book review | The 50th Law by 50 cent and Robert Greene

Author: 50 Cent; Robert Greene
Title: The 50th Law
Series: –
Genre: Self-Help; Philosophy
Pages: 291
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

Now here’s a book I never thought I’d read. “The 50th Law” by 50 cent, yes, the rapper, and author Robert Greene. And interesting piece on personal development.

About the Book: A biographical book of Curtis Jackson, better known by his scene name – 50 cent, describing his journey to success. From ruthless streets to ruthless music industry, where he had to learn not only to go with the flow, but swim against it too, to stay on top of that pulse of relevancy. And with the help of Robert Greene, he tells exactly how he did it.

My Opinion: I don’t really like 50 cent, not his music, not his public persona, that’s why I’m still confused at how I got this book in the first place. Generally this is an interesting book, one of those motivational ones, but with cold leads and prodding, applying classic philosophy and art of war onto the streets of today. As, in a sense, are all Robert Greene books.

This makes for an interesting biography. A 4 out of 5.

book review | You will get through this night by Daniel Howell

Author: Daniel Howell
Title: You Will Get Through This Night
Series: –
Genre: Nonfiction; Self-Help
Pages: 320
Rate: 5/5 | Goodreads

I used to watch Daniel Howell on YouTube way back when, but then, for some reason, stopped. Still, I kept up with the majors, like his coming out video that I will post below. And now I’ve also read his wonderful book, called “You Will Get Through This Night“.

About the Book: This book is pretty much all you need for your mental health first aid kid. From cheating and playing your own system, to being better to yourself. From self care at its core, so self grounding when that overthinking thought-thought train derails.

My Opinion: This is like the best parts of all the self-help books I’ve ever read. On top of that, author assures he did his consultation and research, but encourages to seek help if it seems like it’s not enough. There’s little exercises you can totally skip if it gets overwhelming, and very relatable examples from Dan’s life.

I recommend this very much. A 5 out of 5.

book review | The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins

Author: Richard Dawkins
Title: The Magic of Reality
Series: –
Genre: Science; Philosophy
Pages: 271
Rate: 5/5 | Goodreads

“The Magic of Reality” by Richard Dawkins is an amazing book. Just what I needed for the weekend.

About the Book: With great passion author tells us how magical our reality is. And how unfair it is to call things we don’t understand – supernatural. That sort of implies it cannot be explained and creates a dead end for progress. Instead, he tells us myths that explained earthquakes and rainbows and what they really are. Tells us how we know there are planets out there, and how we found out that Earth isn’t, in fact, flat or at the center of the universe. Author tells us, in short, that the very fact we are here, made out of stardust, is magic itself, even if we know the science behind it.

My Opinion: A very interesting and very engaging book. Went from cover to cover in one sitting and regret nothing. There’s some science, not too much, with author very willingly admitting to the things he doesn’t know, understand, and therefor – cannot explain to us. The rest is just beautiful bunch of pointing in awe, look at this, look at that, do you know what ancient people called this? The only con I have got downgraded at the end. Author seemed to be very condescending towards people with different beliefs. But by the end of the book I realized that it is because he feels like it devalues otherwise a priceless phenomena.

Even though I believe some things can be said with a little more manners, I’ll give this book a 5 out of 5 nonetheless.

book review | Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

Author: Carlo Rovelli
Title: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Series: –
Genre: Physics; Science
Pages: 81
Rate: 5/5 | Goodreads

Never thought I’ll describe a book on physics lovely, but… “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics” by Carlo Rovelli was a lovely read.

About the Book: The book describes the birth of seven discoveries in physics. From general relativity and what else it triggered, to black holes, dark matter, and the beauty of our universe. Our part within it, and the future we might witness.

My Opinion: It’s very well written for someone like me, who isn’t versed in physics. Author’s love for the subject (or the whole seven of them) shines out of every page. A pleasure to read.

Time well spent. 5 out of 5.

book review | Apollo 1: The Inside Story by David Whitehouse

Author: David Whitehouse
Title: Apollo 11: The Inside Story
Series: –
Genre: History; Science
Pages: 320
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

Somehow I have quite a few books on Apollo missions. Among which was “Apollo 11: The Inside Story” by David Whitehouse. A tale of the great space race to reach the moon.

About the Book: Author David Whitehouse has collected the tales of all the key players and put together a story of tension, rivalry, drama, and tragedies. From pioneers, to satellites, to rovers. The path to success, to the moon, is splattered with sweat, tears, and blood.

My Opinion: There’s quite a bit of tech stuff, but nothing’s too big or too serious. Worst is the dark side of the human beings. With rivalry unfolding there were true tragedies. And then once the goal got achieved, heroes got forgotten, in a sense, their troubles – no longer interesting. Kind of makes you wonder why we try so hard.

If you enjoy the moon landing tales, then go for it. A 4 out of 5.

book review | The Mastermind by Evan Ratliff

Author: Evan Ratliff
Title: The Mastermind
Series: –
Genre: True Crime; Biography
Pages: 480
Rate: 4/5 | goodreads

Ah, criminal masterminds. Whenever I read books like “The Mastermind” by Evan Ratliff, I can’t help but hope a biography of someone like Andrew Scott’s Jim Moriarty.

