Masters of the Star Machine by Joe Crawford; Motivated Mastermind by Johnny Shaheed Miller; The Lebanese Cuisine Cookbook: An Authentic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Culinary Journey with Delicious Modern and Traditional Easy-to-Make Homemade Recipes Directly from the Heart of Lebanon by Maysa M Rehmen; The Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: 1000 Days Smoke and Delicious Recipes, Expert Tips, and Pro Techniques for Mastering the Art of Wood-Fired Cooking by Dr Clare; Hearty Harvest Soups: A Culinary Journey Through the Seasons Discover the Rich Flavors of Seasonal Produce with Timeless Soup Recipes for Every Month by James Stott Python Programming and SQL: 5 Books in 1-The #1 Coding Course from Beginning to Advanced by Mark Reed

 Masters of the Star Machine: Manipulated by That Incessant TV/Movie Viewer by Joe Crawford; Motivated Mastermind: Master the Art of  Powerful Thinking with Captivating Stories and Real Life Examples by Johnny Shaheed Miller; The Lebanese Cuisine Cookbook: An Authentic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Culinary Journey with Delicious Modern and Traditional Easy-to-Make Homemade Recipes Directly from the Heart of Lebanon by Maysa M Rehman; The Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: 1000 Days Smoke and Delicious Recipes, Expert Tips, and Pro Techniques for Mastering the Art of Wood-Fired Cooking by Dr Clare; Hearty Harvest Soups: A Culinary Journey Through the Seasons Discover the Rich Flavors of Seasonal Produce with Timeless Soup Recipes for Every Month by James Stott; Python Programming and SQL: 5 Books in 1-The #1 Coding Course from Beginning to Advanced by Mark Reed

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Masters of the Star Machine: Manipulated by That Incessant TV/Movie Viewer by Joe Crawford

This is a summary of the review. The entire review is found on LitPick. 

Masters of the Star Machine is an intriguing look at fame and how desperate some are to get away from or hold onto it long after their heyday is over.

Steve Wilkerson, Judy Bentley, and Doug Sanchez starred in the sitcom, The Three Little Amigos but eventually went their separate ways. Years later, they are hired to appear in a Western directed and produced by Judy’s ex-husband. The more they spend time together, the more they realize that old friendships and romances never really die. 

There are a lot of great inside references and shout outs to many films and shows. Even some real life Hollywood types play alongside the fictional shenanigans, giving a sense of reality to the Hollywood make believe. 

The three protagonists react differently to their old days and subsequent years and it reflects many of the choices that they made. 

Doug has a history of addiction in which he has been in and out of rehab and relationships that ended badly. He hopes that his return to the top will give him an incentive to remain clean and sober.

Judy gained a notorious reputation because of her struggles with bipolar disorder and some behind the scenes drama. She wants to get her career back and she doesn’t care whom she has to step on or use to do so. She constantly strings Steve along to help her expose her ex not for justice but to gain some fame and positive exposure.

Steve is more ambivalent about his child star days than his co-stars.  He isn't interested in becoming a star as he is in recapturing his friendship with Doug and especially his romance with Judy. He sees the people of his memories not the troubled mess that Doug is or the manipulative user that Judy has become. He won't accept that they have grown up and are different than the people that he once knew if they ever really were.

This is a book that reminds us that Hollywood and nostalgia can be very similar. They trick us into seeing an illusion, air brushes out the flaws, make us only remember the good times, and make us accept a fantasy over a reality.

Motivated Mastermind: Mastering the Art of Powerful Thinking with Captivating Stories and Real Life Examples by Johnny Shaheed Miller

Johnny Shaheed Miller’s book Motivated Mastermind is an inspirational book about making goals and facing challenges with determination, resilience, and motivation.

Miller talks about activating the “Warrior Mentality:” Understanding that “S#@% happens and to learn from it.” In other words, setbacks and disappointments teach us lessons like how to take advantage of opportunity, use time wisely, and learn about self-reflection and self-awareness. 

Discipline is key when taking on the “Warrior Mentality,” Miller writes. It gives one the tools to master self control, seeing past excuses, and acting with purpose instead of talking about goals but never accomplishing them. When many meander away from their pursuits, discipline is often the first thing to go. This book is designed to make that first and foremost in Reader’s minds since any goal takes time and discipline in using that time wisely. 

