Archives for category: Reviews

E-Myth

I don’t know why I always have some skepticism for the bestseller lists, perhaps it’s my natural penchant for going against the grain, so books that have “More than one million copies sold” on their covers don’t really catch my interest that much.  However, being in convalescence, The E-Myth Revisited (Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It) by Michael E. Gerber was lent to me and when I had to stay away from fiddling with my smartphone and chatting with friends, I finished reading this book and I would have to say that it makes a lot of sense.

Perhaps if I hadn’t gone through the failure and subsequent of our small business this year I would not have appreciated the book as much since it seemed to be common sense and sound theory at best but having gone through the actual experience of starting a business and it not working out, I would have to say that the author Michael E Gerber shared nuggets of wisdom which I wish we would have known before even starting the business.  However, we cannot turn back time even if we wish to cry over spilt milk.

It is in this light that I wish to share that anyone who wishes to start a business with their talents and hard-earned money would benefit from reading this book as a primer even before starting out.  The instinctive mistakes many neophyte business owners commit are discussed in the book.  Most of the time when we start a business, we tend to be over-optimistic and let our dreams of success carry us away, and Gerber shares how we can fine tune our perspective and approach towards the business.

A must-read!

(c) Niconica 2015

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For some strange reason, the concept of parallel universes has been appealing to me. I came upon the kindle book Travelling to Parallel Universes by Trish LeSage and it was intriguing however it wasn’t as long as I would have wished.

It contained anecdotes of Trish LeSage’s personal experiences as well as other people’s encounters of travelling to parallel universes as indicated by the title. It then lead me to another more interesting book written by physicist Cynthia Sue Larson and I’m still in the first few chapter but I feel that it delves into the topic more comprehensively than the previous book.

It might be a premature assessment since I have not yet completed the whole book and I have yet to find out how thorough the discussion is regarding reality shifts caused by moving into parallel universes. It sounds quite plausible and congruent with the concepts found in Buddhism regarding co-creation of a fluid reality based on actions which result in karma which manifests eventually which has a lot of concepts similar to quantum physics.

I have experienced a very strange occurrence a few months ago which baffles me to no end. Upon reading Reality Shifts it seems like it could be possible that reality did shift somehow to cause another person to insist that I had said something which I clearly remember I had not said. The other back-up possibilities which I’ve entertained have to do with ghosts, evil spirits, or plain old delusions and hallucinations.

Somehow, the idea of parallel universes and unknowingly shifting into one seems more appealing. I am woefully aware that preferring a certain reality does not translate to it being so but I’m pleased to have encountered these concepts and will continue reading up on them. Who know right?

(c) Niconica 2013

A couple of years ago, I began reading Kindle books thinking that it would be a reading back up plan only when the books were not available in physical form and thinking that I would always prefer printed books over books in electronic format.

I believe that having a physical book in one’s hands and having the joy of flipping and smelling (yes) the pages is still one of the more enjoyable experiences in life. However, it seems that my kindle library has increased in size through the years and I’m starting to get the hang of reading books from the comfort of my iPhone screen.

The advantage of a kindle book is that it may be read unobtrusively even when the lights are off or in the dark. It is also convenient to read it while lying on one’s back without worrying about the light source or compromising our eyesight.

The convenience of purchasing with one click from amazon.com after consulting reviews is just too tempting to resist at times. For an avid reader like myself, the plethora of books available at one’s fingertips just a tap away presents giddy possibilities of more knowledge to read and enjoy.

Running out of physical bookshelves or spaces to store my hard copy books makes reading and purchasing soft copies appealing as well. I’m starting to enjoy the benefits of kindle more and more and I would say that even if the feeling of leafing through actual printed pages is unparalleled, and kindle books cannot match up to that, it makes up for it in other aspects such as accessibility, convenience, and ease.

(c) Niconica 2013

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I’m seriously wondering why this book isn’t on the bestseller list.  It was published in 2011 (upon googling it and finding the information on Amazon.com) and it is one of the better books that I’ve read.  The self-help genre gets a lot of bad jokes but aside from this book being fit for the psychology section in the book shop, it would benefit many people to find it in the self-help genre because we it behooves us to help ourselves as much as we can–after all, we are in the best position to do so, even if we may not feel that way.

I don’t understand why people joke about all the self-help books, as though we are all clued up as to how to deal with life.  We are basically meandering around in confusion trying to figure things out the best that we could and there is no crime in perusing the self-help section and finding gems among the wide selection of pop-psychology books found in this section.