About the Book: Evan Ratliff has spent a decade on the case of a black web of crime, drugs, murder and games with the law. He contacted all he could, from family, to passerby’s, from goons, to lieutenants. Picking up information wherever he could, refusing to leave any stone unturned, putting together a true story of a criminal empire that began with selling prescription drugs online. And its ruler, Paul Le Roux.

My Opinion: It’s so very well written, you can definitely tell author has put a lot of heart into this. The story itself, well told, was interesting enough too. One of those “rise and fall” kind of tales, and a real one to that.

A good, solid book. Firm 4 out of 5.

book review | High: Drugs, Desire and a Nation of Users by Ingrid Walker

Author: Ingrid Walker
Title: High: Drugs, Desire, and a Nation of Users
Series: –
Genre: Culture; Nonfiction
Pages: 240
Rate: 3/5 | Goodreads

While fairly informative and interesting, “High: Drugs, Desire, and a Nation of Users” by Ingrid Walker is an extremely dull read.

About the Book: Why are some substances – severely punished, and others you can obtain via prescription, a request, in the pharmacy or just the grocery store? Why is social drinking – normal, even encouraged behavior, while pot for social anxiety is stigmatized? What’s the difference between drug users and abusers? All this and many more questions are being contemplated in this book via data, statistics, personal experiences and testimonies of others.

My Opinion: A hard and dull read. Interesting testimonies, fair amount of information, thought provoking hypotheses on the whole war on drugs, stigma, and the double standards in it. But a poor approach that made this book a chore.

3 out of 5, not bad, but wouldn’t waste my weekend on it per say.

book review | The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

Author: Hal Elrod
Title: The Miracle Morning
Series: –
Genre: Self-Help; Inspirational
Pages: 172
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

I will make a dent in my tbr, I will. Finished another dusty short little thing, “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. It’s good for what it is.

About the Book: Facing obstacles in life many of us stop. We stop and wait for a better day. We stop and wait for more time. We stop and wait for the motivation. But truth is, nothing’s just going to happen if nothing’s being done. This here book is more or less a little condensed guide of how author, and in return you too, can make motivation at home.

My Opinion: There’s three deadly sins in this book. First, it starts by telling me about what it will tell me about. Second, there’s a lot of those “go to this website, get this, download that, purchase other thing (never a mandatory thing, so that’s a plus), tell your friends about it“. And third, it tells me to act like the person I want to be, and then contradicts this by telling me to get up early! Admittedly, later author assures us all that no, in fact, you don’t have to if your conditions truly go against it, as much as 6 minutes or just a little bit earlier than your normal would suffice. And in general, I enjoyed the book, because it was like a condensed version of several others I read. It makes me think this would be a very good starter book.

Props to the man. And if you won’t like this book, likely one of your parents will, I know that’s the case in my family. Or maybe you’ll rediscover the early-riser-self. It gets a 4 out of 5 from me, and yes, I guess I can wake up a LITTLE bit earlier…

book review | Mythology: Aztec, Inca, Inuit, and Polynesian myths by Kelly Mass

Author: Kelly Mass
Title: Mythology: Aztec, Inca, Inuit, and Polynesian myths
Series: –
Genre: Mythology; History
Pages: 128
Rate: 5/5 | Goodreads

There we go, a truly captivating book. Finished “Mythology: Aztec, Inca, Inuit, and Polynesian myths” by Kelly Mass in one sitting, and then skimmed it for notes again.

About the Book: A very interesting book on Aztec, Inca, Inuit and Polynesian myths and beliefs. Plenty, but not overbearing, explanations and an outline on falsehoods. Short but solid.

My Opinion: I didn’t know even the quarter of the things in this book. It was very, very interesting and informative. Though I would recommend picking up a text book (paper or ebook) right away, since I only did so half-way through. It’s impossible to take notes from audio, as was proved by google not getting what I’m searching for the first two times.

Time very well spent. Solid 5 out of 5.

Instagram | KoFi

book review | The Lufthansa Heist by Henry Hill and Daniel Simone

Author: Henry Hill and Daniel Simone
Title: The Lufthansa Heist
Series: –
Genre: True Crime; Biography
Pages: 384
Rate: 2/5 | Goodreads

Right. I’ve finished “The Lufthansa Heist” by Henry Hill and Daniel Simone. Henry Hill’s biographical retelling of the notorious heist. And I am very, very tired because of it.

About the Book: A heist you’ll be familiar with if you watched the Goodfellas, told by one of the organizers – Henry Hill. It starts at the need for such a heist, such a job, and goes through all of the phases of making such a grand job – successful. Up until the riches they didn’t even realize they stole erupt in murderous chaos…

My Opinion: The fun part ends as soon as it begins, leaving us with more than half a book of back-and-forth with the law, arrests and releases, the who slept with whom and what “that broad” was like.

It’s sad to say that a book of a heist like this is dull, but here I am. A 2 out of 5.