This book offers exercises and projects to help Readers maintain focus and concentration and doing so with strategy and precision. The most important exercise is probably the  “30-Day Focus Challenge.” It shortens what could be an insurmountable task of goal achievement into small increments. Day 1 is devoted to selecting a goal. Day 2 involves setting the master plan on how to achieve said goal. Days 3-29 is where the real work begins by monitoring and tracking the progress of which parts of the goal were met and which still need to be achieved. Day 30 ends with increasing one's confidence by reflecting on the progress and celebrating the accomplishments. Goal setting can be a difficult process but it is made easier by focusing on the individual steps to make the end result.

Motivated Mastermind offers plenty of chances for reflection on how those goals are met. Did we act with integrity? How did we develop our network? How did we face adversity? What did we learn? Where did we succeed and what needs work? Are there other goals to set and what remains to be done? This is a book that gives Readers the motivation to achieve, accomplish, and succeed.

The Lebanese Cuisine Cookbook: An Authentic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Culinary Journey with Delicious Modern and Traditional Easy-to-Make Homemade Recipes Directly from the Heart of Lebanon by Maysa M Rehman

One way to understand a culture is to experience its food and Maysa M. Rehman’s The Lebanese Cuisine Cookbook takes Readers to a culinary trip through Lebanon to experience the best of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking.

The book offers tasty authentic recipes that capture the Lebanese dining experience. They include, “Baba Ganoush,” “Mujadara,” Shawarma B'ham,” “Mankoushe with Cheese”, “Asabe Zainab,” “Cocktail al Fakhara,” and “Ras Asfour.” The recipes include meals for soups, main course, drinks, appetizers, breads, snacks, and special occasions. 

Besides recipes, the book includes fascinating information about how food pertains to Lebanese culture. There are sections that discuss important ingredients that are used in many traditional dishes like specific aromatic herbs and spices like Bharat, cumin, coriander, and fenugreek. Important grains like bulgur wheat and legumes like chickpeas are also suggestions that capture the taste and smell of Lebanese cooking. The most essential ingredient is olive oil. It is so important that Rahman devoted a whole section to it alone. There are also sections on utensils and cooking methods to make the dining experience an inclusive one.

By far, the most interesting chapter is the one concerning the mezze, a small dish that heralds the beginning of the meal. It is so important to Lebanese culture that a whole chapter is devoted to mezze and its significance. It is described as an integral part of Lebanese culture, heritage, and hospitality. Families who serve mezze engage in conversations and combine traditional foods inspiring unity and closeness. It is good to learn where these traditions came from and why they are still important in modern life.

The Lebanese Cuisine Cookbook is a great book that opens a rich tradition and culture of food, family, and togetherness.

 The Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: 1000 Days Smoke and Delicious Recipes, Expert Tips, and Pro Techniques for Mastering the Art of Wood-Fired Cooking by Dr Clare

Barbecuing and outdoor cooking is a frequent pastime during the spring and summer seasons. The Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook offers some great recipes to try on your grill or smoker as well as some advice on how to use wood fired cooking.

The recipes feature suggestions for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and appetizers. They include “Bacon and Egg Breakfast Tacos,” BBQ Chicken Flatbreads,” “Traeger Smoked Meatballs,” “Traeger Grilled Corn on the Cob,” and “Traeger Smoked Deviled Eggs.” The variety of meals promise to be healthy and delicious. 

The introduction to the book includes tips and techniques to master the art of wood fired cooking. Such tips like choosing the right wood such as hickory or mesquite to provide seasoning and flavor help elevate the outdoor cooking experience. Tips like understanding indirect heat where food is cooked away from direct flames help Readers understand how to master wood fired cooking properly.

The Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook is highly recommended for those who want to cook, eat, and enjoy a meal in the great outdoors. 

Hearty Harvest Soups: A Culinary Journey Through the Seasons Discover the Rich Flavors of Seasonal Produce with Timeless Soup Recipes for Every Month by James Stott

Soup is probably the ultimate comfort food. It is meant to provide warmth for a cold day, serves as the first course for a tasty meal, and invokes memories of childhood days. Of course, such a heartwarming inviting food staple has many ways to make it and James Stott’s Hearty Harvest Soups is a short but nice and colorful cookbook

There are plenty of different ways to make soup and this book shows that variety. Readers are treated to such tantalizing varieties as “Lentil Soup with Spinach and Lemon,” “Corn Chowder with Bacon,” “Chicken Tortilla Soup,” and “Classic Chicken Noodle Soup.”

