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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Think "The Secret" but for thinking people.
This is yet another in that burgeoning genre that combines self-help with some sort of, traditionally Eastern, religious practice. You wouldn't guess it from the title or the write-up, but this book is primarily about the benefits of meditation. Or, more specifically, the benefits of meditation crossed with positive thinking.
There were a couple of moments here where I was tensed to reject this one outright. The comparison to "The Secret" (or was it "The Shack"? There are just too many of these now) isn't misguided. That book promises that if you just ask, the Universe (capital "U") will give you what you desire.
"Into the Magic Shop" isn't far off from that, but it's maybe a bit less outright ridiculous and instead recommends the reader (or listener, in my case) employs various wish-fulfillment techniques.
For example, if you want to live in New York City, write on a post-it note "I live in New York City." If you want to be a published author, you write down somewhere where you're sure to see it multiple times a day, "I am a published author."
You get the idea.
I'm skeptical that any of this is actually effective, but I definitely know people who swear by it. Who claim that by visualizing whatever the object of your desire is, you're one step closer to realizing it. That's essentially what James Doty is saying here, except he also throws in meditation practices and breathing techniques to help clear your mind and, supposedly, sharpen your focus so that your wishes will be easier to achieve.
Or something like that. Again, I'm somewhat skeptical. Perhaps I'm a bit too cynical for my own good, it's just that when there's an entire arm of the publishing industry devoted to churning out books like these — and the fact that there are so many of them seems to indicate it's quite a successful industry — you can't help but ask why, if it's that simple, more people aren't living their dreams.
Or maybe those that are all read these sorts of books. Who am I to say?
But I also don't want to discount the benefits of positive thinking which, at worst, certainly has to be better than negative thinking, right? At least from a physical and mental health point of view.
So while I'm somewhat dubious that the "believe it into existence" part of this book is genuinely effective, I'm more willing to believe the author when he talks about the benefits of meditation, which are increasingly backed by science.
Normally I'd excoriate a book like this for citing its author alone as an example that the "positive thinking" principal is responsible for all the good that's happened in his life, but for whatever reason I'm somewhat more sympathetic to this one.
I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because Doty seems less like a snake-oil salesman and more like a genuine believer, or maybe it's the Dalai Lama stuff and the fact that later on Doty declares he's an atheist but that his "religion is compassion."
Surely a book that emphasizes mindfulness and compassion is worth reading, right?
So whatever the reason, I have to admit that what James Doty is selling may just be the genuine product.
This is yet another in that burgeoning genre that combines self-help with some sort of, traditionally Eastern, religious practice. You wouldn't guess it from the title or the write-up, but this book is primarily about the benefits of meditation. Or, more specifically, the benefits of meditation crossed with positive thinking.
There were a couple of moments here where I was tensed to reject this one outright. The comparison to "The Secret" (or was it "The Shack"? There are just too many of these now) isn't misguided. That book promises that if you just ask, the Universe (capital "U") will give you what you desire.
"Into the Magic Shop" isn't far off from that, but it's maybe a bit less outright ridiculous and instead recommends the reader (or listener, in my case) employs various wish-fulfillment techniques.
For example, if you want to live in New York City, write on a post-it note "I live in New York City." If you want to be a published author, you write down somewhere where you're sure to see it multiple times a day, "I am a published author."
You get the idea.
I'm skeptical that any of this is actually effective, but I definitely know people who swear by it. Who claim that by visualizing whatever the object of your desire is, you're one step closer to realizing it. That's essentially what James Doty is saying here, except he also throws in meditation practices and breathing techniques to help clear your mind and, supposedly, sharpen your focus so that your wishes will be easier to achieve.
Or something like that. Again, I'm somewhat skeptical. Perhaps I'm a bit too cynical for my own good, it's just that when there's an entire arm of the publishing industry devoted to churning out books like these — and the fact that there are so many of them seems to indicate it's quite a successful industry — you can't help but ask why, if it's that simple, more people aren't living their dreams.
Or maybe those that are all read these sorts of books. Who am I to say?
But I also don't want to discount the benefits of positive thinking which, at worst, certainly has to be better than negative thinking, right? At least from a physical and mental health point of view.
So while I'm somewhat dubious that the "believe it into existence" part of this book is genuinely effective, I'm more willing to believe the author when he talks about the benefits of meditation, which are increasingly backed by science.
