Tag Archives: nonfiction

Book Review: USA: The Land with At Least 50 Options: A Hilarious and Eye-Opening Tour of America’s States, One Grocery Aisle at a Time by Robert Okine

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USA: The Land with At Least 50 Options: A Hilarious and Eye-Opening Tour of America’s States, One Grocery Aisle at a Time by
Robert Okine

A Non-Fiction Travel Guide published by Fifty Options Press (05/03/25)

I received an Advanced Review Copy (or ARC) on Reedsy Discovery

Summary:

“The humble, beautiful, chaotic places where real food meets real life. Where culture, comfort, convenience, and chaos all live under fluorescent lights.”

This book is full of 51 short essays about each of the different grocery personalities in each state of the US (plus DC). This book is part cultural commentary and  part comedic observation of everyday American life.

Keywords:

Travel, Grocery Stores, USA, Ecotourism, Humor, Essay, Shorts

My Review:

This is not a book about grocery stores. It’s a love letter, an ode, or an epic poem to the land of choices and dinner opportunities: The United States of America. The diversity of grocery stores in America reflects the diversity of the people and the experiences one might have in America.

Each short, quippy chapter describes a different state. Each state is represented by its grocery store: not just what’s on the shelves, but the vibe, the culture, and the personality. It’s like a travel guide, TL;DR, giving you a snapshot of who and what each state is and who or what the people are like in that state.

Why California first? The list is neither alphabetical nor in order of most outlandish to most ‘normal.’ It’s as if the author took the country and arranged it by feel, not geography.

Reading this, I felt like I was watching Forrest Gump when Bubba talks about shrimp. There are numerous varieties, much like the types of potatoes in Idaho or the various milk options in California.

Each word is so intentional, so well-placed, and sometimes they are in bold typeface, giving extra emphasis.

Even when the state’s grocery store stereotype leans on the obvious, it never feels lazy because it is so fun and loudly humorous. Like someone who sees America in all its absurd and beautiful forms.

Everyone eats, so everyone shops. This book is for anyone, even if you don’t live anywhere in the US but want a snapshot of what it’s like to live in any one of the different states. We are a melting pot of flavors – inside and outside of our grocery stores.

You’ll start wondering where you’d want to live, not just by climate or cost of living, but by grocery energy. (I think I identify most with Nevada, which tells you a lot about what kind of person I identify as.)

One of the most fun, funny, and sneakily accurate things I’ve read this year.

This novel was published by Fifty Options Press 05/03/25 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Robert Okine’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Money: What I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger: A Cautionary Tale & Lessons Learned for Teens & Young Adults by Brian Siemens

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Money: What I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger: A Cautionary Tale & Lessons Learned for Teens & Young Adults by Brian Siemens

A Personal Finance Novel published by Brian Siemens LLC (10/27/20)

First reviewed through Reedsy Discovery

Summary:

Brian Siemens is a financial educator and a public speaker, but he wasn’t always so money savvy. This nonfiction book on personal finance follows Brian’s early relationship with money, the pitfalls you should avoid, and how he learned to manage his finances. Through his own choices with money early on, Seimens shows the reader where he went wrong and how the reader can start off their personal finance journey on the right foot.

Keywords:

Personal Finance, Money, Debt, Student Loans, Personal Loans, Habits, Lifestyle, Quality of Life, Impulse Buying, Budgeting, Money Management Software, Credit Cards, Interest

My Review:

Out of all the personal finance books available, this book stands out because it is geared towards a younger audience. It is both a cautionary tale and a book full of words of advice. It is easy for adults to tell young adults and teenagers to avoid making the same mistakes they did. Usually, this phrase is accompanied by a lecture and a warning to avoid certain pitfalls. In personal finance, these pitfalls are abundant and include credit cards, student loans, impulse buying, etc. Brian Siemens expounds on these pitfalls with well-thought-out details and his own experience. He tells the whole story, including his own. For instance, he brings the reader’s attention to the concept of tax brackets. Even as an intermediate/advanced personal finance enthusiast, I haven’t fully taken tax brackets into consideration. Some of these small details can be very important and if overlooked, as Brian did early in his life, they can lead to poor financial decisions. Bad habits early on can be even harder to break. Even if you don’t know the difference in cost between getting new tires for a truck and getting new tires for a car, you’ll understand why the difference is important after reading this book. Maybe, if you’re a younger reader, you might even start an investment account!

Though this book is short, most of it is to the point and very practical. The last chapter is a tl;dr of advice that sums up the rest of the book. For those with short attention spans, this is a great beginner’s comprehensive guidebook for personal finance that is full of relevant and interesting personal anecdotes. 

I loved reading the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Typically I skim over quotes like these, but I really enjoyed each of the quotes that Brian Siemens chose. 

This novel was published by Brian Siemens LLC on 10/27/2020 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Brian Siemens’ Website

Goodreads