Amanda Palmer The Art of Asking Book Review

I have watched the TED talk The Art of Asking several times. I never really knew who Amanda Palmer was I knew she was a musician yes but not her real background. I did some Googling to find out Amanda was not only an indie musician and lead singer of The Dresden Dolls but an artist, blogger, frequent exhibitionist and now author. Her army of adoring fans follow her every move; her detractors are ready to pounce on her every public misstep, which she provides via the simple expedient of rarely filtering anything she thinks, says or does.

This book could alternatively be titled How Amanda Made a Million Dollars by Saying Please. Yet, it’s about so much more than that. It’s also about being human and about the trials and tribulations of a professional artist in today climate. While her music may not be for everyone, her story could bring almost anyone to tears and laughter.

First Amanda tells about her first job as a living statue in a public park. How that performance made her fall in love repeatedly. It also brought loneliness and harassment. Little did she know at the time she was getting a real education on how to be a professional musician.

Soon she does work full time with her band and even gets signed on with a record label. However, even after selling thousands of copies of her release they considered her a failure. Surprisingly, Amanda Palmer thought of them as failures. She was mad at her record company.

The remainder of the story tells how Amanda did it right -she asked for help. Her and the band raised money through crowd-funding with Kickstarter. They twittered when they needed a place to sleep on tour, or asked for food when hungry.

Amanda Palmer knows how to keep an authentic relationship with her fans. She formed thousands of friendships full of honesty and based on trust. Instead of some large record label marketing schemas of make the audience pay for it, Amanda asks how do we let them offer money?

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. This book helps me to remember to be humble and to ask for help when needed, to go ahead and release the shame and the fear around what the answer may be. The book is yes a biography but could be consider a business or even self help book. I am still not a huge fan of her music but I am a fan of Amanda Palmer the business women and person.

Yoga for Regular Guys Book Review

I had to read this book as part of the open book final for my DDP Yoga certification and it was great. Some books have an immediate impact on your life. It changes your way of thinking, your goals, and your focus. This is one of those books.

I started implementing stuff from the book before finishing it. I also started back at the beginning and reread it straight through a second time. The book really blew me away. With so much useful information that even the DDP Yoga dvd’s don’t tell you. I think this book should be a must for anyone starting DDP Yoga or just doing yoga in general.

Here is the history of the progression of YRG to DDP Yoga.

2005 - Yoga For Regular Guys - Published in Paper Back

2006 - YRG Yoga for Regular Guys 3 DVD Set

2008 - Yoga For Regular Guys - Republished in Paperback

2009 - Rebranded as YRG Fitness System

2010 - YRG Fitness System Advance Set

2011 - Rebranded as DDP Yoga

2012 - DDP Yoga Extreme

2013 - Yoga For Regular Guys - Published in eBook format

The book has a hilarious forward by Rob Zombie. The book is an incredible resource for people wanting to make lifestyle changes. If you're a couch potato you can start, if you're active you can take it to the next level, if you're an athlete it will only help improve your game and performance!

DDP states that he wrote the book to help regular guys and regular gals. Part of the way he does that is he encourages you to set goals using SMACK! He also encourages you to join Team DDP Yoga, there you will find a community of supportive, like minded people. You can read success stories, join groups and forums, and there is a continuous online life chat on the go. The book features 15 people showing the moves, many of the moves are in the book more than once in different routines and programs, often with different people showing them. These 15 people range from retired military, to musicians. All kinds of people have seen improvement in their health and life through following DDP's programs. Musicians, retired wrestlers, pro wrestlers, pro ball players, and regular guys and gals like me and you!

This book gets a 5 out of 5 stars being an instructor of DDP Yoga I can tell you the system really works and everything in this book is truth.

Interview With Author Jeanette Kossuth-Mcadoo

What lead you to write the book The Ax?

My first visit to a friends house her family thought I may have been an ax murderer because we never met in person before.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

The end was my favorite part to write because of the surprise of who the ax murderer really was.

What’s the one big takeaway you want people to have after reading your book?

I hope that anyone who reads my book enjoys them.

What books have most influenced your life most?

