Rich Dad Poor Dad
By Robert Kiyosaki
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! : A lot of people have read Robert Kiyosaki’s books (and he has a lot of them), but this is the one that started them all.
I think what endears people to Rich Dad Poor Dad is the story. It seems to me that whenever a non-fiction book teaches with stories, it does very well. So, if you’re going to write a non-fiction book, weave your info into a story.
Rich Dad Poor Dad is the story of Robert learning the habits of the rich from his best friend’s dad. Robert’s own dad was a highly paid, highly educated government official, but who ended up poor (this is his “poor dad”). His best friend’s dad was not highly educated, but he started lots of businesses, bought lots of real estate, and invested in stocks. He is “rich dad”.
Some lessons or themes that keep coming up:
*School prepares you for a job while financial education prepares you for better financial habits that lead to a more prosperous life
*The rich invest in ways that the poor and middle class do not
*The rich invest in assets that produce class flow, and then reinvest that cash flow into other assets
*The poor invest in liabilities, or things that take money out of their pockets
*The middle class tend to go to school, get a job, buy everything on credit, get raises, then buy bigger houses and nicer cars, under-save and under-invest, and then retire on less than what they should have.
*There are 3 kinds of income:
-Earned income (what you make when you’re there)
-Passive income (money that comes to you when you’re not there…that can come through businesses, real estate income, intellectual property, etc)
-Portfolio income (money that also comes when you’re not there…but specifically from stocks, mutual funds, and other such paper investments)
As it turns out, Robert didn’t go on to become a rich guy too soon into his adult years, like his best buddy did. Robert went into the Navy to learn how to sail ships, then to the Marines to fly helicopters in the Vietnam war. I might have the timeline wrong, but he he was a top-selling Xerox sales rep for several years. And then he went on to start a successful business importing/selling those Velcro nylon surfer wallets from the eighties. Remember those? After a few years, that business went bust.
Eventually he made the jump into buying assets…income producing real estate…and within 8 to 10 years, he and is wife retired. Then six months later he came out of retirement to start his financial education business…which includes his books, board games, tapes, seminars, etc. In reality, it sounds like he’s started a whole ton of other businesses too, but that’s what I’ve pieced together from other books of his that I’ve read. Notice that most of his activities center around passive income?
It’s a great and easy read and should shock you out of your usual way of looking at money. Another one of his books that I like a lot is one he didn’t even write by himself…aptly named “Success Stories”. It’s a collection stories by many of Robert’s students that have taken his advice and who started businesses or are collecting assets that produce cash flow.
There’s so much more that can be said, but it’s time for you to start the adventure of reading a new book. Try to think of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” as financial education; it will make the purchase that much easier to justify. Read More Reviews Here…
Queens And Crescents
By Barry Southers
Queens And Crescents : What certainly stood out for me in Barry Southers novel, Queens and Crescents, was his strong and deep feelings for his family that Barry made apparent in the dedication for this book. The love and appreciation he shares here is actually quite touching. The introduction does a good job of setting up the book through a discussion of happiness and success in today’s society.
Readers will find plenty of action and suspense in this murder romance novel. The main character here is Sean Martinez, a 28-year-old divorcee who works a mundane position in a mortgage broker firm. For Sean, life is just one day blending into the next. He just could not get over his wife leaving three years ago with her old lover. If there were a need for an example of a man in dire need of a vacation, Sean would be chosen.
Spurred on by a radio commercial one excruciatingly hot day, Sean’s vacation destination is decided for him. There, he finds true love, fascinating passion and discovers the power of intuition and fate. Cruel crime lords fighting for position, bloodcurdling hired killers and a heavy loss bring Sean back into living life for what it is.
I was impressed with Barry’s writing style because I could really picture the scenes in my head. I felt he delved deeply into the psyche of his characters, making them seem much more real than many authors are able to do. Queens and Crescents may take readers only a day or two to read, but the characters will remain alive in their minds for a number of days. Read More Reviews Here…
Political Frugality
By Larry Roth
Political Frugality : Guerilla Economics for the Demonized, Devalued, And Disenfranchised And Money Saving Tips for Everyone Else : It is hard to specify exactly what genre Larry Roth’s new book can fall into. Political, frugal living, gay rights, taking care of the body and more are covered in Political Frugality – Guerrilla Economics for the Demonized, Devalued and Disenfranchised.
