What are you reading? Keep it short and simple

"How come THAT idiot's rich and I'm Not?" is an interesting business book that reiterates the basic principles we often ignore. The author, Robert Shemin, draws from life experiences to point out the "how" of wealth creation and sustenance. You'll love the quotes and "callouts"in all the twelve chapters! But you won't get mega-rich by merely reading the book :-) ACT, he says. You have to apply these principles wisely.

Another book that will leave you feeling better off and more empowered is "Aesop and the CEO." In this book, David Noonan shares different Aesop fables and gives their business perspective- ancient wisdom applies to today's world! I totally love how he punctuated the flow in the book with real life examples. The lessons in the book are categorized to keep things in perspective- from Rewards and Incentives to Management and Leadership, to Effective management and leadership, to Business strategies that worked and failed to Human Resource- on hire or fire, coping with a difficult boss who wants to have you for lunch :-).

It does not matter what field you belong, you'll find the content in this book applicable to your work and personal life! When the book was first recommended for our "Brand Management" class, I was like, "what"? But truth be told, there is definiltely a lot in there on brand management. If you are into Marketing and services, you have an interesting pool of wisdom to draw from in the book as well!

"Aesop and the CEO" is what I now call the little red book on managerial wisdom. I hope more managers, budding managers, entrepreneurs and employees read it! It is a tiny book you can read in one sitting but I'll recommend you read, chew on each lesson before moving to the next :-)

In few weeks, I'll be reviewing Brian Kurth's "Test-Drive Your Dream Job" for Readers-Response Journal. But here is a paragraph that jumped out at me while flipping through the pages recently:

"You know- if you 're considering a dream job- that the push toward a dream career is not just about how you spend your working hours. It's about meshing your work like with your deepest sense of self. It's about having work that matches your values, that feeds instead of exhaust you, that doesn't require you to leave your priorities at home and check your heart at the door. When we imagine a dream job, we imagine a job in which we are fully ourselves, in which our hearts and minds are equally engaged."

Aha! :-) 

SHADOW FALL BY HAJO ISA

If i were to judge "Shadow fall" by it's cover i would call it a blast from the past, the beautiful black and white picture of four free horses whom I assume had just escaped from the stable. The prints are reader friendly accompanied by sketches to relate the message of each poem.

Hajo's poems are divided into four parts: Heart in bloom, Curator of thoughts, Spectrum of passion and Reverie of flight and are best described as Undiluted,deep and raw . Each word was carefully chosen to reflect her thoughts and then presented honestly without fear or farvour they came out with a unique and original voice filled with passion, I wish her poems were more entertaining and spontaneous especially since poetry is something that is still in the process of capturing the hearts many in an environment like ours but aside that Shadow Fall captured my heart. My farvourite poems are June, Untitled and Father's house.

I could have argued with anyone who told me Hajo is a Lawyer not until I read her short bio also reading shadow fall has revealed alot about her too. I had seen her from afar as a bubbly, jovial and flexible lady but shadow fall has exposed the firm, meticulous and evolving personality in her, indeed Hajo Isa is a thought leader.

Africa Reading Challenge

Kinna reads is hosting a reader's challenge just read

5 books. That’s it. There will be no other levels. Of course,
participants are encouraged to read more than 5 books.
Eligible books include those which are written by African writers,
or take place in Africa, or are concerned with Africans and with
historical and contemporary African issues.
Note that at least 3 books must be written by African writers.

This sounds like great fun for us readers, I signed up and I think u should do the same
Click here to sign up

“Preserve My Saltiness,” I savoured every piece... - Chioma Chukwuneta (@Cheeomarh)

A review:

From the catchy red face to the picture of a young lady who appeared engrossed in her thoughts (though having savoured the book I realized that lady was actually listening to everything happening around her from the wisdom of the old/aged to the words of her Creator, whom she describes as the “Lover of her soul," and the cries of her society), I was convinced that I was holding a book with a beautiful content. If “judging a book” and “judging its cover” were synonymous, books like “Preserve My Saltines” would break the gravel.