The term ‘dysfunctional’ applies to many families and it’s not supposed to be a flippant phrase that we toss around as though it is harmless.  Being from a dysfunctional family carries more weight than mere criticism.  It is not a joke and has serious repercussions–of equal gravity to actual physical dysfunction or disease.  It is something which affects who we are now and who we will become.  Beyond self-centeredness, we must take seriously that whether we want it or not, we affect other people and they affect others.

If the pain, hate, and trauma of being from a loveless/dysfunctional family causes part of our souls to be corrupted, it is something to address before the rot spreads to other parts of our lives–our friendships, our romantic relationships, our work relationships and our future offspring.  The damage caused in growing up with horrible relatives cannot simply by contained arbitrarily, it needs to be dissected and digested in order to be able to overcome it and claim our lives back from being devoured by our past.

It is in this light that this book is a treasure in discussing the different characters whom we encounter in our family or extended families–and we may take comfort that we were not simply imagining that certain relatives were less than stellar. This book arms us somehow and comforts us–it was not too awful of us to avoid less than pleasant interactions with relatives because it does happen that blood sometimes is muckier than water aside from the fact that it is ‘thicker than water’.

Two thumbs-up! A must-read for our own sanity and psychological health.

(c) Niconica 2013

 

 

 

 

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I’ve recently come across these very interesting books by author Jon P. Bloch.  I am impressed by his insight into human nature enough to wish to read all of this non-fiction books.  If you enjoy reading my blog, I think that his books will appeal to you.  They are well written and insightful.  I have not finished reading all of them yet but I would like to share them with you.  He is no stranger to the pain and emotional strife caused by emotional vampires and soulless emotional predators and is kind enough to share his insight with the rest of us who might have had to deal with difficult people to say the very least.

I have finished reading The Everything Health Guide to Adult Bipolar Disorder and am now reading The Loveless Family.  He is able to relay quite well the convoluted psychological dynamics which exist in dysfunctional and loveless families.  We might sometimes wonder whether we are being too needlessly suspicious or untrusting of people, but when we come across his descriptions of these dodgy characters we have grown up with, we start feeling a bit more sane.  We realize that we might not have been imagining the ill intentions after all and it might not all be in our head that certain characters we have encountered in our lives are not unique to our own experience but do exist empirically.

I am looking forward to reading Handling Difficult People and I shall share my thoughts about it too.  From what I have read so far, it is bound to be an interesting read.  Thank you Jon P Bloch, Ph.d for making us feel that we are not alone in our difficult experiences.  I look forward to reading more of your books along the same topic as the books above.

(c) Niconica 2013

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The Wisdom of Forgiveness by HIs Holiness The Dalai Lama and Victor Chan reads like silky smooth literature. Victor Chan masters the turn of the phrase and manages to convey a poignant and articulate biographical account of his encounters with the Dalai Lama together which imparts the lesson of the wisdom of forgiveness together with heartening interaction with the Dalai Lama. I am not usually a fan of extended biographical/anecdotal accounts in the context of spiritual non-fiction where one might prefer a short anecdote or example followed by an extended discussion of the topic at hand but Victor Chan manages to relay the message gracefully as he skilfully draws us into his experiences as we read the book, we feel that we are there witnessing his interactions with the Dalai Lama. Will keep an eye out for more books written by him.

(c) Niconica 2013

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As a fan and regular viewer of the history channel, I have come across many of its programs these past few months and the History Channel special Mankind The History of All of Us is a very unique and ambitious six part miniseries which chronicles our intricate global history from the very beginning to the present day providing the insights of hindsight along the way.

It’s an interesting perspective to view global history from our currency perspective and see humanity’s monumental triumphs and failures as well as the pivotal decisions and key people who helped shape the development and direction of mankind in wilful, surprising, and/or accidental ways.

It should not be viewed merely as interesting entertainment even if the show is presented in cinematic documentary and unfolds with the natrator’s skill full storytelling, it should also be viewed as both a cautionary tale and a source of inspiration where we should avoid the mistakes of the past with the thought that forewarned is forearmed however we must also draw strength from the monumental and sometimes miraculous triumphs along the way and allow it to inspire us to undertake great ventures which would benefit the greater good in a manner which considers the diversity and perspective of all and not merely one’s own since the stringent adherence to our own perspective without considering other’s interests while claiming our own views benefit others and imposing it upon others have repeatedly caused more grief through time.

The Mankind series is a very educational and interesting program which provides a massive bird’s eye view balanced by close-ups on global history’s key moments and game changers.

