Read Malaysia Book Fair 2010

http://www.readmalaysia.my/
Great deals await you at the Read Malaysia Book Fair 2010 at Malaysian International Exhibition & Convention Centre, Mines Resort City.

If you don’t know about it yet, Read Malaysia Book Fair 2010 will be held at the Malaysian International Exhibition & Convention Centre, Mines Resort City. Date is from 4th-13th June 2010. Time is from 11 am to 10 pm.

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Books in the home as important as parents’ education level

Source:http://unr.edu/nevadanews/templates/details.aspx?articleid=5450

Whether rich or poor, residents of the United States or China, illiterate or college graduates, parents who have books in the home increase the level of education their children will attain, according to a 20-year study led by Mariah Evans, University of Nevada, Reno associate professor of sociology and resource economics.

For years, educators have thought the strongest predictor of attaining high levels of education was having parents who were highly educated. But, strikingly, this massive study showed that the difference between being raised in a bookless home compared to being raised in a home with a 500-book library has as great an effect on the level of education a child will attain as having parents who are barely literate (3 years of education) compared to having parents who have a university education (15 or 16 years of education). Both factors, having a 500-book library or having university-educated parents, propel a child 3.2 years further in education, on average.

Being a sociologist, Evans was particularly interested to find that children of lesser-educated parents benefit the most from having books in the home. She has been looking for ways to help Nevada’s rural communities, in terms of economic development and education.

“What kinds of investments should we be making to help these kids get ahead?” she asked. “The results of this study indicate that getting some books into their homes is an inexpensive way that we can help these children succeed.”

Evans said, “Even a little bit goes a long way,” in terms of the number of books in a home. Having as few as 20 books in the home still has a significant impact on propelling a child to a higher level of education, and the more books you add, the greater the benefit.

“You get a lot of ‘bang for your book’,” she said. “It’s quite a good return-on-investment in a time of scarce resources.”

In some countries, such as China, having 500 or more books in the home propels children 6.6 years further in their education. In the United States, the effect is less, 2.4 years, than the 3.2-year average advantage experienced across all 27 countries in the study. But, Evans points out that 2.4 years is still a significant advantage in terms of educational attainment.

For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Americans who have some college or an associate’s degree, but not a bachelor’s degree, earn an average of $7,213 more annually than those with just a high school education. Those who attain a bachelor’s degree earn $21,185 more each year, on average, than those with just high school diplomas.

The study by Evans and her colleagues at Nevada, UCLA and Australian National University is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies ever conducted on what influences the level of education a child will attain.

The researchers were struck by the strong effect having books in the home had on children’s educational attainment even above and beyond such factors as education level of the parents, the country’s GDP, the father’s occupation or the political system of the country.

Having books in the home is twice as important as the father’s education level, and more important than whether a child was reared in China or the United States. Surprisingly, the difference in educational attainment for children born in the United States and children born in China was just 2 years, less than two-thirds the effect that having 500 or more books in the home had on children (3.2 years).

The study, “Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations,” was published in the journal, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (online at www.sciencedirect.com).

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Building a Personal Finance Library: 25 of the Best Books About Money

I frequently get e-mail from people seeking book recommendations. Most messages are like the one Cody sent yesterday: “What is the first book that I should read that tells me how to invest?” These are easy to answer. In January, Bobby asked a broader question:

I was wondering if you have a list of PF books that you have in your personal library. I use the library frequently and am very interested in furthering my own education in the PF area. It is also a personal goal for 2007 (one educational book a month.)

This is a great goal and a great question. Eventually I’ll have a subsection of this site devoted to personal finance books. But for today, I’ll list the books I refer to frequently. (These aren’t all the books I own — I own many that aren’t worth having.) I’ve marked the books I consider essential with a happy star *.

Please note that these recommendations are based on how well a particular book has worked for me. Your mileage may vary.

Basic Personal Finance

These books offer a wide view, discussing many aspects of money. They offer advice about saving, investing, and getting out of debt. They don’t go into much detail about any one subject, but they provide motivation to get started. And that’s what’s most important.


The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko
The authors interview and survey a pool of millionaires, attempting to find common connections among them. They discover that millionaires live below their means. They budget. They let their adult children make it on their own. This book introduces several key concepts, including degrees of wealth accumulation. It’s a bit tedious in spots, at least in the audio version. This is one of just a few books to cover both sides of the wealth equation: saving money and earning money. [My review.]
*Your Money or Your Life by Dominguez and Robin
A classic, and one of the foundation books for the simplicity movement. The authors play off the concept “time is money” in a very literal sense. They encourage readers to sort out priorities, to cut expenses, and then to seek passive income in pursuit of financial independence. A little New Age-y in spots. An excellent book. [Frykitty reviewed this book last year.]
*The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Ramsey is an anti-credit zealot. He made a $4 million fortune by his mid-twenties, and then lost it to bankruptcy. Now he runs a personal finance empire. He takes a lot of criticism for his support of the Debt Snowball, which he describes in detail here, but the thing is: his methods work. If you are struggling with debt, there is no better starting place than this book. Ramsey’s advice is permeated with his Christianity, but you can get a lot out of this book even if you’re not religious.
The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton
This book offers good, general personal finance advice in the guise of a novel. Several friends meet once a month at the barber shop where the titular character dispenses wisdom on saving, investing, buying a house, and so on. The advice here is excellent, often backed by clear examples. The book’s conversational tone may appeal to some who might otherwise be turned off by personal finance. [My review.]
The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason
Clason offers personal finance wisdom in the form of parables. These nuggets of wisdom were originally distributed as pamphlets at banks and insurance companies during the 1920s. The most popular were collected into book form. This is the grand-daddy of personal finance (Benjamin Franklin is the great-granddaddy), and many of modern admonitions — “Pay yourself first”, “Invest for the future”, “Learn the power of compound interest” — can be found here.

