Book Review: The Power of Beliefs

Title: The Power of Beliefs

Author: Shawn Achor

Publisher: Crown Currency

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Drawing on two decades of research and his work with organizations ranging from NASA to the NFL to a third of the Fortune 100, Shawn Achor makes a compelling case that our beliefs don't merely reflect reality — they bend it.

At roughly 180 pages, The Power of Beliefs is a brisk and accessible read, yet it carries real weight for positive change. The book is organized into three parts. The first lays essential groundwork, exploring how beliefs function as predictive engines for our health, success, wealth, and relationships. The second and meatiest section examines what Achor identifies as the seven core beliefs most predictive of a flourishing life:

1. My behavior matters — The foundational belief that your actions shape your outcomes, preventing a victim mentality.
2. I matter — Recognizing your inherent self-worth independent of external achievement or validation.
3. I am not alone — Understanding your deep connection to community, which builds psychological safety and combats loneliness.
4. This work is meaningful — Finding intrinsic purpose in your daily labor, which fuels long-term motivation and resilience.
5. I have things to be grateful for in the present — Choosing a baseline of abundance and appreciation rather than chasing what is missing.
6. I have something to give — Believing you possess valuable gifts, skills, or kindness to contribute, reinforcing agency.
7. There is something greater than me — Connecting to a higher purpose or collective human experience that transcends individual worries.
   

The third section addresses "the Great Drift" — the alarming rise of what he terms the Four Horsemen of the Modern World: burnout, anxiety, loneliness, and depression. This is where the book turns practical, offering six research-tested strategies for changing beliefs at the individual and communal level:

1. The Disaster Elevator — Change what part of the brain processes the world.
2. The Memory DeLorean — Change the memory.
3. Stopping Negative Mantras — Change the language.
4. Creating a Neural Tribe — Change the sources.
5. Starting the Wave — Change the contagious actions.
6. Common Texts, Common Action — Change the texts.

Throughout, Achor balances rigorous science with vivid storytelling, drawing on his work everywhere from Wall Street to impoverished schools in Africa, from Camp Pendleton to Camp David. That blend of anecdote and research makes for a compelling read that never feels dry or academic.

If I'm being honest, the final section felt slightly less satisfying than the first two — it's where the book's brevity shows most. But even there, the strategies are actionable and worth adopting. I was particularly drawn to The Disaster Elevator and Creating a Neural Tribe, both of which I intend to put into practice in my own life.

In a world where anxiety and disconnection feel increasingly unavoidable, The Power of Beliefs offers something rare: genuine, evidence-based hope — and a clear path forward.

A big thank you to Shawn Achor for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: It's Not What You Think

Title: It's Not What You Think

Author: Clare Mackintosh

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Publication Date: September 22, 2026

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I've read enough Clare Mackintosh to know she doesn't disappoint, and this one sits comfortably near the top of her output. She is at her best here — controlled, bold, and fully in command of her craft. It's Not What You Think is a tightly constructed, deeply satisfying thriller that pulls you forward with quiet insistence from the very first pages.

The setup pulls you in with the familiar architecture of domestic suspicion: Nadeeka is convinced her husband Jamie is having an affair. She knows the signs. She's been here before. But when she arrives home ready to confront him, Jamie can't explain himself — because Jamie is dead, and the house is now a crime scene. It's a sharp pivot, and it works beautifully. A twist arrives early — genuinely shocking — and it transforms what might have been a competent domestic thriller into something far more urgent and obsessive. From that point, Mackintosh keeps ratcheting up the tension with precision and confidence.

What gives the novel its particular resonance is its thematic backbone. At its core, this is a story steeped in the fear and fury surrounding immigration — extreme right-wing ideology, the demonization of the foreign-born, the very real danger that rhetoric becomes when it finds a body to act on. With Nadeeka as a central figure of Asian heritage, Mackintosh grounds these ideas in human consequence rather than abstraction. It's the kind of fiction that feels ripped from current headlines, whether you're reading it in England or the United States.