Positively epic!

(c) Niconica 2013

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One of the best shoes on TV is Ancient Aliens on The History Channel. It’s interesting that they make referenced to ancient UFO theorists and different theoretical information as well as research and investigations into the topic they are discussing from historical references to current events.

Ancient Aliens manages to be interesting and informative at the same time and the collage of different statements from people who have something to say about the topic covered by the current episode.

I like the idea that the show delves into ancient mysteries and postulates about possible futures because it shows that there are many things in the world that we do not know about and we should be humble enough to admit that we do not know everything and allow for different possibilities and phenomenon.

Two thumbs up!

(c) Niconica 2013

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Beautiful Creatures has been hyped up so much that it reminded me of the overly popularised Twilight series that I would not have gone to see the movie on my own volition. Without knowing anything about it and just going by the title, I thought it was a zombie movie adapted from a book. It isn’t. It’s a witch/witchcraft teen love story.

When I accompanied my friend to watch it, I discovered it was The Craft meets Romeo and Juliet. It was interesting and there were some big names who played some of the key roles despite the fact that the two leads are relatively new actors.

For some reason, I found that I enjoyed the diversion it created for me and I was drawn into the world of Beautiful Creatures. I was intrigued enough to consult Wikipedia and learn that the books were written by two authors collaborating and this is the first instalment of four books.

The premise of teens being thrown on the midst of supernatural beings has been overdone but Beautiful Creatures offers an interesting and relatively fresh take on the intricate world of the age old battle between good and evil supernatural forces.

I have not read the book yet (and still have not decided whether to do so) so I cannot comment whether the movie represented the depth of the original book adequately or whether the original book has depth to speak of. I have yet to decide whether to read all the books in the quartet or remain blissfully unaware until the next movie comes out.

If I do decide to proceed and read the books, I will let you know. I admit, I was surprised that I enjoyed Beautiful Creatures and it was a pleasant feeling to find something diverting amidst the sea of cliches and mind-numbing worldwide popular culture vampire and zombie obsession.

May we continue to come upon books and movies which offer a refreshing tweak to popularly accepted ideas, or even better, a completely novel perspective.

(c) Niconica 2013

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As much as I love books, I hardly get the time to go to bookstores and peruse the selections–especially the selections at the Fully Booked High Street branch which carries a wide selection of books. Having said that, I think that it could benefit from carrying an even wider selection since not all of the books I’m searching for are available there and I usually resort to purchasing them from Amazon in Kindle edition to be able to satisfy my hunger for these books.

There is a certain satisfaction I derive from discovering an author and devouring all of the author’s books simply because I feel that their writing satisfies my spirit. I prefer to go through a whole slew of titles from the same author than from jumping from one random title/author to another. However, there have been very few writers whose entire body of work has caught me in its grips.

Among the few whose writings I’ve been obsessed with reading (and I have read them all) are Robin McKinley and Judith McNaught for the fiction genre and for the non-fiction genre, the last obsession I had a few years ago was with all of Dolores Cannon’s books and I’ve read all of them aleady and am eagerly awaiting the next one, same goes for Robin McKinley and Judith McNaught.

During the times when I am searching for the next set of books to be passionately interested in, I have a whole pile of books I tackle and read, jumping from one to the other as I please and eventually finishing one or the other eventually. It’s not the same feeling though to be completely absorbed by a certain set of books and feel the inclination to read all of them since they would contain related topics as given by the same author.

Enter the Seth books by Jane Roberts and I find myself enjoying them very much. I’ve encountered them in the past and have leafed through them in bookstores but have not felt drawn to them until recently and now that I have finished reading Seth Speaks, it leaves me wanting more, more, and more. It has opened up a whole new world for me and I’m currently reading the Seth Book The Nature of the Psyche by Jane Roberts and cannot wait to read more if not all of her writing.

It’s interesting that I’ve come across these books several times in the past years but it never seemed to resonate with me as it does now. I wonder of it’s perhaps I’ve been vegetarian for almost ten months now and it perhaps has caused my energy and perception to shift somehow and vibrate on a different level and attract different things than before.

The books were written during the late 1960s and 70s so they gave been around for a while and I remember I’ve encountered them several times through the past decade and skimming through the pages and feeling so uninterested that the words barely registered.

However now, it’s a whole different experience altogether. The words in the book are insightful and feel timely. They do not come across as old-fashioned or dated. I feel that the messages in the books are amazing and I look forward learning more from Seth.

(c) Niconica 2013

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