Review: Gary Vaynerchuk – Twelve and a Half (S)

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Twelve and a Half
Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success
Gary Vaynerchuk

“In his sixth business book, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and investor Gary Vaynerchuk explores the twelve essential emotional skills that are integral to his life—and business—success and provides today’s (and tomorrow’s) leaders with critical tools to acquire and develop these traits. This iconoclastic book will help you refine your ingredients and improve your leadership capabilities. When implemented in the proper situation, these ingredients can help leaders land promotions, retain core employees, move faster than competitors, win the loyalty of customers, and build successful organizations that last.”

This book landed in my life at the right moment. It’s not often that a book resonates with you to such a degree, but this one certainly did. I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with every word, making it a truly outstanding read. The author delves into the realms of not just becoming a better manager or leader, but also provides invaluable insights into the complex terrain of navigating the workplace and climbing the corporate ladder. It sets a high bar for what a successful workplace should resemble while delivering some much-needed tough love to readers.

One of the book’s great strengths lies in the author’s ability to seamlessly blend personal anecdotes and engaging storytelling with practical advice. He draws from his own experiences and lessons learned to illustrate how the twelve and a half emotional ingredients he outlines can be cultivated by anyone to surmount challenges and attain their aspirations.

At the start I found the book to be good, but I didn’t anticipate rereading it. However, as I progressed, my perspective shifted. By the halfway point, I was already planning to revisit it in a few years, and by the end, I felt compelled to start reading it all over again.

What truly sets this book apart is the relatable scenarios it presents. As I encountered each one, I couldn’t help but think, “Yes, I’ve been there,” and the content remained entirely relevant throughout. The book excels in explaining these emotional traits and providing a roadmap for acquiring them.

“Twelve and a Half” is incredibly inspiring and uplifting. It has a remarkable ability to lift your spirits and significantly contributed to improving my state of mind at the time I read it. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone seeking personal growth and achievement. This book is captivating, instructive, and eye-opening, making it a must-read for managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in harnessing their emotions as a powerful tool for achieving success in the business world. The insights are a valuable resource that should not be missed! 5 stars.

Review: Hisashi Kashiwai – The Kamogawa Food Detectives

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The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Hisashi Kashiwai

“Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason to stop by… The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers’ pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to forgotten memories and future happiness.”

The concept is quite novel, yet something that we all should know the basics of. It’s not just about the taste of a meal that evokes the memory, it’s also the scent and sight – the anticipation of it. This is a great bite-sized (haha) read for those who enjoy Japanese cuisine and love to hear about each of the dishes in turn. It made me crave some sushi or sashimi (which is sort of odd, since that wasn’t really the food the Kamogawa’s specialised in).

I found the set up of the Detective’s Agency quite weird. Why was it Koishi who did the interviews? It seemed like Nagare was the one with the expertise who might know the right questions to ask. Koishi also let a lot of her own feelings and perceptions out when doing the interviews – something that I felt would hinder it rather than adding to the memories brought out in people. The concept would never work if Nagare didn’t seem to have a geographical and food memory running the spread of Japan.

I didn’t understand why, if their food was so popular, Nagare complained about sushi being too expensive! Why not make a little more money by advertising to just a couple more people. I get not wanting to be run off their feet like a popular resturant, but also, making enough money to cover Nagare’s trips around Japan might be useful?

Pan Macmillan looks for books with great translators, or take the effort to choose novels that read well in their non-original language. I felt that this translation could have been a little more nauanced in tone, but I can only think that the original text was a little stilted.

This is more like short stories rather than a novel – so go into it expecting that. I don’t care much for short stories so it was never going to get more than three stars from me. If I had any say in what comes next in the series, I’d recommend having at least 10 stories in the book to make it a decent read (rather than the 1 hour or so I spent reading it). If there is a plot outside each of the eaters, I didn’t see it.

Pan Macmillan | 10 October 2023 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead – The Lost Library

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The Lost Library
Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

Evan’s dad rescues mice rather than killing them. Evan eats apples that look a bit odd. One day, a little free library appears, triggering a mystery hunt for Evan and the truth about the lost library of Martinville.

This is such a cute, quick read. I’m not its intended audience (middle-grade fiction) but I really enjoyed it anyway. Who wouldn’t love a cat, a lost library and a ghost? The writing is lovely and light, and it was easy to get lost in Martinville. Although I could eventually guess the ending, I was happy just to float along.

