James Minter's Blog: Writers do it in Public...

Everyday Mindfulness: 108 Simple Practices to Empower Yourself and Transform Your Life by Melissa Steginus

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


From the table of contents through to the conclusion, I was totally engaged in this book. I especially liked the explanation as to why there are 108 exercises – you'll have to purchase the book to find that out! And there is the bonus of being able to obtain additional resources from the author's website, demonstrating the commitment of the author to her readers.

The 'how-to' section was self-explanatory, highlighting how to get the most out of the exercises, culminating in the author, letting the readers know what she wishes for them. This was such a beautiful way to motivate me to commit to myself.

The chapters follow a gentle journey with one step at a time, beginning where anyone and everyone can start. A simple first step is all you need to walk to the end of this journey. Day by day you follow an empowering path, being gently challenged and stretched without
realising the huge impact these small changes are making.

There is a reflection at the end of each chapter giving the reader time to process and embody the changes being made. By the end of the book, it felt a little like I had written my own personal diary on my progress of knowing myself better.

How could I be the same person who had started reading this book now that I have reached the end? Mindfulness and becoming a better person go hand in hand.
I absolutely loved this book, and I'm happy to recommend it.




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Building with Straw Bales: A Practical Manual for Self-Builders and Architects by Barbara Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love ‘How to …’ books – there is so much to learn and so little time to do it in. Well written ‘How to...’ books significantly shorten the time needed to get to grips with a new subject. This is the case with ‘Building With Straw Bales’ by Barbara Jones. For me, entering into the world of self-building using straw was a daunting proposition; this book has removed much of the angst. Ms Jones has over 20 years’ experience and has acquired much hard-won knowledge and hands-on experience, which she gladly shares.

The book is structured in a logical sequence reflecting the building process and covers everything from building techniques, understanding straw, to carpentry, roofs, wall raising, services and fixings; plus many more equally important topics. Even the pre-building stages – planning permission, and the necessary building regulation adherences and safety compliances are covered.
Additionally, the book has many useful and inspiring photographs, graphic images for detailed explanations and a whole series of appendices with links to other valuable resources.

Overall, a must-read book for anyone embarking on this exciting journey of building their low impact, environmentally friendly home.




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How to Save the World For Free by Natalie Fee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Natalie Fee's 'How to Save the World for Free' is essential reading for…well, everyone. Natalie knows all too well, like other environmental campaigners, that sceptics, deniers, and doubters and even the everyday householder who is too busy with life, that the climate emergency is not real for them, and it's just a way large corporates, using fear, uncertainty and doubt, to get people to spend on replacement technology or other stuff that they may not want or need – hence her emphasis on saving the world for free.

People don't like to be on the other end of persuasive arguments as the more evidence they are offered the more likely they are to shut down. To overcome this, Natalie adopts a writing style that is engaging, sufficiently factual to add credence to her statements without being overbearing, and surprisingly humorous given the enormity and urgent nature of the topic under discussion. But it works.

The scope and breadth of this book is impressive. Natalie adopts a no-holds-barred approach to presenting a plethora of truths you may know but choose to deny -"It's nothing to do with me," - or ignore so you can remain blissfully ignorant while living in your corner of Planet Earth where all is fine. From her extensive research, it's quite clear that all is not fine for anyone no matter how wealthy, powerful or privileged they are. We are all in this together; every man, woman, and child living today or to be born in the next 50 plus years.

For me 'How to …' books are my favourite genre as an enormous amount of hard work, diligence and creative thinking are put in by the author so I can reap the benefits. In this case, it's Natalie who has done a great job. The impact, implications and potential of the climate crisis are far-reaching as shown by the inclusiveness of this book from what we eat to how we live, travel and even have sex! Now it’s down to me to adopt her suggestions.

The hard-hitting narrative doesn't leave you feeling hopeless or despairing. Instead, Natalie brings optimism, promise and a future that is inclusive, positive and full of hope provided we take action now. This is a book written from the heart appealing to your heart and a set of values directed at the life-sustaining capacities of the Earth in the pursuit of common goals - love, truthfulness, fairness, freedom, cooperation, and oneness with others, tolerance, and a respect for all life.

I wholly recommend this book for teens, young adults and upwards, including grandparents: in short, everyone.




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West End Treehouse Mystery, The by Mark Weakland




This story features the exploits of two boys—Matt and Jerry—who are just finishing their time in elementary school before experiencing a massive change in their lives as they move up to Junior high school. Set in the year 1975 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, the work is aimed at 9 to 11-year-olds.

Though not strictly an issues book, Weakland’s latest novel uses traditional storytelling to take a compassionate approach to address topics nearly-teens find difficulty dealing with, like overcoming fear, not accepting change, and failing to show empathy. Personally, I applaud authors who tackle negative feelings with sensitivity while leading the reader to a safer place.

