This site doesn't entice me to do anything but leave it. Not trying to be rude or anything... but you need to try a more mellow color scheme. If I wasn't so anxious to leave the bright site,then yes... I probably would click the Adsense cuz you do have them in the right spots.
Sorry to say, but the page colors and layout are not appealing at all. A serious re-think is needed with your site. Sorry!
Every aspect of the site is hard on the eyes, so if a visitor is truely on the site for content, they are going to move around as quickly as possible. this will result in them reading less of the information. I would recommend changing the background to white, font to something slightly shy of black with nice 3 character hex values for the links / graphic text. take a look at 37signals.com - simple, easy to read, and even if you come across the page by accident you may stick around and see what the page is all about because it is pleasant on the eyes. also one thing i notice about the picture / ad placement (very nice, btw) is that i think it would be more effective if the bodybuilding pictures were on the other side of the ad. this allows the adsense text to form right against the picture which is more likely to be mistaken as content than an ad. hope this helps
The color scheme doesn't look as bad as everyone makes it sound. The Title at the top does though. It seems like it takes up too much space and nothing is really in it? The ad placement is great though, very well done. Just change that frickin title! lol
Once again, not to be rude, I was enticed to click the x at the top right hand of my computer screen. But, with that said, the site has a feeling of 1996. Any solid dark color with text written directly on it is hard on the eyes. The logo is very outdated. The picture background should be the same as the background of your site (not white).... Finally, there is Waaaaaaaaaaaay too much text in a clump It needs to be shorted and broken up by bullets or pictures. If your website is a hobby, then keep it the way it is. If you expect people to take you seriousely, it needs a complete overhaul. Sorry! Good Luck!
Just to toss in my two cents. I would get rid of the animated .gif. Also I'd organize your content with leftnav | main content | rightnav. If the purpose of your page is to get people to purchase the book, in the right column, I would feature the book with a smaller image and description with the "buy now" link beneath it. Possibly box it out in a complementary color.
I think it semi makes you want to click the left sidebar links because they look like a navigational menu, which blends in to the site. But you could make it look a lot better, great site and look forward to seeing more of it.
Thanks for all the awesome replies everyone! I am going to give the site some serious thought and change the color scheme completely. You guys have opened my eyes up to how crappy the color scheme really is. I will also be making the title smaller with better graphics or text. Thanks again everyone, and if anyone has anything else to be brutally honest about, then shoot...cuz I want to hear the honest truth, no matter how bad.