Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Guerilla Math: 5 rules you can use in your head to help you get rich, retire, and pay off your debt by Nicholas Jacobi

How much money will you have when you retire? What should you save every month? Is that new mortgage really worth it? You can answer all these questions in your head, no calculator needed, while you’re sitting across the desk from a supposed “expert.” The rules of thumb in this book will let you estimate how much your investments will grow, how long it will take to pay off your debt, and how close you are to saving up for your golden years. Designed to change your life this short book will teach you how to project your money, your future, your life in five rules, and give you some case studies from the financial world’s successes and crises.

Title: Guerilla Math: 5 rules you can use in your head to help you get rich, retire, and pay off your debt

Author: Nicholas Jacobi

Pages: 102

My review

Guerilla math by Nick Jacobi is a book about a few common mathematical patterns we can use in our daily life. It is our natural tendency to look for patterns everywhere. If there isn’t any, we usually make them. But some of these patterns have life-changing arc around them.
This book was a true eye-opener for me. I was not fond of mathematics while growing up. I started to realize its importance and easiness later in my life. For me, mathematics was always a tool for arithmetic calculations in day-to-day life, nothing more. But this book changed my whole perspective about mathematics. Through this book, the author illustrates how simple mathematical patterns can help us to estimate our financial situations. As an adult, I’m always keen to learn more about financial management. But I never thought that, mathematics has this much effect on this subject.

One of the best features of this book is the author’s honest attempt to simplify complex patterns to layman’s terms. He has explained them using practical situations, simple examples and real-life experiences. My biggest takeaway from this book is, we should realize the potential of mathematics in driving this world before indulging in any kind of investment schemes or planning.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

MANUFACTURING Criminals : A Closer Look at Cops, DAs, & Judges by Kevin McBride

We take a look at what’s really happening in the courts and on the streets. Our citizens are the product as the System runs them thru the manufacturing plant. This book will talk about Police Misconduct, and Cover-ups. Inside the courts and who’s running it. What role does the Prosecutor have? This quick 100 page read will show you what’s wrong with the Criminal Justice system, and then share ideas on how to fix it. Many undisclosed in today’s mainstream society. Police Reform, Judicial reform? Kevin has the answers. He also shares his stories of his false arrest that led to the writing of this book in conjunction with the protests around the country. Why did they riot, loot, and damage? The root issues are here. His take on BLM. His take on Law Enforcement. His take on today’s Judges. All Inside Manufacturing Criminals.

Title: MANUFACTURING Criminals : A Closer Look at Cops, DAs, & Judges

Author: Kevin McBride

Pages:103

My review

How media is controlling our mindset? We don’t have any original thoughts. We are just paraphrasing things that have been fed to our minds through electronic gadgets. They spread their propaganda like a wildfire. Within no time, we became their machine to carry on that propaganda. We learn to normalize violence. We learn to ignore police brutality. Because we only hear one side of a story. The media only deliver what they want to propagate. We will never know the truth. Through this book, the author is trying to uncover the truth behind police, DAs, judges, and the whole law enforcement system.

This was truly an eye-opener for me. These words will pierce our brains. This will make you think and question our system.
The author explains how he got arrested three times as wrongly accused. His experience will teach you one thing-how the law enforcement officers can manipulate every law in this country within seconds. It was quite shocking to know how easily they can frame anyone. On the other side, these wrongful accusations affect the victims on a larger scale. They may lose their job, career, and their credibility. The impact on their mental health will be immeasurable.
This shocking account uncovers every unlawful activity and the true face of our system. A must-read.

Rating:5/5

Purchase here: Amazon.com Amazon.in

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

The Official Depression Relief Playbook by Zack S. Rutledge | Book review

In The Official Depression Relief Playbook, Zack S. Rutledge takes his years of battling anxiety and depression and presents the top-tier lessons on how to overcome the suffering.
Borne out of experience, this book details the effects of conventional, non-conventional, and unexpected treatments. Providing a “D-Day approach” to battling this incessant affliction, it provides a defined action plan which attacks depression and anxiety on the physical, mental, and emotional levels.
Simple, actionable, and concise, The Official Depression Relief Playbook will save you years of struggle and provides you with a shortcut to the life you deserve.
This book is truly an insider’s look on depression, and how to beat it.

Title: The Official Depression Relief Playbook

Author: Zack S. Rutledge

Pages: 39

My review

Depression builds a very thick, dark barrier in our minds. It will tie our thoughts around this formidable barrier. Breaking this barrier is an almost impossible feat. But we can overcome everything through the right guidance. This book gives that much-needed insider’s view of this battle. The author himself has gone through the levels of depression and he bravely fought off his demons. He draws inspiration from his own experiences. This firsthand account is very relatable and realistic in every bit.

