Did you like the "Myth I Believed" feature of the book?

Use this forum to discuss the January 2018 Book of the Month, "And Then I Met Margaret" by Rob White
User avatar
Jkhorner
Posts: 236
Joined: 09 Feb 2018, 08:32
Currently Reading: The Sword Swallower and a Chico Kid
Bookshelf Size: 421
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jkhorner.html
Latest Review: The Stipulations of the New Covenant by Ralph E. Bass, Jr.

Re: Did you like the "Myth I Believed" feature of the book?

Post by Jkhorner »

I felt that this book was meant to be a teaching tool, and not just relate stories from the author's past. Because of that, the "myth I believed" section is a marvelous tool that teachers will often use to help the main points stick in their students' minds. In my education degree we learned it's best to "Tell them what you're going to say, say it, and then remind them what you said." This book did that simply and well.
User avatar
Emie Cuevas
Posts: 368
Joined: 07 Aug 2017, 19:03
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 107
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-emie-cuevas.html
Latest Review: Trumpism: A Cultural Psycho-Genesis by Michel Valentin
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by Emie Cuevas »

I think it's brilliant. The author gives you advance notice of what to look for in each chapter, an he then tells you whether or not you got it right. This is great because a few times I had to reread the chapter to understand what his conclusion was. As i had had a different opinion
Whether you Think you can,
or you Think you can't,
You are Right

Napoleon Hill
Quithilion
Posts: 33
Joined: 25 Feb 2018, 00:26
Currently Reading: It's Time to Align
Bookshelf Size: 13
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-quithilion.html
Latest Review: Final Notice by Van Fleisher

Post by Quithilion »

I found the myth feature to be very helpful. By reading this before a chapter I found myself thinking "do I believe this myth?" And then during the chapter I'd find myself thinking about the myth and where it showed up in in Rob's story.

I didn't always agree with his definition of the truth at the end of the chapter, but we both learned something, even if it wasn't the same thing.
Jax14
Posts: 298
Joined: 04 Sep 2015, 03:50
Favorite Author: Stephen King
Currently Reading: The Thursday Murder Club
Bookshelf Size: 547
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jax14.html
Latest Review: Lost on the Edge of Eternity by Jonathan Floyd
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 2
fav_author_id: 2376

Post by Jax14 »

I did enjoy that aspect of the book. Even before self-help books were so prominent a lot of learning lessons came from family or school and peer pressure defined many of our perceptions. Because we never really discussed those types of feelings as kids and just took on board what our "elders" told us, we never questioned the advice and it's interesting to see that some of the "myths" are the same across the world. It's also amazing that once we open our eyes to the possibilities of the world that things we were taught to believe as kids are just not true.
User avatar
ericahs
Posts: 50
Joined: 24 Feb 2018, 09:07
Currently Reading: The Cybernetic Tea Shop
Bookshelf Size: 27
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ericahs.html
Latest Review: End of the Last Great Kingdom by Victor Rose

Post by ericahs »

I think it's interesting that they seem to have been examples of the author expressing his perspective but then taking a step back and allowing the reader to establish their own perspective within the context, or at least with just that in ming
The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.- Douglas Adams
User avatar
ericahs
Posts: 50
Joined: 24 Feb 2018, 09:07
Currently Reading: The Cybernetic Tea Shop
Bookshelf Size: 27
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ericahs.html
Latest Review: End of the Last Great Kingdom by Victor Rose

Post by ericahs »

Jkhorner wrote: 05 Mar 2018, 10:38 I felt that this book was meant to be a teaching tool, and not just relate stories from the author's past. Because of that, the "myth I believed" section is a marvelous tool that teachers will often use to help the main points stick in their students' minds. In my education degree we learned it's best to "Tell them what you're going to say, say it, and then remind them what you said." This book did that simply and well.
That's a really good point. I like how your placing the author inthe role of a teacher, never thought of it like that. Thanks!
The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.- Douglas Adams
User avatar
revna01
Posts: 1087
Joined: 13 Mar 2018, 00:39
Currently Reading: Storm Front
Bookshelf Size: 143
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-revna01.html
Latest Review: Rufus: A Boy's Extraordinary Experiences in the Civil War by Phoebe Sheldon

Post by revna01 »