Weakland is a recognised literacy expert and the story he’s imagined reached the page as it should do; meaning that his use of the English language leads to great prose and uncomplicated sentences. The descriptions employed are concise yet fully formed bring to the reader's mind’s eye a clear picture of what is taking place without unnecessary or redundant verbiage.

The story focuses on Matt and Jerry who really only want to build a mega tree-house but people keep getting in their way. Drawing on all five senses, Weakland takes the reader into the woods, to the thick of the action where, through his writing style, you are there experiencing the unfolding events for yourself. These scenes are divided between a gang of teenage boys who rule the neighbourhood with fear and an ageing couple who have failing health but are fearful of seeking help from welfare services because of the consequences it may bring them. Matt and Jerry find themselves conflicted in what they should do and how to act.

A well written compelling story based on positive values giving pre-teens a view of what should be not necessarily what is – always a good lesson.




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How to Self-publish and Market a Children's Book by Karen P Inglis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The self-publishing process is split into two very distinct but inextricably linked camps as Ms Inglis points out– the publishing process itself and the on-going marketing needs books require. With books for children, there is an added layer – you cannot “sell” to children as such – ethically it’s not acceptable, nor can they buy your book – sub-teens tend not to have their own money but rely on parents/ guardians/grandparents to purchase for them. So authors of middle-grade books find the sales process is doubly tricky – you need to get the reader to choose your book in the first place and then win over the adult who will complete the purchasing process.

Any author going down the self-publishing road needs all the help they can get. There is a heap of information out there on the internet, but what Ms Inglis has done is make an excellent attempt at bringing it all together into a single place. By doing so this she’s made the information more accessible, as well as presenting it in a logically structured style – you only need to read the Table Of Contents to see that. Moreover, it is massively sourced with her hard-won knowledge and experience gained by going through the process with her books. That’s why I love “How to…” books. They capture hard-won knowledge and experience and make it available in an easily consumable form so saving you making the same mistakes, wasting time, money, or going off tangent.

Self-publishing and book marketing are significant, evolving processes, and a guide such as this cannot be complete or entirely up to date. As with all eBooks, it can be continuously corrected, amended, or added to. Ms Inglis makes good use of live links, and a password-protected resources page on her website to allow the reader to explore the software products and tools she discusses.

In conclusion, this is a book well worth purchasing for potential, new, and existing authors. For the price of your morning coffee and cake , you gain the knowledge and expertise of successful children’s author who speaks from the heart and shares not only her successes but things that didn’t work out so well. And, that takes courage but gives the book huge credibility.



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Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In this book Yuval Harari has tackled a massive subject. Forecasting the future is fraught with issues and Harari knows this. Though a professor of history, his knowledge spreads far and wide, and in my opinion he's done a very credible job. Scientists do as scientist do and have taken a pop at him, being dismissive, saying his work lacks rigour.

For me, Yuval has made an incredibly complex subject accessible to the layperson. Enjoyment is probably the wrong word, although is't a great read and well written, enlightenment is more accurate. Of course the future of A.I algorithms, robotic workforce, and the development of a useless class of people won't play out exactly but I believe, much like Uber, AirBnb, SpaceX, plant-based-diets and many more disruptor businesses and trends, Yuval has achieved a similar position with this book. We cannot walk into the future blind - especially as the future is only 20 to 30 years away!

I have grandchildren who will be majorly impacted by these huge changes. Their lives will be so different from mine and their parents. We, as a society need to start debating what these changes will mean and to prepare them through their education.

A must read book for all peoples with an interest in the future - and that's all of us.



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My Actions Matter: A Book on Life Values by Kayla J.W. Marnach

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Values matter, children's values matter most of all...

For me, the holding of positive values for children and adults is essential. A set of positive values is the most significant legacy any parent can leave their child, and so I applaud any book which promotes and guides the development of values and notable in this case, kindness, respect, and trust.

Our values shape our behaviours and are especially important when we have to deal with difficult situations. Through acquiring positive values children are empowered, they can make better decisions, and are more likely to overcome the challenging issue.

My Actions Matter – A Book on Life Values by Kayla J W Marnach, is aimed both at young children and their carers. Using this book as a vehicle, teachers and carers can start a conversation with children about the issue under discussion. In addition to the illustrated story, the book features a section on behaviours and the needs the child is displaying, and further a section with open-ended question suggestions caregivers can ask children to get a discussion going.

Although the book is well presented – font choice, size and line spacing, and the illustrations are beautiful, the overuse of repetition in the narrative is too much. I know and agree that 5, 6, 7-year-olds need repetition, but in effect, there are four identical double-spread pages which are not necessary. I would have liked to see the messages given on the same pages being built upon as the book progressed.




