Title: Survival Lessons Author: Alice Hoffman Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Memoirs, Self help Pace: Slow Format: eBook, Novel Year: 2013
This wasn’t quite the style and set up that I was expecting. I think I was expecting a much more prose style novel. Instead, this read a little like a collection of advice doled out. There isn’t really a flow of narrative and not much in the actual experience of the author. Rather, it was what she wishes people had said to her.
I would have enjoyed a little bit more biography and context to Hoffman’s experiences surviving breastfeeding cancer. I loved the “lessons” that she imparted. They were wise and honest, but also heartfelt with complete focus on happiness, love and living. I just wanted to know more about how she arrived at these realisations, those epiphany moments that filled her life.
All in all, this was a very inspiring book. It was a reminder that life is short and that you need to figure out what it is that makes you happy. It’s obvious that Hoffman has a focus on family and friends, which I share, so I found her advice sage and wise. Maybe nothing revolutionary and new, but a good reminder to stop and take stock of your life and priorities once in a while.
This is definitely worth a read. And will be a great reminder to live life to the fullest. I know that’s what I was reminded of when reading this, and my takeaway message.
Title: Everything is Fucked: A Book About Hope Author: Mark Manson Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Non-fiction, Psychology, Self help Dates read: 19th September – 30th October 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Harper Year: 2019 5th sentence, 74th page: Yet, in a matter of a few months, this cantankerous, antisocial twenty-three-year-old had uncovered the mystery, had cracked the code.
From the author of the international megabestseller The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck comes a counterintuitive guide to the problems of hope.
We live in an interesting time. Materially, everything is the best it’s ever been, yet somehow everything seems to be irreparably and horribly fucked. What’s going on? If anyone can put a name to our current malaise and help fix it, it’s Mark Manson. In Everything Is Fucked, Manson draws on mountains of psychological research, as well as on the timeless wisdom of philosophers from Plato to Tom Waits, to dissect religion, politics, money, entertainment, and the internet.
With his usual mix of erudition and humor, Manson challenges us to be more honest with ourselves, openly defying our definitions of faith, happiness, freedom – and even of hope itself. One of the great modern writers has produced another book that will set the agenda for years to come.
This wasn’t quite as good as The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. But it was still a fun read. And most definitely the kind of book that I would pick up again and reread. Manson makes some amazing points, and I think that the reason I liked The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck was because I really needed to read that book at that point in my life.
Everything Is Fucked serves as a great reminder of all of the pitfalls in our everyday lives. The pitfalls that we, ourselves have created in our never ending quest to make our lives better. I love that he points out this ridiculous paradox – that we have created a society in which we want to improve our lives. Yet, this very improvement is what is making us so damn depressed. It kind of reinforces some of the beliefs that I already held…
This isn’t necessarily a hopeful book. But it’s not pessimistic either. There is a strong sense of optimism in the words that highlight how important it is to construct our futures and think about our everyday decision making. It certainly helped me to take a step back and think about my own decision making and choices that I make. Mostly, what is actually contributing to my happiness and what is just… fluff.
Like The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, this is a book that I think everyone should read at some point. It’s fun and enjoyable. Deep and meaningful. And filled with a lot of humour and random information to really help get Manson’s point across.
Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Author: Mark Manson Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Non-fiction, Psychology, Self help Dates read: 27th August – 16th September 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: MacMillan Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: Because we’re brothers; we’re supposed to have a good relationship!
EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN TOLD ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES IS WRONG. NOW SUPERSTAR BLOGGER MARK MANSON TELLS US WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET IT RIGHT.
For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. Drawing on academic research and the life experience that comes from breaking the rules, Mark Manson is ready to explode that myth. The key to a good life, according to Manson, is the understanding that ‘sometimes life is messed up and we have to live with it’.
Manson says that instead of trying to turn lemons into lemonade, we should learn to stomach lemons betters, and stop distracting ourselves from life’s inevitable disappointments chasing money, success and possessions. It’s time to re-calibrate our values and what it means to be happy: there are only so many thing we can worry about, he says, so we need to figure out which ones really matter.
From the writer whose blog draws two million readers a month and filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humour, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a **** is a welcome antidote to the ‘let’s-all-feel-good’ mindset that has infected modern society.
Alright, I can see why this is such a big, top selling novel / self help book. It was spot on with most of what was said, and even though I’ve already (funnily enough) started down this road of giving limited “fucks”, I also had a lot more moments that I feel like I should integrate into my daily life. It was such a fun, great and somewhat easy read. Yet, it was also kind of poignant and true. Definitely a book that I would (and have) recommend to others.
Mot of the time when there’s a lot of swearing in a story, I’m a bit “eh” about it all. It doesn’t often add anything to the writing, but just feels a little… titillating. That wasn’t the case for this. Yes, it’s more swearing than any of the books I’ve read. But it helped to make each and every point. For the first time that I can remember in my reading, I actually enjoyed the swearing and found it completely helped along not only Manson’s point, but also had me laughing frequently.
I’ve read this book at a really good point in my life. I’ve been letting go of all of my career goals (I realised that they weren’t quite what I wanted out of life) and started to redecide what I find important in life. And honestly, this novel let me know that what I’m doing and how I’m approaching my life now is actually okay. The stripping back of the bullshit is just what I needed to do, and this novel helped me to see how and understand the ways in which I can do this.
Most of the self help books I’ve read are honestly kind of wanky. There’s honestly no other word for it. But this one I actually found interesting and useful. It was full of great information. And just generally an all round enjoyable read. One that taught me a few things in the process of enjoying it.
Earth and Skye 