The Psychology of Creative Writing Review

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The Psychology of Creative Writing ReviewFirst, this book isn't really for the average reader -- it's definitely an academic book, with emphasis on not just literature reviews but original studies performed by the authors of various chapters. For the academic reader, however, the book covers ground you're going to have trouble finding journal articles on in PsycINFO. I nearly gave the book five stars for covering ground so rarely covered, but while some chapters are five-star material, the book as a whole isn't strong enough to warrant such a high rating.
I'm thrilled with things like the breakdown of different types of blocked writers (perhaps it's not the block that's the problem, but the writer who has issues), the exploration of great manuscripts as collaborative projects (read: projects to which crit partners have contributed ideas and even prose), and the variety of theories on the creative process. Having read Susan Perry's book Writing in Flow: Keys to Enhanced Creativity, I liked that there is a chapter from her that compresses the findings of that book into a briefer space.
Other chapters are weaker -- I had trouble with the chapter that suggested that physiognomy is valid; and despite my appreciation for evolutionary psychology, the chapter arguing that creative writing may be an adaptive process was weak. I also got a bit of a chuckle at the irony of a chapter that states that phrases like "plodding sluggishly" and "sauntering languidly" are good, evocative terms for writers to use when in fact they're weak writing (use strong verbs! avoid adverbs!). Even those with some expertise on writers may not be masters of the art themselves, it seems.
For those who are interested in digging into the research behind creative writing and creative writers, this is a worthwhile read -- especially for those who have already exhausted/are already familiar with the famous creativity research of authors like Kay Redfield Jamison (Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament), Nancy Andreason (The Creative Brain: The Science of Genius), and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (multiple books on the topic of Flow) and want to go farther.The Psychology of Creative Writing Overview

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Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don't Know: A Research Agenda for Improving the Mental Health of Our Youth Review

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Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don't Know: A Research Agenda for Improving the Mental Health of Our Youth ReviewThis hardbound tome (818 pages total) is an invaluable reference for the mental health professional who works with adolescents. It was a an impressive project , the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative, sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation and the Annenberg Public Policy Center that addressed what is known about mental health disorders in the adolescent years. Six commissions with distinguished scholars contributed their expertise on adolescent depression and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders and youth suicide. Each section is clear and thorough conceptually and also provides various treatment modalities and prevention strategies. There are also helpful graphs and charts incorporated throughout. This book has current research, lucid summaries and conclusions. In addition to the main focus of mental illness, this book includes the important work of the seventh commission---Beyond Disorder, the positive perspective on youth development which deals with how we can help our youth prepare to lead happy successful lives. The final chapters deal with the stigma of mental illness, the role of primary care doctors and the role of the front-line people who deal with adolescents: school-based mental health professionals. This work is valuable not only for the scholars, the clinicians and the parents of adolescents but the policy makers who make the decisions affecting the lives of our youth.Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don't Know: A Research Agenda for Improving the Mental Health of Our Youth Overview

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The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America's Top Traders (A Marketplace Book) Review