Initially I was really worried that it was going to skip between perspectives to many times for me to follow. Nope! It did it just enough that the reader feels confused and then reassured. The concept of a Little Free Library is awesome, even if I did worry about the books left in the potential rain!

If you enjoyed The Cat Who Saved Books, then you’ll also love this one. I’d highly recommend this for any of the young readers in your life. It touches on trickier topics such as not fitting in, and the transistion to higher levels of school (in a USA context), but ultimately it’s a feel-good mystery solved satisfactorially. 4-5 stars from me.

Text Publishing | 3 October 2023 | AU$16.99 | paperback

Review: Bryce G. Hoffman – Red Teaming (S)

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Red Teaming
Bryce G. Hoffman

“THE GAME-CHANGING APPROACH TO STRATEGY AND PLANNING THAT WILL KEEP YOUR BUSINESS AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION. Developed by the military and intelligence agencies, red teaming is a revolutionary way to stress-test strategies, flush out unseen threats and missed opportunities, and execute more successfully in an increasingly uncertain world.”

I was pretty pumped when I first saw this book because, well, it’s red! I had high hopes for an exciting read, but boy, was I let down. The beginning of the book dragged on with long-winded chapters all about military stuff. It was like the words were just sliding off the page instead of getting into my head. Sure, we needed some background info, but that was way too much. I get that the principles are based on military history, but a little less history and a little more about applications of those principles would be usefu.

It seemed like the author was more interested in telling their life story about how they got into red teaming. I kept waiting to get to the good stuff about what red teaming actually is, but instead, it was all about setting up for it with no real substance. Finally, toward the end, we kinda sorta got to the point, and it turns out that red teaming is just a mishmash of thinking techniques you’ve probably heard of before. The author basically said, “Use the one that works for you, in your current scenario.” So, not exactly groundbreaking.

Don’t even get me started on the company examples they threw in there besides all the military based stuff. McDonald’s, Uber, Google – we’ve heard it all before, and they barely scratched the surface. Honestly, skip this one and go read “Thinking in New Boxes” instead. I’m giving “Red Teaming” a solid one-star rating – I gave up and couldn’t bring myself to read the final chapters.

Review: Patrick Ness & Tea Bendix – Different for Boys

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Different for Boys
Patrick Ness & Tea Bendix

“Anthony “Ant” Stevenson isn’t sure when he stopped being a virgin. Or even if he has. The rules aren’t always very clear when it comes to boys who like boys. In fact, relationships of all kinds feel complicated, even with Ant’s oldest friends. There’s Charlie, who’s both virulently homophobic and in a secret physical relationship with Ant. Then there’s drama kid Jack, who may be gay and has become the target of Charlie’s rage. And, of course, there’s big, beautiful Freddie, who wants Ant to ditch soccer, Charlie’s sport, and try out for the rugby team instead.”

Built on the idea that being a virgin is about having had sex between a boy and a girl, this short story attempts to prove that it’s different for boys who have sex with boys. Unforunately, that’s not what I took away from it. All I saw was a boy refusing to admit he was gay, one poor kid who is clearly gay, one (potential) Ally and one homophobic but horny boy.

Storyline? Boy possibly has sex, but it doesn’t count as sex if it’s ‘just physical’. Kissing could be sex. This uses outdated language and outdated ideas. At least in Australia, I’d think the topic of being a virgin is uninteresting at this point. As a Queer person, I can’t say that losing my virginity was something even worth talking about – I certainly didn’t think about it! Is Ness trying to comment on the statement ‘boys will be boys’?

I don’t get it. This is like a picturebook for teenagers. All the interesting language (read: foul swearing) has been blackboxed out, and it took me maybe 10 minutes tops to read it. Would I want to be caught in public reading it? Probably not. Can I think of someone to gift it to? No. I finished reading it, but only because it was so short. 1 star from me.

Walker Books Australia | 1 March 2023 | AU$24.99 | hardback

Review: Brandon Sanderson – Secret Project #2

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The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
Brandon Sanderson

“A man awakes in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he is there. Chased by a group from his own time, his sole hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories, making allies among the locals, and perhaps even trusting in their superstitious boasts. His only help from the “real world” should have been a guidebook entitled The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?”

This is fun in some ways, but pretty stupid in others. I’m ok with carp diem! Ie. Fish the day. It’s not seize the fish, which is what John thinks/pretends it. One of the best things about these Secret Projects is that this one and Tress are filled with plenty of odd metaphors and random puns. My favourite!