Frugality

Saving money is a key skill to develop if you hope to get rich. (Read The Millionaire Next Door if you don’t believe me.) Here are four books that can help you learn to cut corners, to save money in ways that may not have occurred to you.


How to Live Well Without Owning a Car by Chris Balish
Balish begins by explaining why you’re better off not owning a car — financially, ecologically, and socially. He spends the rest of the book describing how to survive without one. He offers tips for mass transit, walking, bicycling, and more. This book has a narrow focus. But if you’re in its target audience, it’s worth a read.
Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Sometimes it’s the most unassuming of books that offers the best advice, that can actively help you on your quest to get rich slowly. Miserly Moms is ostensibly a guide for stay-at-home mothers, but is actually filled with useful tips for anyone who is concerned with frugality (especially parents with young children). [My review.]
*The Joy of Simple Living by Jeff Davidson
This book is packed with tips. Davidson covers a wide range of topics, and for each he offers several ways to save money. If this book were a weblog, it would feature digg-able entry after digg-able entry. A great resource for anyone wanting to cut down the clutter of life.
Wealth on Minimal Wage by James Steamer
If you’re a young adult just starting in life, this book is a fine choice. It offers hundreds of ideas on how to avoid debt, maximize your wages, save on insurance and utilities, and generally live a frugal lifestyle. A bit out of date, and maybe a little radical, but filled with good advice. (I’ve had a copy out from the public library for six months. It’s been battered and worn by previous patrons — a sure sign of a good book.)

Another highly-regarded book on frugality is The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I’ve never read it, but it’s near the top of my list of books to borrow from the library.

Investing

This set of books deals specifically with investing. The four books I keep at hand are user-friendly. They’re not technical, but offer a good introduction to the topic.


The Automatic Millioinaire by David Bach
There’s more to David Bach than “the latté factor”. The system he recommends here is excellent. If you’ve been meaning to open an IRA, but have never actually done so, then read this book! He’ll explain how to set it up so that it’s painless. (Ad: Buy Stocks for $4 at ShareBuilder.)
*The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias
Andrew Tobias is an entertaining writer. His jocular, conversational tone will keep you interested as he describes mutual funds, bonds, and treasury bills. There’s a good section on how to handle a windfall (lottery, inheritance). This is an excellent introduction to the subject of investing.
*The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Larimore, Lindauer, and LeBoeuf
You want expet investment advice? You can’t beat the info found here. These devotees of Vanugard founder John Bogle are big on slow, sure investments like indexed mutual funds. They tap their decades of experience to teach about diversification, inflation, and asset allocation. It’s not nearly as boring as it sounds. Highly recommended.
Yes, You Can…Achieve Financial Independence by James Stowers
Despite the odd title, this is a solid book on investment from one of the richest men in America. It does cover some basic personal finance information, but mostly gives tips on how to invest. I haven’t read the entire book, but I often use it as reference when preparing entries here. It’s a sort of bridge between overviews like Tobias and more technical books like Graham or Malkiel.

Two other classics on investing are The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham and A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. I have both, but have read neither. They’re both quite technical.


Success

Wealth is about more than money. These books will help you become a well-rounded person, will help you develop skills that will indirectly aid your personal finances.


*50 Success Classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon
Butler-Bowdon selected fifty important books from success literature. For each, he created digest versions, summarizing each volume in only a few pages, distilling its key points. He also provided biographical information on each author, and attempted to explain why each book is relevant, placing it in a larger context. This is a wonderful way to find other books to read. [My review.]
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
There’s a little personal finance advice here (all of it solid), but mostly this book is about changing the way you think about money and about yourself. I found Secrets inspirational. It’s a good choice for somebody with big goals, or somebody trying to overcome negative thinking. [My review.]
*How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
One of the classic success books. Carnegie uses anecdote after anecdote to illustrate the best way to make the most of human relations. It all boils down to this: “To win others to your way of thinking, put yourself in their shoes.” The devil is in the details, though, and Carnegie’s simple prose does a fine job of pointing the way. You can find this book cheap at almost any used book store. [My review.]
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Little needs to be said about this book — it’s a geek classic. Allen describes his formalized system for creating greater efficiency. Though I’ve found it difficult to maintain the precise system for long, I use elements of it all the time. If you have trouble procrastinating or staying organized, this book is for you. [My review.]
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
I’ve been meaning to review this book for weeks. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Parts of it are fantastic — you can learn how to relate to people, how to establish contacts and maintain connections, how to create a social network. But parts of it are creepy — networking for the sake of networking puts me off. The endless name-dropping gets old fast. Worth reading if you have contact with a wide group of people.

