by Stan Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 3, 2015
One can make one’s dreams come true with the help of constant reminders by using a six-sided die, according to this complex self-help manifesto.
Reynolds, a businessman and motivational speaker, introduces readers to his trademarked “Logic Die system of Organized Thought,” based on a modified version of an ordinary six-sided plastic die, which one can order separately. The system initially sounds complicated—“We can direct our thinking process by manipulating the firing procedure of our brain’s neurons using a mnemonic device,” he says, so that “ideas associated to the device becomes [sic] the instructions for the brain to follow”—but it boils down to a simple notion: viewing and touching the die serves as a reminder of various self-help notions. For example, the six-dot panel represents “Do Our Best” (“we visualize massive pillars reaching upward”); the one-dot panel represents focus; two dots symbolize the idea of “Ask[ing] Multiple Questions,” and so on. (According to the author, the die has an invisible seventh panel inside it, representing imagination.) The symbolism extends to the cube’s eight points (or vertices), representing principles such as “Planning,” “Priorities,” “Purpose,” and “Persistence,” as well as 24 “Lines of Action.” Contemplating all these ideas, Reynolds argues, will spur one to practice them in daily life and thus think clearly, set goals, and make plans to achieve them. The Logic Die’s complexity is so expansive that readers may wonder whether mastering it requires yet another device, such as a card listing what all the panels and points and Lines of Action mean. After it gets past the poorly edited, overly busy die mechanics, though, Reynolds’ book embraces time-honored self-help nostrums in an engaging, straightforward fashion. Drawing on the ideas of theorists such as Andrew Carnegie, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Covey, and Vince Lombardi, he conveys the importance of positive thinking, listening, seeking advice, and cultivating helpful habits. One of his most persuasive suggestions is that one should simply get started on one’s goals by writing down feasible objectives and practical steps to meet them rather than daydreaming and fretting. In the end, the die gimmick is less helpful than the concrete advice that readers will glean from his text. Tchotchkes aside, this book offers some useful guidance for thinking and acting productively.
Pub Date: July 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5142-7954-0
Page Count: 132
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Cheryl Strayed ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2015
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.
A lightweight collection of self-help snippets from the bestselling author.
What makes a quote a quote? Does it have to be quoted by someone other than the original author? Apparently not, if we take Strayed’s collection of truisms as an example. The well-known memoirist (Wild), novelist (Torch), and radio-show host (“Dear Sugar”) pulls lines from her previous pages and delivers them one at a time in this small, gift-sized book. No excerpt exceeds one page in length, and some are only one line long. Strayed doesn’t reference the books she’s drawing from, so the quotes stand without context and are strung together without apparent attention to structure or narrative flow. Thus, we move back and forth from first-person tales from the Pacific Crest Trail to conversational tidbits to meditations on grief. Some are astoundingly simple, such as Strayed’s declaration that “Love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard.” Others call on the author’s unique observations—people who regret what they haven’t done, she writes, end up “mingy, addled, shrink-wrapped versions” of themselves—and offer a reward for wading through obvious advice like “Trust your gut.” Other quotes sound familiar—not necessarily because you’ve read Strayed’s other work, but likely due to the influence of other authors on her writing. When she writes about blooming into your own authenticity, for instance, one is immediately reminded of Anaïs Nin: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Strayed’s true blossoming happens in her longer works; while this collection might brighten someone’s day—and is sure to sell plenty of copies during the holidays—it’s no substitute for the real thing.
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-101-946909
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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by Robert Greene ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 13, 2012
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should...
Greene (The 33 Strategies of War, 2007, etc.) believes that genius can be learned if we pay attention and reject social conformity.
The author suggests that our emergence as a species with stereoscopic, frontal vision and sophisticated hand-eye coordination gave us an advantage over earlier humans and primates because it allowed us to contemplate a situation and ponder alternatives for action. This, along with the advantages conferred by mirror neurons, which allow us to intuit what others may be thinking, contributed to our ability to learn, pass on inventions to future generations and improve our problem-solving ability. Throughout most of human history, we were hunter-gatherers, and our brains are engineered accordingly. The author has a jaundiced view of our modern technological society, which, he writes, encourages quick, rash judgments. We fail to spend the time needed to develop thorough mastery of a subject. Greene writes that every human is “born unique,” with specific potential that we can develop if we listen to our inner voice. He offers many interesting but tendentious examples to illustrate his theory, including Einstein, Darwin, Mozart and Temple Grandin. In the case of Darwin, Greene ignores the formative intellectual influences that shaped his thought, including the discovery of geological evolution with which he was familiar before his famous voyage. The author uses Grandin's struggle to overcome autistic social handicaps as a model for the necessity for everyone to create a deceptive social mask.
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should beware of the author's quirky, sometimes misleading brush-stroke characterizations.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-670-02496-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
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