What else positive can I say about this book? Well, Sanderson definitely seemed to have fun writing it. It still has his lyrical prose and multi-faceted characters. I mostly just feel sorry for John since he isn’t the brightest, but he does try to be likeable at times. I’d certainly lose my temper a bit if I ended up in his original home situation (which is gradually pulled out of the text slowly). He’s just too ‘meh’, and I couldn’t care enough in it or the premise of travelling down different dimensions to ‘time travel’.

Go on and bite me, but I didn’t like this novel. That’s not to say that I love everything in The Cosmere equally and was influenced by the fact that this is NOT a Cosmere novel. I just didn’t care for the topic or the narrator. Yes, I’ve read it twice now, but even just trying to explain the plot to my wife made me think ‘Woah, why am I reading this again?’ I don’t think I’m going to revisit it, unless I’m looking for a happily-ever-after that can be knocked over quickly.

Review: Brandon Sanderson – Secret Project #1

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Tress of the Emerald Sea
Brandon Sanderson

Tress lives on a rock, and feels satisfaction in drinking her salty tea, and catching up with Charlie. When Charlie is sent away, Tress takes it upon herself to search him out. The seas are full of deadly spores, not water, so Tress needs to change herself to find Charlie, and perhaps bring him home.

This is the first Secret Project that has been released as part of the ‘Year of Sanderson’. I had almost forgotten that it would be coming on the first of Janurary 2023, despite being delieriously happy to buy in on the hype when I saw the KickStarter. What a way to start the year! At first I wasn’t very keen on the storyteller’s voice (Hoid, for those of you who are wondering), but I dropped into the story and loved it.

“As the weeks passed, Tress fell into a lethargy. She felt less like a mere human being, and more like a human who was merely being.” I think this 100% decribes the burnout that I’m currently warding off. Trust Sanderson to put in words so gracefully what so many people are feeling about their work! I’m always fond of a good pun, and this novel is packed with them – I found myself grinning wryly at so many parts.

Tress tames her hair with a brush, despite it being curly! So many people have commented that Sanderson had gotten it wrong – that noone with curly hair would brush it… I disagree. I have vibrantly curly hair that I brush! And then the wind separates it into curls when I ride. So I argue that Sanderson has gotten this right, particularly as exposure to all the salt would make beach-waves out of Tress’ hair.

I’ve now read this novel twice, and would consider it to be a bit of a comfort read. Not as amazing as Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, but still an easy read to slip into when I want something familar. 5 stars from me.

 

Review: Brandon Sanderson – Secret Project #3

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Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Brandon Sanderson

Painter is a lone warrior, isolated from his past friends by a mistake that we don’t know exists. He protects the borders with his bamboo art, and survives from day to day. Yumi is a spirit whisperer, ritually required to do nothing for herself except make art to please the spirits. One exists in darkness, while the other exists on a hot planet. When a Connection is formed between the two, it seems like the spirits want something. But what is it?

I’ve already read this twice, and I don’t even have the physical copy yet. Something about the storyline, the art, and the awkward main characters appeals to me. This is another of Sanderson’s efforts at writing an unconventional romance/love story. Everytime someone complains about the lack of sex in his writing, I wonder to myself why that would be required for a good story. So many TV series seem to rely on people cheating on each other to make the story happen / fill in time!

Who do I like more? Yumi or Painter? I don’t know! I love Painter and the fact that he simply knows nothing about how the world works, but in a different way to Yumi not knowing it either. It’s also good to see Sanderson writing younger characters. Is it a comment on society that Painter seems to have no purpose? Personally, I wouldn’t want to survive as he does.

I’m still a little unclear on how the shroud works, and how/why there are individual sections. Why has it not covered everything? Also, how does Yumi go from the same day to multiple days and not be remade every day at the same town (I can’t give more detail here or I’ll spoil a major plot point)?

It’s no wonder also why I enjoy it when Sanderson says the inspiration was partially Final Fantasy X. That’s the first FF I ever played, and the only one I could kind-of win (but never finished). Why not have a crazy job to a real-world human, but a job that is typical in its story-world? I can see myself revisiting this novel as a comfort read quite often – a much easier read that The Way of Kings or the Mistborn novels.

I pre-bought this novel as part of Year of the Sanderson kickstarter. I’m still loving it, and am dreading 2024 – no more bonus books!

