Crack Yourself Up

I received a copy of CRACK YOURSELF UP: JOKES FOR KIDS by Sandy Silverthorne from Revell in exchange for an honest review.  I was excited for this book because I know my son will love it.  He laughs at everything, and even though he’s still a little young for some of the jokes, he’ll be able to grow into them. 

I opened the package, got the book out, and my husband took it to “glance over.”  He spent the next hour reading through the entire book.  Most of them he read out loud to me while I was trying to get housework done.  It certainly made things move along faster!  Later on, I heard him sharing some of the jokes with his friends. 

Some are riddles, which adds a nice mix to the assortment of jokes.  They are all appropriate for kids.  I thought that was great.  In the past, I had joke books for kids that threw in a couple “adult” jokes.  They were probably for the parent, but that shouldn’t be in a book just for kids.

This makes an excellent coffee table book, or addition to the home library.  It would also be perfect as a gift.

Shift Your Thinking for Success

I received a copy of SHIFT YOUR THINKING FOR SUCCESS: 77 ways to win at work and in life BY Dean Del Sesto from Revell in exchange for an honest review.  I really looked forward to this book.  I’ve had some struggles recently – I lost my job, I’m unable to find another one in my field, I’m at a job that I don’t enjoy, my husband lost his job, we have a baby…  I’m a published author and struggling to get my books in the hands of readers.  I was hoping this book would change my life around.

The book just didn’t do it for me.  I do a lot of these things already – setting goals, sticking to one’s values.  While they do make me feel good, I am already doing them.  I was looking for something new, that I wasn’t aware of before.  Maybe I put too much hope in this book.

I didn’t hate it and there were a lot of topics that I’m sure will help others.  I will be trying to sleep more and make more time for family.  Currently I work 8-5/6 at the temp job and then come home to work on my writing.  I go to bed and that’s it for the day.  I’ll also work on not putting out a know-it-all vibe.  That can easily happen and it does put people off.

I’m giving the book 4 stars because it does contain a lot of wisdom.  It makes you think about your life.  It just wasn’t the ground-breaking solution I think I was expecting.