Tag Archives: non-fiction

When Is Enough, Enough by Laurie Ashner and Mitch Meyerson (1996) – BR00029 (2004) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
October 27 2004

Plot or Premise

The premise of this book is that there are many people who never feel satisfied, nor take the time to feel satisfied, and are always looking forward to the next obstacle, next project, next item on their to-do list — and whatever they have done, or accomplished, is never enough.

What I Liked

There is a lot to like in this book. Some highlights:

  • Never-enough thinkers act compulsively…unsure about what they really want, they stay in constant motion. (p.2)
  • Having been taught not to depend on other people, you take more than your share of the blame for what goes wrong in your relationships, at work, and in your family. (p.4)
  • Realize that if you could “just do it”, you would have done it. (p.5)
  • There’s a saying in Twelve Step programs: Your best thinking got you here. (p.9)
  • When we suppress our painful feelings, we lose our happy feelings too. (p.32)
  • You get an illusion of security from having all of these untapped talents. (p.47)
  • Depression indicates that the self-system has had to retreat to a lower level of functioning in the face of its inability to meet higher goals. Depression also serves as a communication, a message to the world at large that the self-system can no longer be counted upon, that it has ceased to function to some significant degree, that one has lost hope, and that help must come from the outside. In other words, the self says, “enough is enough”, and retreats away not only from the feelings that are most troublesome, but all feelings in general. It’s a concept that goes far toward explaining why depressed people often feel, “What’s the use?” (p.67)
  • You have an emotional thermostat turned high to nuances, a sensitivity to a lot of surplus information other people filter out and disregard. This sensitivity is your strength at times. But it has an enormous cost. (p.84)
  • We meet the right person when we become the right person. (p.144)
  • There’s an interesting fact about blaming oneself which explains why so many people are so willing to take it on. If one is at fault, then one can always do better. As long as one is responsible, one always has hope. (p.208)

What I Didn’t Like

Some of the approach gets a bit repetitive in trying to emphasize or illustrate certain points.

The Bottom Line

An excellent self-help resource.

Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe (1996) – BR00013 (2001) – 🐸🐸⚪⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
February 18 2001

Plot or Premise

A mixed-tone argument that you can be “addicted” to reading and owning books, with some examples of book hoarders from years-gone-by.

What I Liked

There are some really good “humour” lists, kind of like a Letterman top ten list for:

  • Moving when you have a lot of books;
  • A Biblioholic’s test (how big is your problem);
  • The snobbish Discovery Index (I knew the author when..);
  • Reading in restaurants;
  • Latin explanations of literary taste: “De gustibus non est disputandum” — Everyone to their own non-disputable tastes; and,
  • Ten Commandments for the Book Handler.

What I Didn’t Like

The author can’t seem to decide what the book is — a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek ode to book hoarders everywhere or a serious tome about an actual mental illness. The book starts out with a light-hearted look at those who feel an overwhelming urge to buy books i.e., “biblioholics”. By the end, however, he treats it like a real mental illness that requires awareness and treatment. Either approach could work, but bouncing between one and the other wears out really fast. Perhaps this would have been better as a collection of small articles for a small newspaper, and even then, in dire need of an editor to give it better focus and less repetition. But even in a series of newspaper articles, I suspect the reader would tire of the subject matter very quickly — the metaphor is dragged out far past its prime.

The Bottom Line

Well-researched but yawn.

Ruined by Reading: A life in books by Lynne Sharon Schwartz (1996) – BR00010 (2001) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
February 18 2001

Plot or Premise

Schwarz starts with a commentary by a Chinese scholar that some people are handicapped by reading too much, and not thinking enough about what they read. From there, she looks at the books she has read in her life and the role they have played. It is not a heavy analytical tone throughout, but rather a personal commentary on the books that have been important to her in her life, and the elements of her life that took place in and around books.

What I Liked

There are a number of sections that are quite well done, such as:

  • Emptying your mind for meditation vs. filling it up during a life spent reading (pg. 14);
  • On the un-importance of the authors vs. the impact of the words themselves (pg. 17);
  • A life spent reading (pg. 96);
  • Choices of reading material (pg. 107);
  • Ruined by reading (pg. 114); and,
  • On self (pg. 119).

What I Didn’t Like

Some of the sections could have benefited from a bit more analysis and historical context, not just the personal impact on her own life.

The Bottom Line

The tone was pleasant, but not a serious work.

Using HTML 4 (4th edition) by Lee Anne Phillips (1998) – BR00096 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
October 10 1999

Plot or Premise

Good resource, short on tutorials but long on information.

What I Liked

Good for syntax and great appendix sections.

What I Didn’t Like

Not quite as detailed as other books, and not much theory.

The Bottom Line

Good resource.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating an HTML 4 Web Page (3rd edition) by Paul McFedries (1997) – BR00095 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
October 10 1999

Plot or Premise

Good overview from beginning to end.

What I Liked

A bit dated at the point of reading (1999), with some of the “new features” old hat, and as well, some of the “old features” had changed. However, the approach is light, and easy to follow, from beginning to end, and what makes this such a great resource is the CD-ROM disk that comes with it, containing some great software and sample coding to save the tired typist.

What I Didn’t Like

n/a

The Bottom Line

Good overview.