Review: The Cross Worked.: Why You Can Have Confidence On The Day of Judgment

The Cross Worked.: Why You Can Have Confidence On The Day of Judgment by Zach Maldonado
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zach Maldonado is the young author of "The Cross Worked: Why You Can Have Confidence On The Day of Judgment." Obviously, this sits squarely on the Religion shelves of the bookstore and therefore might have been disregarded by me had it not been for something bristling inside me at the dreaded "Judgment Day" portion of the Christian religion. Judgment Day being the only aspect of Christianity that pisses me off more than tithing. J Day takes top billing when used to scare the hell out of followers (pun absolutely intended) for disregarding some twisted interpretation of one part of a collection of myths translated about a thousand different ways, six thousand years ago by people who still thought the world was flat. Never mind that it's probably contradicted in the same book at least a dozen times and just ignore the rest of the absolute absurdity throughout as well. Grimm's Fairy Tales are more realistic than the Bible. Yes, I'm a Godless heathen, I've accepted it.

Something I will admit to is the positivity contained in "The Cross Worked." I was kidding when I said I was Godless but my idea of God has zero to do with any 'religion' and is about love, acceptance and positivity - all of which Maldonado captured perfectly here. For that, I am grateful.

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Review: Real Leadership: Waken To Wisdom

Real Leadership: Waken To Wisdom by Susan Robertson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For all the books you can find on leadership skills, they are all kind of blending together for me. Yes, of course a leader must be charismatic and be able to make people believe them and want to follow them and their ideas. Hitler was a perfect example of this but we all know how that turned out. I don't think the basics of leadership are in question and Susan Robertson focuses on that natural leader and how he or she can personally improve for overall positive momentum.

Real Leadership: Waken To Wisdom takes this theme of inner improvement and applies it in the business world where, naturally, leaders tend to come in handy. The author's command of the subject matter is obvious, the chapters are arranged logically and the wording is straight forward and in layman's terms. So yes, this is another leadership book but it also happens to be a good one for those in business to take a look at.

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Review: Start Selling: A Guide For Survival And Success In Sales

Start Selling: A Guide For Survival And Success In Sales by M. Patrick Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Start Selling: A Guide For Survival And Success In Sales
by M. Patrick Campbell

Whether you are considering a career in sales, have been toiling in marketing for several years or are a hands on CEO looking for ways to streamline the efforts of your sales staff, Start Selling is a no nonsense manual with real life applications delivered in a straight forward manner. Included throughout the text are personal anecdotes from the author gleaned from his many years in business along with specific, step by step outlines and realistic projections. Mr. Campbell delves into the psychology behind both the seller/selling and the buyer/buying as well as discussing a broad range of topics from difficult customers to branding yourself within your field. I think it is important to note the "survival" part of the title here because sales is not just about success but surviving the failures. All in all, this book can go on the must read shelf for people in business.

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Review: The Silver Lining of Cancer: 13 Courageous Women Share their Inspirational Stories After a Life Changing Diagnosis

The Silver Lining of Cancer: 13 Courageous Women Share their Inspirational Stories After a Life Changing Diagnosis by Tracey Ehman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I never want to know the heart dropping feeling of sitting in front of a doctor and being told that I have cancer and could very well die from that terrible disease. The Silver Lining of Cancer: 13 Courageous Women Share their Inspirational Stories After a Life Changing Diagnosis is a collection of accounts of that very event and how thirteen different women chose to handle it. With a name like "The Silver Lining of Cancer" you can imagine that the stories are overwhelmingly positive and you would be right. Some accounts are more detailed than others, some more heart wrenching than others but all are inspiring in their own unique way. The author herself, Tracey Ehman, received her own devastating diagnosis and managed to not only beat the disease but create a vehicle for others in the same predicament to focus on positivity. I believe whether or not the disease is beaten physically, it can always be beaten mentally and that affirmative state of mind can make any outcome better.

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Review: Debating to Win Arguments Mastery: The Debating Trilogy

Debating to Win Arguments Mastery: The Debating Trilogy by R. L. Greene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Debating to Win Arguments Mastery: The Debating Trilogy isn't just a book about debate in the clinical sense; Two people at podiums arguing the intricacies of long forgotten, ancient, philosophical theories in front of an audience and racking up affirmative or negative points for the win. What Greene and Donovan have presented is an outline for simply dealing on a day to day basis with people who disagree with you while avoiding devolving into a preteen-esque word riot. I'm sure I'm not the only one made it to adulthood and realized grown ups are no different ego-wise than school children. Debating to Win should be senior year required reading because we all need the information and the heads up. As long as humanity exists, so will debate/difference of opinion and having the skills to handle yourself in a mature manner while wading through fake news, propaganda, outright fraud and difficult people in general can make life a lot easier.