Normally I'd excoriate a book like this for citing its author alone as an example that the "positive thinking" principal is responsible for all the good that's happened in his life, but for whatever reason I'm somewhat more sympathetic to this one.
I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because Doty seems less like a snake-oil salesman and more like a genuine believer, or maybe it's the Dalai Lama stuff and the fact that later on Doty declares he's an atheist but that his "religion is compassion."
Surely a book that emphasizes mindfulness and compassion is worth reading, right?
So whatever the reason, I have to admit that what James Doty is selling may just be the genuine product.
While the book is mainly one more warm fuzzy eat, love, pray sort of thing, it does use a magic shop as the metaphor/McGuffin for the events described. There isn't enough magician's magic to make it worth the read if that's your goal. As a kid the author gets seduced into the back of a magic store, where he is taught meditation techniques by an older woman, aided by her son. Creepy, eh?
I'm not a fan of that genre anyway, but this has far too many "falling upward by chance" events on top of the genre in general. It reminds me of the convenient paragraphs at end of every chapter of the Celestine Prophecy... just crappy writing. Sure, this claims to be mostly true, but not for me.
I'm not a fan of that genre anyway, but this has far too many "falling upward by chance" events on top of the genre in general. It reminds me of the convenient paragraphs at end of every chapter of the Celestine Prophecy... just crappy writing. Sure, this claims to be mostly true, but not for me.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
*I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways*
Really 3.5 stars, just on the cusp.
This book is exactly what it says it is: "part memoir, part science, part inspiration, and part practical instruction". However the parts don't mesh altogether smoothly so it can be a bit disorienting as you move from memoir straight into a practical instruction you weren't expecting and then back to memoir like nothing happened. That being said, the techniques behind the practical instruction seem useful and legit and the book is moving when Dr. Doty starts talking about some of his patients and how to tell someone their loved one is dead.
Re-read 4/30/2021: Not sure why I originally considered this a 3.5 star book, 3 stars now; decent but not earth-shattering, maybe because I had already read it?
Really 3.5 stars, just on the cusp.
This book is exactly what it says it is: "part memoir, part science, part inspiration, and part practical instruction". However the parts don't mesh altogether smoothly so it can be a bit disorienting as you move from memoir straight into a practical instruction you weren't expecting and then back to memoir like nothing happened. That being said, the techniques behind the practical instruction seem useful and legit and the book is moving when Dr. Doty starts talking about some of his patients and how to tell someone their loved one is dead.
Re-read 4/30/2021: Not sure why I originally considered this a 3.5 star book, 3 stars now; decent but not earth-shattering, maybe because I had already read it?
If you're a fan of this book, please don't read any further, skip this review. Thanks!
This was a whole mess. I mean, I've honestly never thought I'd hate a book at all and would want it to please end already as I did with this thing.
If I start I'll never stop and I value my time so much more now that I've known what it's like to waste lots of it... Anyway, bullet points.
Read in some other review that the author pats himself on the back throughout the entirety of the book - check. Completely agree. And the thing is, it's so obvious because of the next one which is:
Mr. Doty may be a good doctor - nevermind the total lack of logic in both the seemingly simple events he describes and the even simpler thoughts he tries to express in the book that he wrote... and the bits about religion which seemed like they were written by a person who has a middle-school level notion of what it is... but.
He's unfortunately not a good author! I'm sorry okay but like the language is so poor and the vocabulary is just the bare minimum for any kind of coherent storytelling. The thing is, it would have been so much better if there wasn't any storytelling involved, because the sheer level of LAME that every single sentence exudes is above the roof and the clouds and like yeah it's high. The story itself is kind of not a story exactly, is it? I was poor and didn't believe in myself but then I believed in myself and got rich. That's it. Retold in the best and most flattering way possible.
But the book couldn't have been managed without storytelling because it doesn't exactly have any messages that it wants to send, the ones that it has are extremely basic and could be expressed in a twentieth of this whole text. So yeah I guess while the exemplary story is laughably unrealistic and overall just a bad example, and if I've read like a ton of fanfics that utilized far richer vocab, take the "plot" away and there'd be nothing left. I mean the only parts that might have been written somewhat decently are those about the process of brain surgery - which we didn't understand because we're not doctors, and the stock market finance deposit bank credit debit stuff - which we didn't understand because we're not economists...
