Best Business Practices for Photographers by John Harrington – DNF
I rarely do not finish (DNF) a book. But I just could not keep reading this book. There are a few reasons. First, it was a bit dry, even by business book standard. I usually enjoy reading about business, but I struggled to get into this. I also thought some of it was a bit classist. I tend to think of everyone as equal, despite their job titles. The advice made it seem like I should treat a CEO differently than I expect them to treat me or others. The last straw was a line about talking to a male client; you can chat sports but not with women. I just can’t do misogynistic advice like this. Plenty of women love and can talk more about sports. Some men have no clue and couldn’t care less about sports.
At this point, I put the book down. I’m not sure if I will pick it up again. It doesn’t seem like the right book for me. I may flip through and skim to see if anything is interesting or pertinent to me.
The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand out From The Crowd by Allan Dib – 4 Stars
This book wasn’t groundbreaking and didn’t really offer anything new to me. The author presents his thoughts well, and he offers an actual free PDF. Many books require you to enter an email address and add you to their list to get the PDF they mention in their book.
I think this book would be great for anyone starting out in their business and not sure where to start. It would also be useful for others that aren’t familiar with marketing concepts. I’ve read several business and marketing books, and they all say the same thing.
I borrowed this book from Amazon Prime Reads, and it is still available if you are interested.
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson – 5 Stars
One minute you are walking through your city, and the next, you wake up in a room where a young woman places a cool cloth on your head and gives you an aspirin. As you start to come to, she explains you’re in The Garden. A beautiful indoor space filled with other young women, all tattooed with a butterfly on their back. And the only way out is death.
I really enjoyed this book! I wasn’t sure I would after reading a few one-star reviews on Goodreads. I liked how the story was told. It starts from when the FBI has rescued the young women. We have an unreliable narrator detailing what happened in The Garden, interspersed with bits about her life before being kidnapped. There was a twist at the end that I was not expecting. I always enjoy a twist I don’t see coming because, more often than not, I call the twist well before it happens.
I would recommend this book. This book is also the first in a series. It does well as a standalone, though. I am going to see if I can find the rest of the series through my library. I borrowed this from Amazon Prime Reads. It is currently only available for free under Kindle Unlimited.
I only finished two books in January. I’ve got three other books I’ve been reading so February may be a big month for completed books!
