Tag Archives: Book Review

Idea To iPhone: The Essential Guide To Creating Your First App For iPhone and iPad

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Idea To iPhone- The Essential Guide To Creating Your First App For iPhone and iPadApps are big business and the media is full of stories of app millionaires. The internet has made becoming rich easier than ever, or has it? How easy is it to make an app? Or more importantly, how easy is it to sell it?

17-year-old Nick D’Aloisio hit the headlines by selling his app, Summly, to Yahoo for an estimated £18m, making him a tech superstar. But what about the rest of us who are not teenage whiz kids? I reviewed new book, Idea to iPhone to find out. Read on….

Idea to iPhone: The Essential Guide To Creating Your First App For iPhone and iPad by Carla White talks you through building an app from idea to iPhone, iPad, iPad mini or iPod Touch. Chapter 1 kicks off with your app adventure. It lists the excuses you may have not to make an app and dismantles them. I immediately liked this book when I was flicking through it for the first time. It is 294 pages of hard to find knowledge that you would not get anywhere else. Well, maybe if you trawled the internet for days, but even then I am not sure.

The graphs and pictures are great. The book is easy to understand anyway, but they add to the information getting into your brain. I learned that making an app is not as hard as you think and nor is it as expensive.

The other great information in this book is on Apple. How to grab their attention and how to work with them. Carla goes through everything you need to know about working with Apple and how iTunes can help or hurt sales. For instance, did you know that Apple take a 30% cut? They also pay you once a month after a four-week delay. There is also a step-by-step guide on becoming an Apple developer. Each chapter ends with a handy table of key points.

Chapter 2 is Shaping Ideas into Apps People Want. An essential chapter as there is no point in making apps that no one wants. This brilliant chapter lets you know how to find your audience. It also tells you how to integrate your app with Facebook and which device will be right for you.

Another thing I liked about the book is the quotes doted throughout. Perfect for inspiration.

Teaching you about finding an audience and building an app is one thing but marketing is also paramount. This book also covers that. You don’t need to hire an expensive PR company (at least not at first) you just need some hard work and imagination. There is also a checklist on building a press kit and information on how people scan iTunes. Essential for marketing your app.

It also has tips on finding a great designer, or designing yourself. And also a lot of information on finding and working with a developer. Tech tips on Xcode are also incredibly useful.

Further tips on making a profit, keeping track of money and getting the press interested make this book essential for anyone who wants to create their own app and become successful.

Idea to IPhone: The Essential Guide to Creating Your First App for the IPhone and IPad

 

Living Gluten-Free | Book Review

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livingglutenfreeGluten-Free is the new food trend. And while living gluten-free used to be extremely difficult it has gradually gotten better. The need has met the demand. Gluten-free is now widely available and common in the mainstream media. Living Gluten-free is getting easier but it still has it’s challenges. Can these book help? Let’s find out.

Living gluten-free for dummies is a comprehensive guide to eating gluten-free. It talks you through the medical benefits of eating gluten-free, has almost 100 great recipes, and give you guidance on reading food labels.

The book also has great advice on coeliac disease, tells you about tests and lets you know what misdiagnoses you should look out for. Chapter 3 even has an entire chapter on coeliac disease. I don’t have coeliac disease but it would be a great resource for those who do. In fact 10p from every sale of the book goes to Coeliac UK.

The lists of food with and without gluten is also handy. As is the chapter on making sure food is gluten-free. There is also a table on shopping on a budget. This book is a really good resource on buying, eating and cooking gluten-free food. It certainly makes a daunting task much easier and tastier. The recipes are good. There is something there for everyone and not a horrible, cardboard-tasting meal in sight. For those who miss pasta or bread, there are even recipes to make your own. There is also a good amount of dessert recipes. Yum.

If you love eating out or are away from home a lot there is also a chapter to make sure you don’t fall off the wagon. For those with kids, there is a chapter on raising children gluten-free too.

Living Gluten-Free For Dummies

Business Continuity For Dummies | Book Review

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Business ContinuityI must confess that when I first saw the title of this book I was unsure what ‘business continuity’ actually meant. Was it to make sure that your business has the same branding through every part of the business? No, it is more obvious: it is to ensure the continuation of your business. Makes sense. The book tells you all about business continuity and helps you understand it.

Wiley, the publisher who published the For Dummies imprint, say: “Business continuity is all about having plans in place to enable your business to cope if disaster strikes in the form of fire, flood, terrorist attack, or simply if a key supplier lets you down.”

This book has five authors, which I think is a good thing, as they all have obviously written about their knowledge in their areas. Building a business is hard and it is a sad fact that most businesses fail. Prior research and the information in this book can help that. I found the chapter on achieving rapid results and quick wins particularly good. It even gave me some ideas for Frost.