 For the first time I come across poems that tell my story to the world, my love story, my daily struggle between desires and the expectation of the God I serve, my environment, my dreams and prayers.

Each time I pick up “Preserve my saltiness,” I savour every piece with reflection. It's a collection of poems full of wit and wisdom written with so much simplicity and creativity.

Jennifer certainly has grey hair, these words of wisdom certainly didn't come from a woman with hairs as dark as mine.

Thank you Jennifer for sharing your thoughts, thank you for standing for young women and for Christianity and thank you for believing in our generation.

By Chioma Chukwuneta,

Follow on Twitter: @Cheeomarh

  Thanks for the review Chioma! May God be praised! His grace is ever sufficient!

31 Dates in 31 Days by Tamara Duricka Johnson @31dates

Imagine this- A few weeks to your 31^st birthday, your boyfriend suddenly realizes there is nothing more between you two, especially when you were still hoping he is the one, and breaks up with you before you could point out the silver-linings in your relationship. What do you do? Well, Tamara Duricka Johnson’s response to such predicament is what has evolved into a much talked about 31 Dates in 31 Days! 

Except, Tamara’s case is not an imaginary one. It actually happened to her! It must have been a big blow on her self-esteem. But she did not allow the blow to keep her down for too long! With the support of her witty friends, she launched a project!

When I first got an email from Andie Atwood of Seal Press, requesting for a review of 31 Dates in 31 Days on this blog, I had no idea what I was setting myself up for!

Wow! If there is any book I’ve read so far on dating and relationship, that made a lot of sense and left me with a plate full of life lessons, this is it! 

 

Okay I must admit I was cynical when I first heard about the book. The shocking title at first might make your wonder- Was she crazy dating so many guys in such a short space of time? How did she cope frolicking with all of these men? Is she a slut? But again, who are we to judge a book by its cover?  No, the story is definitely different from the impression we first perceive from the title or synopsis!

The minute I opened it and started reading, I knew the book was not just another fictitious do’s and don’t’s about dating and relationship. It is a true-life story, written in its raw form. No male bashing. No cranking feminism. Just a pure story told to empower others.

The author re-defined what dating should entail, bringing the fun back into the center of it. How ladies/women ought to perceive the men in their lives or the men that come their way. The author took us to the very basics of dating. What we often forget or are never told.

Stop seeing every guy as The One!  Enjoy the friendship first and it will grow if it must.

Experience they say is the best teacher. But we can’t all experience everything so we must be open-minded and learn from other people’s experience. 

Reading about Tamara’s experience and following her through the journey of shaping the future is thought-provoking as it allows you, the reader, develop a new knowledge of self.

At some point, I felt the author’s fatigue of the marathon dating exercise. It was pretty hard to keep up. Twenty dates into the book, I was tempted to flip to the last chapter to see how the story ended. But then, that will mean missing out on the lessons each character unfolded in the story.

The story took a dynamic turn when the author was asked on Air (yep ABC interviewed her in the course of the project) what advice she had for people going out on the first date-

“First,’” I said, “don’t take first dates too seriously. Second, don’t judge too quickly. And third, every guy is somebody’s Prince Charming. Maybe not yours, but he could be someone else’s. so respect him.” 

How on point!

From her narrative point of view, the author certainly presented the guys, with whom she had 31 dates in the 31 days, with much respect. She carefully pointed out as much good in them she allowed herself to focus on during the few hours they spent together, making the book sound too nice. Well, isn’t that the whole purpose of sharing the lessons through which others can grow?

The men formed a gracious and alluring backdrop for the author to learn that self-worth, identity and fulfillment don’t come in a package labeled “boyfriend” or “husband.”

She tells us “Love is something to offer, not to seek.”