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Review: Beyond Braces: A Consumer's Guide to Orthodontics

Beyond Braces: A Consumer's Guide to Orthodontics by Dr. Kelly Giannetti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having just gone through my oldest child getting braces, this is 120 pages I wish I had access to beforehand. Now that I have, however, that fourteen year old boy will be reading Beyond Braces: A Consumer's Guide to Orthodontics every time I catch him trying to go to bed without properly caring for his braces!

Dr. Kelly Giannetti and Dr. Thais Booms have written a helpful and positive book on the subject for parents and children alike. Everything from prevention to treatment options and aftercare is covered rather thoroughly. Both authors are obviously well respected in their field and care about patients. Horrors and myths are dispelled while cautionary tales are used in a constructive manner. I would recommend this to all of my parent friends if only to simply arm them with useful information.

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Review: 99 Financial Terms Every Beginner, Entrepreneur & Business Should Know

99 Financial Terms Every Beginner, Entrepreneur & Business Should Know by Thomas Herold
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

99 Financial Terms Every Beginner, Entrepreneur & Business Should Know (Financial IQ Series Book 1)
by Thomas Herold

It's a brave new world when it comes to finance and this book highlights how out of touch with the current financial pulse worldwide most people are. Herold puts it out there is a succinct "Formal term name, Acronym, Definition, Real world application" style that is easy to understand and enormously informative for anyone from stay at home moms taking over the household finances to entrepreneurs seeing their small home business grow into multi-million dollar companies. Even if you think you know the basics, I would suggest reading this anyway because chances are, you don't know everything you think you do and you are probably wrong about half of what you think you know. At least that was my personal experience. I found that while I understood the foundation of things, I was clueless as to the layers of complexity that can be revealed. Overall, a very well done, informative financial building block.

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Review: Restore Your Rest: Solutions for TMJ and Sleep Disorders

Restore Your Rest: Solutions for TMJ and Sleep Disorders by Shab R. Krish DDS MS DABCP DABCDSM
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Restore Your Rest: Solutions for TMJ and Sleep Disorders
by Shab R. Krish DDS MS DABCP DABCDSM

I am a person who had never dealt with sleep issues or slept with anyone who had to deal with them. Then I met my husband and everyone within 100 feet of our house of us was suddenly dealing with it. Finally, after months of what seemed like next to zero rest, his doctor ordered him to have sleep study done and eventually they settled on a series of treatments. It was in preparation for and delving into the results that we found out how detrimental the effects of not sleeping well can be on a human body. Even simple 'benign' snoring is not so benign. In Dr. Krish's brief but highly informative book on the subject, the reader gets a crash course in TMJ, sleep disorders, symptoms and methods of treatment.

I, like many other readers, have to comment on the editing, or lack thereof. Being an editor myself and knowing how high the competition for editing work is, I see no reason for a book to go to publication in this condition. We are out there, USE US!

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Review: Leverage the Field for Success: Using Quantum Reality to Succeed in the Corporate World

Leverage the Field for Success: Using Quantum Reality to Succeed in the Corporate World by John Jay McKey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Leverage the Field for Success: Using Quantum Reality to Succeed in the Corporate World is a business help manual written by John Jay McKey. The author is a data analytics expert who claims that the key to success in business can be achieved using quantum reality. Basically, quantum reality is a fancy business version of using positive affirmations to bring good things into your life. Obviously it is a little more complicated than that, the word quantum should have been the first clue, but in only 178 pages, Mr. McKey spells out things quite nicely. People in business from CEO to low level managers can find wisdom here that will help along the past to success.

Though I am not in business in the traditional sense, I found this book to be positive and clearly articulated. I see this as a book that can only help both the business and people involved in business be quite successful.

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Review: 3x Speed Reading

3x Speed Reading by Giacomo Bruno
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3x Speed Reading by Giacomo Bruno is a short 110 pages, focused on the goal of reading much faster, three times faster to be exact, and improve comprehension and memorization of the information that is read.

This guide was practical in its instruction style as well as honest in acknowledging that there is no singular, sure fire way to achieve the desired results of speed reading. There were charts, diagrams, worksheets, and exercises sprinkled throughout to assist in the learning.

In regard to memorization and comprehension techniques, Mr. Bruno has introduced some rather creative avenues of improvement. My focus was drawn here being that I already read at a nearly unnatural speed and always have.

