The Book Addict Reviews: Millionaire Women Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley

Genre: Women & Business
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

 
In A Nutshell:
The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind had revolutionized the way that I thought about money--or maybe it is more accurate to say that these books changed the way I aspire to approach money.  No longer did it seem impossible to be financially independent even on the salary that I currently make and the salary I can hope to make in my current career (which I do love and I do feel utilizes my talents and aptitudes).

But those books did have a very strong focus on male millionaires, and as a single mother I felt some of the principles out of my reach.  So I almost jumped for joy when I saw Millionaire Women Next Door.  Financially independence now feels attainable--even for me.

Review:  
I had read both The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind a few years back.  But after some recent major changes in my life, I decided to rededicate myself to the goal of financial independence, so I checked them both out from the library to re-read.  It was during the search for these two books that I found Millionaire Women Next Door. So after re-reading both of the originals, I dove into this newer installment.  

Reading them so closely together, I did see that there is some repetition between the three books.  It makes sense because some of the principles that people follow as part of their plan for financial independence are going to be the same regardless of gender.  But the repetition did get to be a little boring in certain spots.  There is also a lot of quotes directly from the previous books, which is probably necessary for the people who started with this book without reading the other two.  But for me, it just further accentuated the repetition.

There is a large section where Thomas J. Stanley goes into detail about the difference between "Alpha" women millionaires (women who became millionaires after growing up in a loving, supportive, and in many cases frugal environment) and "Beta" women millionaires (women who became millionaires after growing up in negative and/or hostile environment).  This section really hit close to home for me and really gave me insight into who I am and why I approach money in some of the ways that I do.  He goes on to talk about being married to "Marginal Bob."  It explained so much to me about how I ended up in the situation(s) I did.

Understanding some of these things about myself have helped me as I focus on my goal of financial independence.  I can see some of the areas that I have to watch for myself so they do not get out of control again.  I have also been able to forgive myself for some of the mistakes of my past--with an understanding that I have to work hard to not end up in that same place a second time.

As a parent, this book has also made me think of how I want my daughter to relate to money.  As she gets older, I want to start to implement some of the techniques the millionaire women talked--such as open honest discussions of how money is spent as a family every paycheck.
 
Recommendations:
If you have not read any of Thomas J. Stanley's books, I cannot recommend them highly enough.  I have found them to be so informative and inspiring.  I do honestly believe that one day I can be financially independent, and when I start to doubt that I will pick these books up again.  The next book I want to read by him is:

The Book Addict Reviews: Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson

Genre:  Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Bought this book with my birthday discount at Changing Hands.  

In A Nutshell:  
Ashley Hannigan sees herself as a "normal kid."  Not special enough to go to college.  Not special enough to worry about prom.  However, she is surrounded by friends and classmates who feel prom is one of the most important day of their lives.  These different orientations to prom collide when the faculty advisor to the prom committee steals most of the money that was raised for prom.  At that moment, Ashley shows her true colors by stepping in to help her best friend who wants the prom experience more than anything in the world.  In the process, Ashley's view of herself, what she wants, and what she deserves starts to change in significant ways. 

Review:  
I picked this book up after reading Speak.  By comparison, Prom seems frivolous.  It seems trite.  It seems underwhelming.  Those were my initial reactions to this story.  I had expected a story that touched me in the same way that I had been touched by Speak.  However, after some time away I realized that was really not a fair way to rate this book.  This book never claimed to be like Speak. 

So, I started to look at this story on its own merits.  As a light-hearted book, Prom delivers a unique cast of characters.  I think my favorite was Nat's grandmother who could moonlight as a professional baker if only she were not so obsessed with swimming (many times with her clothes on).  Prom delivers a strong coming-of-age story.  The Ashley we see in the beginning of this story would not even recognize the Ashley at the end who makes a stand for herself in a big way.

After recognizing these elements of Prom I realized that I really liked this book.  I am glad I read it, and I cannot wait to read another one of Laurie Halse Anderson's books.  I am sure she will surprise me yet again--but this time I will not let my initial feelings be dictated by the expectations set by other books I have read by her.

Recommendations:
If you have not read Speak, I cannot recommend it strongly enough--this book really shook me to the core:


The next book I would like to read by Laurie Halse Anderson:

The Book Addict Reviews: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Genre:  Young Adult, Social Issues
Order Online: Amazon.com
Review for previous book in series: here
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

In A Nutshell:  
This book surprised me in so many ways--from a change in narrator to a change in the focus and feel of the story, but in the end I came to love it.  I do not know what more could be told of the story of Mia and Adam, but I really want to have them return because I am not ready to let them go.

