book report

this is WAY over-due, but i wanted to share my two cents about the books i have collecting dust in my shortlist...first up,

the adventures of johnny bunko: the last career guide you'll ever need

this might be the most non-traditional career advice book you can find out there. as you peel back the cover jacket you are immediately immersed in the art and design that is manga, a

comic format used by the japanese. and, like a comic book, the words are being communicated through thought bubbles rather than long paragraphs that seem to drag on and on. but don't let the book's brevity turn you away because what it lacks in words it makes up for in pure genius. yes, i said genius, because the authors don't bullshit their way through a two-hundred and thirty-two page "self-help" career book like so many others...they break down and simplify our qualms and our worries about where our lives are headed without wasting our time. and they manage to do so with the help of some magic chopsticks...intrigued? you should be. and it's the kind of advice you can use whether you are fifteen or fifty.

gimme!

and secondly,

20 something, 20 everything: a quarter-life woman's guide to balance and direction

christine hassler wastes no time in giving it to you straight. her introduction chapter is titled "welcome to your twenty-something crisis". yah, and you thought only mid-life crisis's existed. wrong! hassler uncovers why our twenties are filled with a shared sense that nothing is really wrong, but nothing really feels right, either. she introduced me to terms like "expectation hangover" and "the comparison game" which totally matched up with the way i was feeling after i had graduated last may. the book is filled with a lot of reflection exercises to help you apply her advice directly to your life (i was too cool for school to do most of these...okay, any of them, but if you like that sort of thing go for it). and she covers topics ranging from finances to relationships so you really get a complete picture of why and how we females feel off balance and lost throughout this fragile decade of our lives. her target audience is obviously women, but that doesn't mean a man can't benefit from her writing.

gimme!

and now you have two excellent works to turn to if you feel pressure or mis-direction in your life. i'm always eager to hear what other titles are out there, so please holler at me if you come across one and i'll check it out for you.