Book Review

T is for Transformation| Book Review

Pages: 272
Published: November 7, 2017
Publisher: Rodale

T is for Transformation by Shaun T.
Synopsis:

“Your mind is a sledgehammer. Swing it!”

(Shaun T, pg. 20, 2017)

In T is for Transformation, Shaun T unveils the 7 transformational principles that guided his progress through life and that are at the core of his incredibly successful workouts. T is for Transformation is a motivational master class as Shaun shows you how to become more flexible and resourceful, give everything you’ve got, and, most importantly, trust and believe in your path to success. The only real obstacles in life are the mental ones, and T is for Transformation can train you to achieve astonishing results in your own life, just as Shaun T has in his. (Goodreads)

Review:

My rating: 5 of 5 stars!
“And another one, and another and another one bites the dust ” – Queen

I love Shaun T. I can remember the first time I saw an insanity infomercial and I knew that I needed to be doing this program. And that’s what I did all throughout high school and was in the best shape of my life.

So, when I heard that this man came out with a book I was on the quick train to pick it up at the bookstore. His writing mirrored a lot of the things that he says to you during a workout. “Trust and Believe” and “Dig Deeper”. But, those words not only have the context to me that I can push myself through a difficult workout, but I can push myself through life.

I read this book at the right time in my life, and I highlighted all my favorite quotes. This book makes you want to get up and get going and try to do all the difficult things that you have not done because of the little voice in your head thats telling you to doubt yourself.

Personally, I think that this book is a great read for athletes and performers. Shaun T, gets his roots as a dancer. It shows the difficulty of auditioning, injuries and life in L.a. as a performer. But, the powerful thing about this book is that no matter how many time Shaun was knocked down, he was passionate in what he was doing that nothing was going to stop him from getting up and going for his dreams.

There are a few trigger warnings such as child abuse, and rape.

This book also contains LGBTQ+ content.

I think this book is remarkable. I think it teaches a lot about tolerance, peoples differences, and acceptance. Throughout the book, Shaun shares his “Truthbombs” with the reader which are lessons that he has learned about the hardest times in his life. These truth bombs are followed by superpowers, and man those superpowers have the ability for you to feel amazing. Each of us has superpowers, and knowing how to unlock those superpowers is so powerful. I think the mind-shift that develops through this book really helps in unlocking those superpowers.

There is no quick fix to fixing your life, or fixing your body. Shaun, tells each one of his readers that they themselves and only themselves are in charge of the choices that they make every single day. Even those small choices that seem insignificant can play a big role in getting you closer to your dreams. My take away from this book is; show up every single day no matter how difficult it may seem because each little step is a step into the direction of your goals.

Half the game is showing up.

This book is an inspiration but it also gives you a glimpse into the life of Shaun T, and what events that have occurred in his life to make him the person he is today. Amazing would be a great way to sum it up.



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Book Review

Girl Who Played with Fire | Review

Pages: 630
Published: March, 2010
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard

Synopsis:

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.
(back cover) Goodreads

Review:

It had been a long time since the first time that I visited the world of Lisabeth Salander. Her world does not disappoint. I enjoyed the second installment of “the millennium” series. The book starts with a series of murders of which Lisabeth is being accused of. Our main character Mikael Blomkvist, is determined to prove Lisabeth’s innocence. 

This book gives a better glimpse into who Lisabeth is. Essentially, all of Sweden thinks she is guiltily but there is only one person who believes her innocence and is willing to go to hell and back to prove it.

It was interesting to see how even through the strained relationship that Blomkvist and Salander had throughout the book, he never stopped believing that she was innocent. He didn’t have much proof but, he knew her character. He had so much faith in her innocences that he stopped at nothing to prove it to be true. 

The story is connected with past events that begin to show why Lisabeth is the way she is. Everyone is portraying her as a nutcase but is she really or is someone trying to cover up their wrong doings? 

The second half of the book is extremely fast paced, as the mystery of the murders is being resolved. I personally loved Lisabeth’s character. I think that she is so strong, for how many events occurred to her that were not part of her doing . I also liked that her character was not seen to be painted in angelic form. She had a lot of flaws, but she never tried to pretend that she didn’t. 

This is a slow burn book- the events take time to occur and in the meantime the author gives little glimpse of our protagonist. There are a lot of side characters, who provide a lot background information to our main characters. At first I felt like there was way too much information about them but once you hit the resolution of the book it is so worth having all the side characters and story lines. Every single character in this book plays a role in making the story come together at the end. 

I love thriller novels, this one did not disappoint. The slow burn was very much worth it. The time that I spent reading this book, made me feel as if I was in Sweden. It was extremely nice to escape reality with this story, even though the content did have heavy based material such as rape, abuse, and prostitution. I thought it was written in a way that supported the novel and gave the reader a backstory to the events that occurred in the book. It was written in a very classy way. The ending was everything that I wanted and more. The book resolved so well. I can’t wait to read the next installment. 

Rest In Peace Mr. Larsson! ❤️

#booktube · Monthly TBR

TBR|February 2018

Hey Bibliomanics,

Happy February!! I hope you are starting this month refreshed and motivated. This month I decided due to burying my head in textbooks, digging large holes and hiding in them away from the madness that is school. I would set a few reading goals.

My TBR pile has 3 books on it.  Who am I even kidding? This month’s TBR, is showcasing 3 of the books that I plan for sure reading this month. I am keeping my TBR’s smaller this year because I want to be able to accomplish more by setting goals as I go. Already I have strayed away from the books featured in this video.

I picked up “The house on Mango Street” last night from the library and I plan to be reading it on the go because the chapters are so short.

The other 3 books I would like to read this month are:

IT By Stephen King, I know what you are thinking. “Marina, weren’t you reading this in 2017?” Why, yes I was. I am continuing on with the journey and absolutely enjoying it. It is just not a book I prefer to read on the go, as I really like getting into the story and feeling like I am part of the story rather than just reading it on the go.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher I mainly want to read this because of the NETFLIX series. I want to watch the series, but I try not to watch film adaptions until after I read the book with the exceptions of “Game of Thrones”, “IT”, and “Outlander”. I got “13 Reasons Why”, on audio and hope to be able to listen to it this month.

And last but not least, is Gemina by Amiee Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This is the sequel to the space opera Illuminae. I read Illuminae, last month and although I enjoyed the ending I didn’t care too much for the entire story. I am giving it another try this month. I was thinking of listening to the audio book for this as well. But, due to the format of the book I may just check it out of the library.

There are sooo many books, but where is the time????

With Warm Cups of Tea and Just a Few More Chapters,

Rina