Though this book, the author introduces a unique approach to tackle depression. We have to start small, one step at a time to a better tomorrow. This systematic guide touches every level of wellbeing. The author gives equal importance to the physical and mental health. Because they couldn’t exist without other. It is important to understand our physical body before we understand our mind. The healing should be inclusive for a viable result.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

The Moon : 20 questions kids ask about the Earth’s constant companion by Yvonne Krishnan|Book review

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
-Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon

Have you always wanted to know more about the Moon and discover it like Neil Armstrong and the other astronauts that have walked on its surface? Well, you might not be able to go to the Moon yet, but this book will answer the many questions you have about Earth’s constant companion, our beautiful Moon. From how the Moon was formed to the features that you can spot on the Moon’s surface, this book will provide you with the answers and a starting off point to your exploration. Get ready for blast off!

Title: The Moon : 20 questions kids ask about the Earth’s constant companion

Author: Yvonne Krishnan

Pages:68

My review

Curiosity is the step towards the knowledge. Kids are curious about many things growing up. One of such things they are highly interested to know is about the moon. I was curious in my childhood days and now my kids are walking through the same path. This book helped me in two ways. First, to freshen up my knowledge about the moon this in turn helped me to answer my child’s questions. Second, it worked as a learning guide and reference material for my child itself.

The book is written very systematically. All the facts are explained very well along with appropriate images. The author has included not only the facts but also the current developments and history of lunar explorations in the book.

The approach for each question is different. Every question is explained according to its merit. Also, there are some interesting facts and activities given at the end of some chapters. This helped my child to research this subject a little more and the activities gave a good understanding of the facts.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

A Word to the Eyes by Sudio Sudarsan | Book review

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a calligram is worth a million. A Word to the Eyes is a revolutionary mnemonic tool used to boost vocabulary development and retention. Enhance your lexicon starting with the visuals within, which serve as an introduction to thousands of associated words and meanings.

Title: A Word to the Eyes by

Author: Sudio Sudarsan

Pages: 245

My review

Calligrams is a tool that has the potential to revolutionize the learning process. Words are the basic element of every language. Mastering in the pronunciation, meaning and proper usage of words is crucial for effective language learning. But our present-day techniques are somewhat outdated. We need a new tool which meets the demands. Calligrams is an amalgamation of visual arts and traditional learning techniques. This book explores this possibility.

It is arranged just like a dictionary. Each word is drawn in a unique way which appeals to the learner and stimulates the retention. This helps in better recalling of the meaning. Along with this, the author shows us how to use this word in a sentence correctly, with proper pronunciation.

This book is helpful for anyone who wants to upgrade their vocabulary skills regardless of age. But I think that this tool will help children more than adults because they are the ones who are always struggling in the early years of education. Also, visual arts are more appealing to them than others. This way can also boost creativity and imagination in children.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Aging: The Process of Aging Well and Secrets of Longevity by Alessia Cucca | Book review

Learn how to age well mentally and physically
Find out the secrets of longevity and why in the isle of Sardinia, one of the Blue Zones, there are a high numbers of centenarians.
Aging is inevitable, but how you approach life, and your potential longevity will matter. You can become a centenarian if you wish, by following the behaviours of those who have made it to one hundred or even beyond. Of course, your genetics do play a role too, about twenty percent according to the scientists. You can work with your genes and attempt to learn from
the Blue Zones to combat what may happen or give in to the inevitable.
Plenty of people have come back from cancer. Others have staved off dementia and Alzheimer’s progression, not the disease, but the quickness of the decline the disorder provides.
Follow the nine common denominators to a healthier life:
1. Move Naturally
2. Purpose
3. 80% Rule
4. Down-shift
5. Wine at 5
6. Eating More Plants
7. Loved Ones Come First
8. Belong
9. The Right Tribe
to live a longer and happier life.
This book will help you to do so.

Title: Aging: The Process of Aging Well and Secrets of Longevity

Author: Alessia Cucca

Pages: 26

My review

Aging is inevitable. Only a few people are blessed with longevity. That’s why centenarians are celebrated. Everyone is curious to know their “secrets”. The truth is there is no so-called “secrets”. There is no sure-shot way to achieve longevity. But globally, five places were identified as The Blue Zone which met National Geographic’s demographic study regarding the longest living people. We can find some common traits in their lives. The author is trying to uncover these potential reasons for their longevity, through this book.

This short book is strongly backed by the scientific research in this field. The author draws every conclusion, based on evidence-based results only. Because of this unique feature, I find this book trustworthy.

