How to Get Out Your Own Way by Tyrese Gibson

“How to Get Out of Your Own Way” by Tyrese Gibson
c.2011,
Grand Central Publishing
$24.99 / $27.99 Canada 275 pages

They say the economy’s getting better.

They say things are looking up, that business is starting to recover.
But they couldn’t prove it by you. For months now, you’ve been spinning your wheels in the sand, your dreams on hold along with your life. You’re wondering if the economy is to blame or if there’s something else…

In the new book “How to Get Out of Your Own Way” by Tyrese Gibson, you’ll see that your problems may be attributed to something much closer.
Growing up in a rough area south of L.A.’s Watts neighborhood, Tyrese Gibson had plenty of opportunities to get in trouble. Gangs were all over, but – despite that his father was absent and his mother was an alcoholic – Gibson somehow avoided the worst. It helped that his stepfather guided him, and that he had a regular church life.

He also had a goal: to make music.

Gibson says he loved to sing and perform, which led him to win a talent contest and which opened the doors to a multifaceted career. Gibson is usually known by only his first name to fans of his movies and music.

But “Over the last decade, I have come to realize that God’s purpose for me is to reach out to people,” he says. “… I want to give people permission to want better for themselves…”
This book is the result.

The first step in taking your life “to another level” is to “know that there are better circumstances you can be in.” Learning to love yourself enough to find them is “technically getting out of your own way.”

Learn to think differently, he says. Find a positive spirit, stop living negatively, and clean up your surroundings. If people think of you the wrong way, work hard to change that. Become a role model, especially for your children. Wisely choose your “circle of five” and don’t hang out with anyone who doesn’t deserve your time. Share your ideas with the world. Understand that “selfish” isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Always be strategizing and you will be prepared for the good and the bad.”
Tired of going nowhere, fast? “How to Get Out of Your Own Way” may help motivate you. Or maybe not.

There’s no doubt that this book will help readers to stop sabotaging themselves and their careers. Author, singer, and actor Tyrese Gibson offers sound advice mixed in with personal anecdotes that well-illustrate his points, and his words will resonate with today’s youth.
And there’s the thing: “How to Get Out of Your Own Way” seems geared more toward younger readers in need of a boost. Gibson, in fact, devotes several pages to teens and an entire segment to dating-mating issues that seasoned businesspeople likely won’t find relevant.

I think, if you’ve been in business for awhile, “How to Get Out of Your Own Way” probably isn’t a good fit for you. But for new grads or someone who’s landed that first important job, you’ll have a hard time finding something better.

Whats Really Hood by Wahida Clark

“What’s Really Hood” by Wahida Clark
Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (May 24, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0446539166
$14.95 US
p.336

Reviewed by John Mitchell
Rating 3.5/5

“What’s Really Hood!” is a short-story collection composed of five stories about being and living in the “hood”.

“Black is Blue” by Victor L. Martin is a story of a “good girl gone bad”. In this story, no one escapes the game without getting burned. Everyone “knows” a Polo and Kaseem. They are people we’ve all come across everyday in every hood in this place called America. Their choices are a part of the game that rarely produces a winner. Martin allows the story to end on a surprisingly wonderful note that is realistic and promotes confidence and positivity.

“The P is Free” by LaShonda Teague is a gripping love story that touches the soul and inspires because of the truths that lie within the story. Young Wiz and Crystal both fall prey to crack cocaine’s “Coup d’état”. Wiz begins his compliance with the pipe and has lost not only his morals, but also integrity and inhibition. This is a love story and true love always survives.

“The Last Laugh” by Bonita is a tale of Bobo, one we all seem to know all too well. It is full of bravado, conceit, drugs, money, women, and people who love them. Once the final element, love, is added then the combustible properties that always end up with someone coming up short arise. The personal short comings are blatantly exposed for all the world to see, yet, they feel more than comfortable in their world called “the hood”. At times, one can begin to feel sorry for BoBo, yet the true victims are the kids and women he leaves behind after his conqueror shares the “last laugh.”

”All for Nothing” by Shawn “Jihad” Trump is another cautionary tale of a black man, Jihad, holding it down for his hood, without realizing the hood doesn’t care about him or his team. Underneath it all is a real love story and desire for a man to lead a “normal” life with a wife and kids. Yet, the call of the wild streets is allowed to take control of one’s destiny, right from under their own nose. Everything was for nothing, and the author proves again that the wrong path leads to the same conclusion.

