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aCosmicWave reviewed The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking, #1)

Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008, Walker Books Ltd)

An unflinching novel about the impossible choices of growing up, by an award-winning writer.Imagine you're …

Review of 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Dystopia. Despair. Dread. A talking dog. Yes! A loveable, huggable, talkable dog. And death. Lots and lots of death. What more could you want from an end-of-the-world thriller? My only complaint would have to be the longevity of the main character. He is a whiny, annoying, brat that has the unfortunate fortune of surviving all of the unexpected curve balls that the end of times throws at him while his likeable sidekicks get killed off one by one. I'm excited to read the next book in the series... Despite the utter sense of hopelessness in the novel, I can't help but stay optimistic that the protagonist gets dead soon.

aCosmicWave reviewed I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

Ramit Sethi: I Will Teach You to Be Rich (2009)

Review of 'I Will Teach You to Be Rich' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Its easy to take a quick look at the gimmicky title of this book and roll your eyes. Yet, I feel like there is enough meat here to make it a worthwhile read for the average up and coming college grad. The book is not without its flaws. For instance, I can appreciate Ramit's desire to show us "exactly how its done" and document the hard details of his personal finances but this quickly ages the book (which isn't even that old!) since the bargains and dreamy interest rates he writes about are long gone.

Overall, the advice he gives is solid for the most of us but a bit too lenient for those with hyper aspirations toward Financial Independence. Ramit's suggestion of attaining a target saving's rate of 10 percent while spending 20-30 percent of income as "fun money" doesn't really jive with my reasoning but I realize that …

Its easy to take a quick look at the gimmicky title of this book and roll your eyes. Yet, I feel like there is enough meat here to make it a worthwhile read for the average up and coming college grad. The book is not without its flaws. For instance, I can appreciate Ramit's desire to show us "exactly how its done" and document the hard details of his personal finances but this quickly ages the book (which isn't even that old!) since the bargains and dreamy interest rates he writes about are long gone.

Overall, the advice he gives is solid for the most of us but a bit too lenient for those with hyper aspirations toward Financial Independence. Ramit's suggestion of attaining a target saving's rate of 10 percent while spending 20-30 percent of income as "fun money" doesn't really jive with my reasoning but I realize that even this will put people ahead of the majority of the American population. What makes this book special, in my opinion, is Ramit's personality and charm. His attitude really get you pumped and motivated to do something--ANYTHING--to better your financial security. Today.

aCosmicWave reviewed Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker

Jacob Lund Fisker: Early Retirement Extreme (2010, Createspace)

Review of 'Early Retirement Extreme' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Jacob Lund Fisker's Early Retirement Extreme is a convoluted, disorganized, melting pot of pseudo-philosophical ideas. Don't get me wrong--I realize that there aren't too many role models out there for those of us seeking to attain the elusive dream of "Financial Independence". I just don't think that I connected much with Jacob. His somewhat scientific approach to the frugal lifestyle was unnecessarily complicated and for the most part failed to resonate with me. Fisker often repeats that this book is more of a philosophical education on his ideology rather than a detailed guide to help the rest of us reach our financial goals. In my opinion, his disclaimers are simply an excuse for him to write a whole lot without really saying much of anything.