Hands up who had a good Christmas?

I’d tell you about mine but I’m writing this on the 19th, and I don’t want to be presumptuous.

Besides I’m not here to talk about Christmas.

I’m here to talk about The Entrepreneurs book of Checklists.

Well, sort of.

Business and me

Yes, I know, this is where I talk about the author.

I’m hoping you’re all too drunk and full from Christmas to notice.

Of course, if you’re not reading this on the day it came out, and many of you won’t be, it’s all for nothing. The Christmas references will fall flat.

But, whatever.

I don’t know the author.

What I do know is I’ve always wanted to be a writer. That’s a constant. But, back when I was a kid, it shared joint place with my desire to own a business.

Not a specific business, mind. I just wanted to own and operate some kind of successful company.

Nowadays, what with Amazon self-publishing, I pretty much do run my own business. Albeit not in the way I used to envision.

When I was younger, I used to consume books like this one. Absorbing every bit of knowledge that might one day help with the business I never started.

Such books have been scarcer in my reading lists in recent years. Writing has become my focus, and so novels on more conventional business models are of less use. Other than The Lean Start Up, which was brilliant.

This book, though, was still on my shelf, from whenever ago. And this challenge is not just about reading fiction and biographies.

Everything gets read.

And so, that’s what I did.

The Entrepreneur’s Book of Checklists

This book, if you can’t guess from the titles, is a book of checklists.

100 lists of 10 in all so 1,000 nuggets of business information.

Topics range from getting your ideas to generating extra cash to knowing when to call it a day.

Beyond that, there are little tidbits of information to aid the reader. Plus, at least one case study for each list. These tend to cover small businesses the majority of us won’t have heard of (more grounding that way). But some larger companies do feature – such as Wrigley’s of gum fame.

Case study research aside, I don’t imagine the book was difficult to write.

Most of the information here is common sense.

That could be a little harsh. I’ve been reading business books all my life, and my idea of common sense may derive from stuff I learned a long time ago.

For your average Joe (this book’s target market) who has an idea for a small business but doesn’t know how to begin, this could be valuable. This could be lists and lists of information they had never considered and which help them in many ways.

I don’t know.

It’s a difficult one because I am not reading it for the right reasons. I am not looking for advice, and I read it from cover to cover. Most would pick the list that they needed the most.

No one is picking this book up for enjoyment.

I gave this a two on Goodreads.

It’s starting to seem like that might have been unfair.

To sum up, this book is not written for someone doing a Man vs Bookshelf challenge. There is not a gripping antagonist and no love interest (madness!)

But, hell, for someone with no idea about business looking to get started, this is probably a good place to start.

It’s simple. It’s straightforward. It’s not daunting. And there are plenty of case studies to show where people like the reader have had success in the past.

So, um, I guess I’ve just done an about turn opinion wise?

Sorry about that two!

Next Time

Let’s move hurriedly on and hope no one starts reading my Man vs Bookshelf series with this review.

Let’s face it; they wouldn’t come back.

But if this isn’t your first Man vs Bookshelf, and you’re willing to look past this terrible review, let’s look onwards.

Next week we have comedy. We have horror. We have what has been described as a “Stephen King/ Douglas Adams” mash-up.

It’s John Dies at the End by David Wong.

See you then.

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Mark Ayre

International worst selling author Mark Ayre has been writing since before he could pick up a pen (somehow). Recently he is taking the internet by storm with his Man vs Bookshelf Challenge where he aims to read the 210 books on his bookshelf in 210 weeks, reviewing them on his blog and Goodreads along the way. He is also publishing books on Amazon, his most recent being the family suspense novel, Poor Choices, which you can find here.

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