Wordy Thursday: New Mindest, New Results

Genre:

Business

Rating:

Four out of Four Stars for Online Book Club

Disclosure:

I received an advance copy of this book for review purposes.

This post contains affiliate links. If readers purchase a copy of the book through the above link, I will receive a small commission from Amazon.

Please read my exclusive Online Book Club review of this book here.

This is a brief, encouraging book geared towards small business owners who have employees. It can also be utilized by solo entrepreneurs and by managers in a larger business or corporate setting. The author writes in a friendly, personable tone. He addresses issues such as communicating with one's staff in an encouraging and forthright manner as well as personal perseverance. 

When employees feel as though they are a valued part of a business, they will be engaged and involved in its growth. I wish that some of my past employers had a book like this at their disposal. They might have enjoyed increased staff retention and performance if they had treated their employees as assets rather than disposable components.

Image copyright Open Clipart Vectors

Ornery Literary Services

Weekend Wrap-Up 24 February 2019

Copyright Wetmount

Hello, Crazy Creatives, Delivered Ones, and Horror Harridans! It's been a mad week. I posted at the end of January about a minor accident that I was involved in when the roads were icy, and a young lady stopped behind me, but her car didn't. It was a very minor accident with no injuries.
The repairs on my vehicle were just completed. The young lady's insurance took care of everything. To recap an important point from the initial post about this incident, when I spoke to the insurance agent, I was told that the girl's family wanted to pay me out of pocket for the estimated damages, an offer which I declined. I'd had past experiences with vehicle repairs, and there is often underlying damage that can't be seen at first glance.
The initial estimate was for around $400 for chipped paint.
The actual repair cost was close to $1900.
If I had taken the $400 from the family, I would have been screwed.
Always go through the insurance company in situations like this.
Earlier this month, I joined the Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club. Our current book is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The big Discussion Fun Day is March 20th. The book club virtually meets on Goodreads. You can find me on Goodreads as well.
To be honest, I never would have known what a wonderful writer Daphne du Maurier was if I hadn't gotten a copy of Rebecca on Audible. Other than book reviews, I don't do much reading these days. I'd had an Audible membership for a couple of years but really hadn't used it much since I stopped working as a home care nurse. I decided to dust it off so I could participate in the book club, and I'm so happy that I did! Rebecca is one of the most engaging stories that I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.
I'm in the car a lot, so audiobooks are real salvation. You can listen during your commute to and from work on a device such as your smartphone or tablet. If you use public transit for your commute, you'll want a good pair of headphones. Be sure to check device compatibility before purchasing.
That's it for this wrap-up. I hope I have imparted some useful information, and maybe I'll see you around the IWSG book club!

~Cie~

Review of Ship It by Britta Lundin

This is a duplicate of my review for this item on Amazon.

I generally don't write negative reviews. If I dislike something, I tend to put it aside. I try to find something I like even in things that didn't hit home for me. However, I never thought I'd find anything which made Twilight look like a literary masterpiece, and I found it in this book.

Claire, the heroine of the story, isn't just socially awkward, she's malicious. 

I know this is a work of fiction, but basic reality stepped out of the room when a television show geared to adults asks a teenager to become a consultant and adults confide sensitive personal information to this teenager.

I probably wouldn't have written a review for this book at all, except that Claire illustrates an extremely toxic aspect of fandom culture. She doesn't like being told "no," and she behaves in a vindictive and malevolent fashion when an actor who plays one of the characters she ships doesn't support said ship. She is disrespectful, self-absorbed, and unlikable. 

This book reads like not particularly well-written fan fiction. It was touted as being humorous, and I was hoping for a likable geek in its heroine. Instead, I found Claire, who is the sort of fan that no actor or creator wants. She is an obsessive backstabber. 

I probably would have liked Rico better if he didn't seem like a two-dimensional cardboard cutout. Aside from Claire, the characters were props with no particular distinguishing features to compel the reader's interest.

Perhaps the author was attempting to make Forest (the actor who refuted Claire's beloved ship) more unlikable through unflattering physical description, but "watery blue eyes" makes me think the poor chap is having an allergic reaction to something and needs a Zyrtec and some Visine, stat.

Regarding Claire's love interest, Tess: I want to care at least a little if the hero/heroine gets their guy/gal. The Claire-Tess romance seemed forced and I really couldn't care less. Tess was a prop, and Claire was self-serving and odious. Such a character would be fine if that's what she was supposed to be, but it isn't. She was supposed to be a sympathetic character.

Claire was a great illustration of the downside of fandom culture. Beyond that, there was nothing great or even particularly entertaining about this book. Perhaps Ms. Lundin's forte lies in scriptwriting rather than novels.

~Cie~