Two Quick Reads
Feb. 29th, 2008 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calzephyrYesterday at the library I was intrigued by one book and that led to a few others from the same section. I love self-help books, but I don't always swear by them - if they can offer me a little advice or a different way of thinking, I'm always open to it. The first one totally dared me to pick it up - Get Anyone to Do Anything by David J. Lieberman. Judging from the whiffiness of the volume, I was yet another person easily persuaded to pick it up by the title alone! But Lieberman can't persuade me to buy my own copy - even though it was written in 2000, a lot of the advice seems dated and I'm not sure I would trust his advice on escaping/preventing physical or sexual assault. He is right on some things though, such as rephrasing language to prompt other people into action without guilt tripping or cushion negative news (a la the compliment sandwich). I think the main reason the book rubbed me the wrong way is the manipulation aspect, but there are hardwired human behaviours that can be used to one's advantage.
The other book is Don't Get Scrooged by Richard Carlson, who, judging by his tone, must be a very friendly person. He basically took a list of problems and wrote a short blurb about getting around the problem. It's aimed at de-stressing holidays, but it works year round, naturally. Most of his advice boils down to "turn the other cheek" and "just let go". Someone tailgating you - yield or or get out of their way and forget about it. Don't let obnoxious people hook you emotionally - they won't be the ones suffering after all, etc. The list price of this book seemed a little high for its size, so I would probably suggest checking it out from the library.
The other book is Don't Get Scrooged by Richard Carlson, who, judging by his tone, must be a very friendly person. He basically took a list of problems and wrote a short blurb about getting around the problem. It's aimed at de-stressing holidays, but it works year round, naturally. Most of his advice boils down to "turn the other cheek" and "just let go". Someone tailgating you - yield or or get out of their way and forget about it. Don't let obnoxious people hook you emotionally - they won't be the ones suffering after all, etc. The list price of this book seemed a little high for its size, so I would probably suggest checking it out from the library.
