Franklin Taggart's Unconventional Life Blog

I've been a self-help, self-improvement, self-development junkie for decades.  I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on books, programs, curricula, behavior modification, weight loss, smoking cessation, discipleship training, and seeking my vision in the wilderness. If I had invested that money in making more money, I would be comfortably retired by now. For all the time, money, and effort, I would have hoped for a better result.  As Jamie Smart says, shouldn't light be streaming from all my orifices by now? But I'm not much, if any, different than I was before all of this. I struggle with the same things, think the same negative thoughts, worry about everything, and don't see the improvement I've been striving for. I use the techniques - mindset shifts, meditation, yoga, nature walks, writing my desires and goals clearly, clarifying my intentions, and doing all the prescribed work - but I'm no better off as a person or in life. Don't get me wrong, I h...

It's safe to assume that any link you see in my review pages is an Amazon Associates affiliate link. This allows me to collect a few cents if you use the link to do your shopping. Thanks! I've done a lot of reading this year, and I won't list all the books I've read here, but I wanted to list a handful of favorites in both fiction and non-fiction. I've also shared some other titles I've read on Goodreads, so if you have an account there, please add and follow me there:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29732821.Franklin_Taggart Fiction Raves: Top of my fiction list:  Remarkably Bright Creatures , by Shelby Van Pelt, Narrators - Marin Ireland and Michael Urie I've recommended this book to almost everyone I know. It's a bittersweet family drama with an octopus as the real protagonist. Marin Ireland and Michael Urie give an enchanting voice performance.  The White Lady , by Jacqueline Winspear, Narrator - Orlagh Cassidy Child spies bringing down Nazis ...