Official Review: Epic Excellence by David W Deal

[bookowlie]

Nice, thorough review! It's great that the book is easy to understand and for the average person. Like you, when I first read the summary, I thought it was about how to succeed in business. It sounds like the errors could have been caught from an extra round of editing. Congrats to the author for having the BOTD!

[papaya12]

Congrats to the author on making BOTD. Also good job on making the book concise that's hard to do when your writing non-fiction.

[David Nash]

I love to read books on self improvement and I appreciate the reviewer warning me of grammar errors that might mar the book. Hopefully a future revision will correct those errors.

[Rachaelamb1]

With you on the grammar. I'm not one to pick at every little thing ... but if they add up to interfere with the book itself, something has to be said.

It's funny, because I asked a question the other day about another point of yours...do you read a book like this straight through once (to get it to count for a reading challenge, or to write a review, etc) or do you go through a chapter or section at a time, more slowly, so that you can put it into practice as you go?

I find that books like this are best read slowly. That said, I am the type of person who has a hard time putting down a book until it is all the way finished. The fact that this one caused me to stop many times is a feat in itself!

-- 28 Jan 2017, 13:05 --

Fine review! I agree with you about the bad editing - I noticed errors when I paged through it quickly, and it's a shame that the book ended up published, mistakes and all. I'd like to point out that it's not a novel, but a self-help book. But it's nice to learn that you want to go back and read it again, that's quite a testimonial in itself.

-- 28 Jan 2017, 13:13 --

This book contains three sections. The first section will help you discover the direction you want to go in life by assessing your passions, values, vision, and mission. The second section is all about planning. It takes you through different strategies and ways to achieve your goals. The last section discusses ways to propel yourself forward and gain momentum.

The reviewer has given us a detailed and thorough review. For a reader like myself, the organization per the quote above is discouraging. The author describes the first section as philosophical; this is where either boredom or my contrarian viewpoint would cause me to abandon the book. I would either agree with the author (boredom) or disagree and get bogged down with the reasoning that led to my disagreement (contrarian). With this book, I had many, many disagreements in the first 20 pages of the sample so I will probably not read further unless the author invites me to join an argument.

All three sections tie in to each other. If you have trouble with the first section, I do not think you would agree very much with the rest of the book. I did not think of this book as being very controversial, but I suppose if you have a strong disagreement it would be off-putting to read an entire book that bases its methods on that disagreement.

[truebookaddict]

This sounds like a great book. I think it came along at just the right time for me. It's a shame about the grammatical errors. Maybe the author can polish it up more in future. Great review!

[Celticlady]

A self help book that helps a person 'embrace their true passions' is always one worth looking at. People sometimes need a bit of help to ease their way on the path that they have chosen. Nice review!

[Janetleighgreen]

Thank you for the review. I'm not into self help books, but great review.

[Book Devotee]

It is nice to find a self help book that is not annoying, but actually makes you feel like it could help you. I love hearing that the book is done in three parts the first being designed to help us figure out where we want to go, most self help books bore me from the start and always make me feel as if I couldn't do it. your review is concise, and gives a good overview of the book without being repetitive. thanks for the great review, I may have to read this my self.

[Vir]

Great review!
If a book like this (I'm talking about the thematic here) makes you take notes and think about how you can implement what it says in your life, is that it has accomplished its mission.

[Bandersnatch]

Great review! Certainly makes me curious to read it.

[cschaubfalls]

I like this kind of book so I was thrilled to have it offered for free and quickly added it to my "to read" list. After reading this great review describing the book as practical and motivating, I am anxious to push it to the top of my list!

[Lest92]

With you on the grammar. I'm not one to pick at every little thing ... but if they add up to interfere with the book itself, something has to be said.

It's funny, because I asked a question the other day about another point of yours...do you read a book like this straight through once (to get it to count for a reading challenge, or to write a review, etc) or do you go through a chapter or section at a time, more slowly, so that you can put it into practice as you go?

I find that books like this are best read slowly. That said, I am the type of person who has a hard time putting down a book until it is all the way finished. The fact that this one caused me to stop many times is a feat in itself!

-- 28 Jan 2017, 13:05 --

Fine review! I agree with you about the bad editing - I noticed errors when I paged through it quickly, and it's a shame that the book ended up published, mistakes and all. I'd like to point out that it's not a novel, but a self-help book. But it's nice to learn that you want to go back and read it again, that's quite a testimonial in itself.

-- 28 Jan 2017, 13:13 --

This book contains three sections. The first section will help you discover the direction you want to go in life by assessing your passions, values, vision, and mission. The second section is all about planning. It takes you through different strategies and ways to achieve your goals. The last section discusses ways to propel yourself forward and gain momentum.

The reviewer has given us a detailed and thorough review. For a reader like myself, the organization per the quote above is discouraging. The author describes the first section as philosophical; this is where either boredom or my contrarian viewpoint would cause me to abandon the book. I would either agree with the author (boredom) or disagree and get bogged down with the reasoning that led to my disagreement (contrarian). With this book, I had many, many disagreements in the first 20 pages of the sample so I will probably not read further unless the author invites me to join an argument.

All three sections tie in to each other. If you have trouble with the first section, I do not think you would agree very much with the rest of the book. I did not think of this book as being very controversial, but I suppose if you have a strong disagreement it would be off-putting to read an entire book that bases its methods on that disagreement.

Don't worry:) Happens to everyone - still is an excellent review.

[sourav15]

It's very interesting to read this kind of books. The review's great and thoughtful. As the reviewer said, it's great and very thought-provoking if a book let you make some effort as well.

[Emy Katherine]

Just downloaded this book.Well,considering I am reflecting on the past and what I can do to make this year better than the last...Let's just say this one is for me!By the way,great review and congrats to the author!

[jamesabr]

The fact that this book made you think over what it could contribute to your life is very interesting. I'll definitely consider reading it.