I disagree with the notion that readers don't use the creative part of their brain when reading. Perhaps that could be true when reading for purely informational purposes but how can you not use creativity when making images in your head out of words from the page? The author's position on that really frustrated me.

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Review: Do Good To Lead Well: The Science And Practice Of Positive Leadership

Do Good To Lead Well: The Science And Practice Of Positive Leadership by Craig Dowden PhD
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Craig Dowden is a psychologist who concentrates professionally on business and has significant experience coaching players in the business world from small start ups to the top CEOs. In Do Good To Lead Well: The Science And Practice Of Positive Leadership, Dowden hangs success on six pillars of positive leadership: Self-awareness, Civility, Humility, Focus on positive, Meaning and purpose, and Empathy. These are not words most people think of when they consider the brutality that has proven to be so present in the business world. This book is different from other industry insider manuals in its positivity as a whole. The message Dowden seems to be pushing is in some ways so simple yet so foreign now days; Do the right thing, treat people with respect and you'll be rewarded with loyal people. In short, don't be a jerk. It's a shame there is a need for a book like this and professionals like Craig Dowden to teach that but I am thankful he's doing it. I see this as a must read for managers and CEOs alike.

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Review: Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance: A Values-Based Framework for Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times

Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance: A Values-Based Framework for Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times by Yvette Bethel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance: A Values-Based Framework for Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times by Yvette Bethel is an informative book for business owners and managers on workplace behavior and culture divided into three distinct parts.

In part one, we are introduced to the idea of interconnectivity, flow and balance in business. At 406 pages, this is a pretty in depth look into the subject and I felt like this part could have been simplified and significantly shortened while still getting the idea laid out.

Part two is titled, Pillar of Trust. This pillar, consisting of integrity, self-mastery, and a "we" mentality, is what her model of leadership is based on.

Part three, IFB by Design, lays out the path on how to create and maintain a positive workplace environment encompassing interconnectivity, flow, and balance. Though a lot of this boils down to common sense, the author is correct that good values in business are less and less common. I'm not sure I agree with her claim that this system can be implemented across the board, from baseline social interactions to entire governments to cure all that ails us.

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Review: Health-Wealth For You: 11 Steps To Save Big & Live Healthy

Health-Wealth For You: 11 Steps To Save Big & Live Healthy by Josh Luke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here is another Josh Luke foray into the abyss that is the American healthcare system; Health - Wealth For You: 11 Steps To Save Big & Live Healthy. This is the third book by Luke I've read, the second in what I can only assume will be a Health - Wealth series. In this installment, the author lays out specific steps to follow to not only navigate but take advantage of the quagmire that is our healthcare system. A sort of How To manual for making sound decisions for the average family's personal and financial health.

I haven't been the biggest fan of the way this author has come across in the past but I believe that's simply due to my own personal issue because he has a very devoted following. I can objectively say that his message is clearly stated and his background suggests he has all the experience necessary to be giving the advice he is giving. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who followed his plan to find out some real life outcomes.

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Review: Power: The Leadership Mantra: How to Develop an Effective Leadership and Management Skills

Power: The Leadership Mantra: How to Develop an Effective Leadership and Management Skills by Vikrant Shaurya
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When the opening paragraph of Power: The Success Mantra included the phrase "I'm a twenty-four year old entrepreneur and book launch manager". I may or may not have rolled my eyes. I mean I don't read romances starring twenty-somethings because I literally can't take the subject matter seriously through the eyes of someone that young. From that very perspective came the eye-roll. Then I had to remind myself... Zuckerberg, you judgmental heifer! Vikrant Shaurya is young but he's also very talented and obviously someone who wants to share the secrets of his success rather than hoarding them and hoping no one ever comes along to challenge those accomplishments.

The book is written clearly and in common terms rather than going the jargon heavy route for effect . Personal examples of whatever skill he is showcasing at any given time bring this business, money and small business informational text to life. This is a prime example of a book that is actually helpful and entertaining.

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Review: DUALITY OF TIME: Complex-Time Geometry and Perpetual Creation of Space

DUALITY OF TIME: Complex-Time Geometry and Perpetual Creation of Space by Mohamed Haj Yousef
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

DUALITY OF TIME: Complex-Time Geometry and Perpetual Creation of Space (The Single Monad Model of The Cosmos Book 2). I hate to sound like a yokel but that title alone is a bit intimidating. The author, Mohamed Haj Yousef, is a scholar and obviously a man of superior intelligence. His grasp of physics along with the incredibly vast array of other themes that are discussed in Duality of Time is astonishing. The notion of time travel and alternate realities is as fascinating as it is complicated but somehow this author was able to put his ideas out there in a way that can be at least understood superficially by the average person. I will be going back to reread parts to get a better understanding of the parts I am most interested in. I enjoyed reading this much more than I expected to when I initially read the title and then the summary. It's nice when you come off a book feeling a tad smarter or more informed.

