Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I love Genevieve Davis' other books on magic, and I had waited SO LONG to see anything new from her or from Richard Dotts, so I was super excited when I saw they both had new books out this year. This book was a real disappointment, though. It was just a rehash of a very basic LOA principle. She said she thought about calling it "Telling a New Story" instead of "Magic Words," and that would have been a much more accurate title. The book basically says, "Think positive." That's it. Nothing new here. (In contrast, Dotts' new book about instantly directed manifestations had genuinely new content, so at least there's that!) The worst part of the book was Davis' insistence that one should never complain. She sort of already makes it confusing, because she does say you should complain if you get bad food at a restaurant or something. I think she means make sure the complaint is constructive. She spends a lot of time complaining about how people complain about news stories and world events that they don't actually intend to do anything about themselves. What she is forgetting is that some complaints are social signaling, letting others know what is or isn't okay. For example, if a friend tells you that a politician was caught on tape making a racist remark, and you don't live in that politician's district or intend to "do" anything about it, Davis thinks you should not join in complaining with your friend. "So-and-so made a horrible racist remark! I am so mad about that." "Oh, did he? But his hair is really nice. I think it's wonderful that so many politicians have great hair, don't you? And the birds sing so beautifully today...." If you respond in this cheerful way, you send the message that racism doesn't really matter very much. On the other hand, a little complaining sends the message that racism is not okay. "He did that? That's terrible! No one should talk that way. I hope he does not get re-elected." Maybe you don't intend to "do" anything about the politician--you're not going to run for office yourself or anything. But you can send a social signal that says racism is unjustified, and a short complaint does that well. Davis is right that we tend to complain too much, but the answer is to make sure complaints are appropriate and only as long as necessary, not to avoid complaining at all.