There are international soups for those whose feet and taste buds want to travel to other countries. The soups come from such places as Morocco, Italy, Greece, Mexico, Vietnam, Russia, Thailand, India, Cuba, France, Hungary, and Korea. It is perfect for those who want to implement more diverse food into their regular eating habits.

The Hearty Harvest Soups Cookbook is filled with inviting bright colorful photographs that activate the senses of sight as well as taste. It promises an appetizing meal with plenty of heart, warmth, variety, and pleasant memories.

Python Programming and SQL: 5 Books in 1-The #1 Coding Course from Beginning to Advanced by Mark Reed

The Python Programming and SQL Series is an intensive look at programming languages and how coding is used to help us understand and use computers and other modern technologies. To understand something you have to learn the language and this book helps Readers to master these programs.

 It explains the various definitions used in coding and how they are used. Readers can learn for example what the SQL/JSON model is and how it can be implemented into a database. 

The books also take the Reader on a step-by process on how to write a computer code and put it together. The Python book for example introduces Readers to Integrated Development Environment. Then it teaches how to create a simple code with the words, “Hello there.” It’s a good interactive lesson for future coders and programmers. 

There is also plenty of advice on troubleshooting or as one of the chapters bluntly describes, “when things go haywire” and how to fix those situations during coding. It also includes sections on personalizing databases and making them unique such as inserting graphics and large objects.

This 5 in 1 book series is a great start for anyone who is curious to learn more about coding and programming languages and how to implement them into regular use. 

Lit List Short Reviews: The Undeniable Power of Movement by Nicole Mott; The Performance CEO by Michael Koch; Unexpected by Dr. Jill Carnahan; God is Good by Margaret Liu Collins

 

The Undeniable Power of Movement: The Irrefutable Power Habits of Elite Athletes, Leaders & High Performers to Achieve of Any Goal

By Nicole Mott

Sometimes, when people have a goal that they have trouble starting it, staying motivated, or get easily discouraged against it, they quit their goal before achieving it. Nicole Mott’s book, The Undeniable Power of Movement, delivers common sense advice to help readers not only make and reach goals, but provides tips and advice on how to stay focused on that goal.

Mott was inspired to write this book after her son, Caleb, was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. Despite the diagnosis and the difficulties that the syndrome took on Caleb's body, he wanted to try out for the major league soccer development academy team. After a lot of practice and determination, Caleb became part of the team. He was released after a year but used that experience as inspiration for later obtaining an academic and athletic scholarship at a university in West Virginia. This example of Caleb's life reminds the reader that despite hardships goals can be achieved and sometimes changed but with a positive outlook, one can still find happiness and personal satisfaction.

Many of the chapters consist of certain steps like “Focus” (stating the goal and the steps towards meeting it), “Discipline” (working hard to achieve each step and being a team player at work and home), “Mindset” (maintaining a positive mental attitude and using each setback as a learning experience), and “Health” (making sure to diet and exercise to heal the body and mind).

The best chapter is the one on “Reducing Distractions.” It is particularly concerned with people who have Depression and Anxiety. Those and other mental disorders are some of the biggest stumbling blocks that interfere with goal setting and achieving. This chapter provides some good advice for people whose minds might be filled with those nagging questions, doubts, and those times when the body is too overwhelmed or too unmotivated to move beyond that moment and seek a positive future.

The Undeniable Power of Movement is a plainly written book with steps, tips, and exercises that engage readers. Like any good personal development book, it allows people to get moving.

God is Good 2nd Ed. by Margaret Liu Collins

Margaret Liu Collins’ book, God is Good 2nd. ed. is a deeply spiritual and inspirational book for readers who look for a Higher Power to help them with their life struggles.

Collins inserts Biblical passages from the text that serve as comfort for the readers. Verses such as “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’”(Psalms 32:8 NLT) They illustrate the recognition of faith in the life of a religious or spiritual person.

The author also uses examples from her own life in which she felt God's presence encouraging and aiding her in times of trouble. One of the most dramatic chapters recounts her abusive first marriage when she relied on God's strength to help her persevere through the tremendous physical and emotional abuse and give her courage to rebuild her life with her children when the marriage came to an end.

God is Good is an excellent book for the spiritual and religious minded person to remind them that they are not alone.

