Colin Marks's Blog, page 17
December 29, 2016
Review: Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I came across Derek Sivers from the Tim Ferriss podcast. He gave a brilliant interview about a year ago where he talked about his start-up, CDBaby, and the decisions that allowed the company and himself to be successful (while defining what ‘successful’ means). Most of the information from that interview is contained within this book, some of the stories are pretty much word for word so I su...
December 27, 2016
Review: A Spool of Blue Thread
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
This is the third Anne Tyler book I’ve read, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all. Her themes are consistent – families appearing content hiding underlying problems that they themselves are unaware of. As always, the writing is sparse, the words not said mattering as much as those laid down on the page. Anne has said in interviews that this will be her last novel. The only consolati...
October 18, 2016
Review: Productivity for Creative People
Productivity for Creative People by Mark McGuinness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I suspect Mark McGuinness and Steven Pressfield are good friends. I discovered this free ebook from a link on Steven’s site, and Mark frequently references Steven’s acclaimed The War of Art in this book. Still, since you’re judged by your associates, this doesn’t harm either of them – both are talented and knowledgeable in the field of creativity.
This book is a quick read, a taster for Mark’s other publications and...
September 30, 2016
Review: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A fun book on the importance of clear punctuation – read it, or you might start a war…
September 27, 2016
Review: Author in Progress: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published
Author in Progress: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published by Therese Walsh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Writer Unboxed is a web-based community of writers, some traditionally published, some self-published while others write as a hobby, but everyone within the community wants to learn more about the craft and to share their experiences. I was sent an ARC of Author In Progress for an impartial review as I’m a member of that community. The thing is, though this is impart...
August 26, 2016
Review: Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It by Steven Pressfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received a PDF for Steven Pressfield’s “Nobody wants to read your …” as part of the launch marketing, and almost put it down immediately. It’s written like a cross between a journal and a James Patterson book (long chapters are 2-3 pages, many are as brief as a couple of lines), and written with a brain-dump kind of style that initially appears random and unconnected. When...
August 7, 2016
Review: 14th Deadly Sin
14th Deadly Sin by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The wife likes these books, she’s the target market – that CSI loving, police drama tv loving market. Sales are high, these guest-written Patterson books fill the top sellers lists, but they’re to crime what Mills&Boon are to romance – accessible and undemanding. The writing is awful, the plots are flimsy, yet they’re fast moving and written in the style of a daytime soap – addictive to the target audience. I would give this 2 stars...
August 3, 2016
Review: The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve been reading Neil Gaiman’s work for over a quarter of a century, making me feel far older than I feel. From his Sandman days, through other DC projects like Black Orchid (Dave McKean’s original artwork of the final page hangs in my hall) onto his liason with Terry Pratchett, his podcasts and graduation speeches. He is a unique talent, a master story teller for adults and children alike, someone keen to share his skill of the cra...
August 2, 2016
Review: Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity
Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a short read, a collection of essays from the past four decades, in the style Stephen King’s On Writing – autobiographical with a few morsels of advice on creativity thrown in.
Review: The Last One
The Last One by Alexandra Oliva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
There’s not many books, especially debuts, where within the first few pages the quality, the craftsmanship, the attention to detail, makes you realise you’re reading something special. Oliva’s The Last One falls squarely into that category. From the moment Zoo’s voice entered my head in the second section, I was hooked, racing through the book in just a couple of days. Comparisons, not...