“Makin Endz Meet” by Wahida Clark introduces the character “Nina” and her longtime partner Michelle to her readers. Nina is a take no prisoners type of lady who uses her guile and life learned lessons to make money for her children and self. Experience is a lesson well learned and all we can hope is that Nina’s recently received knowledge will be enough to send her on the straight and narrow. The story is action-driven and never lets you up for a breath We all seem to feel her pain from past lovers being scorned by her mother after a youthful pregnancy, and a brother who loves “crack” as much as “Tyrone Biggums”. Clark’s writing and intimate details leave you wanting more and ready for her next tale.

Overall, the characters in the stories are well-defined and the story plots are riveting. The book is a page turner and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading about “hood” life.

Rating: 4/5

Your Reviewer’s Favorite Reviewer – Joey Pinkney

Joey Pinkney is “Your Favorite Reviewer’s Reviewer” – Period. His hard work has garnered awards and accolades for his reviewing and interviewing skills. Even more, Joey Pinkney has the respect of authors and readers alike. They respect Joey because he helps to find a reading audience. I talked to Joey about building an online presence and engaging the audience.

If you want to be a reviewer, author or get web traffic, dig into the interview.

UM: Introduce Yourself.

JP: My name is Joey Pinkney. My real name is Joey, not Joseph, just for letters. I am married to my college sweetheart for close to seven years. We have three children, one 18-year-old son and two daughters, 13 and 2. Two of my children are from my wife’s previous marriage, the youngest one by “the old-fashioned way”.

Outside of family and work, I do a lot of work promoting authors and their books through author interviews and book reviews. My author interview series “JoeyPinkney.com’s 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…” has been going on since August 2008. It has featured authors ranging from the relatively unknown to New York Times and Essense Best Sellers, and even a Grammy Award Winning recording artist.

My website http://joeypinkney.com has been nominated for various awards, still waiting to win one. There has been a level of consistency has not only brought these authors closer to people who are thirsty to know about new author and books.

I am also an award-winning author. I co-authored The Soul of a Man Anthology, which won 2009 Best Short Stories/Best Anthology at the African American Literary Awards. My short story “Like Father, Like Son” introduces Terrence, his wife Mary and his step-son Andre. I am currently working on a novel based on the lives of those characters due to be released later this year.

UM: You are passionate about books. How did you become involved in books by AA authors?

JP: I am definitely passionate about books. Aside from what I do with my website, I also collect books. I’m not passionate, actually. I’m addicted. Seriously.

I became involved with AA books through wanting to review them for a larger audience. From what an average reader has access to, most of the AA books they come across are either in the major chain book stores or in the library. There are so many small publishers and self-publishers that release tons of great AA books that fall through the cracks or stay under the radar.

I use http://joeypinkney.com as a platform to inform readers about new and interesting books. This is not only to bring attention to the book, but also the back story. The journey an author takes from taking an intangible idea to a physical product is so interesting. I have had many readers actually tell me that they have been inspired to throw their hat into the book publishing arena based on an author interview they came across on http://joeypinkney.com.

UM: Your favorite book genre? Why?

JP: Urban Fiction, hands down. Although I have my criticisms and feel sometimes it’s a guilty pleasure, I love the guns, violence and sex. A well written Urban Fiction novel also includes a well thought out plot and interesting characters. I like to reference that in terms of movies. I like the same qualities in movies. I really like Urban Fiction for its entertainment qualities, and I read non-fiction if I want to learn something. Just like with movies, I fall asleep when the part comes where morals are being taught.

UM: At what point did you decide to start www.JoeyPinkney.com? How did you increase visitors/audience?

JP: When I first started www.JoeyPinkney.com in mid-2006, I just had to have something on the internet. It was early in my addiction. Slowly, I gravitated to my passion: books. I started asking around for books to review, and even approached a couple of websites.

After getting about a book a day coming to my mail box, I got the idea to to the JoeyPinkney.com 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… author interview series. That aspect has really taken a live of its own. I’m proud of that.

As far as increasing my audience, first and foremost I try to remain as active as possible in posting new stuff on my website. Then I do as much promotion as time will permit. I heavily use social media networks to keep people abreast of what new on my website. I also converse and interact with many people. I have gained a lot of online friends that way.

UM: Your audience has grown by leaps and bounds. What are three steps a book reviewer can take to develop an online audience / presence?