Unexpected: Finding Resilience Through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith

By Jill Carnahan, MD

Unexpected: Finding Resilience Through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith is a book about deeply personal struggles and how anyone can find comfort and strength within them.

Many of Carnahan's struggles are detailed and lead to lessons that she learned that are to be shared with others. Carnahan writes lovingly of her childhood on a farm in Illinois with a large close family. Unfortunately, that farm life took a tremendous cost on her health. She developed allergies and fatigue and later breast cancer at a young age. The cause, she later discovered, was the highly toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that her father and other farmers used for their crops. This experience not only got her interested in science and medicine, but taught her the importance of trusting one's intuition, to study the environment and how to implement functional medicine, a systems based biology based model that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of the diseases. 

Carnahan’s marriage taught her to trust and rely on others and find humor even in bad situations. Eventually, the marriage ended in divorce which taught Carnahan to learn to let go. These situations may run parallel to circumstances that readers find themselves in and can practice in their own lives.

Unexpected is a book that leads by example. It tells the readers that if Carnahan got through her troubles, so can they.

The Performance CEO: An Extreme Cognitive Protocol for Entrepreneurial Success by Michael Koch 

Michael Koch’s The Performance CEO: An Extreme Cognitive Protocol for Entrepreneurial Success is a high energy, cognitive approach for the ambitious forward thinking CEO who often feels discouraged and a little out of focus.

This book is encouraging towards those who have a daring ambitious active drive to be a success in all that they do. In fact, there is something of the drill sergeant/tough love instructor in Koch’s narration. This approach works for the type of reader that this book is aimed for: the reader who wants the straight forward tough approach of facing life's challenges. They want the author to give them the facts and activities and leave out the sentiment.

Most of the book consists of physical activities like diet and exercise. Koch recommends a very rigid and active approach that requires dedication. For example, the diet chapter encourages fasting 23 hours for one day per week requiring a high level of commitment. 

The exercise chapter encourages high activity with weight lifting and strength training along with stretching and poses to encourage mindfulness. 

The Performance CEO is the type of book for the high energy ambitious executive who needs incentive to keep moving.

List Lit: Short Reviews Green Your Routine A Transition from Mindless Consumerism to Mindful Consumption by Omar Abad. Success and Happiness A Complete Thoughtful Approach by Achal Kumar, The Injun' and The Owlhoot by Brandon Tolin, Hacking Your Destiny by Karl Lillurd

 List Lit: Short Reviews

By Julie Sara Porter Bookworm Reviews

Green Your Routine A Transition from Mindless Consumerism to Mindful Consumption by Omar Abad

While governments and corporations need to become aware of creating policies that will help improve our environment, as individuals we also have to make a commitment to help decrease our carbon footprints. Green Your Routine: A Transition From Mindless Consumerism to Mindful Consumption by Omar Abad offers some helpful suggestions on how we can make a commitment to improve our connection to the Earth. 

Abad explains the suggestions in easy to follow examples. He also provides charts, infographics, and statistics on how these ideas add to the overall picture of helping conserve the Earth's resources. For example, instead of using disposable water bottles, bringing one and using it regularly saves up to 350 bottles made per year adding up to 16,000  in 45 years.

There are also personal stories and anecdotes of people who tried these suggestions and the benefits of how their lives were improved. For example, a chapter that suggests taking public transportation, carpooling, or walking and biking to work includes a story from someone who used the alternative ways of going to work. This person lived in urban areas so they walked or cycled to work. When they moved to Manhattan but worked in Brooklyn often taking a 45 minute subway ride. They decided to move to Nikita to lessen their commute by 20 minutes. Now,they live in Toronto and make sure that their home and workplace are close enough for public transportation or walking. Even their spouse is compromising their down distance as long as their partner compromises on home decor.

Green Your Routine is a short book but it leaves a lot of good advice on what we as individuals can do to make the world a cleaner and better place.

Success and Happiness A Complete Thoughtful Approach by Achal Kumar

Achal Kumar's Success and Happiness: A Complete Thoughtful Approach is a short but informative book on how to change one's outlook to achieve their dreams. 

Some of the advice is practical such as practicing better communication skills to improve interpersonal relationships at work and at home. There are also suggestions about the ways that one can take professional, personal, and moral responsibility in their lives.

Kumar provides some activities on how we behave in our lives and what areas need improvement. For example, he offers a chart for people to estimate what their relationship is like with their spouse and how they spoke or acted around each other. These activities provide a more interactive experience for the Reader's learning experience.

