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Book Review – “Eat That Frog! Get More of the Important Things Done Today” by Brian Tracy

Eat That Frog: Brian Tracy: 9781444765427: Amazon.com: Books

This is one of the audio books that I listened to during my time driving to and from the job a city over. There is no real timeline other than I listened to these between September 2020 and February 2021. I was on a kick of motivation and productivity being at the new job.

I remember this book being short but sweet. This won’t be a very long review I remember laughing because the guy sounds pretty smug in the recording I listened to and I believe it was the author that read it. He sounded like he just made a bunch of money for writing a cheesy book about being productive, time management, and setting goals. To me this books was fairly basic in terms of revolutionary ideas. The past couple books I listened to were much better overall and contained more relevant information.

I liked the easy read or listen. It was pretty basic in terms of lasting importance. It focuses on prioritizing the biggest most important or otherwise lucrative tasks and goals. It has some solid information and ideas for anyone who struggles with a mountain of things to do or tasks to finish. It was definitely a useful read and I got something out of it for sure. I carried everything that I read and did forward from that time working out of town. I learned a lot and was able to listen to some good material for self growth. It was a good life experience and this little books was a worthy read. Not much I didn’t like about the book. It was short and not complicated. The phrase “eat that frog” gets said a lot but the book describes what it means in better detail.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for help with productivity and accountability as this book provides some good common sense advice and tactics. You could probably finish it in a couple reading sessions but you never know the information could help you manage yourself and your time better.

Overall this is a good little book. Nothing wrong with it even if I didn’t get much out of it. Check it out if longer more in depth books aren’t your thing. It’s easy and thoughtful. A little something for everyone contained within. Hope this review was helpful or informative. As always thank you for reading and feel free to comment or engage.

Pax

Book Review – “Art of Solitude” by Stephen Batchelor

This was one of my audio book experiences while I was working at the medical dispensary in the city about an hour away form my house. I guess you could say I was going through a transformational period myself. The overall impact of the COVID pandemic plus the isolation of being on the road for 2 hours a day was tough for me. Factor in a schedule that didn’t allow much free time and I was feeling the burn of solitude and isolation. I was motivated to try and promised a lot that ended up not panning out. This book was a symbol of me trying to cope with the isolation of a work grind with over 2+ hours of driving daily. This is all to add some context of why I chose these self help, motivational, and personal productivity type books.

The book wasn’t bad at all. In fact it was really good but I do remember the readers voice being very monotone and not very exciting to listen to. The book is basically the tellings of a famous guru type Buddhist Teacher philosopher named Stephen Batchelor. Stephen basically quit his teaching and took on a journey that sought clarification into his own mortality and isolation, as well as, a deep dive into his thoughts on lonliness and solitude. I thought this relevant to all that was happening in our personal and social lives during the onset of the COVID pandemic during the late summer and fall of 2020.

The book was fairly short and nothing really stuck as being super enlightening and impactful to me at least. It was a long time ago that I finished listening to this book, but it was less teachings and advice and more of his experiences during this period in his life. Some of the more entertaining parts had the author describe attending various psychedelic rituals involving Peyote and Ayahuaska. I have experienced these substances and can more or less relate to someone who has never tried them and is experiencing them for the first time.

I liked the even tone of the book. There was more substance aside from his personal experiences. The author would add his own statements and ideas that relate to all the great thinkers in our history. I appreciated that he did a deep dive into what solitude means to himself, although, I didn’t quite connect to some of the concepts. In some of the experiences he was not alone and he was not in solitude but in a group setting. To me solitude is .. solitude. Like being up, tripping face, doing art or music at 3:45am when the rest of the world sleeps and nobody will disturb you.. solitude.

Not to get all philosophical with it, (pun intended) I think for an upper class academic who most likely has never really dove into the world of intense psychedelics, his accounts are all the more valid because he went to the deepest end of the rabbit hole doing ritualistic doses and purges of Peyote and Ayahuaska. Holy shit.. I bet he felt alone on the steps of death at points… I can honestly say I’ve experienced similar feelings on massive head-fulls.. but never in a ritualistic setting with all the spiritual mumbo jumbo attached to it.

I would recommend this book for anyone who is into philosophy, or has a desire to seek answers within themselves. This book has way more positive content than I can factually remember and it contains tons of solid quotes and ideologies by a professional thinker.

My overall thoughts are that this book would probably have meant more to me if i had listened to it in a non work or non driving setting. The audio books have to keep my attention and I feel like my mind probably wandered a bit during this book. As always I hope this was helpful or informative. Please let me know in comments if you ever want to discuss or talk about any book or subject.

Thanks for reading!