JP: 1) Be as honest as possible with your reviews. 2) Post your reviews in as many places are you can find. 3) Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as you can.

UM: What has been your biggest misconception about the publishing industry? Has it changes since you became an author?

JP: My biggest misconception has been thinking that everyone works together for the common good. Just like any other large group of people, it’s politics as usual… The cool thing is that one good person in the book industry outshines ten or more bad people.

In terms of a shift in my perspective since become an author, I now understand. There is plenty of stuff that you read or hear about from seasoned authors that sound good that doesn’t resonate until you go through it. “Writing is the easy part. Promotion and marketing is the hard part.” So true… Anybody can put some words together. Getting somebody to buy your collection of words, or even getting people to know that your words are for sale, is the true challenge. Now I know.

UM: What prompted you to become involved in the industry as an author? How would you describe the experience?

JP: I’ve always toyed around with the idea of being published. It really is an extension of reading so much. Now that I know the whole process and how much it includes, I’m excited to see what will happen with my novel.

UM: Paid reviews or No paid reviews? Why?

JP: Should a person pay just for a review? No. Should a person pay to have a review done by an entity that will promote that review in many different places and get it seen by many different groups of people? Yes. Book reviewers can be a great marketing tool if chosen correctly.

UM: How can people learn more about your services or upcoming writing projects?

JP: Email me at joey.pinkney@gmail.com. Thank you so much for your time, QB and www.UrbaniaMag.com. I really appreciate the experience and attention you have provided to me and www.JoeyPinkney.com.

Simeon’s Story by Simeon Wright

“Simeon’s Story” by Simeon Wright (with Herb Boyd)
c.2010, Lawrence Hill Books
$19.95 / $21.95 Canada
144 pages, includes index

Reviewed by Terri Schlichenmeyer

You’ve been doing it since you were a teenager, maybe before.

A certain look sideways, eyes lowered. Unconscious flex of muscles beneath a flashy t-shirt. A smile, a glance, a wiggle of hips or lips or brows.
Where would you be without a little flirting? Married? Hooked up? Maybe not. But attracting the opposite sex is how our species perpetuates.

Flirting is fun.

You would never in a million years think it could get you killed.

But in the new book, “Simeon’s Story” by Simeon Wright (with Herb Boyd), you’ll read about a wolf whistle heard ‘round the country.

Growing up in Mississippi in the Jim Crow era, Simeon Wright knew that there were certain things a black person never did; specifically, he was never remotely disrespectful to anyone who was white. Sassing “Mr. Charlie” was a good way to get in trouble.

Wright learned from his father that some white people could be trusted, though. Mose Wright was a sharecropper. He knew who was fair and who wasn’t, and he wouldn’t work with dishonest landowners.
Simeon Wright indicates that he had a good childhood, despite Jim Crow laws. His parents loved him and he had a big, extended family. In fact, when cousins were scheduled to visit Mississippi from Chicago, Wright “was so excited that I didn’t know what to do.”

One of those cousins was fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, a big-for-his-age boy, almost the size of a grown man. Everybody called him Bobo and he was fun-loving, but Wright remembers that “he just didn’t know the rules.”
On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 24, 1955, Bobo’s lack of knowledge sparked a movement.

After a long day of work, Wright, Bobo, and three other boys went to a nearby store for some refreshments. For about a minute, Bobo was alone in the building with a white woman and as she stormed out, he brashly whistled at her. Days later, as Wright slept next to his cousin, two white men entered the family’s house and snatched Emmett “Bobo” Till.
In his foreword, Wright’s co-author Herb Boyd explains that this story almost didn’t see publication. Simeon Wright was tired of people taking artistic license with the story of his cousin’s murder. There were things that Wright didn’t care to remember, but he eventually agreed to lay some nasty myths to rest.

And with crystal clarity and blistering prose, Wright does just that.
Recalling a somewhat carefree childhood, Wright tells of youth interrupted by something so horrific that it hurts to read about it. He speaks of his father’s dignity and bravery, and of deep disappointment that was eventually soothed.

About those myths perpetuated by journalists, Wright has a few choice words. With anger apparent, he advises that “anyone planning on working in the communications field… go to the primary sources. They know what really happened.”

Surprisingly, you’ll probably find this book in the YA section of your library
or bookstore, but don’t let that deter you from this powerful, important memoir. “Simeon’s Story” is a story you must read.