Book Review: No Short Cuts

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

Self-help meets musical motivation in this unconventional book set to a curated soundtrack.

No Short Cuts: Life Journeys Through Music and Film is a creative & quirkyself-help book to get you motivatedand more in touch with how media can help illuminate real life. 

A self-proclaimed audiophile, Fenton incorporates music, film, and other media to enhance the motivational side of things. QR codes are included to ensure access to the material and to make for a multi-layered reading experience. Whether it’s the music or the movie clips, Fenton explains how they relate to the topics at hand while interweaving personal experiences and stories to learn from. 

Fenton draws on real-life examples to highlight the challenges of various individuals and the specific ways they overcame them—and how you’re capable of overcoming obstacles too. Using friends and family, he tackles relatable topics—career shifts, relationship ups and downs, and health challenges—and keeps it on a smaller scale. 

After each chapter, Fenton also offers a concise summary of the key lessons, including reflections, actionable steps, and tips to enhance the reader’s understanding. This makes the book feel accessible rather than overwhelming the reader with an overabundance of examples. 

Fenton’s journey doesn’t follow a straightforward path. His backgrounds in finance and technology coincide with his life as a writer. He enjoys doing what is unexpected, and as readers, we do too. The theme of living life non-linearly sparks an interesting thought process for self-help readers used to the usual way of personal improvement books. He shares unconventional experiences that will help others navigate their own journeys, but it’s his positive outlook that bleeds through the pages and inspires the most. The book asks nuanced questions, like “Why do I feel like this?” and “Why can’t I see anything ahead of me?” It doesn’t provide tried and true answers to every situation because those don’t exist, but it does lay the groundwork for introspection and our own right answers. 

Fenton’s use of music and film creates a unique, powerful effect. He passionately demonstrates the importance of these mediums, and it’s a full-circle effect to experience the emotions guiding through the rhythms of the song choices. Sometimes the sheer volume of music and film references can be distracting and read as gimmicky, which can overshadow the message at hand, but overall, they’re welcome and help the book stand out.

What a refreshing approach to the motivational self-help genre! We’re not relying on cliches or quick fixes and platitudes to get across our potential for self-improvement, but instead, we’re journeying through the unexpected with an unexpected guy—his own preferences and styles shining through. Fenton’s voice is approachable and natural, a challenging feat that he handles well.

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