Aging is not a surface concept. But it is our skin which proves our aging process. Aging affects not only our body but also our mental health. We can slow down our physical aging to a certain extent by adopting a better lifestyle. But deterioration of mental health over time, demands our special attention. I think taking care of mental health should be a priority over others. Because it affects everything. This book was an eye-opener for me in this subject.

The best way to avoid fear is to face it courageously. All of us will face aging someday. What matters at the end is, did we age with grace or simply let it happen in its way.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Raising Independent Kiddos by Michele Bayer | Book review

Parenting is hard. It’s a never-ending series of particular problems that require ambiguous solutions. And the frustrating truth is that the specifics of your child’s situation aren’t in the literature. Believe me. I’ve been looking for it for two decades.

I’m a mother to four beautiful kids. When my second child was born with a disability, it took a lot of trial and error (and time hiding in the closet) before I realized the importance of holding myself back, almost sitting on my hands, so my kids could learn to think about where they had made mistakes, reflect on what they needed to change. “Let them do it themselves,” became our family mantra.

This book isn’t about the importance of one parenting style over another. It doesn’t tell you how important it is to hug your child, and it won’t help you minimize tantrums at any age. It’s about microparenting, which is when a parent tries to control every detail, no matter how small, of their child’s life. The point of this book is to help you stop microparenting and start doing something that works faster and better.

Title: Raising Independent Kiddos

Author: Michele Bayer

Pages: 139

My review

We never receive any training to become a parent. Yet most of the population will go through this challenging phase in their adult years. The best thing we can do to counteract ignorance is to learn. Knowledge can undo everything. But this is not a traditional parenting advice book. This book concentrates on one thing- microparenting.

Microparenting is same as the micromanaging. Most of the parents control every small task, every small detail in their child’s day-to-day life. This affects a child’s behavior as well as emotional development in unspeakable volumes. The author draws our attention to this most common practice of parenting through this. Most of today’s generation is affected by microparenting. The long-lasting effects of microparenting causes the development of domineering and unsatisfactory adult relationships in their later lives. We all exhibit the bits of this nature in our everyday life. Undoing this from our life, for the betterment of our children is not an easy task. However, we have to put conscious efforts for this.

The book has an elaborate introduction of microparenting and its effects, in the beginning. Later on, the author introduces a worksheet to test ourselves on the range of microparenting we already have. To minimize and gradually eliminate microparenting, first, we have to understand our child’s needs. They are empty shells. Their overall personality depends on what we try to fill them with, in their early years. Cultivating self-reliance and a sense of responsibility is not a simple task. But it is what they need to excel in their adult life.

The author supplements every step in this process with her life experiences. Her experiments and responses to the unfavorable and favorable results, teach us very practical solutions for every step. This alone makes the book a realistic guide.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Affirmations For Money Blueprint: How To Earn $10k Per Month With Proven Affirmations by Ian Seamus Finn| Review

Imagine WRITING FOR 10 MINUTES A DAY… and waking up with a $100, $250, $500 in your bank account just a few days later.
What if there was a way to change your life, without spending 5 years getting really good at your chosen profession…
If there was a shortcut that created a new life and new streams of income for you, would you take it… And REALIZE YOUR DREAMS now?
The shortcut I am referring to is the magic of Affirmations.
To get really good at any one thing takes approximately 10,000 hours or 5 YEARS of full time work 40 hours per week.
Affirmations allow anyone to get really good and make really big changes, and the changes start in weeks, not years.
The absolute simplest way to Create Your Dream Life.

Title: Affirmations For Money Blueprint: How To Earn $10k Per Month With Proven Affirmations

Author: Ian Seamus Finn

Pages: 99

My review

Affirmations For Money Blueprint is a perfect guide for reaching our financial goals. Money solves many problems in life and it is essential for survival. Through this guide, the author mentors us to earn $10k per month. This not an exaggeration. It is very doable. But we can only achieve this target by chiseling one most important skill in our life – sales. We all are selling something in our whole life, our skills, services, or any other products. Learning the art of sales in the right way is the secret formula for high income. This code is cracked through this book.

Communication is the key to excel in sales. For improving this skill, first, we have to set the right affirmations. But affirmations don’t work if we don’t apply the right technique. After explaining this, the author moves on to the core of this skill. One of the best chapters in this book is about the art of persuasion. The author explains the types of people and how to approach them and influence them gradually. This section includes the right arguments and tactics to use and how to confront them successfully in every situation.

