Author: James Miller
Publisher: self-published, 2017
Pages: 77
Genre: self help
Obtained: from author in exchange for an honest review
Summary: The author provides the reader with ten commandments to follow to live life with, and on purpose.
Thoughts: This book starts out with an introduction that really turned me off. The author stated that his intent "is not to offend any person of faith", but offending people of faith is exactly what he does. He states on page xv: "Last, and certainly not least, I'm not afraid to have an opinion on the matter, as I don't believe in imaginary friends (insert random god) meting out justice in the here and now or deciding my fate after the death of my brain." The introduction is filled with statements like this one. The author is obviously not a person who believes in a god, but I believe he could have shared his opinions more respectfully to those that do. Once I got to chapter one, I found his words to become less insulting, but the damage of making me not want to be like him, or live a life following commandments that he does, had already been done. I would suggest whether you are a person of faith or not, it is better to skip the introduction unless you are just looking for ideas to contemplate. It is not helpful. I don't think the path needs to be cleared to accept the author's commandments.
Starting in chapter one and in all of the following chapters, the author states a rule to live by, gives inspiring quotes and historical and scientific examples to back up his rule, and then explains how and why to follow this rule. I loved the quotes and his rules to live by were good ones. In my opinion, they even went along with the ten commandments, not against them, so I don't understand why the majority of his introduction is necessary. This book could have been named something totally different and been helpful to people of all different beliefs. So, his commandments, if called "alternate commandments" or "additional commandments" or something much more creative than I could ever come up with, could also help most people of faith.
The author writes in a simple, easy to follow way and is well organized. He puts a bit of humor in, although some of it may not be humorous to everyone. His examples are relevant to his commandments, but sometimes, he tries to over explain specific exceptions. If anyone has ever tried to make a list of rules, they know that there are always exceptions to them. The book was thought provoking, but I did find myself wanting to point out to the author that at times his statements were going against his own commandments. This was distracting.
All in all, if you are interested in thought provoking books, this is one. If you can ignore the religious bashing, underneath are some very helpful rules to live by.
Tea: Pineapple Pop Herbal Tea
Obtained: free sample with tea of the month club subscription
I obtained this sample of Pineapple Pop Herbal Tea with my June tea of the month club delivery from Plum Deluxe. This tea contains no caffeine. The ingredients are green rooibos, pineapple bits, apple bits, mango bits, apricot bits, rosehips, lemongrass, orange peel, calendula, cornflowers, and pineapple essence.
I love pineapples, but I wasn't sure how I would like pineapple in tea. The leaves were long and rectangular in all sizes and in colors of greens, browns, and off white. Chunks of fruits were mixed in. The leaves had a sweet pineapple scent. I put one teaspoon of leaves into my teapot and poured eight ounces of water that had been boiled over the leaves. I let this steep for three minutes. The liquid was a light yellow with a slight fruity scent. The taste was also very light and fruity with a hint of floral. The pineapple did not stand out for me. I tasted more of a fruit blend. This was a delicious, calming, relaxing tea with the feel of chamomile tea, but with a slight fruity taste instead. This would be perfect at night to wind down at the end of a hard day.
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