Review: Shoji Morimoto – Rental Person Who Does Nothing

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Rental Person Who Does Nothing: A memior
Shoji Morimoto

“Today, I’m starting a ‘rent a person who does nothing‘ service . . . Except for very simple conversation, I’m afraid I can do nothing.  Shoji Morimoto was constantly being told that he was a ‘do-nothing’ because he lacked initiative. Dispirited and unemployed, it occurred to him that if he was so good at doing nothing, perhaps he could turn it into a business. And with one tweet, he began his business of renting himself out . . . to do nothing. Morimoto, aka Rental Person, provides a fascinating service to the lonely and socially anxious.”

I received this tiny little non-fiction in the mail, and couldn’t believe my eyes that it was AU$32. I knocked it down in less than 2 hours, and unfortunately, didn’t get much out of it. There’s also a TV drama.  I’ve dreamed (not very deeply) of being a nude model for art classes, which is pretty much ‘do nothing’ as far as I’m concerned. Mr. Morimoto’s idea is that doing nothing is ok – it’s not what someone does that makes them ‘useful’.

The book implies that he is free to hire, and all you pay is transportation and food if the ‘appointment’ is during meal times. Perhaps this was true when he started in 2018, but a quick google says that he charges 10’000 yen or ~US$80 per appointment. I reckon that’s a pretty good return! He also said in the book that he was living off his savings, but as of 2022 he does make a living from it (on Twitter it says his fee is 30’000 yen).

I don’t think there’s room for a do nothing person in Australia. Plenty of Aussies are very proud they do nothing! I very much doubt you’d find someone to pay you for nothing. I think that maybe Japanese society is fit for this, as you can rent a person for many other things. And perhaps there is more focus on what it looks like to others when you go places alone? Honestly, if I was going to pay someone as company, as a slender white Queer ciswoman, I’d be hiring a proper boyguard who can defend me if needed (particularly travelling in countries not safe for women).

Anyway, I don’t think this memoir is a good fit for the Australia market. Maybe borrow it from the library or a friend, or give it to someone as a cheeky gift! Maybe it’ll be perfect for gifting to that person in the office who never does anything…

Pan Macmillan | 11 July 2023 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Interview with Rebecca Holmes, author of Beyond the Gloaming Pass

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Interview with Rebecca Holmes, author of Beyond the Gloaming Pass

Rebecca Holmes is an adult fantasy author from Vancouver, Canada. Her debut novel, Beyond the Gloaming Pass, is a heart-wrenching tale of two women fighting for their place in a harsh world of magic, prejudice, and ethereal beauty. She writes what she loves to read – vibrant worlds, rich cultures and multilayered characters, exploring deeper topics through authentically realized emotions and drawing parallels with the real world. When she isn’t writing or reading, she’s a product manager, ecommerce expert, and avid PC gamer. She shares her home with her mum and her dog – a very cute papillon named Piper.

What is your favourite dragon in literature?

Smaug, from The Hobbit.

Everyone has a ‘first novel’, even if many of them are a rough draft relegated to the bottom and back of your desk drawer (or your external harddrive!). Have you been able to reshape yours, or have you abandoned it for good?

My first book writing attempts were nonfiction which, looking back, did not make much sense as I practically never read nonfiction. I doubt I’ll ever resurrect those. My first fiction book did eventually become a finished product, but it took me eleven years to get there!

Over the years, what would you say has improved significantly in your writing?

This is going to sound odd, but… stamina. In the beginning, I found it extremely difficult to write for more than an hour or so at a time. That hour might yield a paragraph if I was lucky, and I’d probably come back and rewrite it later anyway. I had to wrestle with my brain not just to focus, but also to be in the right frame of mind, and to willingly dig into my past experiences to draw up the emotions needed to write convincingly. It was like a muscle I had to exercise and strengthen to the point where I could comfortably pump out a thousand half-decent words in one sitting.

Some authors are able to pump out a novel a year and still be filled with inspiration. Is this the case for you, or do you like to let an idea percolate for a couple of years in order to get a beautiful novel?

Now, I think I probably could – assuming I continue to have the same amount of time and energy to invest in writing. I sincerely hope I do! At times, my day job has grown so all consuming it left little space for creative endeavours. Work-life balance is crucial to keep the creative juices flowing productively, but that’s sometimes easier said than achieved. I have ideas for another four books in the same series as Beyond the Gloaming Pass. I’m in love with the world I’ve created for that series: flawed, but magnificent; harsh, but beautiful. I plan to release one book a year for the next four years!

What kind of research do you conduct while writing your books? How does it influence your writing and shape the story?

My stories are set in a fictional world, which gives me a lot of freedom to create my own rules. However, my goal is for the setting to feel historically plausible. I’ll regularly fact-check historical technology, aesthetics and cultures to achieve that grounded, down to earth feeling in my work as an undercurrent to the fantastical elements. In Beyond the Gloaming Pass, the main characters start off in the city of Tunswick, which is loosely based on Victorian London. I found actual video footage from the late 1800s of a London intersection and used this to paint a more realistic mental image of life in my fictional city. I have some very peculiar Google search history – everything from ‘how to dry fish on a rack’ to ‘common causes of warehouse fires in the 19th century’.

I have heard of writers that could only write in one place – then that cafe closed down and they could no longer write! Where do you find yourself writing most often, and on what medium (pen/paper or digital)?

I can write anywhere quiet and distraction-free. All I need is my laptop! I used to write in Google Docs, which got the job done but caused me some headaches with formatting later on. Now I use Atticus, which takes care of all the formatting for me and allows me to split into parts and chapters as I go. It’s a lot more organized. Usually I write at home, or in my hotel room if I’m traveling. My most productive hours tend to be late at night.

Before going on to hire an editor, most authors use beta-readers. How do you recruit your beta-readers, and choose an editor? Are you lucky enough to have loving family members who can read and comment on your novel?

I used a combination of friends who like my genre and people who reacted positively to my postings on Critique Circle. I put my prologue up for review on that site and was able to establish a relationship with potential beta readers that way. I had three beta readers in total who did an excellent job between them.

I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?

My reading is almost entirely digital. I’m a member of Kindle Unlimited and get most of my books from there. The best thing about that is I get to read a lot of indie books and find hidden gems that no one is talking about yet. I often review these on Goodreads, so check out my Goodreads profile for some great indie fantasy recommendations! I love the idea of a home library but it has never been practical. I’ve moved around a lot, and a significant book collection is one of those things that multiplies the pain of moving tenfold. Who knows, maybe in the future my book cave dreams will come true!

I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and have your tastes changed over time?

I think I’ve always been a fantasy nut as long as I can remember. I’ve sampled all sorts, but I generally prefer the historical kind – whether that’s a version of our world or an alternate world analogous to a familiar time period. I don’t read a lot of romance, and tend to get put off if things get too steamy. Having said that, one obscure book from my childhood that had a huge influence on my writing style wasn’t fantasy at all: Grace, by Jill Paton Walsh, is a novel based on the true story of Grace Darling, an English heroine from 1838. Walsh’s writing style is very unique, and perfectly suited to a first-person narrative from that time period. I think it was her book that started my obsession with the authenticity of historical concepts in fiction.

Social media is a big thing, much to my disgust! I never have enough time myself to do what I feel is a good job. What do you do?

I hate social media too, but as an author I have to do it. The technology aspect is fine – I’m very tech-savvy – but it presents a particular challenge for me because I don’t understand the appeal of using the platforms on a personal level. I’m learning about the world of BookTok right now to connect with other authors and readers in my genre as I’m well aware how huge it’s become. Not somewhere I expect to be spending any time ‘just for fun’ though. I’d much rather be writing or reading!

Answering interview questions can often take a long time! Tell me, are you ever tempted to recycle your answers from one to the next?

I don’t mind, and I know the importance of unique content from a search engine optimization perspective. My goal is to always provide uniquely-worded answers and keep it interesting for the reader, even if the general sentiment of my answers is the same from one interview post to the next. For that reason, I won’t copy-paste answers.

About the Book

That barren, supposedly cursed land everyone’s afraid of? It’s inhabited. Sophisticated. They’re doing just fine, and they’re tougher than you. Are you brave enough to venture Beyond the Gloaming Pass?

In this emotional high fantasy adventure, two women fight for their place in a broken continent with broken systems. Years of hardship have put a heavy strain on Rubriel and Molindra’s friendship. When a contract from a wealthy merchant offers a hefty payout for a dangerous mission in a mysterious land, Molindra seizes the opportunity for a better life. Little do they know, that land has ambitions of its own. The pair find themselves swept onto opposite sides of a bitter conflict that spirals rapidly out of control. Will they reunite and save Bantria from the growing threat, or become unwitting agents of its destruction?

Learn more and purchase this novel at the following links: