Just Ask the Universe. Finished 5-7-15, self-help, 119 pages, pub. 2011

Just Ask the Universe is a realistic guide to personal development. By creating a blueprint for self-growth and commanding your subconscious mind, the Universe will manifest all your dreams. For over two decades, Michael Samuels has studied and methodically tested hundreds of books on self-improvement, spirituality, and the metaphysical. Just Ask the Universe accumulates the wisdom from “thought teachers” like: Wallace Wattles, Anthony Robbins, Rhonda Byrne, Joseph Murphy, Robert Collier, and Napoleon Hill, and compiles it under one unified lesson: if your thoughts are clear and in harmony with your mind and the truth of your surroundings, your life can be filled with all the richness the Universe has to offer. As a culmination from these teachings, Michael will show you how to use simple and fun techniques to create a more desirable future. This approach, coupled with real-life stories, will teach you how to achieve personal power to overcome any barrier.   from Goodreads

Hm. I don’t really read these types of books but the author sent it and it was short enough to pick up.  There isn’t anything bad about this book (I like the way he made personal religious beliefs, whatever they are, fit with his vision) but there wasn’t anything great about it either. I did the ‘want’ exercises and if all 60 things come true then I will come back and revise my rating!

It was too short and too repetitive, but the ideas were good. I also think maybe there weren’t enough of them. The book did leave me in a good, happy place.

Keep Calm and Ask On. Finished 12-4-15, rating 1.5/5, self-help, 108 pages, pub. 2014

Hot off the heels of his international best seller “Just Ask the Universe” and his critically acclaimed follow up “The Universe-ity”, Michael Samuels returns with a fun and witty practical manual called “Keep Calm and Ask On: A No-Nonsense Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams.” With a few easy and entertaining steps, Samuels will inspire you that living the life of your dreams is not all that hard. It’s actually easier than you think. He will show you how to further develop your “I want” list to make your goals become a reality. He will also show how music and laughter are the two keys to unlocking a greater life. Samuels has studied the teachings of the greats just to pass the word around in a simple and no-frills manner. This is not some drawn-out, monotonous Law of Attraction book that only teaches you a small piece of the subconscious puzzle. The answers are here and Samuels did the research to give you the total picture with no hype or tricks. If you want something, the universe will deliver! Just remember to keep calm and ask on…   from Goodreads

Having read his first one in the spring and not hating it I picked this one up so I could maybe reach my reading goal by the end of the year (short is good).  Unfortunately, this continuation on the law of attraction (think it and it will come true) that he started in the first book suffered from a meandering writing style that essentially only added two new things to the first book – make a playlist for your life EVERY SEASON and laugh a lot.  There I saved you  the hour or so it would take you to read it.