Thinking outside the box[ing]

Knockout Entrepreneur, by two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World and promoter of the Foreman’s Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, George Foreman with writer, Ken Abraham, is a motivational, how-to book about succeeding at starting a business (or revitalizing an existing business or career). In 14 easy-to-read chapters, Foreman communicates his secrets of success at boxing, which he develops into principles of entrepreneurial strategies. Weaving in and out of chapters with such titles as “Never Listen to the Crowd,” Know Your Foe,” and “Keep Answering the Bell,” I learned not just how to be a successful entrepreneur, but I also learned a lot about boxing, about George Foreman’s biography, and about the grilling machine that made Foreman an entrepreneurial success.
George’s advice is very comprehensive from how and when to delegate to following your gut instinct and taking risks. Because Foreman shares from his own experience as well as from others, he is believable and inspiring. This book is categorized as Business/Economics with the subcategory entrepreneurship but I think anyone can read this and find ideas to help in any area of their life. I am a volunteer in a small church library and this book gave me ideas about how to relate to those who help out in the library.
Of course, success begets success and George had an advantage that most of us do not have – a famous name. But still, his principles ring true for me.
I must make a comment on the structure of the book itself. My copy of Knockout Entrepreneur, published by Thomas Nelson, (2009, jacketed hardcover, $22.99 U.S.), is what the publishers call NELSONfree. Inside the front cover this is clearly explained, “. . . with Nelsonfree you buy one format and your get two more for free – an eBook and an audio version.” I really love having a book in my hand, but my husband likes to listen to books and podcasts and I have a friend who likes to download books and read them on his PDA. Nelsonfree allows all three! I tried downloading the PDF version and it looks great. I give Nelson kudos for this entrepreneurial idea, and I think George would also like it. Who knows, maybe it was his idea!

connections

over the last 15 or so books i have read, i have begun to notice that each subsequent book has a connection to the previous book, and if i had been keeping track of all the connections, i would have a string of these elements -- an illness, a place, a type of character . . . .
for example, i just finished under the mountain and before that was leo the africanus. the connection? both had cross-dressers in them. awhile ago i read a book called the choice by nicholas sparks and then passed it on to my sister. i waited until she finished then asked her what she thought of the ending. only then did i realize that i was mixing up the ending of the choice with the book i had read, after ann, which i had just read before the choice. the reason? both were about a woman who was at death's door throughout much of the book.
i don't look for these connections. usually after i finish a book, the connection rises to the surface . . . this (place, element, situation, problem, thing) was in the last book i just read.

Under the Mountain

by Sophie Cooke
Cooke has framed this novel by the dining room window that Catherine, the central character, looks out from her sick bed. We are told early on that what we are about to read is Catherine's memories (pg. 4: “Her memory was tumbling backwards . . . “), but most of the happenings in the novel are not within her view. She did see the attack on the dog. Where did she get the rest of her information? Did other family members tell her stories? Did she make stories up to ease the disappointment of being bedridden most of the summer? Can we trust the narrator? We can forget that Catherine is sitting on a stoop remembering that summer until we reach the end of the book where we are brought back full circle. Then we start to realize that there are things Catherine shouldn't know about: her parents' sex life, for one thing.
A clever layering of language and story was when Natasha, Catherine's mother, complains to her husband that he “hides behind his words” because he uses lofty, academic language that appears to but isn’t necessarily meant to genuinely communicate. Cooke’s prose often mirrors George’s style.
I didn't enjoy reading this book, but I have enjoyed thinking about it and writing about it. It's not a book that I would recommend to all of my friends, but I look forward to discussing it in my book discussion group.

leo the africanus

This year I joined a book discussion group and we read a book that I never would have picked up on my own, even though it was an award-winning novel. Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf is a novel based on the true-life story of Hasan al-Wazzin, who lived in the 16th century. Maalouf weaves culture, philosophy, religion, politics and history that spans 40 years and five major disparate cities with humor and intellect -- all in 360 pages. There is nothing superfluous. The prose is unstrained, yet rich and vivid. Definitely reread this book immediately to savor the literary caches you may have missed on your first read.