is going on. This didnt seem so bad until the very end, when he sort of just showed up and wrapped up the plot in the last 20 pages. After I've been hanging on for 900 of them, I didn't want things to just start ending once the author realized that we've been doddling along.

But the bad wasn't so bad. I felt a little cheated at the end by the adrupt ending, but I was more enchanted by the outcome. I loved hearing about every piece of furniture in her house, every lace on her corset. My materialism was appaised by Scarlett's vanity. It was more about the ride than the story. And if she ends up with Rhett at the end, who cares?

The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build, or manage a business by Martha Stewart

I am absolutely not a Martha-hater. I love her, and I see the value of homemaking and entertaining. Still, I was not happy with this book. As most people playing with the idea with entrepreneurship, I want more than anything a close friend to propell me forward towards this task. Martha is not that person. She tells us in the first chapter that she, among her entreprenural minded friends, is the naysayer. That... that just isn't want I wanted. This book was not inspiring, nor did it really have a lot of new information.

The book is organized into "10 essentials" although I could not recall what even one of those essentials was. I remember something about having a "big idea". She presents these essentials by telling stories about other start ups that reinforce her values, namely quality, hard work, doing your homework, and maintaining a pristine reputation. Man, she is the anti-Tim ferriss.

Another thing I disliked was how very small business it was. Martha always refers to the reader of the book as a her and a she, and always indicates that the business in mind was something like a nail salon or a flower shop. Although these life style businesses are the salt of the earth when it comes to women's businesses, it means nothing to the more tech minded female entrepreneur. It really doesn't matter what part of town I put my shop in the age of the global marketplace, Martha.

I have a feeling Martha would hate the likes of me. I am into taking shortcuts, making mistakes, and learning my lesson the hard way to make it into this world. I come from nothing, for goodness sake. Martha makes it sound like only someone with class and background can start a company, let alone make it in this world.