Before delving into the art of money-making, the author has also dedicated a section for setting the right mindset. This part is an essential read, not only for making money, but also for our general well being. What makes this book special in the sea of self-help books is it’s easy to read content. All the techniques uncovered in the book are very pragmatic and easy to implement in our day-to-day life.

Overall, this is an all-in-one guide for self-improvement.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, non-fiction

Esoteric Christianity Made Simple by Con Trong Bui | Book review

For many centuries, millions of people who read the Bible consider it to be the word of God. Many readers of the Old Testament and the New Testament believe that God lives in heaven and human beings live on the planet Earth. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” Should we ask “where God had lived before he created heaven”? Had he been homeless, and that was why he had to create heaven?

In the Old Testament, we see humans were required some burnt offerings “of a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire,” and drink offerings. Should we ask, “was God homeless, hungry, and thirsty, and that was why he created heaven, humans, and animals, and required humans to offer burnt animals and drinks”?

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:13-14, “And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.”? What is that “vail” in the reading of the Old Testament? Did Paul also tell us about the New Testament when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:6, “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”? Is there any difference between “the letter” and “the spirit”? Through these verses, should we read the Old Testament and the New Testament as we read a historical book?

Title: Esoteric Christianity Made Simple

Author: Con Trong Bui

Pages: 354

My review

To reach the deepest understanding of faith not only gives a sense of salvation but also takes us to the height of faith. Esoteric Christianity Made Simple by Con Trong Bui is written in a way to create a greater understanding of the Holy Bible by eliminating literal doubts. Human beings are one of the greatest species ever walked on the earth. Only exceptional beings can dominate a planet. Although we are gifted with a creative and highly intelligent brain, when comes to the matter of the faith, we usually follow blindly. Often we neglect the logical questions raised in this subject. The answers always lie within but we never try to understand them. This book tries to bridge that gap.

I think theism and atheism are divided by a narrow gap of logical reasoning. Both ideologies have been fighting for their victory over others for ages. But what I learned by reading this book is everything can be explained logically. We have been reading the Holy Bible in a literal sense in all these years. The author has made clear in this book that the Old and New Testament are not simple historical books. We cannot read them just like other works of human beings. The scriptures were written to mean literally and symbolically at times. But they are not meant to be interpreted and understood literally. If we do, this arise questions. Jesus’s life and works are not symbols, but words about his life and works are. If we read between the lines and interpreted them correctly, everything will become simple.

The author has gone a great extend to eliminate many confusions. One such is the beliefs around “One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. This is the spine of Christianity. Yet many believers perceived this wrong. But if we study deeply this concept is very clearly explained in the Holy Bible beyond the scope of any doubt.

The author has done a commendable job by penning down this book. This will help a believer to gain wisdom and for a non-believer, to eliminate wide-spread doubts regarding the concepts of Christianity.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

636: A Path to Higher Consciousness by Vera J. Skye | Book review

What is it to be conscious? What is it to have a higher sense of awareness? In this book, I will not only guide you through practical steps to help you achieve a higher state of consciousness, I will also help you to interpret your dreams. Every dreamer has their own unique symbols, and each symbol has its own meaning for the dreamer. I will walk you through some of my own dreams, telling you about the symbols that stuck out to me, and what I interpreted them to mean.
I will explain how even through a traumatic childhood, I learned how to adapt to life and accept even my worst flaws, as I am, and we all are, human beings with imperfections. I will walk you through becoming more aware of yourself and the world around you, by diving into my own life experiences and sharing tips that have, and continue to help me.
This book is for anyone who wants to understand more about themselves and is looking to reach their Higher Consciousness.

Title: 636: A Path to Higher Consciousness

Author: Vera J. Skye

Pages: 78

My review

Life-changing experience!

I never had this much of life-changing reading experience from a single book ever. I was always curious about my consciousness and its mysterious expressions. Often I avoided thoughts regarding this. But deep down I always wanted to learn about this. Because the thoughts and dreams are extremely personal affairs. No one can understand them better than us.

This book has the answer to all my questions. The author draws this vast knowledge from her personal experience. In the beginning, I had a certain extend of fear about experimenting with my mind. But soon they disappeared when she delved into the depth of deeper consciousness and uncovered its mysteries.

Our consciousness is our greatest power. Although most of the book is dedicated to the techniques we can apply to elevate our consciousness, what I liked most was the dream interpretation part. The elaborate explanation and interpretation gave me answers to all my questions. I felt that I found a way out of a very difficult maze after I read this section. It was deep and accurate. Also, you can learn about the unique title of this book in this section!

In the end, the author has given dream-recall and self-awareness worksheets prompting readers to take action rather than read and go. I’m 100% convinced about the power of higher consciousness and I will definitely employ this in my life.