What to conclude with... Gimme my time back:( No money was spent, but meh. At first, I even thought that ok so even though this whole thing is like a lame college statement of purpose from somebody applying for the sake of applying and doesn't actually have any purpose, but it has a couple of helpful pages, like with the breathing technique?
But only the first two of 'Ruth's tricks' are sensical - and it's because they are the very basic, like super pre-entry-level meditation techniques that can be found anywhere online and learned in 5 minutes - NOT saying it's easy to practice, that part is true, it's a cool thing for focusing, takes weeks or months to master, but it's so on the nose and this information is literally everywhere so like... duh?
I'm sorry. If you feel offended by this, please just don't react. I just got a GoodReads account and I love this place and I don't want it to become toxic. I'll try my best to never finish a book this infuriating ever again. It's just unfortunate that it's the first one I get to write a review on (more like just a comment, who am I for a review, lol), but I couldn't be silent!
This was a whole mess. I mean, I've honestly never thought I'd hate a book at all and would want it to please end already as I did with this thing.
If I start I'll never stop and I value my time so much more now that I've known what it's like to waste lots of it... Anyway, bullet points.
Read in some other review that the author pats himself on the back throughout the entirety of the book - check. Completely agree. And the thing is, it's so obvious because of the next one which is:
Mr. Doty may be a good doctor - nevermind the total lack of logic in both the seemingly simple events he describes and the even simpler thoughts he tries to express in the book that he wrote... and the bits about religion which seemed like they were written by a person who has a middle-school level notion of what it is... but.
He's unfortunately not a good author! I'm sorry okay but like the language is so poor and the vocabulary is just the bare minimum for any kind of coherent storytelling. The thing is, it would have been so much better if there wasn't any storytelling involved, because the sheer level of LAME that every single sentence exudes is above the roof and the clouds and like yeah it's high. The story itself is kind of not a story exactly, is it? I was poor and didn't believe in myself but then I believed in myself and got rich. That's it. Retold in the best and most flattering way possible.
But the book couldn't have been managed without storytelling because it doesn't exactly have any messages that it wants to send, the ones that it has are extremely basic and could be expressed in a twentieth of this whole text. So yeah I guess while the exemplary story is laughably unrealistic and overall just a bad example, and if I've read like a ton of fanfics that utilized far richer vocab, take the "plot" away and there'd be nothing left. I mean the only parts that might have been written somewhat decently are those about the process of brain surgery - which we didn't understand because we're not doctors, and the stock market finance deposit bank credit debit stuff - which we didn't understand because we're not economists...
What to conclude with... Gimme my time back:( No money was spent, but meh. At first, I even thought that ok so even though this whole thing is like a lame college statement of purpose from somebody applying for the sake of applying and doesn't actually have any purpose, but it has a couple of helpful pages, like with the breathing technique?
But only the first two of 'Ruth's tricks' are sensical - and it's because they are the very basic, like super pre-entry-level meditation techniques that can be found anywhere online and learned in 5 minutes - NOT saying it's easy to practice, that part is true, it's a cool thing for focusing, takes weeks or months to master, but it's so on the nose and this information is literally everywhere so like... duh?
I'm sorry. If you feel offended by this, please just don't react. I just got a GoodReads account and I love this place and I don't want it to become toxic. I'll try my best to never finish a book this infuriating ever again. It's just unfortunate that it's the first one I get to write a review on (more like just a comment, who am I for a review, lol), but I couldn't be silent!
watched 5th muster yesterday and cried over magic shop hence thats why i started reading the book and it’s just a peace inducing book idk how to explain it but it was such a great reading experience
3.5/5. a little corny at points but overall a good message.
this book is literally so good??? the things he says seems so surreal like poor family dad was an alcoholic he barely graduated but got into med school and became a doctor in the army was successful and rich had stocks and startups till it crashed n he decided to give away his last remaining wealth which he invested in a startup he helped build from the ground up and suddenly mf became enlightened and all like okay???? but the fact that it is real makes me so
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I only picked up this book assuming the author would talk about his experience as a neurosurgeon. Turns out the title is a bit misleading, the book isn't very scientific, it's more of a memoir and a meditation guide.
Nonetheless, I did enjoy reading some parts of the books, it was a light read, perfect as an end of year read.. I just wish it was more scientific.
Nonetheless, I did enjoy reading some parts of the books, it was a light read, perfect as an end of year read.. I just wish it was more scientific.