Bayou Bytes Blog

       Chani Nicholas is a popular Internet astrologer with a mass following. She has an  app , a  website , and social media accounts with a wealth of info on astrology told through a progressive lens. A lens that teaches this "pseudoscience" as a study towards self-acceptance. In first book,  You Were Born for This,  she teaches how to read your birth chart (a snapshot of the sky when you were born) with one  main intention: to help you grow in understanding yourself.      This book begins with her astrology origin story for the Introduction, followed by 5 chapters of a beginners' guide, and ends with both an Appendix and an Index for readers' ease. Reflection questions, affirmations, and journal prompts are used as check-in tools to grasp the 3 keys: the sun signs (life purposes), the moon signs (physical and emotional needs), and the ascendants and their rulers (details within!). If your familiarity with any of these t...

  One of the biggest acts of courage is in being vulnerable. Fear, anxiety, and shame are "emotions to overcome," yet seen as problems. Men especially are socialized to not talk about or share anything that can be used against them.      In this nonfiction by Justin Baldoni (actor/filmmaker of  Jane the Virgin  fame ), the author explores the harmfulness in upholding traditional masculinity. Societal masculinity states that men are supposed to be smart, rational, problem-solvers, and cut off from their emotions. Many aspects of "toxic masculinity" are discussed from the dad bod to the alpha/beta male. There's even insight from feminist author, bell hooks, who's stated that men "kill off emotional parts of themselves." Mostly, and b est of all, Baldoni pulls from his own experiences in such a human way, people from all genders will be able to relate.   At times heavy and emotional, he encourages the reader along with a light and empathetic tone. ...

         Whether new to financial literacy or not, Tiffany  Aliche , the " budgetnista, " is here to simplify it all for you. With over 300 pages (plus a handy Appendix at the book's end),  Aliche's  goal is to guide readers towards "financial wholeness."  Why live in fear when instead you can master your money and live in peace?        This book, packed with definitions and how-to steps, should be given an initial read through, then used as a reference guide thereafter due to its in-depth 10 chapters:   1. Budget Building   2. Save Like a Squirrel   3. Dig Out of Debt   4. Score High   5. Learn to Earn   6. Invest Like an Insider   7. Get Good with Insurance   8. Grow Rich- ish   9. Pick Your Money Team   10.Leave a Legacy          The first five chapters are for building a financial foundation, so if yours is sound-proof, move onto steps 6-10...

 This is the first self-help book I've ever read. I stumbled across Laziness Does Not Exist just after the review of How to be Fine: What We Learned From Living by the Rules of  50 Self Help Books  had been posted, and its critique of the self-help genre was still rattling around in my head. Though I had little interest in the genre, a book that would absolve me of the guilt of laziness seemed like a good place to start.   Devon Price, author of Laziness Does Not Exist , is a social psychologist. In this book, they discuss how humans have been taught that time spent doing nothing is time wasted. There is constant societal pressure to do more. Even people with packed professional and social calendars are made to feel like they are still not accomplishing enough.   Price also unpacks the cruel way in which the word "lazy" is applied to people as a way to blame them for their circumstances. We see this frequently in reference to a child struggling in cla...

I really loved this book and as such my review went wayyyyy longer than it probably should have so here’s a TL:DR. This book is for everyone. If you are a fan of the self-help genre, it’s for you. If you don’t like the genre, it’s still for you. If you hate books, well there is a podcast from the authors of this book that’s basically the drawn-out details of this book so check that out. It helps to demystifies the illusions the self-help genre tries to feed us while also talking about how the genre can genuinely help you improve your life. It talks about how you can change your life, but how you also shouldn’t discount American society and how it is affected by consumerism, our past, as well as very present social issues. They discuss how out of the 50 books they read there were many things they like, didn’t like, and wish more self-help books talked about. They don’t hold back or sugar coat, and reading this book was immensely entertaining. It’s raw and real in a way many books in thi...

Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It is definitely categorized as a self help book. It's a genre that a little odd to try to review, but here goes. This book is aimed at people who are trying to teach themselves a new language, a notoriously difficult task if you don't have learning partners or traditional immersion. So Gabriel Wyner sets out to break down how  your brain processes new languages and how you can hack that process to make words and grammar stick with less effort.  I love languages, and I figured a book that was so confident it could hack my brain was worth a shot. I've always had a difficult time reading self help books. To me, their tone always feels a little off,  both off-putting and encouraging. And  Fluent Forever  did have this tone, but the author is comfortably fluent in at least six languages and I so desperately wanted to know his secrets, so I stuck with it. In truth, the methods he describes ...