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Frumpy to Fabulous: Flaunting It - Your Ultimate Guide to Effortless Style (Revised Edition) by Natalie Jobity

2/15/2018

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Genre: Self-Help
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All women (and men) want to look fabulous, and imaging consultant Natalie Jobity’s book, Frumpy to Fabulous: Flaunting It - Your Ultimate Guide to Effortless Style is a road map for those of us who aren’t sure how to achieve that fabulous appearance.  Her writing style is easy, and she pulls her readers in by asking questions that make them think.

I spend a great deal of time in my closet complaining that I have nothing to wear. Before me lies a myriad of shirts, skirts, dresses, etc, yet nothing seems to go together. Obviously I am not alone, and Jobity decided to capitalize (in a good way) on our weaknesses. Instead of assuming that her readers all have unlimited funds, she tells us how to save money. If you shop smartly, you can buy one piece, match it with something in your closet, and suddenly you look “fabulous.”

I love the part that tells us to “learn to love the skin we are in.” We all have positive and negative attributes, and if we focus on the negative the mirror becomes our enemy. According to this book, we average seeing our reflection at least 55 times a day. If we hate what me see that becomes pretty demoralizing. Jobity explains how we can flaunt what we never realized we had, rather than hiding everything under baggy clothing.

There are segments on accessorizing, dressing for various occasions and being the best we can be. She goes over the six basic body shapes and how we should dress for the shape we carry. She gives us examples of celebrities with our shape and anecdotes about other women who embraced their type and improved their look.
Dress to look taller or slimmer and feel beautiful instead of frumpy.

I had fun reading through this book and went on a mini shopping spree. I purchased a few shirts to go with my older skirts, and suddenly had two newish outfits. I am belt hunting now, hoping to dress up my denim. While I didn’t learn anything startlingly new, the hints are helpful, and hopefully will contribute to a fabulous new me.

- Beverly
​

Publisher - Elan Image Management, LLC
Date of Publication - ​November 27, 2013
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive  Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

9/21/2017

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Genre:  Non-Fiction
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Mark Manson is a thirty-three year old blogger who travels the world and blogs exactly what is on his mind at any given time.  He is both irreverent and seemingly honest in his shared blogs, and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life is an extension of those blogs.

Manson begins with a story about an alcoholic writer who is wildly unsuccessful during most of his life.  When offered a break at fifty years of age, he finds a bit of success but never feels like a winner.  The author goes on to criticize the constant barrage of life lessons that we receive stressing the importance of positive thinking.

He believes that some people get things and some don't, and it is rarely "fair."  He says that the old adage about making lemonade out of the lemons we are handed is useless, and instead he feels we should learn to like lemons.  We need to accept that we all have limitations, sort of the "Peter Principle" of life, and make the best of what we can do.

When you think about it, this (very) young man might need a few more life experiences to gain a true perspective, but a great deal of what he says holds merit.  We all chase that elusive butterfly and sometimes miss the pretty one that is circling our flower garden every day.  Vulgar language aside, this author does share some pearls of wisdom we all might want to heed.  He writes with humor and intelligence, and I ended up agreeing with him much more than I believed I ever could.

- Beverly


Publisher - HarperOne 
Date of Publication - September 13, 2016
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Confidence: How to Overcome Your Limiting Beliefs and Achieve Your Goals by Martin Meadows

7/27/2017

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Genre: Self-Help
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New Self-improvement books seem to pop-up on shelves daily, and there seems to be just as many people anxious to read them.  We are a society filled with people who want to improve.  This desire drives us to find the magic button that will turn our dreams into reality.  After all, a famous Walt Disney quote tells us, "If you can dream it, you can do it," so shouldn't we able to dream our goals into realities?

Although I am not a fan of most of these types of books, I do believe that there is a place for them on many a book shelf.  Martin Meadows' book, Confidence: How to Overcome Your Limiting Beliefs and Achieve Your Goals, can be summed up in his often used term, self-efficacy.  He explains that it is the strength in your beliefs of your ability to complete a task.


In other words, if you think that you can do something it is much more likely that you will accomplish that task.  It seems a simple concept, but self-efficacy is wrapped up in a lifetime of success and failures that made us what we are today.  Although self-confidence is needed, not all confident people display self-efficacy in every task.  

Since I noticed many years ago that the more I believed in myself the more I achieved, I decided to read this book for tips on how to strengthen that aspect of my personality.  It is a clearly written book, filled with lists that delineate how to reach our individual goals.  While the concepts are basic, sometimes we need things spelled out for us, and Meadows takes us by the hand and leads us to our most important goal...believing that we can accomplish what we set out to do.

While I did know much of what the author explained, he definitely shared hints that I will use in attempting to accomplish my goals.  This is a short book, and I recommend it as a confidence booster.  After all, who among us doesn't need to feel that we are invincible some of the time?
​

- Beverly


Publisher - Meadows Publishing
Date of Publication - ​April 7, 2015
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The Happiness Project (Revised Edition): Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun  by Gretchen Rubin

6/9/2017

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Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help
​Click book cover for Amazon.com
Everyone wants to be happy, and Gretchen Rubin decided to make a project of it.  She shares her experience in her book, The Happiness Project (Revised Edition): Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. 

One day, while riding on a bus, she came to the realization that happiness was important and attainable when one puts his or her mind to it.  She didn't want to wake up one day, think back on her happiest days and realize that she never fully appreciated them.  She decided to spend a year working towards...and achieving...attainable goals in the various areas of her life.

Many of her goals were relatable to me, and her methods of achieving them were methods many of us attempt throughout our lives.  Exercising more, becoming  more organized, and enjoying our lives are several obvious steps to take, and Rubin embraced them.  She also did research and shared many great ideas with her readers. Her style of writing is easy and filled with humor.  She is not afraid to laugh at herself, and that helps us smile at our own short comings.

There are a great deal of self-help books filling bookstore shelves today, and I find many of them boring or self-serving.  Gretchen Rubin doesn't try to hide who she is (wealthy and somewhat privileged), and her book is better for it.  Some of her hints are useful, and this is a fun book that may just add to your happiness.

- Beverly 


Publisher -  Harper Paperbacks; Revised ed. edition 
Date of Publication - December 29, 2015
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