Pax

Book Review – “Zen and Now: on the trail of Robert Pirsig and the art of mototcycle maintenence” By Mark Richardson

I listened to this book on audio book, as I was driving to and from a job a city over. The expeience was good and the reader was clear and had character.

This book is a re telling of a famous book called “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance” written by Rober Pirsig, of his own accounts of a cross country motorcycle journey with his son. I have not read the original book which was published in 1968. The author of this book I read is named Mark Richardson and he basically followed the famous path of Pirsig and wrote it his own accounts and philosophies as a docu/memoir. If i remember correctly he was in touch with some members of Robert Pirsigs family or friends. Mark Richardson studied and took great interest in the story, man, and philosophy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, to the degree where he literally followed in the late authors footsteps and retraced his epic journey for himself, only solo and with no passenger.

In this story, the author describes his situation and need to escape and all that encompasses the desire to ride solo across the country on an old motorcycle. Throughout the book he relates philosophies of the original “Zen and the art” book as he sees them in relevance to his own life and relationships with his family and others. Mark goes on a journey two thirds of the way across the country as a quest to himself for his birthday and more or less to ponder who he is. Maybe like a midlife crisis thing or maybe to satisfy that itch that only a writer/journalist would know. The overall story is entertaining and not as much actual motorcycle maintenance as I thought it would be.

I liked the relation to Zen and motorcycles. A friend of mine recommended the original “Zen and the art” and when I needed something to listen to on my long solo drives I found this “Zen and Now” book by Mark Richardson. I believe the author even Read the book for the audio book I listened to. I found the story satisfying and entertaining. The philosophy is mild but relatable and the motorcycle jargon was a nice fit for my attention while driving. I didn’t find my self bored and I could pay attention easily.

I found this story particularly relevant for two reasons. 1) I own a motorcycle and have ridden myself for years so I understand the terminology and the feelings of combined freedom and isolation, confidence and caution. Thoughts and feelings that only comes with being on the road by yourself, on only two wheels. 2) At the time I was driving a full hour to and from work by myself with just my thoughts if not for the Audio book playing.

I think I found a deeper connection with the book itself because of the long hours spent driving. I could relate to the stress of weather and maintenance and traffic issues. Before I had ever heard of the book or it’s title, when people ask me about riding motorcycles, I would automatically tell them it has very zen like qualities to it.. So I learned I was far from the only individual who had ever made that connection.

I would recommend to anyone who is interested in motorcycles, true life adventure, or philosophy. The book isn’t heavy or in depth on any of these subjects but combines them into an entertaining and ultimately satisfying experience.

Overall, thinking back, to when I was working in a different city, I listened to a boatload of music and a handful of audio books and this one is the one that resonated with me the most and has also stuck with me the most. I definitley recommend it all the way around as just a good piece of literature. One that explores the common mans desire for adventure and brushes on the the workings of relationships and how they relate to stress and passage of time.

Good read

Thanks for reading the review! Stay tuned for more.

Pax

Book Review – All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

It was a while ago now, back in fall of 2020 that I listened to this book. I listened on audio book and it was a good experience. At the time I was commuting almost an hour a day to and from work and I had lots of down time driving on an easy highway. Audio books are perfect for driving on highway because you can throw it in cruise control and pay attention to the road, as much as you need to, but also pay attention to what you are hearing. I listened to a lot of audio books in my time at that job. I found that the person who is recorded reading the book makes a big difference. Some just simply read the book with no inflections or change in their voice. These were harder to get through and sometimes I wouldn’t be in the mood. Then some are performed with great tone and variance in their voice. That is the difference, some audio books are just read aloud and recorded and some are performed for the listener. These books are usually of the fantasy and fiction genres. Definitely worth listening too.

The author writes from the German perspective of world war 1, the “war to end all wars”. This books is a fiction but no doubt built from the tales of war and possible real life experiences of the author, Erich Maria Remarque. Erich is German and lived throughout WW1 and WW2. This book is a novelized account of a young soldier and his group of fellow soldiers over the course of several years of the war. Over 200 pages these young men become grizzled veterans. There are light accounts of camaraderie and brotherhood entrenched with accounts of the brutalities of war. There is no triumph in this story as we know through history how World War 1 ended. This story provides a rare glimpse into minds and perspective of a defeated nation.

The book is brief and detailed in it’s execution. The Author doesn’t really waste too much time world building or developing the characters, and this is deliberate. As mentioned previously this story is told from the perspective of the German army and so the story has an “inevitability” factor. You know what is coming but the Author manages to make you curious how these characters and their situation will end up. The characters are presented as young men or even boys. There are no hero characters, no antagonists or protagonists. The author drives home that these aren’t extraordinay men but just normal humans learning how to maintain and survive as they grow together through out the book. This makes the inevitable losses all that much more impactful. With the harsh details provided it’s easy to imagine how terribly this world event left so many people on both sides. Neither side thought they were bad, both sides thought they were in convicted in what they were doing, but couldn’t tell each other why.

