Marathon: from start to finish / Sam Murphy

Marathon: from start to finish

category: self help, author:

Sam Murphy

original copyright 2004

read in April 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10: really quite good

Have you ever considered running a marathon?

A marathon is about 42 km, 26 miles. For most of us, it's an enormously long way. A long way to run, anyway.

Could I even make the distance? Or would I just collapse along the way...

This book is rather reassuring.

No, Marathon does not go all gung-ho. There is no exhortation to run through the pain... No demand to win at all costs... No claim that positive thinking will overcome the agony of the body...

In Marathon, Murphy simply treats the run as something that can be done.

Sure, you need to train. And perhaps you need a doctor's check-up before you even start. But -- in this book -- a marathon is just a longish race to be run. Not a challenge to be won. Just a race to be run.

For the runner who is considering running a marathon, this book is quite reassuring. Without being demanding.

Do you feel foolish if you can't run all the way? Walk if you must. You're just not going to make the distance? Withdrawing from the race is an acceptable option.

Yes, you want to complete a marathon. But it does not have to be "this" marathon.

Yes, it would be nice to win a marathon. This book is all about taking part... And doing what you can. Perhaps to the best of your own ability.

A good positive approach to a major physical challenge. Follow this book for your first few marathons. Then employ a sadistic personal trainer if winning is your ultimate goal.

---

As an aside: It's a good book which is already showing the effect of rapidly advancing culture and technology.

The names of races have changed... Sponsors with naming rights have changed. But it's still easy to track down the renamed races.

The biggest changes are in technology.

Sports watches with GPS tracking are now common. And the internet has developed.

Murphy mentions web sites which help you to track sponsorship. Now each race will (probably) come with its own sponsorship pages.

Various other mentions of the web are also rapidly being outdated.

Not that this detracts at all from the book!

This is an excellent book for the wannabe marathon runner. Set at a realistic level, with good advice. Just minor details of technology already behind the times.

Read and learn.

And good luck with your run!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Change Your Thinking / Sarah Edelman

Change Your Thinking

category: self help, author:

Sarah Edelman

original copyright 2006

read in Feb 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

"I'll be depressed forever." If that's you -- then get some professional help. That is one clear and helpful message from this book. Beyond that...

The back cover of this book sets the scene with that "depressed" statement. It then says that, "Change Your Thinking is the bestselling practical and reassuring guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviour." I can't speak for the "bestselling". I can accept the rest of that claim... Note that I wrote "accept" and not "support" -- I am no expert in this field.

As I read the book -- an hour or so each evening on a too-long stay away from home -- I found that it was reassuring. I'm not a person to slavishly follow. I prefer to question and restate. Yet just reading this book did make me think, my life is not too bad at all...

And now -- dredging my memories of ten months ago -- I still carry a positive opinion of this book. From what I remember:

There are explanations of various types of "bad thinking". You experience a minor setback and you see a major disaster. Check what you see and it may fit one of the books standard misconceptions. Now write down a more realistic view of what has just happened... More realistic and probably (hopefully!) more positive.

The aim is to see your life as it is. Perhaps not through rose-tinted glasses. Certainly not through the dark grey glasses of depression.

Depression?

Depression is a clinical state. There are professionals who specialise in treating depression. Change Your Thinking offers help for people with severe depression -- with the clear proviso that, if symptoms continue, see your doctor... The author is selling help, not a snake oil panacea. It's an honest and sensible approach.

I'm not a slavish follower. I didn't do the exercises, I just read the book. It was still worthwhile.

The book explains why we can get into the habit of being negative. It explains the loose thinking by which we make mountains of misery out of the minor molehills of life. Understand your loose thinking and you can gain a better perspective.

Apply the exercises and you should get even more benefit.

And as the book tells you -- if you are still depressed, see a professional.

All good advice.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Fix It and Flip It / Katie Hamilton & Gene Hamilton

Fix It and Flip It:

how to make money rehabbing real estate for profit

category: self-help, author:

Katie Hamilton & Gene Hamilton

published by McGraw-Hill,
original copyright 2004, read in August 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

This is an American book, which limits is relevance to Australian real estate. Nevertheless -- there are some useful chapters.

First up I was struck by the pricing examples...

Buy a house for $100,000 then sell it for $115,000... Where will you get a house that cheap? Not in my market, certainly! Still... it's easy to multiply by five or ten, to get good information. My advice would be: read the figures to get ideas but don't get over-excited by the actual figures quoted!

(I wonder if those are actual prices from America? Or if they are several years out of date? Or if there is -- or was -- a solid real estate market in the very low end of the US market?! Anyway...)

(Interesting... I see that the 2008 edition of this book has an even longer title: Fix It & Flip It: How to Make Money Rehabbing Real Estate for Profit Even in a Down Market. Good to see that "even in a down market" there is money to be made. Even if the money is mainly for authors of how-to books. Anyway again...)

A highlight of the book -- for someone considering entering this market... Hmmm... "This market" being, buy a house, clean it and fix it, sell it for a profit. That said, a highlight is the list of suggestions for fixing up an old house.

A fresh coat of paint is obvious. I once checked over an old house where a fresh coat of paint was its main feature: The painter had sprayed everything, including various weeds which were now glued to the house by fresh paint.

Fix It and Flip It also advises a lot more fixes which are -- really -- in the cosmetic category: Make sure that all doors open and close, oil all hinges, clean the kitchen and bathroom, remove all rubbish... Minor items, largely cosmetic, perhaps, but all help to give a good first impression to the potential home-buyer. Many pages of good advice.

There is similar advice for buying the property. A room-by-room list of items to check. Plus the advice to record what you find -- against the checklist -- for future reference. Nothing worse that trying to remember which house had the water stains below the hot water tank!

Some of the advice is not so important in Australia. Some would need to be adjusted, for our style of houses, our legal requirements and our building standards. That's easy enough, with experience and some research.

This book provides several chapters of good advice on buying, fixing and reselling houses. It's not the ultimate answer -- no book is. But it's a worthwhile read.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Create Cards & Calendars using your own Digital Photos / Graham Davis & Adam Juniper

Create Cards & Calendars using your own Digital Photos

(category: self-help)
a book from Reader's Digest by

Graham Davis & Adam Juniper

published by The Ilex Press in 2007
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Have you ever sat there, staring at folder after folder of great photos, wondering what to do with them all? Getting them organised into albums could be a start... Using just a few for cards & calendars is another great idea. This book tells you how. Sort of. It provides a CD of templates plus instructions for use. The instructions are based around use of Photoshop Elements. What you end up with, is a basic introduction to Photoshop -- with a specific task, to make it interesting. I've used PE (Photoshop Elements) and thought, this is great! A bit later I thought, but so what? I want an album of photos to show to friends & family. They want to see photos of what we look like, where we've been... not a small number of artistic works of art. All I want is crop & brighten. But a one-off card or calendar, using PE on just a small number of photos -- that seems worthwhile. And this is the book to get you started. Follow the straightforward instructions. Use the well-designed templates. Have some fun with PE. And end up with cards & calendars which will impress friends & family. As a PE tutorial with a definite purpose -- this is one of the best books that I have seen.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.