The Dip

Title: The Dip: A Little Book that Teaches You when to Quit (And when to Stick)

Author: Seth Godin

Pages: 80

Genre: Self-Help?

Grade: B

Synopsis: Every new project, hobby, job, etc. starts out fun and exciting, but eventually they all lead to the doldrums.  For those people who can weather the storm (i.e. the dip), they are setting themselves up for bigger rewards. The challenge in life is to figure out which efforts are worth sticking with it through the dip and which are not. Quitting is not bad, when it is done strategically.

My Review: This is a short book and fairly easy to read in one sitting. The basic premise makes a lot of sense.  Some of the first electrical engineering courses that I went through were essentially weeder courses.  They were structured to be difficult enough to weed out anybody who was not completely serious about sticking with it (I think that 40-50% of the people who started that first year of electrical engineering did not complete it.  I hate math, yet somehow I made it through...).  What I find far more challenging sometimes than sticking with something is to figure out which efforts will be worth it in the end and which efforts will lead to a dead end.

Getting Things Done

Title: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Author: David Allen

Pages: 6 discs?

Genre: Self-help

Grade: C+

Synopsis: This book is a productivity manual, with instructions and ideas of ways to help increase your productivity.  Setting goals, email strategies, prioritizing are all topics that are addressed.

My Review: I've heard so much about this book over the years (it was published in 2002), that I was excited to read this book.  However, it didn't really sit well with me for a few reasons: I didn't feel like many of the ideas would work or be beneficial in my situation, The book is outdated. The email organization strategies were great circa 2002, but a lot has changed since then. The author actually read the audiobook version that I listened to and I felt that he often came across as condescending. I'm not sure if it was because of his tone, or the tone of the book, or if I'm just too hard-headed to put my heart into his suggestions.  Either way, I was disappointed with this one.

Never Eat Alone

Title: never eat alone

Author: Keith Ferrazzi

Pages: 6 discs?

Genre: Self-help

Grade: F

Synopsis: Ferrazi postulates that the key to success in both life and work is building solid relationships that you can fall back on in the future for favors and help.You must maintain constant contact with all of your friends and associates who matter to you so that you can rely on them for help in a pinch.

My Review: First off, I've got to come clean and admit that I didn't actually finish this book.  It's been a long time since I haven't finished a book that I've started, but I simply couldn't stand this one.  I made it about 1/3 of the way through before I decided not to suffer through anymore of this rubbish.  My biggest complaint is not necessarily with the material (although I'm not swooning over the ideas in this book like many readers) but my complaint is with the self-righteous writing style and over-the-top braggadocio that was just too much for me to handle.If you want to hear about how cool Mr. Ferrazzi is, then I've got the book for you...

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Title: How to Win Friends and Influence People

Author: Dale Carnegie

Pages: 320

Genre: Self-help

Grade: B+

Synopsis: First written in 1936, Dale Carnegie's book is a collection of tips, tricks and anecdotes about being more likeable, being a leader and helping people that you interact with to feel needed and important.  Simple ideas, such as being a good listener and talking about your own mistakes prior to criticizing another person.

My Review: This is a book that I've been interested in reading for quite a few years, so I was happy when I found it at the DI or a garage sale (I don't recall exactly).  It's a book that I'd like to read every few years; at least the first half of the book, the second half wasn't quite as engaging.

Automatic Wealth for Grads

Title: Automatic Wealth for Grads

Author: Michael Masterson

Pages: 6 discs?

Genre: Self-help, Personal Finance

Grade: F

Synopsis: Michael Masterson is a self-made millionaire who shares his secrets in this book on how new graduates can also become self-made millionaires by the time they are thirty.  The secret is to have your income increase exponentially, start your own business and sell it for millions and buy and sell real estate until you are rich.

My Review:  I like to think that I would have been a skeptical reader of this book in 2007/2008, but in today's economy and marketplace, the instructions and estimates in this book are laughable.  As an example (These aren't direct quotes, but my interpretation): "we'll be conservative and assume that you will only profit 12% per year in the stock market, but really you should be able to make around 25%."  Or another, "Real estate investing will allow you to profit between 25 and 50%, while the best option of all is to start your own business (not a restaurant) where you can profit 50%!"  I found Masterson's tone annoying, his list after list of what you should be doing ridiculous and most of all, I felt that the entire book was based upon unsustainable tenets.  All you millionaires by thirty out there will disagree with my review, but I haven't come across too many lately (ps. even if your starting salary is only $20,000 you should be making $150-$250,000 in a few years if you are diligent!).

