November 2015 Independent Press Profiles
How- To, Self-Help and Inspirational
Don't
Put Your Crap in Your Kid's Diaper
Thomas Galiano
The Problem Was Me
9781508568285
www.theproblemwasme.com
Don't Put Your Crap in Your Kid's Diaper takes years of the author's work improving his parenting skills discusses how to build better self-awareness; and it's recommended for all kinds of parents who would learn how to better interact with their children.
The author's background lies in addiction and self-help therapy and thus he contrasts different parenting styles and their pros and cons, how to recognize and encourage healthy family intimacy, and how to understand the difference between rescuing children and supporting them.
Many of the concepts from addiction therapy translate well to improving parenting skills, while specific paths (from journaling to support groups) are recommended to support a parent's efforts.
The idea is to reduce or eliminate the damaging effect poor parenting skills can have upon children: Don't Put Your Crap in Your Kid's Diaper is clear and specific about these unintended results and how to mitigate them through a more conscious approach to parenting, and is recommended for all kinds of parents; from new parents to those who would analyze and revise their methodology.
Don't Put Your Crap in Your Kid's DiaperReturn to Index
Accounting
Dreams & Delusions
Kristen Rampe, CPA
Caper Artisanal Publishing
9780996461009 $15.99
www.kristenrampe.com
It's hard to easily categorize Accounting Dreams & Delusions: despite its serious-sounding title, it's directed to CPAs whose simple dreams of helping clients make their numbers match up too often leads to complicated situations.
This book blends a healthy dose of humor with an exploration of professional fantasies and sobering realities unique to accountants. From impossible promises on both sides to how accountants can take a fresh look at their jobs and clients, Accounting Dreams & Delusions provides a pointed, fun examination that uses admonitions and phrases paired with color photos to gather scenes from a typical accounting practice and offer wry observation and sage insights.
From attitude adjustments to nightmares and realities, it's a fun collection of expressions and insights meant to both lighten and enlighten an accountant's profession and day, and will make a wonderful gift for that accountant who needs more moments of levity on the job.
Email
Management Using Gmail
Ceri Clark
Lycan Books
1 Monet Crescent, Newport, NP19 7PP
978-1-909236-10-3
www.lycanbooks.com
www.amazon.com
As a confirmed Outlook email user who only has a gmail account for backup purposes, this reviewer can state that the two email programs are vastly different and, for those either new to gmail or used to other programs, gmail can be confusing. It would seem self-explanatory to say that setting up folders, rules, and email management routines are key to staying organized and successful; but the approaches used in other email programs often don't translate effectively because gmail offers the same opportunities under different names.
That's part of the reason why Email Management Using Gmail is recommended for any who want better understanding and control of their gmail accounts: this book explains both the process of organizing email and gmail-specific functions, making it a 'must' for those who would customize and tailor gmail to handle any degree of email volume.
The assumption is made that readers have a gmail account and rudimentary computer skills, plus a desire to fine-tune gmail to suit specific objectives.
Chapters delve into the basics of setting up and organizing a gmail account, from creating an address book and handling too-full inboxes to archiving emails, reducing document sizes, filtering, and dealing with spam.
Screen shots and step-by-step instructions accompany the directions on how to customize operations, while tips on getting organized and working with mobile devices offer specific answers to typical problems encountered along the way.
The screen shot examples are invaluable and leave nothing to wonder, while instructions are versatile enough to make Email Management Using Gmail a recommendation for gmail users with a varying degree of customization needs and computer skills.
Got gmail and want to get organized? Email Management Using Gmail offers the first step in the process of getting a handle on the email program's many opportunities.
How
to Boom B2B Sales
Carmit Yadin
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty
Drive,
Bloomington IN 47403
9781480812277
$11.99
www.archwaypublishing.com
www.carmityadin.com
How to Boom B2B Sales's author spent more than a decade in the high-tech industry, but didn't have a natural sales knack when she entered into a new role selling in a global market. She thus encountered many stumbling blocks in the road to an eventually-successful career. How to Boom B2B Sales covers these mistakes and is perfect for would-be sales professionals who are just starting out.
It analyzes the sales process and customer mentality, offers techniques for re-examining sales approaches, and provides solutions to common problems involved in networking, establishing client relationships, building trust, and following up on leads.
Advice is simply presented, well organized, and directed to B2B salespeople already operating in corporate worlds who want methods shared by the best experts in a readable, quick format that includes bullet points for major themes and plenty of examples.
This B2B business operator's manual assumes no prior knowledge but gets quickly to the point of how to make profitable decisions that lead to sales success.