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Review: Health - Wealth: 9 Steps to Financial Recovery

Health - Wealth: 9 Steps to Financial Recovery by Josh D. Luke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Health - Wealth: 9 Steps To Financial Recovery is the second book I've read on healthcare written by Dr. Josh Luke. It cannot be said that the man doesn't know what he's talking about, he definitely does. He presents the facts bluntly, something that is unquestionably necessary when talking about health and wealth. I know this is written for an audience of business owners and managers but certainly the subject matter is relevant to all Americans and I would encourage everyone to get informed.

This is purely a personal opinion and really has no bearing on the validity of the information Dr. Josh Luke provides in his books but I think I would quickly tire of conversations with him because they would be all about him. Yes, he's a successful man, there's no doubt about that and there are instances throughout the book where he shows himself humble but humility is not this man's strong suit. Some readers might be turned off by the brag rich tone of this author.

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Review: The Bottomless Cloud: How AI, the next generation of the cloud, and abundance thinking will radically transform the way you do business

The Bottomless Cloud: How AI, the next generation of the cloud, and abundance thinking will radically transform the way you do business by Thomas Koulopoulos
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Authors Thomas Koulopoulos and David Friend have written a short (only sixty-four pages) but thorough technology book called The Bottomless Cloud: How AI, the next generation of the cloud, and abundance thinking will radically transform the way you do business. Their intended audience is obviously entrepreneurs, owners and managers in business and they write in a way that is clear and to the point. Their use of graphs, charts and illustrations accentuates the themes and ideas throughout. That the authors explained the use of these applications in specific industries is another example of how this book is a good read for someone in any business.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning is a subject that I think is often glossed over and I liked that in The Bottomless Cloud, cold hard facts are presented. Every one of us, not just business owners, need to be aware and well informed to both the perks and the consequences that can and will come with this type of technical evolution.

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Review: Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress: A Practical Guide

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress: A Practical Guide by Gustavo Kinrys MD
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress: A Practical Guide is the second self-help book on managing stress and anxiety that I've read by this author, Dr. Kinrys. Here again, as in Conquering Your Stress and Fears, the focus is on natural, herb and vitamin based treatments rather than the more common pharmaceutical route. In this book though, he goes so far as to prescribe dosages and there are even more techniques elaborated on. Suggestions such as acupuncture, meditation, aromatherapy, music and noise therapy and even virtual reality therapy. I appreciate the wide range of ideas he explores and how thoroughly he is able to get without smothering the reader in jargon and medical terminology.

Anxiety and stress are just a part of everyday life for most people and books like Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress are a great tool in the arsenal for living a healthy, happy and full life.

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Review: First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough by Mark Unger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Every parent prays to everything they find holy that they never hear the words 'your child has cancer'. The Unger's were no different than any other parents, their son Louis, was no different than any other little boy. First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough is a story of this family suffering through and eventually triumphing over what was initially a death sentence for their three year old boy. Mark Unger lays out each agonizing treatment, all of the set backs, every prayed for break through during that horrifying five years.

First Survivor is not an easy book to read, especially when you think about all of those families who didn't get the happy ending that the Unger's were so lucky to get. Louis is now a grown man and there couldn't have been a better outcome from that horrible ordeal for him and his entire family.

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Review: The Blueprint For Back Pain: The Essential Guide To Non-Surgical Solutions

The Blueprint For Back Pain: The Essential Guide To Non-Surgical Solutions by Bradford Butler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Blueprint For Back Pain: The Essential Guide To Non-Surgical Solutions, a book anyone suffering from back pain should read. I personally have seen back pain negatively alter someone's life and the anguish I witnessed isn't something I'd wish on anyone. Dr. Bulter brings forth a full scope look at treatment in a non-judgmental way despite his obvious preference for non-surgical methods.

There are cases where only strong pain meds and surgery will relieve a patient's back pain and for those, I fully support that avenue of treatment. Where The Blueprint for Back Pain shines is clarifying where back pain originates from, the spine, and skillfully going through non-surgical methods of treatment such as acupuncture, massage, chiropractic techniques and decompression. The chapter on prevention is perhaps the most important one and for this reason I would just as readily recommend this book to someone who doesn't have back pain as I would to someone already suffering through it.

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