The Likeability Factor

Title: The Likeability Factor

Author: Tim Sanders

Pages: 5 discs

Genre: Non-fiction, Self-help

Grade: B

Synopsis: Being likeable is a critical component to having good relationships with you family, at work and in other areas of life. This book explores how anybody can increase their likeability factor by boosting their friendliness, relevance, empathy and realness with those around you.

My Review: I enjoyed listening to this book and learned a great deal. It was interesting to think about the factors discussed and how I could apply them in my life.

Your Money or Your Life

Title: Your Money or Your Life

Authors: Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin

Pages: 336

Genre: Self-help, Personal Finance

Grade: A

Synopsis: This book outlines a 9-step program that empowers the reader to reach FI (financial independence, financial intelligence and financial integrity). The steps consist of finding out how much money you have made throughout your lifetime and then comparing that to your current net worth. The next steps are to track your spending from month to month and to determine whether or not you are getting the actual monetary worth from the money that you are spending. The goal in all of this is to be able to find and reach your personal crossover point, where your investment income equals the income that you need to have to live (see http://www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org/).

My Review: I really enjoyed this book. I had heard that it was one of the most recommended personal finance books out there, that has largely stood the test of time (almost 20 years, at least). I started a few of the exercises, but decided that it would be more beneficial to get my hands on a used copy of the book and then to read this with Alison and go over the exercises together. I liked the focus the book had on reducing our personal consumerism. We have been brainwashed into thinking that it is critical for us to consume in order to the economy to continue to grow. This mindset is detrimental to ourselves and in many ways to the environment. I had always envisioned reaching the crossover point right around the time that I was to retire. I now see that with intelligent financial management, this point can be reached much earlier and then allow us to have financial freedom for a longer period of our life. It's worth it to me to live frugally and be smart with my money in order to have more time (and money) to put towards my dreams later on in life.

From the Book: "(p. xviii) This shift has arrived none too soon. Americans need to transform the way they think about, spend and save money--if only for their own security. The savings rate in the United States has dropped from just below 5 percent when the book was first published to below zero at the time of this writing. The sirens of consumerism have but us into a deep sleep. The apparent deep pockets of Uncle Credit Card allow us to indulge in living far beyond our means. According to a 1997 Public Agenda report, nearly 40 percent of Baby Boomers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. The old norm of increasing savings in the good times to offset the inevitable fallow years has been reversed. Overspending increased during the economic expansion of the '90s. It was this head-in-the-sand attitude about savings that most concerned Joe in the years before he died in 1997. Drenched for decades in information about the national and global economic ups and downs, he found Americans myopic about the long cycles of the markets and economy."

"(p. 15) Americans used to be "citizens." Now we are "consumers"--which means (according to the dictionary definition of "consume") people who "use up, waste, destroy and squander." Consumerism, however, is just a twentieth-century invention of our industrial society, created at a time when encouraging people to buy more goods was seen as necessary for continued economic growth."

"(p. 117) You come to differentiate between a passing fancy and real fulfillment, that point of perfect balance where desires disappear because they have been completely met. Any less would be not enough. Any more would be too much. A fulfilling meal is one where all the flavors, smells and textures blend perfectly and your appetite is satisfied without even a trace of teh discomfort of having overeaten. In the same way, a fulfilling car is one that meets your transportation needs perfectly, that you will enjoy owning for many thousands of miles, that doesn't insult your wallet or your values and that, with good maintenance, will be both reliable and a pleasure to drive. Your internal yardstick would dismiss any superficial desires to impress others, to relieve the boredom of driving a two-year-old car, to own a Mercedes because you want the status symbol or to have a blue convertible that matches your eyes. Those are all external yardsticks. If an experience or a purchase is truly fulfilling, the desire disappears for a long time. You are satisfied, contented, at peace."

