 Wandering and floating
here and there, my presence in life is like smoke in the air. I'm not a memorable face, leaving the briefest trace, I drift in and out as I please carried faintly on a breeze, blink and I won't be there, like smoke in the air. Though I may seem approachable and transparent, it'll soon become quite apparent that what you see, you can not snare, much like smoke in the air.
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 I received an advanced copy of Seek To Be Wise by Chess Britt from GreenLeaf Book Group for the purpose of reviewing it ahead of its release on July 7th. Overall, the book was a quick, easy read with some good commonsense advice and inspiring quotes. As Britt states in the book, "Wise people understand that it is the simple things in life that are extraordinary," and that "the potential for finding wisdom is unlimited."
My only criticism is the issue of not citing others' words and works that Britt used within the book. In the forward, Britt is upfront about it, explaining, "I will give no credit for quotes or ideas," reasoning that "nobody's ego needs to be stroked." To be honest, I found that to be lazy writing, as well as unprofessional. We are taught throughout school (and life) to do the work of researching and citing work/words that are not our own, otherwise it is plagiarism at best, theft at worst. The majority of the errors and missing citations are easy google searches, so I'm not sure what the real issue was. For example, on page 11, Britt quotes "an old country song" with a few (mis)quoted lyrics. Even so, a simple google search found the song in question, Roy Clark's "Right or Left at Oak Street". Another error can be found on page 90, where he states that, "Tim McGraw wrote a song for his daughters..." He is referring to "Humble & Kind", which was actually written by Lori McKenna, McGraw merely recorded it. There are other examples of un-cited work, and honestly, this glaring issue got in the way of my giving the book more than a 3 star review. As a writer (I use that term in the loosest sense of the word) myself, I can't imagine including other people's words and works in my own work without giving proper credit/citation. I can only imagine how I would feel if someone were to claim my work as their own, which is essentially what you're doing any time you were another person's work without citing it. Other than the citing issue, Seek To Be Wise is an enjoyable, worthwhile read. |
AuthorBorn and raised in Upstate NY, Liz is a freelance writer. She has written for websites, blogs, and magazines for the last 10 years. She also acts as a proofreader and beta reader for several authors, all the while working on her first book. Archives
August 2020
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