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The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America's Top Traders (A Marketplace Book) ReviewAlong with its prequel, "The New Market Wizards" is not just a book featuring top traders and their killer strategies that brought about their raging success. The two are no less self-help books giving the much needed pointers to anyone who wants to become a better trader as it repeatedly dissects what constitutes fatal emotional pitfalls and helps readers achieve an acute state of naked realization and, perhaps taken to the extreme, self-actualization. This observation is best captured in Jack Schwager's closing interview with Dr. Van K. Tharp in "Market Wizards": "When people approach the markets, they bring their personal problems with them".
For fundamentalists, "Market Wizards" is the more appropriate book to peruse. My favorite section in the book is "A Little Bit of Everything" where views of long-term investors are discussed at length. The longest write-ups in part one of the series, perhaps purposely so, are also the most useful as interviewees proffered their tricks of their trades with great candor - Michael Marcus (42 pages), James Rogers (38), Bruce Kovner (34), Michael Steinhardt (26). Other concise but equally useful comments were aired by David Ryan (20 - and check out the wealth of investment/trading books mentioned in the interview) and William O'Neill (18).
"The New Market Wizards" is in broad terms a general rehash of ideas propounded in the first book, except that it was more geared toward trading styles than investment techniques, plus the myriad traders highlighted were newer to the game at the penning of the book and in this sense their views less impressive/thought-provoking compared to its prequel where the most legendary / creme de la creme were handpicked to go into the definitive book. Consequently, I find myself picking up appreciably less useful ideas from the second book than I did from the first, albeit Jeff Yass's "The Mathematics Of Strategy" was a refreshing read.
As a summary of Schwager's two extraordinary books on top traders, here's my take on the most important elements that contribute to trading success:
(1) Stringent Risk Control
(2) Hard Work & Tenacity
(3) Know Thyself: Identifying Areas Of Competence & Weakness
(4) Know Thy Investment As Crap Begets Crap
(5) Open-mindedness To New Ideas & Unexplored Angles
(6) Willingness To Acknowledge Defeat & Change Tack When Proven Wrong
(7) Resilience, Courage & Conviction When Markets Go Against You In The Short-Term
(8) Humility To Accept That 'The Market Is Always Right'
(9) Patience To Let Profit Run But Resolution To Run When Proven Wrong
(10) Discipline: Setting Exit & Entry Points/Targets
(11) Defensive/Offensive Behavior: 'Preserving Equity First, Making Money Second'
(12) Fire To Succeed: Total Involvement, Not Haphazard Approach
As a humble contribution, I would like to add two cents as to what defines sound trading mindset:
(a) Investment Is Counter-Intuitive: Obvious Bets Rarely Make Good Investments and vice versa.
(b) On-Going Process Of Analysis & Lateral Thinking: Importance of Leaving No Stones Unturned.
(c) Generosity of Spirit: The More That Is Given To You, The More Is Expected Of You. The common thread that reverberated throughout the books was the interviewees' generosity in sharing their secrets of success and their philanthropic works, along the lines of what George Soros is striving to achieve through his many charitable foundations and for Eastern Europe. While we are very far away from the ideal world where markets are efficient and economic allocations optimal, it is my belief that the more the public is being educated about the proper workings of the markets, the more stable they will be, and this will work for the good of the capital markets and benefit the financial/corporate world in time to come.
All said, these books are a must-read for anyone wishing to hone their skills as traders/investors and derive the positive spill-over of conquering the emotional skeletons in their closets which barred many from leading a more fulfilling life, trading/investing or otherwise. The market is a very sobering place to be where sentimentalism is shunned and those resting on their laurels will be quickly eliminated. Taking the quote from investment maestro, Michael Steinhardt, "...there is no real pattern: anyone who thinks he can formulate success in this racket is deluding himself because it changes too quickly". The resounding cardinal rules and techniques repeated by the top traders ad nauseam in these books are bound to take shape in your investment psyche and stand your future trading and investment processes in good stead.
I only wish I had read the books earlier.The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America's Top Traders (A Marketplace Book) Overview

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Frost Review

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Frost ReviewLeena is excited to start her senior year at boarding school--this year she'll be rooming at a small place, Frost House, with her best friends, instead of in some huge dorm. Her happiness is dampened slightly when Celeste Lazar is placed with them as well. Celeste is weird and caustic, and Leena is finding it difficult to get along with her, despite her developing friendship with Celeste's brother, David. But Leena bites her tongue and puts up with Celeste with a smile...until Celeste's behavior becomes seriously weird, and she starts claiming that there is something in Frost House that is messing with her. So then the question remains: is Celeste right about Frost House, or is she going crazy?
Frost is a creepy and atmospheric that preys on the uncertainty of its characters, and the reader. This New England boarding school in the fall is the perfect setting for the book as Leena starts the school year off feeling totally at ease within Frost House and eager for the year to begin, but Celeste's discomfort and agitation is immediate. The strange happenings in their bedroom and closet seem only odd at first, and not threatening, but as the weeks go on, the tension in the house begins to tear apart at everything--the roommates' friendships, the tenuous peace between Leena and Celeste, Leena's growing relationship with David, and Leena's schoolwork and ambition. The added element of Celeste and David's mentally ill father keeps readers on edge, wondering if Celeste is or isn't crazy, until the matter is decided, leaving all the residents of Frost House in danger. Frost is fantastic debut, with wonderful character and plot development, dialogue, and some seriously suspenseful and intense scenes. This dangerous book is not to be missed.
Cover Comments: I like the creepy looking house on the cover, and the colors used here--perfect. I thought that the way the girl is looking up, with her hands positioned the way they are, was a little odd, but it's grown on me. I like the cover.Frost Overview

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