The Complete Tightwad Gazette (Vol. I)

Title: The Complete Tightwad Gazette (Vol. I)

Author: Amy Dacyczyn

Pages: 300

Genre: Personal Finance, Self-Help

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Amy Dacyczyn (aka the Frugal Zealot) published The Tightwad Gazette as a newsletter from June 1990 to December 1996. This book was created as a collection of all the tips and stories from the newsletters. It is split up into three parts (of which so far I have read only one) of about 300 pages each. The book covers ways to save money in hundreds of unique and imaginative ways.

My Review: This book has a long waiting list at the library so I was only able to cover Volume I during my allotted time. I think that it's probably for the better to split it up anyway. I really enjoyed the tips and tricks in the book and plan on utilizing many of them in my life. In fact, I'm going to try and post frugality/personal finance tips and tricks weekly on Lurp's Lounge (my regular blog). I took copious notes from this book and plan on sharing many of them with you, gentle reader. If you ever find a used copy, pick it up and it will quickly pay for itself as you practice increased frugality.

From the Book: "(p. 54) Tightwaddery without creativity is deprivation. When there is a lack of resourcefulness, inventiveness, and innovation, thrift means doing without."

"(p. 152) The manufacturing of most goods harms the environment in one way or another. The culprit is not the factory, but it is we who buy what it produces. Therefore we should think carefully about items we purchase."

"(p. 216) Jim purchased a brand-new book called How to Fix Damn Near Anything. In horror I discovered a $15.95 price tag on the inside of the jacket. Upon interrogation he confessed that he purchased it at the thrift shop for $.25." (My note: I actually purchased this book at full price for my birthday last year. How embarrassing.)

"(p. 228) So how do we sort it all out? The relationship between ethics and thrift can be summed up in just one sentence. It is wrong to save money at the expense of others. Period."

"(p. 232) The dieter will fail as long as he hates low-calorie food. The would-be athlete will fail as long as he hates exertion. The tightwad wannabe will fail as long as he views frugality as a lifestyle he has to endure, or was forced into by circumstance."

The Last Lecture

Title: The Last Lecture

Author: Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow

Pages: 206

Genre: Humor, Self-Help, Memoir

Grade: A

Synopsis: Many people have heard about Dr. Pausch's Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon or seen clips on youtube. He was a distinguished professor of Computer Science that was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only given a few months to live. He used the stage at Carnegie Mellon to give a lecture titled "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" and the book elaborates on many of the topics and stories that he shared.

My Review: I love the positive outlook that this book gave me. Here is a book on life written by a terminally ill man, who has since died. I loved all of the stories, anecdotes and reminders that life is too short, live it up a little. This is the type of book that I could read every few years just as a reminder of how important the little things are in life. There is a good reason why Randy Pausch was named one of the Time 100 most influential people in the world in 2008 (see article here, written by Katie Couric).

From the Book: "(p. 6) Throughout my academic career, I'd given some pretty good talks. But being considered the best speaker in the computer science department is like being known as the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs. And right then, I had the feeling that I had more in me, that if I gave it my all, I might be able to offer people something special. "Wisdom" is a strong word, but maybe that was it."

The Read-Aloud Handbook

Title: The Read~Aloud Handbook

Author: Jim Trelease

Pages: 366 (including including 115 pages of a "giant treasury of great read-aloud books)

Genre: Self-Help

Grade: A+ (The first A+ I've ever given!)

Synopsis: This book covers topics from why it is important to read aloud to our children to the best ways to read aloud, important lessons from Oprah and Harry Potter and to how the internet and today's technology can be used beneficially for learning. Using support from many research studies Trelease points out that there is a huge correlation between the number of words a child hear specifically spoken to them and their ability to succeed in school and later on in life. He gives many examples of age-appropriate books and explains the stages of reading aloud.

Why I Chose This Book: I've heard that this book is an essential read for every parent.

