Official Review: How To Believe In Yourself
Posted: 03 Jun 2015, 04:04
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "How To Believe In Yourself" by Carmen M Parks.]
2 out of 4 stars
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How to Believe in Yourself: A 7-Step Guide for Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt by Carmen Parks is a non-fiction book intended to be used as a self-improvement guide for those who, as the title of the book states, need help overcoming fear and self-doubt. As also suggested in the title, this book lays out a plan for readers in seven simple steps, including setting goals, analyzing your own thought processes, and incorporating more productive self-talk that will help you achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Two cases, plus an example from the author's own experiences are presented at each step to serve as a guide to demonstrate how each step works with different types of goals. Finally, a list of do's and don't's to use when attempting to change one's self-talk is presented.
I received a Kindle version of this book in mobi format, which is only 49 pages long as opposed to the 68 pages of the print edition. The first thing that stood out to me about this book is the formatting. I actually thought that I had received a corrupted file, but then I checked the free preview of the book on Amazon. The file I have is exactly the same as the file that would be downloaded from Amazon if one were to purchase this for Kindle. It's obvious that this book has not been properly formatted for Kindle. There are very few paragraph breaks throughout the text, and most of the few breaks occurr in the middle of sentences. I think that these breaks correspond to the page breaks of the print version of the book, but on a Kindle, they appear to occur at random, making it extremely difficult to read. Furthermore, lists are scrunched together into single paragraphs, and certain graphics (bullet points, perhaps) do not display properly. The formatting of this electronic book really needs to be corrected; readers are not going to bother attending to the content if it is too troublesome to read.
The formatting does not appear to be problematic in the print version of the book, judging from the few preview pages I was able to view. However, I noticed that the print edition of the book contains a table of contents that is not present in the Kindle edition. This is unfortunate, because a table of contents is especially useful in an electronic book of this nature, in the event that a reader would like to quickly jump to a certain section of the book for reference after having read the whole book.
Next I would like to address the content of the book. It it is obvious that Ms. Parks is a successful Holistic Life Coach, and I don't doubt her ability to provide efficient counseling for her clients. She definitely knows what she is talking about, and she has created her own seven-step program to introduce people to techniques for self-improvement. Her writing skills are good and easy to comprehend. However, I still feel like there could be improvement to the content of this book. As someone who personally has a severe problem with low self-confidence, I was certain that I could benefit from the material in the book. While I feel like it is a good start, I still had so many unanswered questions as I read through each step. Some are more specific questions about certain terms used (for example, an acronym was mentioned and not explained until much later in the book; it would have been better to explain it the first time or at least note that it would be explained later in the text), but most were more general questions like, "Why?" Or, "How does this apply to less tangible goals?" And the more common, "What's an example?" Especially in the beginning, more examples of effective goals would be helpful, and maybe even a list of things to avoid when setting goals.
At the end of each chapter, there is a reminder that you will need to download a worksheet from a website in order to complete the steps outlined in this book. I went to the website in order to take a look at the worksheet, but downloading the sheet required me to enter my email address and click on a button that says "Download & Subscribe." There is no information about what such a subscription is about. I'm not comfortable submitting my email address to an unknown subscription. If readers were to pay for the book, I think they would expect any necessary worksheets to be included within the book.
I give this book a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. Although the writing is good and the information is useful, there are too many things within this short book that need improvement. The electronic book especially needs to be properly formatted. As it stands, I can only recommend this book to those who can easily set tangible goals for themselves but need a little help building up their ability to believe that they can achieve these goals.
******
How To Believe In Yourself
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like ALynnPowers's review? Post a comment saying so!
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
How to Believe in Yourself: A 7-Step Guide for Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt by Carmen Parks is a non-fiction book intended to be used as a self-improvement guide for those who, as the title of the book states, need help overcoming fear and self-doubt. As also suggested in the title, this book lays out a plan for readers in seven simple steps, including setting goals, analyzing your own thought processes, and incorporating more productive self-talk that will help you achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Two cases, plus an example from the author's own experiences are presented at each step to serve as a guide to demonstrate how each step works with different types of goals. Finally, a list of do's and don't's to use when attempting to change one's self-talk is presented.
I received a Kindle version of this book in mobi format, which is only 49 pages long as opposed to the 68 pages of the print edition. The first thing that stood out to me about this book is the formatting. I actually thought that I had received a corrupted file, but then I checked the free preview of the book on Amazon. The file I have is exactly the same as the file that would be downloaded from Amazon if one were to purchase this for Kindle. It's obvious that this book has not been properly formatted for Kindle. There are very few paragraph breaks throughout the text, and most of the few breaks occurr in the middle of sentences. I think that these breaks correspond to the page breaks of the print version of the book, but on a Kindle, they appear to occur at random, making it extremely difficult to read. Furthermore, lists are scrunched together into single paragraphs, and certain graphics (bullet points, perhaps) do not display properly. The formatting of this electronic book really needs to be corrected; readers are not going to bother attending to the content if it is too troublesome to read.
The formatting does not appear to be problematic in the print version of the book, judging from the few preview pages I was able to view. However, I noticed that the print edition of the book contains a table of contents that is not present in the Kindle edition. This is unfortunate, because a table of contents is especially useful in an electronic book of this nature, in the event that a reader would like to quickly jump to a certain section of the book for reference after having read the whole book.
Next I would like to address the content of the book. It it is obvious that Ms. Parks is a successful Holistic Life Coach, and I don't doubt her ability to provide efficient counseling for her clients. She definitely knows what she is talking about, and she has created her own seven-step program to introduce people to techniques for self-improvement. Her writing skills are good and easy to comprehend. However, I still feel like there could be improvement to the content of this book. As someone who personally has a severe problem with low self-confidence, I was certain that I could benefit from the material in the book. While I feel like it is a good start, I still had so many unanswered questions as I read through each step. Some are more specific questions about certain terms used (for example, an acronym was mentioned and not explained until much later in the book; it would have been better to explain it the first time or at least note that it would be explained later in the text), but most were more general questions like, "Why?" Or, "How does this apply to less tangible goals?" And the more common, "What's an example?" Especially in the beginning, more examples of effective goals would be helpful, and maybe even a list of things to avoid when setting goals.
At the end of each chapter, there is a reminder that you will need to download a worksheet from a website in order to complete the steps outlined in this book. I went to the website in order to take a look at the worksheet, but downloading the sheet required me to enter my email address and click on a button that says "Download & Subscribe." There is no information about what such a subscription is about. I'm not comfortable submitting my email address to an unknown subscription. If readers were to pay for the book, I think they would expect any necessary worksheets to be included within the book.
I give this book a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. Although the writing is good and the information is useful, there are too many things within this short book that need improvement. The electronic book especially needs to be properly formatted. As it stands, I can only recommend this book to those who can easily set tangible goals for themselves but need a little help building up their ability to believe that they can achieve these goals.
******
How To Believe In Yourself
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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