Is there anyone (yes, the book is NOT for ladies only!) out there trying to understand the complexities of dating, relationship and finding true love? Go pick up a copy of 31 Dates in 31 Days, read it and learn from 31 years old Tamara, as she wriggle her way out of a history of broken relationship into enjoying the experience of dating and the many lessons that come with it. It might not teach you everything, but it will help you get a grip of the basics, that has become almost extinct these days :-)

31 Dates in 31 Days certainly make some of the other books on dating and relationship look pale. The simplicity through which it was written makes the story worth reading.

It is wrapped with a rich sense of humor that would crack you up. I caught myself laughing as I flipped through the pages, exploring each scene and character.

The author shares her story of giving love and finding her true love. She highlights her struggles, insecurities, frustration and faith. 

The story also focuses on the important role friendship plays in shaping destiny. 

Although the central theme of the book focuses on dating and the characters of the 30 dates (men), other sub-themes were expressed through the loss of her father and step-father, the strength of her mother, the dedication of her girlfriends, support of her colleagues and the broken relationship she experienced with a couple of men, who indirectly inspired the story itself.

So even if you are not interested in dating, there are other lessons equally expressed through these characters, all of them played an important role in shaping the story.

I hope we have more unpretentious writers willing to draw from their own experience to share insights into dealing with every day issue, instead of just sharing complex theories that are not really applicable in reality.

31 Dates in 31 Days gets all the 5 star ratings! I totally enjoyed reading it! I hope you find the book thought-provoking but inspiring!

Synopsis of the Book

31 Date in 31 Days (Seal Press / October 2011 ) is the true story of Johnson’s journey toward changing her outlook on life, love, and modern dating. Her dating marathon teaches her to keep things in perspective, helps her let go of her preconceptions, and opens her eyes to how many single, smart, and attractive guys are out there—even in a super-sized metropolis like New York City.  With a few rules (never the same place twice, don’t spend over $31, and no second dates until after the 31^st date), her dating project unexpectedly turns out to be a series of authentic and unpredictable experiences. With each of her dates—whether it’s the shy dance teacher, the sweet surfer, or the 21-year old Coast Guardsman—Johnson learns to open up and have more fun; which is, after all, what dating should be about.  Ckeckout the website: http://31datesin31days.blogspot.com/p/book.html

 

Rotary Dial Politics in an iPhone World

By Ange-Marie Hancock,
Author of Solidarity Politics for Millennials: A Guide to Ending the Oppression Olympics

So we've occupied Wall Street. Millennial generation protesters have joined forces with an unlikely assemblage of the older generation: Nobel laureate Joseph Stieglitz, Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon. The protests united folks concerned about a variety of different issues around the idea that "Wall Street causes inequality."

Now that the media attention is focused on the Occupy Wall Street protests, how do we fundamentally resolve such inequality?

It has been difficult to resolve inequalities in the United States because our politics has not kept up with the advances that have emerged in the past 20 years. It's as if the scholars who have developed new models of politics all have iPhones, while the media, average citizens and policy makers are still using politics that works like a rotary dial phone.

Today's political discourse does not fully consider the linkages between the public needs of multiple generations -- whether it's strong public schools or college affordability on the Millennial side or having sustainable Medicare and Social Security on the Baby Boomer side. There is, in other words, a cultural generation gap that prevents us from connecting the dots to resolve persistent inequality in a comprehensive way.
The cultural generation gap is considered the product of two demographic trends that are causing anxieties in times of economic hardship:

• the aging of Baby Boomers, who have spent their entire lives in a United States that is a white majority nation, and have no intention of withdrawing from the public arena, and


• the ascent of Millennials (and increasingly their children), who are not simply the most racially diverse generation in U.S. history but also have the largest percentage of foreign-born individuals. By 2015 Millennials will be the second largest adult generation and are transforming the workplace.