I liked the quick pace and details of the battles. There wasn’t too much gore or graphic details but there was definitely enough to really drive home the hell that those men had to endure. While war is not a positive subject, I do find it extremely fascinating. World conflicts in general. I liked this book because it’s not often you get a story that you know basically how it ends up, because it’s told from the “losing” side of history. Although make no mistake in those massive world conflicts back then nobody truly won..

There wasn’t anything I really didn’t like about the book. I could say I didn’t like the ending but that can carry so many things with it. You will have to read the story for yourself and I encourage you to do so. It is hard subject matter and it is supposed to make you feel something, which is why it is an all time classic that is recommended and honored today as great literature. In my opinion modern authors lack the language and overall tone of Authors of the past.

It’s to be noted and I’d like to talk about it. I don’t know why I am so fascinated with warfare and conflict? It’s not like a creepy obsession or anything I simply cannot fathom the sheer numbers that go into massive scale conflicts. Even the most current war in Iraq and the Middle East. I mean we waste soooooo much fucking money on the military every year. I can’t imagine what the full cost of the war was for 20 years. Like full cost including all the corrupt and illegal money. The old wars fascinate me because in my opinion all the rich and smart people of the world realized back then that whole countries can be built and ultimately controlled by a constant state of warfare or conflict. Also LOTS of money can be gained and extorted from the conflicts on both sides. I don’t know why I find it so fascinating and kinda terrifying. Those massive conflicts only happened a short time ago in the grand timeline of life, yet the current generations are just enough removed that they can’t realize how different our lives could have been if a couple of past events had turned out only a little bit differently.

Super interesting for sure. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in warfare or war stories of the classic wars. There is enough detail in the book to learn some facts but not a slog with a bunch of military terminology and descriptions of basic duties. Hope you found this review helpful and let me know if you read or listen to “All Quiet on the Western Front”.

Book Review – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

If you like tales of survival and stories about real life events and acts of heroism, then Unbroken is a book for you. The book is written about a man named Louis Zamperini who’s fighter plane was shot down over the south pacific during world war 2. The author Laura Hillenbrand actually got to spend time with the family of Louis Zamperini and the man himself I believe. This fact makes this story all the more impactful because most of the facts probably came from the Veterans mouth, or those close to him.

The book takes you quickly through the beginning of Zamperini’s life, through his basic childhood and adolescence, but the story actually begins once he is flying missions over the South Pacific Ocean during World War 2. This is very much a story of survival against insurmountable odds and about perseverance. I won’t give up any of the main story but not much goes well for Louis during those years as a captured POW.
What I liked about the book.

The main character himself could be fictional but it makes the tale all the more exciting knowing he was an actual living person. I don’t know why I find that time period so fascinating. The World War 1 and 2 eras impress, and irk me at the same time. I have been fortunate enough to travel and tour some of the famous memorial sites throughout Europe and Japan both. The whole concept of a “World War” is a terrifying reality to our human culture. You can arguably say that those wars gave us the modern drive for industry and capitalism, and still to this day, play a big part in the world economy.

I enjoyed this book because it doesn’t stop once you start reading it. There aren’t really many slow parts so to speak. The book takes you on the full ark of his experiences during the war itself, and then continues on to detail the healing that takes place among the soldiers coming home from those conflicts. I can’t imagine having to go through some of the ordeals that him and his crew had to go through, or the sheer terror of being stranded on the open ocean. So many experiences happened to Louis Zamperini yet he stays sane and even grows from the experience. A true testament to the will of man and the unyielding drive that some can develop to stay alive.

I love stories like this but it may not be a good one for people who are sensitive to detailed depictions of torture and survival.

I enjoy anything to do with WW2 and that time frame. I believe everyone should know something about the era all of our grandfathers and grandmothers lived through.

Definitely read this book if you like tales of survival and details about lesser known facts about WW2. Unbroken is a thoroughly engrossing story of a man who wouldn’t give up. Some good lessons and humanity in these pages, I definitely recommend.

Book review – The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

This was an exciting story that I read over the past year, on and off. A lot of life happened in my 2017 year, and so the book further captivated me by literally showing me that the content and arch of the books plot, is really a reflection of the happenings in my real life. More over, in all of our lives.

This book is a novel about a seemingly random guy who gets hold of some information. Through a series of learning, practicing, and evolving the main character is compelled to go on this epic journey to the country of Peru, and to the ancient cities and monuments there. His quest and conflict get tied up in this “manuscript” that supposedly holds the keys to religion or spirituality. The conflicting force in this story is the church, for they feel that this manuscript denounces and de-legitimizes Christianity and uniform religion in general.

