15 MINUTE PAUSE

Name: 15 MINUTE PAUSE
Author: Michelle Burke
ISBN: 978-0-9991794-7-5

A RADICAL REBOOT FOR BUSY PEOPLE

by Michelle Burke Lilamani de Silva ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2018

A well-executed, if somewhat derivative, motivational guide.

bookshelf

Awards & Accolades

Google Rating

A motivational manual explains how readers can take back control of their lives 15 minutes at a time.

For many people, life has gotten so busy that they can’t afford to make time for a half-hour lunch break, let alone hours for meditation, exercise, rest, and leisure activities. This time crunch goes a long way in accounting for the amount of stress the average person feels in contemporary society. Burke (The Compass and the Clock, 2002, etc.) and debut author de Silva offer a simple solution: a pause. They define this pause “as a sacred time-out for ourselves. 15 minutes helps us to be present, in the moment. When we are present we are more self-aware and can make better choices.” The 15-minute pause, along with self-awareness and conscious choice, forms what the guide calls the “i-Matter Equation,” which, as the name suggests, reminds readers that they matter and helps get them on track to have the sort of lives they desire. The authors devote a section of the book to each element of the equation, explaining the importance of introspection, decision-making, and purposeful action, providing plenty of useful exercises and questionnaires to steer readers into the correct mindset. These activities are quick and fit easily into a 15-minute pause, allowing readers to take a break from the stresses of work and family to analyze the decisions they made in the previous 30 days or to take the Life Energy Inventory. Burke and de Silva write in a clear, soothing prose that always sounds reasonable: “When we don’t value ourselves enough to put us on our own to do list, or find time to prioritize our needs alongside our other demands, then stress levels invariably increase and wellbeing decreases.” As is often the case in books like these, the authors lean heavily on jargon and branding (the Life Energy Inventory is trademarked, of course). There isn’t much in the text that feels completely original. That said, all of the elements of the i-Matter Equation are worthy of pursuit and will likely help alleviate stress for those who incorporate them into their daily lives.

A well-executed, if somewhat derivative, motivational guide.

Pub Date: July 12, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-9991794-7-5

Page Count: 216

Publisher: Silver Thread Publishing

Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.