Another thing I really like about the book is how easy it is to read (something that all of the For Dummies books have in common). The tables and checklists make me much more productive than a densely written book. After reading the book cover to cover I would highly recommend it for business owners. It just has so much information on recognising and avoiding risk. Each chapter has excellent information on keeping your business baby alive. It sets out an entire business continuity plan for you. An impressive and informative book. Don’t get a consultant, save your money and buy the book instead.

Business Continuity For Dummies

Pop Up Business For Dummies | Book Review

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thPop up businesses are big news. Their popularity has really grown in the past few years. I have been to some amazing pop up art shows and food launches. They are the new trendy thing and can be a great foundation for future business success. And with property prices rising rapidly it can seem like a financial black hole to tie yourself into a long lease.

You can start a pop up business for a number of reasons. To test a company out or just to see if the business world is really for you. Pop Up Business For Dummies lets you know exactly what a pop up is, how to find out if a pop up is right for you and where you can get help to start your pop up business. The contacts it has in it are worth the price alone.

This book makes you think with your head and not just get excited by an idea. You can write a business plan and research your market. It has handy tables and great tips in checklist form.

One of the best things about the book is that it gives you information on things you would not have thought about otherwise. Whilst reading it I had quite a few ‘ah’ moments. It also covers marketing, something that is always useful, and designing. If you do not want to do the designing yourself it has good advice on working with a designer. Of course the book also covers social media. It even has it’s own chapter.

It’s advice on writing a press release I found invaluable and it even gives an example. I read a lot of press releases and I know that writing a good one can make all the difference.

I think this book is a must for people starting a pop up business. From it’s checklists to it’s well researched business facts and detailed plans it is a handy guide. Dan Thompson really knows his stuff.

Pop Up Business For Dummies

 

 

Get Your Sh!t Together Book Review

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thegritdoctorLet’s be honest. We all have areas of our life that are just not together. Life is tough and time is short. Add in human nature such as laziness and anxiety, common things most people have to some degree, and then it is clear why many people are not achieving their destiny.  Enter this book from the author of Run Fat Bitch Run, Ruth Field AKA The Grit Doctor. She calls it your prescription for life.

There are grit commandments. Do’s and don’ts, great quotes and advice on just how to locate your inner bitch and use her to your advantage.

The book is a bit sweary and that might bother some people. If so, just overlook it. This is a great motivating book. It takes big things and makes them smaller. The idea of cleaning a shelf in your house one at a time and then using the analogy for every part of your life is effective. We all have things that we want to do but make excuses instead of achieving it. This book kicks you into shape. It makes you put your thinking into shape.

The Grit Doctor wants you to throw out to do lists and instead do The GYST Facilitator. Which is not just to do lists but breakdowns of where you want to go to and how to get there. You then take things step by step.

In fact it starts by making sure that you have the basics of life together: Home, job and family. You master these basics through actions. The book is about action and overcoming fears. If you ever wanted a friend in your life who was harsh but fair then buy this book. It is a great prescription to sort out your life. It is smart and witty and brutal. Just what you need in your life. It is a new type of self help, not the kind where you just read something vaguely motivating and forget about it, but the kind that actually makes you want to connect with your inner bitch and become the best version of yourself. Courtney Love has this great quote, “I found my inner bitch and I ran with her”. This book will help you do the same.

THE GRIT DOCTOR TAUGHT YOU HOW TO RUN

NOW SHE’S GOING TO TEACH YOU HOW TO RUN YOUR LIFE

 

Has becoming a capable, poised grown-up turned out to be more complicated than you imagined? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, and if you’re tired of the crappy stuff in life grinding you down, then it’s time to stop whining and GET YOUR SH!T TOGETHER. With this funny, frank and tough-talking guide, Ruth Fields’s alter ego, The Grit Doctor will help you:

 

  • Tackle daunting problems like a fearless superwoman
  • Figure out what you want from life and find the courage to GO FOR IT
  • Learn how to get more sh!t done in less time
  • Stop feeling bad about your less-than-perfect-life (because perfection’s overrated anyway)

 

 

The Grit Doctor does for self-help what she did for running: RIPS UP THE RULE BOOK.

 

Ruth Field is the author of RUN FAT B!TCH RUN and THE RUN FAT B!TCH RUN MARATHON PLAN. She is a former criminal barrister and lives in North London with her husband and twin sons. She blogs regularly at www.gritdoctor.wordpress.com and you can also find her on Twitter (@gritdoctor) and Facebook at  www.facebook.com/thegritdoctor.

 

Available from Amazon UK and WH Smith.

 

 

Running a Marathon For Dummies | Book Review

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runningamarathonMarathons are hugely popular now. It seems everyone I know is doing one. Although I have yet to join in, this book has made me feel inspired. Unfortunately injuries are rife as people underestimate just how hard it is. Enter Running A Marathon For Dummies. An incredibly informative book which covers everything you could possibly want to know about running a marathon.