Review:  
It took me longer than I initially anticipated to finish this series.  The first book had hit me so strongly that I just knew I was not emotionally prepared to finish Mia's story yet.  And in some ways, I am glad I waited.  But in some ways I felt this story lacked some of the power and emotional punch of the first.

A big part of the change was the complete change in narrator.  Instead of following Mia, we (the readers) are now following Adam.  This took me by surprise and took me a little bit to get used to--particularly since the title of the book was Where SHE Went. Eventually we learn where she went, but in reality this book seemed to focus a lot more on what happened with Adam after the end of If I Stay.

The change in narrator also affected the feel of the story.  Where Mia as narrator had a strong focus on her feelings and emotions--Adam as narrator had a stronger focus on actions.  He was so confused by emotions (both his and Mia's) that he kept his focus on the actions.  What Mia did.  What he did.  What his bandmates did.  This is not a bad thing--but it was unexpected after reading the first story where Mia was very focused on her own emotions and feelings about the accident.

But the end worked for me.  It made all of my confusion about the change in narrator and the change in focus work for me.  It made me glad I read this book and this series.  It made me hope that there was more to the story of Mia and Adam because I am just not ready to give them up.

Recommendations:
I was looking to see what else Gayle Forman had written, when I found a book I want to read because it reminds me a little of a book I had to read for school that really impacted the way I see globalization and its effect on the world:

The Book Addict Reviews: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Southern Fiction, Audiobook
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

In A Nutshell:  
Kathryn Stockett did a wonderful job putting together a story filled with intriguing characters and unexpected surprises.  I am pretty sure I will never look at chocolate pie the same way again.  In fact, I am not sure I will look at many stories about the South, about Jim Crow laws, or about civil rights the same way again.  But I did have some issues with the story--in particular some questions come off as being one dimensional.  However, these issues did not take away from a story that left me laughing and crying over and over again. 

Review:  
After my last couple of experiences with audiobooks I was beginning to question my appreciation for audiobooks--until I found this book. The Help capitalized on the opportunity to utilize multiple narrators in order accentuate Kathryn Stockett's use of multiple narrators to tell her story.  It was very easy to keep the different narrators separate in my mind because they literally had different voices.  My one complaint was that the narrator chosen to read for Aibileen sounded younger than the narrator chosen to read for Minny so I kept forgetting that Aibileen was really the older of the two characters. 

The Help capitalized on the opportunity to tell the story that brought a time and a place I did not personally experience to life for me.  I do not think I will ever think of Jim Crow laws or the civil rights movement or Mississippi without thinking of Aibileen, Minny, and the other maids telling their stories or Hilly talking about her Home Help Sanitation Initiative or Elizabeth's approach and treatment of her children.

But in some respects I felt some of the characters were a little over simplified (or maybe one-dimensional is a better way to describe it).  They seemed to lack some balance of good and bad traits.  For instance, I know that Aibileen commented that Hilly was a good mother to her kids--but otherwise I do not think she had a single redeeming quality.  And if she is really that bad then how could Skeeter (who is very much portrayed as a good virtuous person) remain close friends for her so long.  In some respects, I could attribute it to Skeeter not wanting to incur Hilly's wrath--but their friendship seems to go beyond the bounds of friendship for politeness.  They were college roommates.  They were in bridge club together (at least for a while).  These were closer bonds than many people in the town could boast with Hilly.  So did Hilly have redeeming qualities that were not shown to the reader or did Skeeter make a mistake being such a close friend with Hilly for so many years?

Overall though, the book left a good impression on me.  It gave me insight into the way that people in the South related to each other.  For someone who grew up well after the civil rights movement, there were some aspects of that culture that I could not appreciate as much before reading this book.  The feelings that are described by the narrators who had to hide they were friends because a real threat of retaliation touched me in ways I had not expected when I started this story. 
 
Recommendations:
I have been putting off watching the movie until I had a chance to read the book--now I cannot wait to watch the movie!

The Book Addict Reviews: Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels

Genre:  Non-Fiction, Women's Health, Health
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 2 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:  
Admittedly, my opinion of this book could be affected by the audiobook format.  However, while I was impressed with the science and research displayed in the book, I felt like I may be able to implement some of her recommendations but I am not sure I can do them all. 

