Self-Help

What makes a good listener?

In this book are a variety of tried and true exercises to benchmark where you are as a listener. Discover the power of being a good listener in the six benefits of being a good listener. Take part in the eighteen concrete activities to become a better listener, plus learn fourteen things to avoid when listening to someone. Of extreme relevance is Chapter 7: Listening Challenges in the Digital Age and how to Overcome Them. One of the first casualties of the digital juggernaut is the art of effective listening and writing. Instead of communicating with people face-to-face, we are reading texts, e-mails, and social media updates. This is a book that can be referenced again and again as you continue your journey of becoming a better listener.

I don’t normally review Self-help books here.  Yet the family and I had been having discussions lately about the lack of listening, really listening to what each of us is saying.  When I saw this available on NetGalley I thought, perfect timing – let’s see what I can learn about listening.

I enjoyed reading this book.  I came away with some insights into focusing better on actually listening instead of simply hearing someone talking at me.  One major plus was that this book didn’t “talk down to me” as so often happens in Self-Help books, at least I’ve found that often.  While I found it interesting, I think the first line of the synopsis is very telling:  In this book are a variety of tried and true exercises…

Honestly, I came away with the knowledge that I already “know” how to listen for the most part, the fact that I allow distractions to interfere with what I’m thinking someone is saying to me is what I need to hone in on.  Reading The Power of Listening will definitely help you pinpoint those areas where you  need some work.  Yet, it’s more of a reinforcement of what we already know.  To really listen to someone you need to focus on them and only them.

*I received an e-ARC of The Power of Listening from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.

One of the fun parts of taking part in blog hops (aside from getting to visit new to me blogs) is finding great ways to interact with other book lovers.  This is one:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I seem to be on an Historical Romance slant recently for my non-review planned reading.  This is from the book currently on my reading table.

“You are so bent on getting the best of me that you haven’t even realized your lips are a mere fraction of an inch from mine.  I’m trying to decide if I should kiss you and be the wild rogue you accuse me of being, or if I should step away and be the gentleman you insist I’m not.  Tell me, Miss Prim, which should I be?” ~ The Duke in my Bed

HERE COMES THE GROOM
As a notorious member of the Heirs’ Club, Bray Drakestone can’t resist a challenge from one of his well-heeled colleagues—especially when it involves money and horses. But the friendly wager takes an unexpected and deadly turn. Bray is forced to agree to marry one of his challenger’s five sisters—sight unseen. Now gamblers all over London are placing bets on whether Bray will actually go through with it…

THERE GOES THE BRIDE
Miss Louisa Prim, the eldest sister, doesn’t care a whit what the reckless rogue at the Heirs’ Club promised her brother—she has no intention of marrying the future Duke of Drakestone. Bray, however, sees her rejection as another challenge. He bets that the fiery Miss Prim will not only agree to marry him, she will propose to him! With four sisters behind her, Louisa knows she can’t lose. But why does her opponent have to be a divinely handsome scoundrel? And so sweetly, irresistibly seductive…

“Waiting on” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating… cannot wait to get our hands on… having hissy fits at having to wait… you know, waiting for the book is exhausting work!

This one caught my attention for several reasons.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Cocoon (which was made into an Academy Award–winning movie) comes a sci-fi adventure about family, love, and, in a universe teeming with life, deciding who and what are the aliens.

Six single, semi-retired, “older” women are inseparable friends. But their lives start to go haywire when mischievous Rosie submits her friends’ names to an ad soliciting “Mail Order Brides for Farmers & Miners—Distant Locations.” A few weeks later, as the six women are driving along a lonely beach road, their vehicle suddenly begins to shake, the sky grows dark, an eerie light envelops the van, and ZAP—it’s gone!

Exactly three years later, the van reappears on the same road. But this time, the women appear to be thirty years younger—and they’re all pregnant!

The “distant locations” advertised were, in fact, elsewhere in our galaxy. A process, required for deep space travel, has somehow reversed their aging. They are happy with their new lives. However, a universal law requires that babies of “mixed-mating” be born on the mother’s home planet, forcing their return. But as they re-adapt to life on earth, surprises and problems arise as they’re faced with a media circus, doctors, nurses, police, priests, and nuns, not to mention their new humanoid mates.

In Saperstein’s wacky, comedic-drama tradition that’s out of this world, Snatched builds to an exciting, uplifting climax that celebrates life, love, and the universal condition known as family.

No matter your age now, at some point in your life you might have heard about a movie called Cocoon – the trailer is below… Snatched is by the same author.  This is why I think his latest book is going to be a fun ride.  🙂    Snatched releases on May 19, 2015