May 2023 Reading List

Reflection Point is the sixth book in the Eternity Springs series. I have previously listened to them as audiobooks for book numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 in December 2022, January 2023 and March 2023, and I listened to this one too as an audiobook from the library. My library doesn’t have book number 5 – Nightingale Way, but that didn’t affect my ability to follow the storyline.

Newcomer to the town, Savannah Moore sets up her handmade soap business. When she has a run-in with local cop Zach Turner she doesn’t trust him. The story reveals why as we discover Savannah’s troubled past.

An easy to listen-to book with a predictable storyline, but a good book to escape into.

Narrated by Amy Landon, it runs for 10 hours and 36 minutes.

This is a beautiful novel about Zoe, a care nurse working in a hospice who writes down messages from her dying patients to be given to family and friends after their death. This gave the dying great comfort and in most cases comfort to those who are left behind.

Another Sandie Docker book I listened to as an audiobook. Unfortunately, I found the narrator to have a very robotic voice that lacked emotion, but I did like the different voices she used.

Journalist Laura finds a photo of her recently deceased Grandmother with a reference to Banksia Bay. Laura travels there to uncover her Grandmothers past.

The book switches from the present day to the 1950s and 1960s as Laura learns about what happened all those years ago.

Narrated by Kathryn Hartman, it runs for 10 hours and 51 minutes.

Another book by Erin Mooney of Made Urban to help people wanting to run a handmade business. I read Make More Money at Craft Fairs by Mooney in March 2023, which was a treasure trove of information, so I bought this book to expand my knowledge.

It’s 184 pages long and comes with a workbook that is 72 pages long.

It covers eight key areas:

1. Sales Channels
2. Who (Target Market, Niche Market, Ideal Customer)
3. What (Categories, Niche Product, Collections)
4. Why (Unique Selling Position)
5. How (Branding)
6. Where (Marketing Channels, Marketing Methods, Funnels)
7. When (Peaks & Valleys)
8. Track, Review & Plan

It expands on using Craft Fairs to sell your handmade products, covering websites, online marketplaces, retailers, affiliates, distributors and sales reps. So it takes you to another level.

The workbook provides worksheets that you can fill in as you progress through the valuable information in the book.

I highly recommend this book to other handmade sellers, but if you want a feel for the information that Mooney provides her Made Urban website is a valuable resource.

When Joan Anderson’s husband moved for work Joan choose not to make the move with him, but to go on a year long retreat to their Cape Cod cottage.

Money was tight so Joan had to earn her way with various jobs which gave her great insights into how others live, and for her to enjoy life more. During one of her jobs she met Joan Erikson, the widow of psychoanalyst Erik Erikson. They spent time together with Erikson instilling some wonderful wisdom.

If you like books about getting away from it all then you are sure to enjoy this one.

This is an often-referenced book amongst business owners, and I finally read it.

Josh Kaufman wrote it to teach terms and strategies used in business so we wouldn’t have to spend a fortune obtaining an MBA at a top university.

Kaufman’s definition of a successful business is:

(1) creates or provides something of value that (2) other people want or need (3) at a price they’re willing to pay, in a way that (4) satisfies the purchaser’s needs and expectations and (5) provides the business sufficient revenue to make it worthwhile for the owners to continue operation.

It is a information-rich book that takes quite a bit to digest and I can see myself having to read it quite a few times as I build my business to truly put into practice his teachings.

I have read quite a few of Wayne Dyer’s books and I enjoy his easy to understand concepts. This is my second reading of this book so it was more of a refresh for me.

In Wishes Fulfilled Dyer is teaching us that our greatest gift is our imagination, and we can use it to envision our ideal life. But we also need to rethink how we see ourselves, and be willing to say “I am God”. Not in the way that says we are better than anyone else, but that we were all created from God so we are God too.

When imagining our life Dyer does counter potential arguments by suggesting we ask ourselves:

• Does it feel natural?
• Am I willing to command My I Am Presence?
• Are my wishes in alignment with My Highest Self?
• Am I free of judgement, condemnation and criticism?

I saw this book in Big W and I knew the name but not much about Dave Grohl, other than being in The Foo Fighters.

I expected it to be an autobiography but it isn’t quite. Grohl definitely shares stories of his life but it’s not a play by play of his life, and it does jump around a bit.

It was interesting to read about his early days of travelling in bands and not having enough money to buy a decent amount of food and living on couches. And I didn’t even know he was a member of Nirvana – I’m pretty naive about bands, only knowing the lead singer.

Enjoyable read, but it does have a lot of drug references.