Adding a key human dimension to the investigation is the pair of detectives leading the case — who happen to be engaged and mere days away from their wedding. Their impending nuptials create a constant undercurrent that both complicates and crystallizes their pursuit of the truth. It's a clever structural choice that keeps the personal and the procedural in productive tension throughout.

#ItsNotWhatYouThink #NetGalley

Book Review: Easy Discipline

Title: Easy Discipline

Author: Jia Jiang

Publisher: Simon Element

Publication Date: July 14, 2026

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Having loved Jia Jiang's debut, Rejection Proof, I came to Easy Discipline with enthusiasm and excitement — and while this sophomore effort doesn't quite reach those heights, it delivers enough fresh thinking to make it well worth your time.

The book is built around the EASY acronym — Enjoyment, Artistic Mindset, Systems Approach, and Yourself — with each section opening with an overview chapter followed by two chapters introducing what Jiang calls "tools." He illustrates his principles with stories drawn from an engaging cast of historical and pop culture figures, including Kobe Bryant, Florence Nightingale, Steve Jobs, Alexander Fleming, and Jim Collins. This storytelling approach makes for easy reading and gives the framework a human dimension that pure productivity manuals often lack.

Not all of the tools land equally. The Game Changer concept in the Enjoyment section is good — the idea that reframing a dreaded task as a different kind of challenge can transform your relationship to it is both practical and psychologically sound. The Momentum Loop felt less developed to me, more concept than actionable method. The Artistic Mindset section offers a memorable reframe: the idea of pursuing a "maximally lovable product" rather than a minimum viable one is the kind of perspective shift that sticks with you. The emphasis on relationships as a core asset is one of the book's warmer and more grounded moments.

The Systems section is where Jiang arguably hits his peak. The One Action Goal is the standout tool of the entire book — a deceptively simple framework for cutting through paralysis and establishing momentum. Paired with the Inspiration Index, which links an input number (purpose) to an output number (power), it gives readers a surprisingly concrete mechanism for tracking effort and sustaining motivation. Repetition with Variation rounds out the section with a useful reminder that consistency doesn't have to mean monotony. The final section, on being yourself, is the lightest of the four — more motivational than methodological.

My one reservation is that Jiang's "tools" are often more like ideas or concepts — thoughtful ones, certainly, but not always immediately applicable without further development on the reader's part. That said, Easy Discipline is a genuinely enjoyable read with several ideas worth returning to, and the One Action Goal alone may justify the price of admission for anyone wrestling with focus and follow-through.

A big thank you to Simon Element and NetGalley.  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#EasyDiscipline #NetGalley

Book Review: Promise Me Never

Title: Promise Me Never

Author: Liv Constantine

Publisher: Bantam/Ballantine

Publication Date: August 18, 2026

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I've read a number of Liv Constantine books, including the Mrs. Parrish trilogy, and I came to Promise Me Never hoping for more of that same compulsive storytelling. What I got, unfortunately, was something that felt like a step down — a gothic domestic thriller with an intriguing setup that takes far too long to deliver on its promise and is ultimately disappointing.

The premise is genuinely compelling. Aspiring writer Savannah meets and marries her literary idol, the celebrated horror novelist Bennett Bryson, and moves into his remote upstate home — only to find herself increasingly isolated, controlled, and haunted by the memory of his first wife, Poppy, who died under mysterious circumstances. The ingredients for sustained dread are all there: the brooding, secretive husband, the shadow of the dead first wife, the whispered warnings. 

The problem is pacing. For roughly the first half of the book, very little of consequence happens. The tension that should be quietly ratcheting up instead feels stalled, and I'll be honest — had I not been committed to writing this review, I'm not sure I would have pushed past the midpoint. When the novel finally begins to accelerate, it does so in two sharp lurches: a significant twist at around the 80% mark, and a larger one near the end. Both were difficult to swallow. Promise Me Never is a middling thriller that feels underpowered.

A big thank you to Bantam/Ballantine and NetGalley.  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#PromiseMeNever #NetGalley