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Diary of a Stressed Out Mother: 'Madness' by Nicola Kelsall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I’m a man and a husband. I appreciate this book was written tongue-in-cheek, but I hoped the Diary of A Stressed Out Mother would provide me with some insights into women and especially mothers and wives. It didn’t but instead confirmed what I always suspected we, that is men, and women, mothers, and wives are very different creatures when it comes to dealing with the home, work, children, family, friends, pets, and neighbours.

Nicola’s narrative covers a wide and varied patchwork of improbable situations, juxtaposing the surreal with the sublime like grandparents caught smuggling drugs to the free-spirited neighbour indulging in swinging. Dora, the main protagonist, has unique relationships with her parents, children, husband, sister and animals, all of which are explored in the fast-paced cacophony of absurdity. A well written, laugh-out-loud look at a middle-class, middle-aged couple dealing with life, direction and purpose.

A great pool-side read accompanied by a G&T!

The author supplied a copy of Diary Of A Stressed Out Mother – Madness for review purpose.





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When I Was a Child: I Was Always Afraid by Michael Cascio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Fear is a much needed, deep-seated primary human emotion without which we wouldn’t survive. But fear can become intolerable and take over lives: we become afraid of our own shadow. Fear gains its strength from a lack of knowledge. That is, things we don’t know about or understand make us fearful. As we grow attaining increased knowledge and experience, our fears should become dissipated.

Young children are especially ‘vulnerable’ to fear. The survival instinct that they are born with is founded on fear. As a child develops, they have many different worries and anxieties ranging from fear of the dark, fear of small spaces, fear of sleeping alone, fear of thunder, fear of shadows, fear of spiders, and the fear of loud noises to name but a few. Left unaddressed or just dismissed by adults as irrational worries, these fears can take hold and grow into real anxieties and phobias. Successful parenting is about calming these fears.

Cascio’s book- When I Was a Child, I Was Always Afraid- addresses many everyday fears children face, and provides a useful additional armament for parents in their task to placate fears in youngsters. A combination of beautiful illustrations and words with the metrical structure of verse makes this an ideal read to educate a child and lessen the impact of the potentially fearful world in which they are growing up in. I’m getting a copy for our grandchild.

A copy of this book was provided by the author for review purposes.




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A Yorkie's Tale: Lessons from a Life Well-Lived by David L Heaney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Live the Life You’re Supposed to Live

The day I sat down to read this book, quite by chance I observed two entirely unrelated events. One was a TED Talk by Iain McGilchrist, a Fellow at All Souls college, at the University of Oxford: discussing what’s happened to our soul or spirit. And the second, an event on a TV show for pop-star hopefuls. One contestant, a lady in her early thirties, had been driven for as long as she could remember to become a singer. So much so, when she was 9-years-old, she had made up her mind to seek a place at a school specialising in music education. She worked hard and won a scholarship. At the school, she achieved a great deal, but her success was in opera singing when she really wanted to be a pop singer. However, she stuck with opera to please her teacher, her parents, grandparents and other family members. In other words, she lived the life they wanted for her, not the life she was supposed to live. It was only on the death of her younger brother did she realise, in the words of Heaney, “You see, a life doesn’t last forever, and then you become dead.”. At the moment she promised herself to switch from opera to popular music-her lifelong dream-and competing for a place on the TV show was her starting point to start living the life she was supposed to live.
“A Yorkie's Tale” operates on a number of levels – for a child, the beautiful illustrations will engage their young minds as well as the array of diverse characters which populate the story – a rat, an owl, a possum, a parrot and many more – plus it’s a well-written to boot. For the adult reader, woven into the plot are messages we all need to remember. For example, we all live in our own world, but actually, there is a much bigger world out there – we have so much to learn and experience. Equally, it’s not about how we look on the outside, but what’s important is who we are on the inside: our spirit or soul. As Heaney says, “It’s the spirit that puts the light in your eyes and the love in your heart.” This is what McGilchrist explored in his presentation.
Heaney also recognised that leaving the familiar is always uncomfortable but a discomfort which has to be borne to find the life you should be living. This is shown, in the above example, by the hard decision the promising pop star had to make and relay to her family and teacher. But notwithstanding, it’s a complicated world, meaning that what is good for one is not necessarily good for others.
Heaney doesn’t make light of deciding to live the life you’re supposed to. He recognises it’s only the start, and nothing is easy. Our chosen path can lead to uncertainty, to moments of doubt and even regret. Being strong is necessary. “The road you are on, the quest undertaken, immovable obstacles seem placed in your way. Ne’er turnaround now; to learn, you must stay…or the truth you shall miss.”



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