Book Review : The Four Hour Work Week

I admire Timothy Ferriss. A lot.

When I picked up The Four Hour Work Week, I wasn't expecting to gain much from it. I know that a lot of the book is about outsourcing your life or creating a product that will essentially get you nice and rich, so I didn't think I would be too inspired. 

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised though. Tim has a lot of really good ideas about managing your work flow, and his ideas and examples of mini-retirements are really great. I've always said that I would love to spend 6 months in one country and then move to another and explore the world that way. This is something that Tim believes you can do and indeed has done himself.

What I really gained from this book, was inspiration. Tim is obviously a very smart and capable person. He has an interesting view of the world and a lot of good ideas. I liked hearing his story and was very intrigued and inspired by his life. I won't be taking a lot of his advice, but I'll certainly be recommending his book as a worthwhile read for anybody!

Book Review : ProBlogger

Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett have produced a wonderful collaboration with the ProBlogger book.

I've been a fan of the ProBlogger site for a while now and was excited to read their book. I find that blogging has become a big part of my life and I know that it is a medium that interests a lot of other people.

Overview

This book is separated into ten chapters packed full of tips and advice ranging from Niche Blogging, Blogging for Money, Promotion, and Writing. Chris and Darren draw a lot from their personal experiences and successes with becoming professional bloggers who earn over six figures from their sites. The first few chapters hit on a lot of beginner information, including basics on how to set up for a blog. The later chapters give better advice for established bloggers, such as information on joining blog networks and how to buy and sell blogs.

The writing style is casual and not too overwhelming. The book is well organized and planned with images interspersed throughout. The chapters are laid out similarly to blog posts with lots of sub headings, bullet points and text boxes.

The Good

Blog Writing is a great chapter in particular. It goes over 20 types of posts, how to write a successful series and how to make your blog more interactive. There are a lot of great examples, case studies and statistics.

The book is an engaging read and is written in a very comprehensive format. It would be exceptionally good for a beginner or for someone who is new to blogging and curious about how to use it as side income and make it successful.

The Bad

The pictures chosen are not always helpful. One example is an example of a traffic spike. It's essentially just a very tall column alongside many short columns with no additional data. It was a bit superfluous and felt as some of the images were an afterthought to break up chunks of text.

If you are more of an intermediate to expert blogger, this book will not change your life. It's helpful and good at reminding you of things you may have forgotten, but the bulk of the book is for beginners. It is also a very Wordpress heavy book, as most sites and books about blogging tend to be.

My Recommendation

This is a worthwhile read. I enjoyed it and have gained some valuable advice from it. I didn't have a major epiphany, but I was reminded of some techniques and tactics that I had let slide.

4 out of 5

Other Book Reviews:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Book Giveaway - Stop the 401(K) Rip-Off

With so much going on in the financial market and so many issues with the value of 401(k)'s dropping, I've decided that it's time to pass along my hardback copy of David Loeper's Stop the 401(K) Rip-Off. 

This book contains a lot of advice and solutions to improving your 401(k), getting rid of fees, and saving you a bunch of money. 

Here's How to Win

I will be drawing a name from a hat next Tuesday, October 15th. There are multiple ways to enter:

Make a comment on this post recommending a Personal Finance Book (1 Entry).

Subscribe to my RSS Feed and then notify me via me comment form in the sidebar (2 Entries).

Add my blog to your Blogroll or Link list and notify me via my comment form (3 Entries).

Write about this giveaway on your blog, link to this post and notify me via my comment form (4 Entries).

Have fun, play nice, and I'll contact the winner next week!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - A Review

When a twelve-year-old girl came up to me crying and asking me if I wanted to borrow this book, I couldn't refuse. She had just finished the story and was so struck by it that she wanted to pass it on for someone else to read. I was hesitant when left alone with the book, as it wasn't really my genre, but as I progressed into it I was amazed by how heartbreakingly beautiful it was.

The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl who is raised in Germany during World War II. Her life is torn apart when her mother sends her to a foster home and then loses contact with her. When she first arrives at her new home on Himmel Street, she is haunted by the death of her six year old brother and struggles with her new surroundings and new family.

Liesel finds herself attracted to books, even though she cannot read, which she "steals" through various conventional and unconventional means. Though books are a continuing theme, this story is more about her realtionships with the people that come into and out of her life.

This book is written in a unique and innovative format. Certain points are differently presented to make them more poignant or draw attention to their importance. In some cases, we get to see the drawings and paintings by the people in Liesel's life.

The whole story is narrated by Death, but not in a tacky way. It seems to present Death as a hopeful yet sad onlooker as he gently carries the souls of the lost away in his arms while keeping an eye on the life of The Book Thief.

The history in this play is mostly accurate to the best of my knowledge. It is a realistic presentation of Germany during the war and of the lives of the people impacted by it. The story is rich and well-told, the ending is devastating and brilliant, and the book is gripping, particularly towards the latter half.

This book is a bestseller, currently ranking at the top of Amazon's children's book list, though this is not a book that I would plass in that category. It is probably one of, if not the best book I have read this year, and I was almost sad to pass it back to the twelve-year-old girl who owned it.

4.8 out of 5. Highly recommended.