There are also exercises for one's professional life such as problem solving and teamwork. These exercises are designed to build communications within the workplace.

There are sections that account for everything from home safety to personal finance, networking, database management, maybe to remove any stressors in life that could hinder chances for success. For a small book, Success and Happiness asks Readers to look at many areas of their lives and seek ways to improve them.

The Injun' and The Owlhoot by Brandon Tolin

The Injun' and The Owlhoot by Brandon Tolin is a rip roarin' yarn of a Western with a very creepy supernatural edge.

Bipin, a young man from an Apache family is sickened by the fights between the Caucasian and Native Americans, particularly by the brutality of his own family. He decides to leave despite objections from his father and sister. He eventually finds his way to Georgia and accepts a commission as a bounty hunter. He accepts an assignment to look for the members of the O'Brien gang. Unfortunately, outlaw gangs and gun toting desperados aren't the only danger out there. There is something supernatural and terrifying that is taking out victims one by one.

Most of the book is a typical Western with the law and bounty hunters chasing desperados and plenty of shootouts. Western lovers should enjoy the action spread throughout the book as Bipin, The O'Brien gang, and Bipin's boss, Sheriff Wales play cat and mouse searching for each other.

One of the nice things is that the lead character is Native American so we get some perspective on how Native Americans were treated in this time period. In an early chapter he gets tired of someone assuming that he hunted buffalo in the Plains. He gets irritated and thinks that not all Natives are from the Plains and that he's never even seen a buffalo.  In fact it's clear that the first half of the title is ironic since that is how Bipin is usually viewed by the white people around him. It opens up the truth that many of the people that lived out in the West were often Black, Latino, or Native American. This is a history they should be remembered and recognized.

What stands out in this book are the supernatural elements that are present. They slowly emerge at night and out of the water, ready to attack anyone near them. At first, it's unclear what they are, whether they are some kind of animal or human predator but when members of the O'Brien gang get swallowed up by the river leaving blood,  things become more terrifying. There is a creepy atmosphere as Tolin delays the appearance of these creatures for a long time, so we fear the unknown assailant almost as much as the characters do. When they do appear, they make quite an impression because of the subtle buildup beforehand.

The Injun'and The Owlhoot is a very exciting western with a great supernatural horror edge.

Hacking Your Destiny by Karl Lillrud

Karl Lillrud's Hacking Your Destiny is a brilliant self-help book about reaching one's personal and professional goals. 

The book is designed to be a guide in which Lillrud uses examples from his own life to help the Reader come to terms with struggles and conflicts in their lives.

For example in a section in which refers to limitations, he honestly describes his own struggles with dyslexia and how that contributed to others perception of him and his own struggles with self worth. He cited his father's perseverance to help him recognize his own talents and how to apply them.

The book is arranged in a Q and A format with plenty of exercises called "Glues" for easy reading and following. For example, a section on money begins with the question of "Why do I not treat money as sacred as other people?" Lillrud offered a way of looking at money as "happiness coupons." Despite the overtly cutesy title, it suggests altering one's outlook towards money and how it could deliver personal satisfaction. He then offers an exercise for the Reader to itemize how much money they need to take care of their personal needs and be comfortable.

There are other chapters focusing on moving out of one's comfort zone, setting goals, and communications. A personal favorite activity is "doing what you love" suggesting that the Reader itemize a list of the things that they enjoy doing and finding ways that they could be financially, professionally, and personally beneficial. Many subsequent exercises offer ways of fine tuning that list by identifying values, offering ways to present and market oneself as an "expert" in that field, and turning that interest from a side hustle into a  full-time career.

Hacking Your Destiny is an interesting book that offers suggestions on how to change one's life for the better.

New Book Alert: Mindscape by Voltaire Von Gogh; Fascinating, But Flawed No Nonsense Self-Help Book On Achieving One's Dreams in Entrepreneurship

 New Book Alert: Mindscape by Voltaire Von Gogh; Fascinating, But Flawed No Nonsense Self-Help Book On Achieving One's Dreams in Entrepreneurship

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Voltaire Von Gogh's book Mindscape is sort of what would happen if Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F$#@k were stuck in a blender and mixed together (aside from ruining a perfectly good blender by sticking books inside of it.). It has the tough love and sarcasm of Manson's book with the practical and far reaching advice of Covey's.

