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OKChoose Joy!
Some aspects of this book are great. It is a real discussion of habit, and techniques to change it. The anecdotes get extremely annoying. The author jumps from one story, to another, and then back again. It lacks a summary of the main point of each chapter, which would really help drive things home.
In one chapter I listened to a discussion of brain surgery and a a blow by blow detail of a big surgical error. This story was then displayed as an example of negative habits.
That sounds OK in theory, but it took the author twenty minutes to get to the point. I felt like most of the meaning of the book got buried in the examples, and there was no clarification on the meat of the information.
It's narrated well.
I will listen to this over and over. There is so much good, concrete information here. Techniques, explanations, how-to's, etc. It's much better than I even hoped it would be. I have already gotten along better with the new people I am meeting thanks to the guidelines in this book. I'm so very glad I bought it. It's going to be a treasured title in my audio library.
I've already listened to this three times, and I will undoubtedly listen to it again. One of four essential writing guides, and the best of the four. In fact, it's the best one I've ever read.
Ever.
You may also want "Steal this Plot", "The Power of Point of View" and "Writer's Guide to Character Traits". If you are interested in writing in the romance genre, then "How to Write Romances" by Phyllis T. Pianka is also veryworthwhile.
Unfortunately, that's about it as far as actual techniques and discussion of the craft of writing. Everything else I've seen has been a popular discussion for folks who do not write and who are clueless about the publishing process. If you are a writer who wants to learn how to improve your writing with concrete techniques, this is the book for you.
I'm a lawyer and mediator. I represent businesses in disputes with their insurers and in other complex litigation. I also assist machinery companies and manufacturers (primarily international) with equipment sales, non-disclosure agreements, and business issues. I also mediate commercial disputes.
This is a great book on principled negotiation. As a lawyer and mediator, the concepts in this book were not new to me, but the book puts things together in a very organized and easily understood package. I will certainly be recommending it to some of my clients.
If there is one thing that detracts from the book, it is that many of the examples remain dated. I am afraid that, to a younger listener, the book might seem somewhat obsolete. Of course, that is not true at all -- the concepts and principles, which are actually rather new in the grand scheme of things -- remain very valid.
Perhaps this would not have jumped out to me except for the fact that the authors make the point at the beginning that this is a revised and updated edition of a classic. Revised, maybe. Updated? Not so much.
Still, the book contains many timeless and valuable lessons.