Books and Me

by Simon Sinek  (2011) Oh blimey, thank heaven that's over.   It was dire!  The repetition was so all engulfing that it felt as if I'd fallen into a roiling sea of nearly identical sentences which burbled around, sapping me of my last ounce of energy and breath. To tell the truth, after the millionth time of being told that Apple (whom I dislike) are amazing because they have a great big WHY (in capitals), I started skipping and dipping to see if new sections of the book had by chance got any new sentences that I hadn't seen before.  The really annoying thing was that just occasionally a new idea would be introduced, which did mean that I felt I couldn't just fling the whole thing in the nearest canal, fire, cesspit. (Sorry, imagining what to do with the thing has been the only entertainment I've had in a while.) Whether these new ideas were worth having is a moot point, however.  The central theme - that it is productive to have an ins...

by Susan Quilliam  (2016) This slim book creates the sensation of having spent a couple of sessions with a slightly dodgy counsellor who may have read all the right books which they can proffer up as needed, but who doesn't have much more to offer and indeed can do a complete explanatory volte face if the situation seemingly dictates.   Given that the book is only 99p on Kindle, perhaps that represents value for money, but if you've been around the block a bit, done a smidgeon of reading for yourself (Bowlby et al), and have topped this up with a dose of navel-gazing, there really won't be much to surprise you in this.   Perhaps it's a book for the very young, but then again, it often makes relationships seem so arduous and distracting that one wonders if it will put that readership off for good.  Rating: 2/10