One book that’s not in my library is What Color is Your Parachute? This is a classic on changing careers. I’m locked into Get Rich Slowly and the family box factory, but if I were job hunting, I would pick up a copy of this book without hesitation.

Kids and Money

Many parents are unprepared to teach their children about money. You needn’t be one of them. These books suggest methods for getting kids to understand how money works.


What Color is Your Piggy Bank? by Adelia Cellini Linecker
This slim volume is a great choice for kids from 10-14 who are beginning to show an interest in entrepreneurship. Linecker covers the world of jobs, setting up shop, and how to manage money. I hope to provide a complete review of the book in the next few weeks.
You Call the Shots by Cameron Johnson
This is a new book from a young entrepreneur. It’s in my “to-read” stack. I ordered it based on high praise from Flexo at Consumerism Commentary, who wrote: “This book should be required reading for any young adult showing an interest in entrepreneurship.”
Living Simply with Children by Marie Sherlock
Sherlock offers tips for how to raise children that aren’t part of the consumerist culture. She encourages strong family ties as a counter to the relentless purchase to acquire “stuff”. There’s some great advice here.

Final Thoughts

Though I’ve linked to the Amazon pages for each of these books, I encourage you to get them free from your public library. I acquired most of the books in my personal finance library for cheap from garage sales and thrift stores.

Source:http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/03/07/building-a-personal-finance-library-25-of-the-best-books-about-money/

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29th KL International Book Fair 2010

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THINK & GROW RICH

Sumber:azman-aziz.blogspot.com
Buku pertama yang aku tengah kaji sekarang ni berjudul "Think & Grow Rich". Karangan Napoleon Hill. Sebenarnya ni buku kedua Think & Grow Rich yang aku beli. Dulu aku dah ada.... hilang bila dipinjamkan pada kawan. Lama baru aku jumpa edisi yang terbaru ni.

Cetakan pertama buku ni pada tahun 1937. Maknanya buku ni dah berusia 72 TAHUN. Penulisnya pun dah meninggal 30 tahun lebih. Sejak mula dikeluarkan hampir 20 JUTA naskah telah terjual tidak termasuk yang telah diterjemahkan ke berbagai bahasa. Versi bahasa Melayu ada berjudul "BERFIKIR UNTUK MENJADI KAYA". Aku cuba baca tetapi aku suka baca karangan asal lagi. Ianya boleh dikatakan menjadi rujukan "WAJIB" bagi jutawan- jutawan yang telah berjaya sekarang ni.

Apa yang menariknya buku ini sehingga berjaya bertahan sehingga hampir 100 tahun dipasaran?

Sebenarnya sebelum menulis buku ni Napoleon Hill adalah seorang wartawan yang ditugaskan untuk menemuramah orang- orang yang berjaya pada masa tersebut seperti Andrew Carnegie (Orang paling kaya masa tu 1900an), Hendry Ford, Thomas A Edison, Dr Alexander Graham Bell dan banyak lagi nama- nama besar yang tercatat dalam sejarah. 25 tahun masa diambil dan 500 orang berjaya ditemui secara bersemuka.

Daripada kajian tersebut, Napoleon Hill melihat sebenarnya orang- orang berjaya ni mempunyai banyak persamaan baik dari sudut pemikiran mahupun tindakan. Hasilnya Napoleon Hill berjaya mengekstrak dan membuat RUMUSAN tentang apa dan bagaimana kesemua mereka ini boleh berjaya dengan cemerlang sekali. Hasilnya juga Napoleon telah menggariskan panduan, 13 Langkah untuk menjadi kaya.

Setelah hampir 72 tahun ditulis, Kebanyakan jutawan dan orang yang berjaya pada masa sekarang mengakui mempraktikkan apa yang ditulis oleh NApoleon Hill samada secara sedar atau tidak sedar. Edisi terbaru banyak memasukkan testimoni orang yang telahpun berjaya dengan mengamalkan langkah- langkah yang telah disebutkan dalam buku ini.

Kesimpulannya. Jika anda rasa ingin berjaya aku sarankan dapatkan buku ini. Tidak rugi memeilikinya hinggakan aku sanggup membelinya 2 kali. Buku pertama aku membacanya sekali lau dan buku kedua ni aku baca word by word, cuba memahami maksud Napoleon Hill satu persatu, mengambil nota dan rumusan dan paling penting aku mula mengamalkannya.
Posted by Azman Bin A Aziz

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