"The Science of Getting Rich" - by Wallace Wattles

US/UK Kindle Classic

This book is a departure for this blog, but it is an example from a very popular genre.  And if I had read this and applied it earlier in life, maybe I would not be trying to make money from blogging!  (Although I am following the "do what you love and the money will follow" precept.)

The Science of Getting Rich  is an early example (1910 ) of the self-help yourself to riches genre.  (US Edition)  (£0.77 UK Edition)  This book on positive thinking by Wallace Wattles has never been out of print.  Recent studies show that a positive attitude does help you live longer, so maybe there is more to this philosophy than building a bank account.

 

The man who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is rich; and no man who has not plenty of money can have all he wants. Life has advanced so far, and become so complex, that even the most ordinary man or woman requires a great amount of wealth in order to live in a manner that even approaches completeness.

OK, I am convinced!  I want to be rich.  How do I get rich?

I have said that men get rich by doing things in a Certain Way; and in order to do so, men must become able to think in a certain way. 

A man’s way of doing things is the direct result of the way he thinks about things. 

To do things in a way you want to do them, you will have to acquire the ability to think the way you want to think; this is the first step toward getting rich.

Now you may not think this is the sort of reading you do, but these books are very popular; perhaps now more than ever.  One sure way to get rich is not pay full price for something that is just repackaged and available elsewhere at a discount!  Get the original here for a fraction of the price.

The Europeans - by Henry James

Free US/UK Kindle Classic

Henry Jame, the American author, wrote The Europeans, in 1878.  It is a comedy of manners, contrasting Europeans and Americans. (US Edition)  (UK Edition)

Eugenia got up; she still held in her hand the drawing her brother had given her. It was a bold, expressive sketch of a group of miserable people on the deck of a steamer, clinging together and clutching at each other, while the vessel lurched downward, at a terrific angle, into the hollow of a wave. It was extremely clever, and full of a sort of tragi-comical power. Eugenia dropped her eyes upon it and made a sad grimace. "How can you draw such odious scenes?" she asked. "I should like to throw it into the fire!"

Nice siblings!

"Are you very sure they are rich?" asked Felix, lightly. 

His sister slowly turned in her place, looking at him. "Heavenly powers!" she murmured. "You have a way of bringing out things!"

"It will certainly be much pleasanter if they are rich," Felix declared.

"Do you suppose if I had not known they were rich I would ever have come?"

Well, they are honest with each other.  It will be fun to see how honest they are with their American cousins.

Henry James is one of the most respected of American authors.  This novella length work is a good place to start.