Autobiographies most influence me, I like to read how others made it to where they are, the experiences of struggles, to me that's encouraging.

Do you have any other writing projects in process? 

Yes, I am presently working on a book entitled; Santa Claws

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

For me I think the most difficult part would be writing to hold a persons interest, I don't want to bore my readers.  Granted not everyone will like the type of book I may write but that is true for any author. Different people have different tastes.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? 

Follow your dreams, at least try. Living with a, what if, is to me the worst to live with because you can spend times wondering what may have been.

Those are the questions you had asked for, now I would like to share a story with you, I'm not sure I told you before. When my book; The Ax was published, a friend's daughter read the book. She never liked to read but she chose my book to start with. Her daughter emailed me saying she really enjoyed reading my book and she never liked to read but now she reads all the time. She even did her book report on that particular book. That email made me feel good finding out that my book sparked her interest in reading.

Robert Munsch Love You Forever Book Review

My 7 year old daughter brought this book home from school she read it to my wife and I in the car and I am not going to lie I got choked up with Goosebumps. A very powerful book with powerful words books usually NEVER choke me up but this one makes you hang on every word. The main phrase in the book

"I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be."

It hits you hard as a realization of life. This little classic is readily and easily digested by one who has known the true love of a mother. The book rolls threw a mother nurturing her child to adult hood the child moving out and having a family of his own. The book touches on the tender and precious time at a mother’s bedside before her death.

The scenes with the mother coming to the man's apartment are actually his memories of her love. The book shows the love poured into the son by his mother that has taught him how to love his new baby daughter at the end.

I give this book 5 stars out of 5 just because how hard the book hit me with its powerful words. Love begets love, I highly recommend Love You Forever to anyone who enjoyed a wonderful love with their mother. I will say one thing the book is a little emotionally heavy for a children’s book but I think this book read with a parent and child just tightens the bond.

Vector Prime Star Wars: The New Jedi Order Book 1 Review

A Star Wars book, full of action, with all our well known and loved characters, and with some interesting new ones that you will grow to love. I was first thrown a curve ball with the addition of Luke Skywalkers wife and the Solo children. I was saddened by the death of a beloved persona (no, I won't tell the name, though I don't think it's a secret among fans), but accepted it. After all those years of battling against the Empire, Thrawn, kidnappers, crazy Admirals & Dark Jedi, it is only logical that someone was bound to die, even with the legendary Solo luck and Luke's strength in the Force to protect the family and friends it was bound to happened eventually.

I enjoyed reading about the Jade Saber Luke’s wife Mara’s new ship and seeing Luke keep his old X-Wing around. We learn a lot about Mara and her illness that she struggles with and use the force to keep it at bay most of the time. The struggle with her illness doesn't allow for her relationship with Luke to evolve, nor does it leave room for children, and why shouldn't they have some to continue the Skywalker line?

Also, the idea of being "invisible" by the force is new Luke faces off with an enemy at times that can hide himself from the force that’s a new concept for the most part. We get to see Luke apprentice his nieces and nephews that is a lot of fun to watch. We see Luke start the Jedi academy and a very small glimpse into that they ties into other books.

Having a vileness people come in from another galaxy and be humanoid was different. A humanoid in fact that with a little disguise no one can tell them from humans was a twist. They speak a language that C3PO can translate without hesitation makes for some fun reading.

R.A. Salvatore adapted this saga very well he created amazing new life forms, organic weapons and new enemy strong enough to gives Luke and his family a worth wile struggle. Excellent story, well-paced, never slumps, keeps the tension high, so plan on a late night or two of reading. This is a grim New Republic, many of our favorite characters are angry, very angry. Teenagers kill, with justification, but it's one more reminder that this "New" series is very new and very dark.

Overall I give the book a 4 star review. 4 stars because the "IT" that others refer to bothered me, as I feel it was unnecessary. That type of written device usually props up a weak story, and this book is anything but weak. Don't give up on "IT", because it’s an import part of story but at times kind of made me a little unsure because it felt like was just something hanging out there we don’t know much about. But IT ties into other books in series which you will need to read. The story wraps up nicely but we still need more information on IT.