However this book is not about religion at all. Well not in a traditional sense. This story explores not who or what religion, but HOW one becomes, or already is, religious.. more in the spiritual sense rather than deity worship. The arch of the story focuses on connection to our surrounding, energy forces in nature and fellow humans, and the coincidences that bring us to learn, grow, and experience life.

This was an easy to read and pretty swift adventure. Most of the character dialogue content is on the meta-physical, and philosophical level, but it is put into many different scenarios and situations so the story gives literal examples of what the characters were talking about and describing to each other. It seems complex but it flows really nicely and the language is basic so it is fairly easy to wrap my head around. There were a couple parts I had to read a second time, to be able to grasp the concept that the characters were talking about, but nothing was out of my sphere of understanding.

I really liked this book because the main character is constantly learning how to see and experience the world around him. A lot of it has to do with meditation and relaxation. Really taking in your surroundings. I love this concept because I have always been a practitioner of meditation and relaxation to calm me when I get stressed out. It’s good to be reminded of the world around you and to remember to relax sometimes, because there is really nothing we can do in some situations and our attitude really does affect the overall outcome of our life scenarios.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes self discovery, growth, meditation, or those who are interested in spirituality on any level. Again this book is not about religion directly but encompasses the broader notion of personal spirituality. The reading can be understood by any age really. I didn’t know what to expect when it was given to me. After reading it I am surprised by how much I took from it.

From what I understand there are many books in this series I would like to read more. If I ever do I will definitely review them and if you have read any of the others let me know how they are.

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment and share if you or someone you know needs a good book recommendation.

Book review – Shantaram – By: Gregory David Roberts

Shantaram

By: Gregory David Roberts

This is an amazing tale that I would recommend to anyone as just a solid piece of literature. There are many endearing factors of this story, but the characters were the most engaging I think I have ever read about. The setting was detailed and rich, and the action was well paced with the unfolding of the story. Gregory David Roberts, an Australian author, ex heroin addict, convicted bank robber, and humanitarian (you read correctly) writes with an elegant style that is almost poetic at times but strait forward enough to keep readers on track. I just wanted to do a light review of the book and what it meant to me. Basically why I enjoyed this story.

The story is a novel but it is largely based on the life, trials, and tribulations of the author Mr. Gregory David Roberts. There is much debate over how much of the story is factual versus inflated with fictional aspects. This makes the story so much more endearing and lasting to me, because I know it is steeped with real details from his life.

He himself stated in an interview “Some experiences from my life are described pretty much as they happened, and others are created narratives, informed by my experience. I wanted to write two or three novels on some bare elements from my life, allowing me to explore the themes that interested me, while keeping the narrative immediate by anchoring it to some of my real experiences. They’re novels, not autobiographies, and all of the characters and dialogue is created. It doesn’t matter how much of it is true or not to me, it’s how true they are to all of us, and to our common humanity.”

The characters in this book are absolutely genuine and are expressed with definite sense of passion. Right from the start you are drawn in by the people he describes. Their looks, personalities, emotions, and actions captured with such brilliance that you feel drawn in from the very first couple pages of the book. There are so many characters that you fall in love with because of the things they say and the things they do. Just really well written the dialogue for me was easy enough to follow. Some of the names of the characters got a little confusing because there are so many but the important ones are described in detail many times so you start to remember and even begin to feel like you know them as you continue to read. There are little bits of the native languages peppered throughout the story and that adds to the immersion of the setting. The small bit of language and the accents he uses in his writing are top notch and really drive home that the people speak English only as a second language. The author describes nationalities and ethnicities of many different people and he describes their physical features with the same detail so after a while when he says a person’s name you can get a mental image of what they look like when they walk up to him.

The setting of the story is in Bombay. He describes the city in such a fashion that it seems dangerous but beautiful, diverse but traditional, and all in all like a magical, colorful place. He describes how culturally imbalanced the social strata is and he describes the slums in great details and even lives in one himself. He saw firsthand the class difference from neighborhood to neighborhood. Later on in the book he travels to other locations around Bombay. Being what it is I love to travel and have done quite a bit of globe-trotting, It all sounds so beautiful. This book and the wonderful descriptions of the setting and culture made It a point on my personal bucket list to travel there and experience the sights, sounds, and smells for myself.

The Book has a little bit for everyone: plenty of action, adventure, love, lust, crime, humor, life, and death. All these things blend beautifully together to create a hell of a story. The author Gregory David Roberts is a real person and pretty much is himself in the story. This makes the book all the better to me because I feel more connected to a story when I have experienced some of the feelings and emotions as their characters.

Let’s talk if you have read it!

Happy reading!