The results are a slightly uneven, but always helpful book about going over barriers and achieving one's dreams by becoming effective entrepreneurs.

The book offers a very realistic, almost conversation style to the writing. In The opening, Von Gogh asks who The Readers are and answers, "You are the 'common man.' But some wild fantasies and some shining dreams. Now you are just imagining and imagining what else could have been. Or you could have tuned up to be a very ambitious person. Kudos, you are like millions….You have dreams and problems. That's you. All have dreams and problems...No, there's not a single person who has either of those things."

This description sets the stage over what kind of book is in store for Readers of Mindscape. It's very plain spoken and no nonsense laying out exactly what problems that the Reader might have and how they can be resolved.

At times this no nonsense approach comes across like Von Gogh is a drill sergeant to a very large army. Von Gogh discusses how the word, Practicality, slowly killed dreams of childhood forcing us to become conformist adults. He writes, "Practical is another word for incapable. So, Sir, if you have forgotten your dreams, if you are just a living dead, if you have nothing to fight for in your life... I'm not interested in you." I could almost picture Von Gogh yelling "Alright maggots, you are going to live your dreams! Now drop and give me twenty!"

This tough love approach in self-help books could be difficult for some Readers. They may not make it to the good advice when they feel like they are being insulted. Others may enjoy this more realistic approach of someone who lights a fire under them to keep them moving. It depends on what one is looking for in advice. 

Once you get past the drill sergeant opening, there is some good solid advice that any Reader can follow, even ones who aren't going to be entrepreneurs. Advice like Dream Big ("Have dreams, large life, large people, large story. F%\k the world."), Begin ("The only thing that is stopping you is YOU!"), and Starting Small ("Put the seed in the soil. Water it. Wait. It will germinate. Take care of it, it will grow into a plant, add manure in soil, fulfill its needs.")

While the emphasis is on potential entrepreneurs, this advice is helpful for anyone who wants to find their dream job, pursue their artistic passions, or do other things that they have long held on the back burner.

Von Gogh focuses mostly on potential business owners and people who want to turn their interests into business success. He goes through the various stages and suggestions like Planning. Within Planning he breaks down other subjects like Defining Objectives, Developing Premises, Evaluating Paths, Analyzing Resources, Finalysing (sic) Methods, Writing Possible Outcomes, Solving Problems, Securing Additional Cooperation, Making Schedule, Framing Values, and Deciding the Start. 

He evenly distributes these steps recognizing their importance in starting one's own business. Each subject is emphasized in their own section. For example the section, Developing Premises, goes into great details about creating the foundation of a plan and analyzing the  initial objectives. Von Gogh writes that "The factors on which the development of your premises depend must include the full consciousness of your objective, your interests, and full set of skills."

Many of the advice that Von Gogh provides pertaining to one's own self image as well as getting along with others. One of the chapters is titled, "Be A Self-Motivated Person." In it, Von Gogh emphasizes that the Reader must seek motivation within themselves if they want to move ahead. He writes, "Do not seek motivation out there in the world, in videos, audios, or lectures. The dreams, the reasons are all yours. Grow motivations inside you. Have fervor all the time about all the things that you are doing. If you are losing motivation, if you are losing enthusiasm, it means that your dreams are not big enough or to don't imagine them frequently enough. Just having goals is not enough. Imagine them every day, every moment, if you want to have fervour, if you want to go on forever."

It is encouraging when a self-help author tells you not to trust self-help programs (even potentially their own) and reminds you that change must come from within. Ultimately, we are the authors of our own fate. 

A business can only work if the owner is willing to recognize the needs of their customers. To do that, the potential entrepreneur must build relations and network with those around them. Building relations requires the business owner to ask questions about others' needs, make people curious about them, share dreams, and add something new that they can offer and no one else can. Together, business owner and potential customer bring those discussions to common objectives and beliefs. 

Von Gogh writes "Bring the discussion on the conclusion that you two must be together in order to achieve what you both want. Don't say it directly. Just put the idea in your mind. Tell that you have solutions to some of their problems and that they too have solutions to some of yours. And if you both work together, problems can be solved and both of you can achieve whatever you want. Just put this idea in their mind and let them think."

These chapters reveal that despite the bootstrap myth, no one really achieves success on their own. They depend on others to work for them, to work alongside them, to obtain their goods and services, to network with other, and to recommend them to others. It is important to build those relations and obtain a healthy network.

There are many themes that are prominent throughout the book. The most important one is found in the title: Mindscape. It is defined as "life is more or less about going through yourself." This ideal reminds the Reader that when they are feeling tired and stressed, and discouraged about their path, that they should sit, relax, and look at things from another perspective. Von Gogh writes "Don't just think outside the box. Think what to do with the box. Have many perspectives and look from each of them. What you see doesn't decide what you do. You can think differently. You really have a lot of choices more than the existing if you widen your mind, pause, and look at it from different perspective and just think."

This seems like a simple concept, but sometimes we get so caught up with our problems to the point that we are overwhelmed and want to give up. This chapter reminds us that solutions can be found if we think about them logically and analytically. The solutions can be found if we relax and look at new options.

While the book is honest in its advice for business owners, it is also honest in why start up businesses fail. In one chapter, Von Gogh examines the various reasons start up businesses fail. Among the top 20 reasons, found by Forbes Magazine, are: Product Mis-timed, Ignore Customers, Poor Marketing, Need/Lack Business Model, Poor Product, Pricing/Cost Issues, Get Out-Competed, Not the Right Tram, Ran Out of Cash, and No Market Needed.

Each reason is explained and summarized clearly. The reason "No Market Needed" reveals that start ups sometimes fail because their product isn't needed. If it's not needed, then it won't be sold. 

"This shows lack of research and lack of market understanding in founders. They don't know where the customers are heading, where they are suffering….If you don't know the current situation of the market and you aren't really solving a problem worth solving-You'll be kicked out of this world…..Test the your product, ask for reviews, do surveys, showcase it before bulk manufacturing, and observe results."

This chapter is good at not only explaining the reasons that start ups fail, but offers probable solutions for the Reader to avoid them and refine their business so they don't fall into these traps.

Entrepreneurship is an ongoing process that doesn't take a week or a month, or even a year to develop. The final section of Mindscape offers 54 activities enough for each week of the year to help the Reader continue to focus on their dreams and businesses. These suggestions include "Passion Makes Up Position", "Work Hard, Hard Like Hell," "Consider Confidence," and "Be Brave Enough."

Each week, the Reader is encouraged to practice and activity or think about some issue concerning their business. 

For example Week 16's theme is "Let Your Mind Run Free Through The World." It encourages entrepreneurs to get their minds off their business and don't limit their thoughts to that exact thing. 

Von Gogh writes "Spend this week in searching new things, doing new things, and skills. This is not a break from the general schedule, that is an addition to your general routine. It's like building a hilltop garden where you can wander while having a cup of coffee."

The weekly schedule allows the Reader to take apart the hard job of creating a new business piece by piece into smaller increments. These incremrmud in turn allow the Reader to focus on one thing at a time.

Mindscape is mostly a good self-help book but has flaws, particularly in tone and formatting. The overall tone is jarring to go from the tough love approach to the kind helper. The drill sergeant introduction can put Readers who are expecting the nice words off. Likewise, the Readers who relate to the introduction may find the rest of the book soft. A self-help book should find one specific tone of voice and stick with it. The author should find out what Readers that they want to read their advice and cater to them.

The formatting is also a bit troublesome, especially in some bold or bullet point sections. Many are not broken off into paragraphs giving the overall impression that the writing rambled on until a point is finally made.

A huge problem can be found in quotations. Many self-help books love to provide examples and quotes of people who triumphed or failed despite adversity. They subtly tell the Reader, "This happened to them, it could happen to you." Mindscape is no exception.

There are many inspirational quotes like J.R.R. Tolkien's "Not all the time those who wander are lost."

However, Von Gogh chooses one of the most awkward and ill informed books to quote from: Mein Kampf. It is not wise, to say the least, to quote Adolf Hitler when you are writing a book about potential business owners. There are many other people to choose from that are better examples than the genocidal dictator responsible for the deaths of six million people. People will not pay attention to what you are saying if they can't get past that name (unless the point that the author is trying to make is "don't be like Hitler.").

The changing tone, awkward formatting, and unfortunate quotes are problems to the book. But the overall structure presents some fascinating, no nonsense, common sense advice for Readers to make their own dreams come true.