I appreciated the role that the "Myth I believed" segment played. Foremost, it showed how the author had changed his perspective over time. It demonstrates the necessity of seeing beyond preconceived notions or just taking everything we are taught at face value. It is up to each of us to determine our own truth. I didn't feel like the author was telling us how to feel, but rather, was encouraging us to identify myths in our own lives and build our own new understanding.
User avatar
Zain A Blade
Posts: 285
Joined: 16 Mar 2018, 14:22
Favorite Book: Find You and Find Everything
Currently Reading: The End of the Beginning
Bookshelf Size: 64
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-zain-a-blade.html
Latest Review: Swordpoint by David Crane

Post by Zain A Blade »

I loved the presentation of a myth at the beginning of each chapter, it provided context for the ensuing chapter and prepared the reader's mind to receive wisdom. The myths are also serve as good reference points for what was discussed in each chapter.
User avatar
Jgideon
Posts: 667
Joined: 03 Apr 2018, 03:37
Favorite Book: Gates to Tangier
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 253
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jgideon.html
Latest Review: Sundays with Sister ssj by Anthony Happy LaRiccia

Post by Jgideon »

I liked that every chapter begins with the myth that he believed before an event and ends with the lesson that he drew from the event. This makes the book easy to read.
User avatar
bobbiebryner
Posts: 30
Joined: 15 Apr 2018, 10:17
Currently Reading: Nightlord: Sunset
Bookshelf Size: 22
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bobbiebryner.html
Latest Review: Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin

Post by bobbiebryner »

I liked the "Myth I Believed" part of the book. I think it broke up the tales nicely. Instead of reading like a cohesive novel, it broke it into short stories appropriate for a daily meditation. I think that having those at the beginning and end of each chapter made me pause and reflect on the story before I went on to the next chapter. Like the landscape boss in the chapter about paying attention, the author used "verbal flagging" except in written form to get the reader to pay attention. I guess he learned more from that man than he realized.
User avatar
Shrabastee Chakraborty
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 2491
Joined: 23 Mar 2018, 00:38
Favorite Book: The Warramunga's War
Currently Reading: Timewise
Bookshelf Size: 1146
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-shrabastee-chakraborty.html
Latest Review: The Infinite Passion of Life by D.J. Paolini

Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

I found this feature to be very unique. In my opinion, this had both a positive and a negative effect. On one hand, this presented sort of a chapter summary and in most cases captured the theme of that chapter in an apt manner. But on the other hand, those myths and his changed views sounded too much like morals at the end of fables. Sometimes they were not the same lessons I had in mind, or maybe not the same way in which I would have interpreted the story. Sometimes they even sounded too preachy. While all other aspects of the book made it so unique from average self-help books, this one feature made the book sounding exactly like one.
User avatar
10mile72
Posts: 554
Joined: 21 May 2018, 12:13
Favorite Book: My Trip To Adele
Currently Reading: The Message?
Bookshelf Size: 309
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-10mile72.html
Latest Review: Marriage 101 by Rodney D Sewell

Post by 10mile72 »

I did like the "Myth I Believed" part. It helped show his evolution. As for letting the reader decide the lesson to be drawn, that's an interesting thought. I think it would have worked. He could have left it more open, perhaps proposing a list of possible lessons and letting the reader decide; after all, we don't all interpret the same data the same way. :)
User avatar
onixpam
Posts: 318
Joined: 14 Feb 2018, 00:19
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 150
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-onixpam.html
Latest Review: Toni the Superhero by R.D. Base

Post by onixpam »

For me, the best of the book is how every chapter starts and ends. The myth I believed, the reality I discovered. I grab a lot of wisdom from it.
User avatar
HanElizabeth397
Posts: 285
Joined: 27 Mar 2020, 13:51
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 23
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-hanelizabeth397.html
Latest Review: The Mindset by Ace Bowers

Post by HanElizabeth397 »

I really liked this idea. It made it feel more like a collection of stories rather than a story of someone life, which is the idea I think the author was going for
User avatar
kipper_
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 129
Joined: 28 Jul 2022, 21:38
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 6
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kipper.html
Latest Review: And Then I Met Margaret by Rob White

Post by kipper_ »

Yes, I enjoyed the myth construction format. I didn't always agree with the revelations, but I think the author is allowed to have his own opinion on the insights he gained. The myth format was a great tool to keep the reader engaged.
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "And Then I Met Margaret" by Rob White”