Power of Broke Anyone?

Books & Greetings Book Store

Have you read the Power of Broke yet?

If not, see my book review below.

The book is amazing.

And who knows?

You may be able to attend a booksigning

With Mr. Daymond John.

'Til Death Do Us Part

Sequel to A Little Bit of Honey displayed below

'Til Death Do Us Part

Received 4 out of 5 stars

Review:

I was intrigued from the moment that I started reading the book. At first in reading the book, I did not know what to expect. My hope was to gain knowledge about relationships and also the New Jersey area. In being a native of another state, I immediately thought "This would be a great opportunity to finding out new and exciting places in New Jersey, seeing the setting was in New Jersey. 

Not only did the author provide me with places to possibly go in New Jersey, hopefully not fictitious places, but delivered a great writing style. Hey words flowed together to the point that I wanted to read the book when I woke up each morning, at lunch time, during down time, and when I went to sleep at night. 

The material in the book was very realistic and had the possibility of being true. During some of the points in the book I asked myself how the main character could have such a breakdown in communication with her husband of four years that it could possibly jeopardize their marriage. After thinking about this, I then started to think about reality. So many things similar to what was displayed in the book happen in every day life. People are married for years and then something small or insignificant occurs, causing a change in feelings and the way things occur.

I believe what the author was trying to display in this book is that communication is the key to friendships, work relationships, and even marriages. Without communication there is a breakdown of various structures that have the ability to be great, but become mediocre without it. 

Book preceded 'Til Death Do Us Part

The Potential To Be Great

Picture found on Amazon.com

Element of Freedom
Received 3 out of 5 Stars

Review:
O'nika Barnette's book, Element of freedom, has the potential to be great. In the book, she wrote about things that could inspire others, such as: Not being a victim anymore, being strong and motherly like a black queen, and rising above all the chaos and "ashes." These were relatable topics, especially the topic regarding rising above everything. Something I had hoped for in reading the book was what I call the art of pulling people emotionally into the poems. I wanted to feel like I was a black queen, exerting my motherly instincts to protect my kingdom in every possible way; I wanted to rise above the ashes as if "I Rise" was a modern day rendition of Maya Angelou's poem "Still I rise" with a James Weldon Johnson "Lift every voice and sing" feel to it; I also wanted to show my transition of not being a victim anymore.

O'Nika did show an ability to make comparisons or relate objects to each other; however her message would have been more heartfelt if she had created an emotional connection to the readers and her words were arranged in a way that would also create the same connection.

I look forward in reading other works by O'nika and seeing her transition as a poet.

Eclectic Pieces that Enlighten the Soul

Picture found on Amazon.com

Science of Love: Poems by Attar, Saadi, and Hafez
Translated by: M. Rohi
Received 5 out of 5 stars

Review:
When I read the beginning of Science of Love Translated by M. Rohi, I immediately asked myself if I was reading poetry. I was a little caught off guard by the content in the beginning that resembled short stories or even unknown quoted proverbs. As I read each story and thought a little harder, I said why can’t it be poetry? The pieces spoke to me like a Dalai Lama instructing his students, like Mahatma Gandhi freeing the minds of his faithful followers, and like Confucius spewing powerful proverbs to make the most intelligent person in the world stop to think. Take for instance, “When Majnoon is Laily and Laily Majoon.” Majoon said:

What is it you ask how much do I love, now we have passed that, Majnoon is Laily and Laily is Majnoon, dualism is gone between us, all there is left is Laily, Majnoon is on the shore free from deficiency of being two. 

 I took Majnoon’s response as he and Laily were one and that their spirits had connected to the point of monism. This monism view of their spirits also seemed to take place in many parts of the book as many different religions were discussed. In being somewhat familiar with different religions, it seemed as though religions or people were discussed with relational ties to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, as well as other religions. It was like a book that had an Omnist view on religions. Matter of fact, I honestly thought I was reading biblical stories with short poetic-insights at the end of each story.

 I definitely recommend this book those who want to be enlightened in think in a whole new light.

A Wonderful Collection that Speaks Volumes

Picture found on Amazon.com

Collection of Poetry and Prose
Received 4 out of 5 stars

Review:
Evan Shaw’s desire to enlighten the world with his internal treasures is truly exemplified in his first book, Collection of Poetry and Prose. In the beginning of the book, I was a little undecided of where Mr. Shaw’s poetic voice would display his zeal.  I was made fully aware of his voice in the piece called “The New Atlantis.” Although the premise of “The New Atlantis” overlaps with the ideas and works of Plato, the ideas within the work were very inspirational. I was intrigued by the tour guides in the piece explaining that “Education is very important to us here… we focus on cultivating student’s passions.” This notation and Mr. Shaw’s thoughts about America’s current educational system, reminded me of reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Within the book, Mr. Kiyosaki discussed how managing one’s finance was not always taught in schools or homes. I recognized this as being the same aspect that Mr. Shaw was trying to illustrate in his discussion about developing one’s passion at school.

Mr. Shaw continued to impress me with his writing as his work revealed his respect and openness about various cultures (Indian, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, etc.). He spoke of Gautama Buddha,” the Great Sphinx of Giza, Sophocles, Lao Tzu, and more. One of my favorite pieces in his book was called “The School of Life.” He starts off by saying that “The world is a great classroom.” This very quote reminded me of something I generally say to help encourage others; life is the best teacher. This means that we do not always know where life will lead us and that sometimes our experience in life shows us the best path to take. The piece ended with such clear direction; “As Jesus said, ‘build your house on a rock,’ develop a solid foundation – a strong character. Then all else will be added.”

I recommend this book as a good read with similar insightfulness as Napolean Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich. Mr. Shaw’s collection will prepare you for the journey of developing your mind in a way, which will attract success and like forces.