Sunday, April 28, 2013

Light Reading, Great Fun.

One For The Money (Stephanie Plum, #1)One For The Money by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I mentioned earlier reading a couple of her books to see how credible is her fiction writing advice. I enjoyed one of the later Plum books so I decided to read the one that started it all. (The series, that is, she had written, "churned out," romances for a few years before taking on this fun assignment.) This is not heavyweight fiction, nor is it a marshmallow. It is a very entertaining, diverting, fast-reading novel and I enjoyed it a lot.

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

A "Cousin" in spirit, if not in blood. Rest in peace, Paul Williams

Das EnergiDas Energi by Paul S. Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have had this on sale at Amazon for quite some time. I was sad to read Paul Williams' obituary in today's Boston Globe and decided to add this edition to Goodreads. All the others are shown with a green cover. This is an incredible work, so "sixties" yet so timeless in its simple wisdom. "...it's high time we stopped messing around with this guilt crap and got down to business, which is, I think, creating Heaven on Earth." (p. 15) Delightful!

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Monday, April 1, 2013

More than meets the eye!

The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with MoneyThe Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money by Carl Richards
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another “small” book that is full of wonderful content. The subtitle says it all. One of the most dumb things we can do with money is to lose it, especially while pursuing its growth. He shares all kinds of common-sense but easily-overlooked and forgotten insights into how our emotions and biases make such losses almost inevitable. Richards is so simple and unassuming that it would be easy to discount the value of what he offers, but that would be foolish – maybe even “dumb.” He notes on page 85, in Chapter 5, “Too Much Information” that “the ability to build and protect wealth is often inversely related to knowing what’s going on in the market. And it’s certainly inversely related to acting on that knowledge.” Later in the same chapter, in a section “Free Your Mind” he says on page 90, “When thoughts about the market arise, let them go. Go for a bike ride.” So what can we do? We can simplify our lives, learn delayed gratification, and most of all focus on what we really value and work toward it, one day at a time, and enjoy the journey. Or you can worry and fuss – it’s your choice. I recommend this highly.

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