My Review: I know that this review may seem a little over the top but, this is the first time that I have ever finished reading a library book and then ordered it on amazon.com within minutes of finishing it. Alison and I will read this one together once we receive it. This is one of the most interesting motivating and inspiring books that I have ever read and I agree with many of the reviews on the book that I have read which state that no household with children should ever be without a copy of this book. Anyone who ventures onto a book review blog (thanks for coming by the way) already knows and values the importance of reading. What this book does is explain why reading (both silently and aloud) are so important and how it can literally change lives. My favorite part of the book is all of the letters and personal stories that are shared. Even more impressive is that many of the tips and tricks that are shared in the book can be applied to public speaking or presentations. This is a book that I expect will become well worn in the Squire household.

From the Book: (Both quotes come from the introduction, which is almost just a long abstract or summary) "(p. xiii) Not that parents are alone in their extreme behavior. That have more than enough company among school boards and high-ranking politicians who think if you "fix the schools, they'll fix the kids." So, in Gadsden, Alabama, school officials eliminated kindergarten nap time in 2003 so the children would have more test-prep time. Two hours away in Atlanta, school officials figured that if you eliminated recess, the kids will study more. And just in case those shifty teachers try to sneak it in, Atlanta started building schools without playgrounds. "We are intent on improving academic performance," said the superintendent. "You don't do that by having kids hanging on the monkey bars." Meanwhile, Georgia's governor wanted the state to give Mozart CDs to newborns because research showed Mozart improved babies' IQs (which later proved to be mythical research). Right behind him is Lincoln, Rhode Island, where they canceled the district spelling bee because only one child would win, leaving all others behind, thus violating the intent of No Child Left Behind--or, as they might say in Lincoln, no child gets ahead.

"(p. xviii) This is not a book about teaching a child how to read; it's about teaching a child to want to read. There's an education adage that goes, "What we teach children to love and desire will always outweigh what we make them learn." The fact is that some children learn to read sooner than others, while some learn better than others. There is a difference. For the parent who thinks that sooner is better, who has an eighteen-month-old child barking at flash cards, my response is: sooner is not better. Are the dinner guests who arrive an hour early better guests than those who arrive on time? Of course not."

What Color Is Your Parachute?

Title: What Color Is Your Parachute?

Author: Richard Nelson Bolles

Pages: 382

Genre: Self-Help?

Grade: B+

Synopsis: This is the "Bible" for job-hunters. The website for the book is even: http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/. This book is updated yearly and is more of a workbook than a book that you would sit down and read front to back. I didn't participate in all of the exercises, but I still came away with 8 pages of notes and ideas. The author begins by pointing out the best and worst ways to search for a job. Obviously the best methods are ones where the job seeker creates an active connection with the employer. Using the internet, answering newspaper ads and cold-calling are not successful because this connection isn't present (although, almost every place that I have applied has told me that they only accept resumes submitted online...). He goes through many important facets of the job search from the resume to the interview to salary negotiations. The biggest part of the book focuses on the "flower diagram". This is the type of thing that would be perfect for somebody trying to pick their college major or change career fields. For somebody like me who has yet to really work in my chosen profession, then it didn't seem entirely applicable. This exercise helps you to identify what types of working conditions you like, what skills, interests and values you have and where and what you would like to do. This is the ultimate exercise for somebody who is not happy with what they are doing and are considering changing careers.

Why I Chose This Book: This is supposedly the #1 manual for finding a job. This is probably a pretty pertinent subject for me right now.

My Review: I liked a lot of parts of this book, but there were other parts that I had to trudge through. I wish that I had read this book when I was trying to choose my college major. My decision was made very haphazardly (but I certainly don't regret it). If I ever find myself dissatisfied with my job then this is the first book that I'll pick up. It's also the type of book that would be perfect to give a niece or nephew graduating from High School. I didn't expect the book to be so activity based. These types of books can be quick reads - but if you really want to take advantage of the material then it can be really time-consuming. I learned a lot from this book and fully expect to read it again.

From the Book (I didn't really find any quotes to share about finding a job, but here's one that I liked): "(P. 317) The search for a dream job is, on its surface, a search for greater happiness. Most of us embark on this search because we want to be happier. We want to be happier in both our work and our life.
But some of us want even more.
We want to be happier in our soul.
Though others do not believe, we do. And we want our faith to be a part of our dream. hence, no discussion of work happiness can be complete--for us--unless we also find soul happiness. Unless we find some sense of mission for our life." [All formatting as the author intended]