What I found particularly interesting was chapter three: Understanding the Physiology of Marathon Running. It tells you all about your heart and what happens when you are running. How the heart pushes blood through your body and how your muscles carry you 26.2 miles. (the length of a marathon) It is completely fascinating and essential knowledge for those serious about running.

The book also has brilliant tests like the one to tell you how high your arch is. It gives you recommendations on what gear to buy. It also tells you how to stay strong and healthy. This book will hopefully make any injuries less common, in fact an entire chapter is dedicated to recognising and avoiding common injuries and also has the treatments in case the worst happens. You will also be educated about your body and what it goes through. It has a good amount of exercises with a step-by-step guide on how to do them.

It also helps you train with running drills, the tools to help you create your own training preparation and it also gives you training programmes. An excellent book for everyone from the beginner to the more experienced. Jason Karp really knows his stuff. I loved this book. An excellent guide.

Running a Marathon For Dummies by Jason Karp,

With record numbers participating in marathons worldwide, whether you are a beginner or an experienced runner, this title provides tips and techniques to help improve stamina, speed and overall health. Taking the reader all the way from sitting on the couch through to their first marathon and beyond, it also contains advice for practiced marathoners as to how to continue improving performance.

The Shining Girls Book Review + 5 Copies To Giveaway

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shininggirlsThe Shining Girls is a book about a serial killer who kills girls who shine. One by one they die, but not Kirby. The heroine of the story is a courageous, feisty girl who survives a vicious attack and then hunts down the man who tried to kill her. Kirby is definitely one of the most ballsy fictional heroines for a long time. You could imagine her teaming up with Lisbeth Salander. She is brave and as witty as she is determined to bring the man who tried to kill her and killed her dog to justice. (don’t be thrown about the dog, it is a heartwarming and sad part of the story. You will fall in love with the dog)

Harper Curtis, a violent and arrogant killer, stumbles across a house that opens up into other times, allowing him to visit his victims as children, teenagers and women. He murders them in a horrendous way across the decades. He is a skilled killer without mercy. He thinks he is invincible and undetectable, but is he a match for Kirby?

Kirby teams up with Dan, an ex-homicide journalist who investigated her attempted murder. He is burnt out and jaded. Covering sport instead when Kirby becomes his intern for a college credit. They make an unlikely pair but they are a great team. Kirby’s mother Rachel is another brilliant character.

This well written, pacy book was hard to put down. Written by Lauren Beukes who won the coveted Arthur C. Clarke Award for her visionary novel Zoo City in 2011. The Shining Girls crosses over a few genres and manages to do them all flawlessly. Crime meets thriller meets science fiction.

Beukes is an incredibly talented writer. It seems obvious to say a writer is good at putting sentences together, but some are better than others. The book is obviously well researched with wonderful gems of information and character observation throughout.

The killings in the book are quite horrific so the book may not be for the faint-hearted. The fact that the book is fiction does not make Harper Curtis any less terrifying. The Shining Girls is a very original book. An exceptional example of thriller writing.

Frost Magazine has five copies of The Shining Girls to giveaway. To win just follow @Frostmag on Twitter and Tweet, ‘I want to win #TheShiningGirls with @Frostmag’. Alternatively like us on Facebook or sign up for our newsletter. Good luck.

 

The girl who wouldn’t die, hunting a killer who shouldn’t exist…

Lauren Beukes’ ‘The Shining Girls’ is out on Thursday 25 April. You can buy it here.

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Tweaking The Dream By Clea Myers | Book Review

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cleamyersMany people have landed in the city of dreams with high hopes of making it big, and in return Los Angeles has chewed them up and spit them out. There are over 100,000 actors in LA and not everyone gets to live their dream. This book by Clea Myers is a cautionary tale. One that should be read by every wannabe. Clea is from a good background, went to Brown University and landed a job with a top producer. Then everything went wrong and she became addicted to crystal meth.

First of all I will point out that Clea is a friend. She is a very lovely person and incredibly talented. She now lives in London and is a writer and casting associate. She even gave an amazing performance in my film Prose & Cons. As I read the book I found it hard not to only to picture this drug addicted young woman with the Clea I know, but I also found it hard to read about her suffering. It is quite a story, and a testament to how strong Clea is, and how far she has come. Clea is heartbreakingly honest and holds nothing back. Her nightmare descent is told in vivid glory. It is a story that was brave to tell and she should be commended for it.

The book is well written. Clea is obviously a writer of note. The tale of her descent into crystal meth addiction should be read by everyone from drug addicts to school children. It is the most anti-drug book I have ever read. In fact, the most anti-drug thing I have every come across. For this reason it should be widely read. If it stops just one person from becoming addicted to drugs then it will have served it’s purpose.

Tweaking The Dream is an excellent read. Even if, like me, you don’t know anything about drugs. The story is partly an epic struggle of survival and another side of Hollywood. An excellent book.

Tweaking the Dream: A Crystal Meth True Story