Larry was a high income-earner who gave it up to be a relaxed gardener; he exercises, eats right and lives frugally. This retired professional walks-the-walk, and raises several interesting points of view on society and communities.
Discussions on how we dictate each other’s belief system to one another without even realizing what we are doing were definitely thought provoking. Larry also brings to light the unrealistic discrimination that still slides in and out of our daily lives – and we find this normal.
I found the author’s ideas on social security just fantastic. When you think about it, where does our money go if we die early and are not married? For that matter, why should the spouse left behind be penalized by receiving only a portion of the mate’s coverage?
The true cost of climbing the social ladder is certainly a point well made by Larry and his thoughts on how consumerism is a vote with the wallet is enlightening. He talks about corporations that build items without replaceable parts or limited availability in order to force more consumer spending. According to Larry, it does not have to be like this.
Although Political Frugality begins a little heavy and political for my tastes, just past these first few pages the real life stories will entertain and shock the reader. Larry’s nightmare situation with the credit bureau is pretty shocking. This is not another “victim of fraud” story folks, but rather a bureaucratic goof taken to an extreme!
Larry also makes some excellent arguments for the benefits of walking. It can be so much more than frugal and responsible transportation, exercise and meditation – it can actually bond communities. How? I can’t tell you here, you’ll have to read the book to find out!
So many beliefs and views on issues were similar to my own that I found myself thinking “Exactly!” repeatedly. Larry certainly brings attention to some very ironic and illogical social issues. Folks that read Political Frugality will learn new ideas on how to live in a more socially and fiscally responsible way. Read More Reviews Here…
My Dad Wears Polka-Dotted Socks!
By Barr Loel
My Dad Wears Polka-dotted Socks! : Bright colored sheets just inside the sturdy book cover certainly set the mood for this excellent book geared for children between the ages of 4 and 8.
The main character is a young boy who is desperately fretting over the class reaction to his strange family. He dreads the day the children in his classroom are due to present their portrayals of their families. Much to his delight, he realizes his family is not so strange after all. Parents and teachers will certainly find the yoga-loving dad with orange polka-dotted socks is sure to get the giggles rolling. The impressive illustrations hold attention to the page.
As youth, we are often fascinated by other family’s doors and what lays beyond them. When we discover that all the quirks and differences reside in everyone’s family, it makes it easier to accept our families and our place in them. This is a valuable life skill that would certainly help to ground little people at this age.
Educators and caretakers may find this book useful in social and family studies.
Children are encouraged to personalize the book on the first page and create a list of their family and their personality traits on the last page – thus making this book more interactive.” Read More Reviews Here…
Looking Glass
By James R Strickland
Looking Glass : This book is set in the not too distant future, in a gritty, unrefined, shattered North America. Hackers and IT security technicians fight a different kind of war in cyberspace. A serial killer has found a way to use the network to reach inside his victims brains, and use these brains as his weapon. Shroud is a security network team leader for a large retail company. In the realm of cyberspace, inside a sensory deprivation tank and jacked in to the network, she is fast, nimble, and ruthless. She is just beginning her shift when the killer strikes for the first time. She survives, but her entire team is dead or missing. She is exiled from her corporate resources, and her search for the killer is fraught with peril and overwhelming odds.
Review
As a fan and reader of the cyberpunk genre, I strongly recommend Looking Glass. I won’t go into a plot synopsis, as others already have. The writing style is tight, and focused through the window of Shroud’s perception and life experiences, and her shift into an increasingly uncomfortable and dangerous situation, both mentally and physically. It is this revelation of her inner life, with its defensive limitations and powerful motivations that keeps the focus on the human, despite the seeming technological focus of the plot.