Review:  
For years I have lived a very sedentary lifestyle.  I ate fairly well so I was not significantly overweight--but one day I decided I wanted to make change.  I started getting up early so I could workout before getting ready for work.  I started getting workout DVDs to focus my efforts.  And I decided that at least once a month I wanted to read at least one book to learn more about living a healthier lifestyle.

I decided to start with Master Your Metabolism because I had purchased Jillian Michaels: 6 Week Six-Pack and loved it. It totally killed my abs but was not so overwhelming (at least at level 1) for me.  However, this book left me a little underwhelmed or maybe it is better to say overwhelmed and under impressed.  The plan that she outlines seems very rooted in science but with as prevalent as the hormone inhibitors that she described are, I cannot see how I will be able to implement all of her ideas.

I am also not sure that this book works well as an audiobook--there was so much scientific data.  I could not always follow all of it well in audio format.  It may have been better if I could have referred to the PDF that came with the audiobook but I normally listen to audiobooks when I am in situations where I cannot hold a hardcopy book to read it.  In those situations, I cannot access a PDF either.  

Recommendations:
While this book left me wanting more, I still love this workout and do it about twice a week!

The Book Addict Reviews: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Genre:  Fantasy, Metaphysical, Historical
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 2 stars   
Borrowed this book from library.  

In A Nutshell:  
While I loved the world that Erin Morgenstern created, I am not sure that this book was the best to tackle as an audiobook.  While the audiobook easily conveyed the magic and artistry of the world, the multiple story lines spanning different periods of time were sometimes hard to follow.

Review:  
I love audiobooks.  I love Jim Dale narrating audiobooks.  So when I found out that this book was narrated by Jim Dale, I could not wait to get my hands on it.  Admittedly I may have had unreasonable expectations based on my love of Jim Dale's narrations, but I was not overwhelmingly impressed with this story.

I think part of my lackluster feelings come from the choppy way the story is brought together.  We are following multiple story lines across multiple points in time.  And all of these story lines were hard to follow--which may not have been as much trouble if I had had the hardcopy so I could refer back to it. 

I am also still not 100% sure I am satisfied with the ending--and I waited all day to write this to see if I could decide how I felt and I still cannot really decide how I feel.  I felt like there were stories that were not left without an explanation in the end which is a little frustrating to me.  And even some of the answers I got seemed to lack some of the pageantry and ingenuity that made the rest of the story so magical.  At the end I felt underwhelmed.

What I did love--what absolutely kept me coming back despite my frustration with the choppy narrative--was the descriptions.  Erin Morgenstern created a world that was full of magic and wonder.  I want the Night Circus to come to my town so I could spend time in the tents and experience the artistry and magic that she described.  I want to be dazzled by Celia or Poppet and Widget or Tsukiko or really there are too many performances to choose from.  So in that case, I want to travel with the Reveurs and have a shock of red against a nice black and white suit so I have an opportunity to see them all.  Erin Morgenstern's descriptions have been the first and only time I truly understood why someone would want to "run away and join the circus."

Recommendations:
I love Jim Dale, so I immediately starting looking for the next book I can get to listen to him and decided to add this one to my TBR:

The Book Addict Reviews: Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz

Genre:Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires  
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Previous Review of Series: here
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Borrowed book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:  
After the frustration with Bloody Valentine, I admit that I did not jump into Lost In Time with the highest or most positive expectations. But I am so glad that I did finally pick it up because it was so much better and more engaging than I expected. 

Review:  
After reading Bloody Valentine, I was so disappointed that it almost made me want to stop reading this series.  But I am glad I gave Lost In Time a chance because it brought back many of the aspects of the series that I had grown to love.  In particular, I really loved how Melissa de la Cruz was able to string together three completely separate storylines (specifically Jack/Schuyler, Allegra/Ben/Charles, and Mimi/Kingsley/Oliver) without losing continuity or having the elements cross over between the storylines causing confusion.

The one issue that is very frustrating for me is the repeated references to Florence.  I feel like we (as readers) have been patient with the references to this life style without substance and context.  There were numerous times throughout this book where I wanted to scream "what happened in Florence--tell me already!"

But overall, I felt more drawn into the story of Mimi/Kingsley/Oliver.  I found that I started to see Mimi as more than a shallow bitch--she revealed more emotion and more depth than I expected after stories up to this point.

Recommendations:
After this one, I feel more optimistic about tackling a book that has been on my TBR pile for a while: