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very challenging perspective but interesting story

Revisado: 08-16-24

So, knowing this author, and how entranced I am by her books, I knew this was going to be a twisted story. What I didn't know was how difficult it would be to stick with the story, not because of the great writing, but because of the point of view from which this story is told. The main character is the mother of a teenage boy who molested little girls he was teaching swimming to, and this mother was extremely protective of him. She minimized the severity of what he did, and she was also very defensive. Yet, in spite of my strong feelings against both mother and son, their story drew me in, so I had to see it through to the end. This author is a brilliant writer, in that she could make her characters this compelling! There are some unexpected twists towards the end that left me even more disturbed, which I didn't think was possible.

I will leave a word of warning: if you are easily triggered by stories about pedophiles, especially stories featuring characters who defend them, you might want to skip this one. Still, it is very well written, and it did challenge me, and make me think. As a survivor myself, I cheered when the boy got beat up, and at times I wished him dead. Yet in the end, I felt a little ... just a little ... pity and compassion, mostly for his mother, but a teeny bit for him, too.

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Finally! A deep dive into the oeuvre of Weird Al!

Revisado: 03-30-23

I've been a pretty devoted and diehard fan of Al since I was in my teens in the mid-1980's, when his music helped me through some very personal and difficult issues in my life. Some family and friends gave me a hard time for being such an outspoken lover of Al, but I didn't care. I was already a target for judgment from the world as a totally blind girl anyway. So I took perverse pride in being a fan of Al, and in everything about Al, from his "weirdness" and his wacky music to his long luxuriant curls, which my mother's good money helped me to replicate with very curly and very regular perms.

So when I stumbled on this book a month ago or so, I was over the moon with glee. Here at last, I found an entertaining, yet thoughtful and respectful, treatment of Weird Al's work that both my inner 14-year-old self and my middle-aged self could totally revel in! I appreciate Ms. Hirsch immensely for such a well-written, thoughtful, and respectful treatment of Al and his oeuvre! I enjoyed how she came up with unique questions that no one else had ever asked Al before. I also appreciated the attention Ms. Hirsch gave to Al's "pastiches" and style parodies and originals, as well as his commercial parodies. She explored so many different topics in each chapter in such a thoughtful and thought-provoking way, making it almost impossible for me to put this book down. I came away with a deeper understanding of Al's character and creative process around some of the more dicey subjects he covers in his work. I am purposely being vague, and omitting examples of what I'm talking about here, so as not to inadvertently give out any major spoilers. I want my fellow readers to be as excited and even pleasantly surprised as I was by all the awesome subjects covered in this book.

I especially appreciate the way Ms. Hirsch, in this book, gave us glimpses into Al as a regular person, a very intelligent, witty, creative, yet unpretentious family man, with a kind, caring, down-to-earth energy that is as real as the character he presents himself as in the public eye. Since my teens, this has always been the sense and feeling I've had about Al, reinforced when I've met Al in person over the years. So thank you, Ms. Hirsch, for also validating and re-confirming my sense of Al as well. I've cried more than a few times as I read about other Al fans like me, who found permission to be their true, authentic selves because of Al and his music. I admire how Al took the slur "Weird Al" from his college days, and turned that into a badge of honor and pride. Al embraced his weirdness, and even made fun of himself sometimes, and ultimately, Al turned being weird into something cool. He never let others judgment of him defeat him, or deter him from being his true, authentic self in every area of his life. Silly as this may sound, I feel so proud of Al, so proud to be a fan of his, and I have learned so much from Al. More than anything, I learned that it really is okay and safe for me to be my true, authentic self, too. I can even embrace my uniqueness and unique perspective as a blind woman and even as a later-blooming lesbian. I actually do NOT have to conform to any heteronormative, ableist or sightist expectations and ideals. I don't know if I would have said these things quite so coherently if not for having just finished this wonderful book. Thank you again, Ms. Lily Hirsch! I guess it really is safe to say that I have brought my deep admiration and respect and even love for Al with me into my middle-aged adulthood!

I apologize if my review lacks the coherence, intelligence, eloquence, or substance of the author herself. If nothing else, though, I hope readers of my review will know that I truly appreciated this book as a whole, and I will come back to it again and again. I found it to be as much of a treat as Al himself and his music is for me. The author, and the narrator, and of course Al himself, all get 5 stars from me all around! I would give 10 stars if that were possible.

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hard sell book about network marketing

Revisado: 05-12-21

I bought this book hoping for some tips on making money. I'm not much of a business person, so my hope was to find some ideas on making money and creating abundance doing something I enjoy. This book has a few good tips that I found helpful, early on in the book. But mostly, this book was trying to sell me on the idea of joining the network marketing industry. I've had friends try to hook me into their network marketing businesses since the 1990's. I wasn't into it then, and I'm not into it now. I'm not interested in creating abundance at the expense of my friendships and relationships with loved ones. I should have paid closer attention that this book was going to be primarily about network marketing and why I should talk myself into doing it. There are other books out there with ideas that are just as awesome, without the sole focus and push on network marketing.

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great ideas, horrible performance

Revisado: 04-28-21

I am totally blind so I was really excited to find an audio version of this book. But, boy, was I ever disappointed! Her narration is as horrible as all the reviews say. She stutters and stumbles over words, mispronounces words altogether, repeats phrases and sometimes seems to skip over some phrases. You can hear her clearing her throat, burping, and coughing. You can even hear her chair squeaking sometimes. I was so interested in, and fascinated by, the subject of this book. So I put up with her unprofessional, poorly performed, and God-awful narration for as long as I could. Until I just couldn't do it anymore. I tried listening to this book in smaller doses, hoping I could finish it. I had about 2 and a half hours left before I just had to give up on this book entirely. If this book ever comes out in Braille or is re-released with a decent narrator, I'll be all over it and I'll definitely buy it again!

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

not really worth the credit

Revisado: 04-28-21

I already read The Secret, and this book was pretty much repeating what's in The Secret. It wasn't nearly as inspiring and it didn't really hold my interest that much. I'd just get The Secret, more inspiring, and more bang for your buck.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

worth reading again and again!

Revisado: 03-15-21

This is one of the most creative and fun books I've ever read about magick. For years I've been using guided visualizations for manifesting my dreams and developing myself. I have only recently got into using other magickal tools more consistently as part of my magickal practice. As I listened to some of the techniques he shared, I realized I've been using them for years! Other techniques I haven't used before, I found very inspiring. This book reminds me what's at the heart of any spells I cast, and that is my ability to visualize and really feel what I want to manifest or accomplish, because that is what empowers the magickal tools and spells. I'm not a visual person, in fact I am totally blind from birth, so at times I tweaked the more visual aspects of his techniques to make them work for me. I've bought the sequel book, Mind Magic Methods, and can't wait to get started reading that book!

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

fascinating!

Revisado: 03-07-21

I bought this book out of curiosity because I'd heard of thought forms before, and I wanted to learn more about them. As a Wiccan witch and white magic practitioner, I felt hesitant at the mention of "creating servitors", as it might be something I wouldn't feel comfortable with or ethically in line with doing myself. However, I appreciate the author's frank conversation around respecting the feelings and wishes of any entity you might create, that goes beyond merely the entity serving your desires and wishes. So even though I haven't decided yet if this is something I will do in my practice yet, I'm open to the idea as something to consider. I'm discussing the notion with other magic practitioners I know and trust, good friends of mine.
I'm also checking in with the Goddess as I know Her, and my higher self, to discern if this is something I might want to try and play with. Thanks for this book and its positive attitude towards respecting the entities one creates, as one respects deities and spirits, rather than "compelling) such beings to do one's own wishes.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

If you're in the mood for a dry college textbook .

Revisado: 03-05-21

Then this book might be for you.

I wasn't looking for a college textbook. I was looking for some down to earth information on using my creative writing in my magickal practice. I couldn't get past the dry discussion on the mechanics of writing and linguistics. If that's what you're into, awesome. Otherwise, don't waste your credits on this book.

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7 steps? sure.

Revisado: 01-21-21

So, this book might have been okay if I hadn't already read several other law of attraction books that went in to much better detail about how it works and how to use it. At best, this book was a cliff's notes, and a vague one at that. It barely glossed over what the law of attraction is, let alone how to use affirmations and visualizations. It barely touched on how to change beliefs that could be blocking you from what you're manifesting. I'll be exchanging this book hopefully and getting my credit back.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Too many crickets

Revisado: 10-02-20

This was a really good Ocean Sounds meditation I slept really well I enjoyed the heck out of it. I love the ocean. I love the Pacific especially but I’ll take the Atlantic for free. But I’m a California girl. My only issue was that it had crickets throughout and they were always singing in the same notes so it was a little bit distracting from the Ocean Sounds. Otherwise it was really nice.

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