The
Noticer's Guide to Living and Laughing
Margery Leveen Sher
DidYaNotice
9780990870708
$12.99
www.didyanotice.com
www.amazon.com
The Noticer's Guide To Living And Laughing: Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is a self-help book meant to encourage readers to notice more of the little things in life (and one of the things to note first is that the book's spine printing is backwards: either purposely designed to capture attention or a printing error.)
That possible snafu (or attention-grabber) aside, The Noticer's Guide To Living And Laughing is recommended reading for self-help readers who want the self-help part driven by the author's personal impressions, insights, and examples; not by dispassionate field research or studies. Those who eschew the personal approach should look elsewhere; but self-help readers who find their advice guides more palatable when laced with a healthy dose of writer opinions will welcome the refreshing vignettes and insights of Margery Leveen Sher.
One might expect a book on 'how to notice' would be simple to write or read; but given the ethereal nature of the finer art of noticing life in general, it's more about adjusting mindsets and inviting in the unexpected, however small, in life.
What are 'miracles' and what is 'boring'? What does it mean and take to 'seize the day'?
The author's reflections (some might say 'diatribes', but they all do lead somewhere) on television, passwords, clichés, personal possessions, and more ultimately creates the perfect guide on how to get more out of life. This is achieved by living more in the moment and viewing little things as possibly miraculous. The result is a powerful survey that looks like light autobiographical reading but actually contains the key to successful creative observation and living. Self-help readers looking for personal coverages will delight in Sher's whimsical and fun approach, while born cynics might eschew the book for the exactly same reasons.
Travel
From
Chicken Feet to Crystal Baths
Ian Mote
AuthorHouse
9781504903943 $26.95
www.authorhouse.com
Any potential sojourner to China should appreciate Ian Mote's observations of Chinese culture, which gathers stories from his journeys through the country and which comes from a British expat currently living in Shanghai.
This lends a depth of understanding about the Chinese culture and regions that could not have been captured by travelers that dip into the country for short periods and then leave. Chapters reflect the nation's diversity of peoples and approaches to life and excel in contrasting these differences through a series of travel vignettes that are fun, revealing, and insightful.
Mote's job as a business manager also adds many important business insights into the mix, making From Chicken Feet to Crystal Baths a top recommendation not just for travel readers; but for any who would better understand China's diverse cultures. It's the perfect take-along tote for those who plan an extended stay in the country, a business trip, or who just want a travelogue that blends rollicking fun stories with thought-provoking moments.
When
Life Cried Out
Paddy Fievet, PhD
Cloverhurst Publications
P.O. Box 5546, High Point NC 27262
9780990670605
$14.95
www.warwickassociates.com
When Life Cried Out: One Woman's Spiritual Quest to Be Fully Alive isn't a roadmap for success as much as an adventure memoir that blends autobiography with a spiritual quest resulting from divorce, panic attacks, and angst.
Plenty of books are written about following a spiritual path or gaining faith; but too few actually document the process through which this happens. Fievet's insights and clear account of this journey fills in where many other spiritual topics fail, focusing on the quest itself and how a woman used to following preset expectations diverges from her self-destructive course to undertake a seven-year-long journey and world travels.
From encounters with the Catholic Church's traditions to visions and their indicators, When Life Cried Out illustrates a modern pilgrimage at its best and is especially recommended for those interested in how the process of a spiritual journey intersects with the challenges, demands, and inconsistencies of modern living.
Science, Nature & Technology
Amphibian
Survey and Monitoring Handbook
John W. Wilkinson
Pelagic Publishing
9781784270032 $47.99 Paperback
www.pelagicpublishing.com
The Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook packs in data and insights about programs for monitoring one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates on the planet, and is a key resource for any working with amphibians who want specific survey techniques and examples of their applications.
More than a contrast of approaches, the Handbook covers the basics, from planning a survey to gathering data, applying analytic techniques, and writing up the results, and it includes supportive materials specifically designed for fieldwork and survey projects.
One surprise is the color photos peppered throughout, which provide images of both amphibians and surveyors at work. Another surprise is sidebars of information specific to successful results, from locating and handling amphibians to moving beyond survey reporting to apply field work results to GIS, taxonomic and other types of studies.
One might expect all this information would be quite technical and dense in nature, but the final surprise is that John W. Wilkinson requires little prior knowledge or experience of the reader and provides a wealth of technical information using simple, clear language and explanations backed by scientific processes.
No conservation, ecology, or amphibian science collection should be without this clear, accessible study.
Amphibian Survey and Monitoring HandbookReturn to Index