Demographic trends are a lot like tectonic plates -- they are very difficult to stop once they are set in motion. But the cultural generation gap isn't a predetermined outcome. It because we have failed to eradicate the persistent overlapping disparities along the axes of race/ethnicity, gender, national status, and economic class.

Now resolving these overlapping layers of inequality would be challenging and complex in times of peace and prosperity. Throw in a global economic recession alongside two wars and the cultural generation gap grows ever bigger.
What are we to make of these compounding trends? Although cross-generational protesting is an important step forward to resolving overlapping patterns of economic inequality, we cannot simply protest in the same 20th century way, which most Americans are socialized to tune out.
First, eradicating inequality must go beyond generational spokesmen stating the talking points of the other generation. 68 year-old Stieglitz linked the slogan, "Wall Street Causes Inequality" to the case of young people who face prospects of spending the next few years underemployed or with no job at all. However, media coverage of the speech and interviews by Stieglitz himself failed to connect the impact of such underemployment and other issues facing Millennials to the needs of his own generation, which would move the conversation in a 21st century direction. Today's Boomers aren't going anywhere, but they will increasingly need healthcare and other forms of services that will be provided by Millennials. Who doesn't want their own healthcare worker to have the proper training, education and employment opportunities in order to receive quality care? Shifting the narrative reveals the interdependence between needs across the generations.

Second, we ignore the racial, ethnic, gender, and national status aspects of college access at our peril. Stieglitz's comments referred to a specific subset of the Millennial generation who have had access to college, who, most statistics show, are also more likely to be members of the majority class, race and national status groups in the U.S. But the challenges facing young people in terms of employment go beyond not being able to pay off student loans.

It is clear to me that recent college graduates face unemployment rates that are patently unacceptable. But increasing the coverage to all Millennials allows us to talk about the youth Stieglitz missed in his comments: the youth who were tracked away from college and into a host of dead-end opportunities, the youth products of a failed K-12 public education system in many low-income communities of color, and those who lost hope and left us too soon as a result of homophobic bullying. The longer they remain outside the employment sector, the less money is funneled into current benefits for Medicare and Social Security, programs that help keep Boomers and their older counterparts out of poverty in their older years. When AARP only organizes its members to protest government cuts -- a rotary dial, defensive approach -- they ignore the 21st century reality that support for policies that increase employment for younger folks is one of the best forms of insurance against future cuts -- an iPhone approach that puts them back on offense.

Linking intergenerational values and interests helps us leave our rotary dial phones behind in favor of iPhone politics that can enable us to cultivate civic relationships across demographic groups, foster cross-generational dialogues and create 21st century solutions.

© 2011 Ange-Marie Hancock, author of Solidarity Politics for Millenials: A Guide to Ending the Oppression Olympics


Author Bio
Ange-Marie Hancock, author of Solidarity Politics for Millennials: A Guide to Ending the Oppression Olympics, joined the Department of Political Science at USC Dana and David Dornsife College in 2008 after five years as Assistant Professor of Political Science and African American Studies at Yale University. Prior to graduate school at the University of North Carolina, Hancock worked for the National Basketball Association, where she conducted the preliminary research and wrote the original business plan for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She has served as an international expert in American Politics for the U.S. Department of State and during the 2008 presidential election. She has been quoted in the New York Times, Forbes, on National Public Radio, KNBC, and she regularly supports USC's Annenberg TV News by serving as an expert. She currently serves as the associate director of the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) in the Dornsife College and as one of the inaugural Dornsife College Faculty Fellows.
Over the past eight years Professor Hancock has authored two books and 11 articles. She is a globally recognized scholar of the study of intersectionality -- the study of the intersections of race, gender, class and sexuality politics and their impact on public policy. Her first book, The Politics of Disgust and the Public Identity of the "Welfare Queen,"(2004, New York University Press) won two national awards.
For more information please visit http://www.ange-mariehancock.com, and follow the author on Facebook and 

A Heart to Mend by Myne Whitman

Review coming soon!!!