Maddie

For a book ‘written’ (recorded) so long ago, it remains poignant and summarises a lot of the self-help industry’s messaging succinctly. Obviously it lacks nuance (and you have to look past the male-centricism which is understandable for a 1950s work), but it was still a rapid reminder of basic self-help principles.

My edition also included a bonus book “How To Create Million Dollar Ideas” also by him, which I found introduced more new ideas to me. I particularly enjoyed his prompts inviting the reader to reflect on creativity in their lives.

This little book is an excellent intro to writing systems, with alphabetic systems as the focus. Davies' illustrations and clear style kept me engaged and left me feeling informed by the end. I know this will be a fantastic reference book for me - especially with the more specific A-Z section.

A tough read for sure, but an excellent one. My only critique is that the chapters were really quite long which made it difficult to find natural stopping and starting points when I didn't have time to read a whole chapter in one session. This book has definitely made me want to check out Bates' other works.