Sunday, May 25, 2014

Get Real. Get Married.

Aleeza Ben Shalom has conquered the Shidduch crisis. 
In her book, Get Real Get Married, Mrs. Ben Shalom takes you through the perspectives necessary to get to the chupa in a clear and direct manner.



Judging the Book by its Cover -  a first glance review:

The cover is peaceful and conveys a happy, sweet place to be. The size of the book is also friendly. Its a paperback with a large enough font, but not too large. Its easy to read with action plans and focused chapter subjects.

Some Details I Liked:

Actually, I not only liked, but loved the voice in this book. Aleeza was talking to me. There is clear communication. Sometimes its validating and other times, its pushing towards better actions. Its a real deal. Aleeza takes this stuff seriously, while covering a bunch of angles and even sticking in some humor at the end. 

Who This Book is For:



The best part about this book is that its for any non-atheist single. Meaning Aleeza talks about the hands off approach but doesn't specify that its a Jewish concept of shomer negiya, instead she details about the psychological benefit of keeping it non-physical. There also aren't any specifications of age or location in order to relate to her sage advice. Any part that is more for men (or the reverse)  is marked as such, and that segmentation is really a minor part of the book.

Who This Book Isn’t For:  



If you are looking for a book full of passukim or proofs from Tanach that you should meet your zivug, this isn't it. Aleeza keeps a Torah true perspective and definitely keeps G-d in mind, but its a strictly English publication.

What I Didn’t Like/Would Have Made it Better: 

Well, I like happily ever after stories, I mean who doesn't? It would have been fun to read a few more "names have been changed for privacy" success stories. The points were written well, but again for enjoyment purposes that addition might have been nice.

In Conclusion:  

This is my new favorite get real book. I highly recommend it to singles that are thinking about starting to date or that feel stuck in dating land. I look forward to reading the next Get Real book.

Disclaimer:
I received this book for the purpose of reviewing it, but that it no way changed the way I read it and reviewed it.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Right On Time, The Torah Approach to Punctuality

Did you ever wish you knew the Yekke secrets? "Right On Time" by Rabbi Leo Davids will give you a peek into how to become the master of time. 


Judging the Book by its Cover -  a first glance review:

The cover of this book is very plain, as it is more of a sefer to be studied than a book for reading pleasure. The title is a little more generic than the focus of the book, which is more about the importance of what a Jewish man does and how it should be done with respect and in a timely fashion.

Some Details I Liked:

I liked the content. A lot. The points are important and often fall to the wayside. Rabbi Davids presents them in a clear way, with proper explanation and expansion.

Who This Book is For:

This book is for a serious reader. It is good for teachers or any adult that would like to express to themselves or others about the importance of being punctual and discipline within the Torah lifestyle. 

Who This Book Isn’t For:  

I would advise that this book not be given to a beginner to Torah. While it discusses core concepts, the framework of the book is written as something that needs improvement rather than a fresh education of the matter.

What I Didn’t Like/Would Have Made it Better: 

There were two areas that I felt could be easily improved. The first is that the quote punctuation is not consistent with the language, meaning that, for example,  there is an end quote, where the next Hebrew line begins.  The second part that I didn't appreciate, are the comics. While comics are good to lighten the tone of a book, they are even better when they flow with the content of the chapter.

In Conclusion:  

This is an important work. It has a lot of great material and can be easily applied to life. At five chapters and just over 100 pages, this is a nice addition to any frum family's library.