The dystopic setting of the splintered second world North America is revealed as is needed by the narrative. The technology is speculative, but much more soundly grounded in current technologies that give a sense of competence to the characters actions, and satisfaction to the reader familiar with the topics.
In the end, to me, Science Fiction is a human story. It asks what will we do, what will we become, when technology has changed our society, our horizons, our bodies and challanged the limits of what is possible. Looking Glass does this, with a good touch for personal tension, evolving character awareness, and human weakness.
The plot is well thought-out, and the pacing is fast without being frenetic. There’s little, if any, plot telegraphing or foreshadowing. The setting is future, yet the reference points are tantalizingly close to our present – again, enough to keep me invested (Shame about Reno, though). And while “cyberpunk” applies in general genre terms, the author isn’t trying to be William Gibson or anyone else, which is a refreshing change! But if you like that style, then you’ll definitely want to give this book a try. One day, one of those hackers turns out to be a serial killer, and uses the fact that people are jacked in to the Internet to use the Internet as a way to kill. Her corporation, Omni-Mart, in standard shortsighted corporate cover-up style, gets in the way of her investigation, while the killer pursues her every move in a world that is so completely connected to the Net that movement without observation is just about impossible.
Dr. Farro, or “Shroud” as she is known, is one of the most dynamic characters in fiction. She wrestles with inner demons as well as the muck that is the Internet of tomorrow. She doesn’t necessarily deal with these demons very well. In a job that requires a certain level of paranoid schizophrenia to perform well, she is good at her work.
However, when the reader gets inside her head, we wee that this perfect employee of the future is far from a perfect human being, a metaphor, I think, for the futureshock and information overload that we experience every day. Strickland shows us that all the great technology that makes our civilization work so well may not be good for our mental health. It’s a powerful message, yet there is no moralizing that gets in the way of a truly exciting thriller.
All in all, it was a great read, and I’ll be back for the next installment. Read More Reviews Here…
My Book of Life – A Companion Piece
By Oluwadahunsi
My Book of Life, a Companion Piece: Letter To Maya Angelou : Letter to Maya Angelou is a book that is intended to entice the reader’s attention and provoke them to delve into deep thought on environmental and society issues.
One hundred breath-taking, intimate photographs of nature scenes have been included in this book. Beautiful shots of flocks of birds just taking off in flight, enchanting forests, stunning autumn color and incredible sunsets were enough to make me a fan of the book.
The photos are accompanied with poetic verses, which, unfortunately, did not strike a cord in me. Honestly, I did not even understand many of the verses. Overall, though, it was clear that the author’s intent was to encourage openness to adventure, the opportunity for growth and participation in issues that matter. I really liked a few statements in particular, “Let your heart be your guide, and the brain a tool” and “It’s always a holiday when you love”.
Oluwadahusi is a man who has been juggling many hats for some time – from being a lawyer, author and poet, to the more rewarding efforts as a teacher and father. He warns his readers that “any apparent disorder in any of the text, lack of punctuation” was done with the intent to provoke the reader to fill in the blanks for themselves. Read More Reviews Here…
Don’t Go Alone
By Margaret Lenois
Don’t Go Alone : This 284-page mystery thriller has twists and turns that will keep readers guessing right until the end. I was thinking about the book for days after I completed this review project. I knew it had to be read again from the moment I finished the last page.
Handsome, well-built Michael Bannagan is CEO and founder of a successful computer company – he’s also a womanizer. Unaccustomed to hardship or a messy life, Michael is having a difficult time with his cold and beautiful wife. He’s been caught cheating, again (but he’s not the only one), and she wants a divorce. Out of the blue, he finds he is arrested for a murder he did not commit. All the clues point to Michael and he knows he is being set up – but by whom, and by how many? Are they working together? And WHY?! After all, Michael has never done anything evil in his life.
Don’t Go Alone is a story of high-society – of limousines, kept wives and fancy homes. It is a story of passion and shame, of regrets and betrayal, mistakes and love… hate and revenge.
This is the third book by Margaret Lenois that I have had the pleasure of reviewing. She may very well be the next female author that we see on the best selling list! Read More Reviews Here…