Weekly Reader: You Got To Read This Book: 55 People Tell The Story Of The Book That Changed Their Life Edited by Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks; Beautiful Affirmative Stories About The Importance of Reading

Weekly Reader: You Got To Read This Book: 55 People Tell The Story of The Book That Changed Their Life Edited By Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks; Beautiful Affirmative Storied About The Importance of Reading





By Julie Sara Porter


Bookworm Reviews





Here at the Bookworm Reviews, I believe that the right person could be matched to the right book. Sometimes you are going along with your day. You have a question about your life or are so stressed that you need escape. You pick up a book and BOOM! You find parallels to your situation. You find characters that are struggling with situations similar to yours. You may even find a truth that fits and that you can use in your daily life. You consider it a favorite book that you keep coming back to again and again and find something new every time you read as well as a friend who always has your back. (The book that fits that in my life is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll which I reviewed in my inaugural review for this blog.)





Jack Canfield, co creator of the Chicken Soup books and Gay Hendricks, president of the Hendricks Institute and author of several self-help books understood that power that books have to transform lives. They gathered many of the best writers, spokespersons, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders to describe the books that changed their lives, helped them look at their world differently, and gave them solutions to their problems in their book You Got To Read This Book.





Many of these authors found fictional characters that related to them. Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of Deep End of the Ocean found herself in Francie Nolan, the protagonist of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Both came from impoverished backgrounds, had troubled childhoods, and had imaginative spirits that allowed them to become writers. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn captivated Mitchard so much that she reads it before she begins working on a new novel and when she adopted a daughter, she named her Francie Nolan.





Another person who found an answer through a fictional character was fifth grade teacher, Rafe Esquith. After Esquith won the Walt Disney Company's 1992 Teacher of the Year award, he felt like a failure because many of his students got involved in drugs and gang violence in middle and high school. Reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee helped Esquith understand through Atticus Finch what it means to be a good leader and role model for children. That he has to do what is right even if he doesn't see the positive results right away.





Self-help books are some of the books that are cited most often that helped people. Motivational speaker, Lisa Nichols found assistance reading Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey's book particularly the haunting “Begin With The Ending” exercise (where Covey invited the Reader to imagine they are at their own funeral) moved Nichols so much that she strove to change her life. She withdrew from habits that she didn't want to be remembered for (like hosting lingerie parties and writing steamy romance novels), cut abusive men from her life, and started a career that appealed to her talents for speaking.





In a true case of “physician heal thyself”, Covey himself has a chapter in which he cites two books: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and A Guide for the Perplexed by E.F. Schumacher. Both books gave Covey the vision to choose how he dealt with life. Frankl's book was about his time in a concentration camp and how he chose to seek happiness even in the worst circumstances such as when the Nazis burned his manuscript, Frankl just decided to “rewrite it: make it better.” This attitude was the framework for Covey's 7 Habits in which the book explores how we react when things upset or detain us.





Of course these books don't offer quick solutions and many of the authors describe that the book was simply the catalyst and the first step to a life of self-improvement. Malachy McCourt, author of A Monk Swimming, acknowledges a biography of Mahatma Gandhi that inspired him to become more spiritual. He even later took a trip to India to see Gandhi's memorial and vow to change his life to fit his. However, McCourt did not live a subsequent exemplary life. Instead it was one of alcoholism, divorce, and self-loathing to the point where a doctor gave him a prescription to change his life or else. While McCourt reveals that his transformation was a long time, the biography of Gandhi was the inspiration that began this chain of events.





Some chapters recount not how much the person loved the book but how much they hated it and disagreed with the message. Holocaust survivor, Max Edelman selects surprisingly Mein Kampf for his chapter. He selected it because of how much it changed Germany and the world. Edelman analyzes Hitler's anti-Semitism argument by saying that he used one specific point to unite the Germans. Besides taking an analytic approach to Hitler's arguments, Edelman vowed to live a life of forgiveness and love especially in the face of his enemies such as Neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers. Edelman said that Mein Kampf gave him the strength to become a counter example to Hitler's hateful words.





The most important thing that this book teaches the Reader is that the books don't change the person, the person does. This is particularly evident with Dr. Bernie Siegel, retired pediatrician and general surgeon who selected William Saroyan's The Human Comedy. He begins his chapter with “I don't believe that any book can change your life only you can. Look two people read the same book. One is inspired while the other is bored. It's the person-not the book-that creates the transformation. That power lies within each of us. That said I do believe that an author's insights when combined with the reader's inspiration and desire to change can lead to a new life for the reader.”





So in effect, it's not the book but it is the Readers that changed their lives.