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yodamom's review
4.0
I think I chuckled, on almost every page. While this is a serious book it is about not being so serious about everything. We whine, moan, obsess and complain so much in our lives, always looking to blame something or someone even ourselves for not living up to the ideal. Well, just F8ck it! None of us are prefect, none of us are saints, we cary baggage, we snarl and spit, we are truly warped, get over it ! Work with you inner screwed up beast don’t neuter it.
Fun, foul language and realistic
Fun, foul language and realistic
senquezada29's review
2.0
I picked up this book to see what my (then) GF was trying to communicate to me when she bought it for herself on a day trip I took her and her kids on. The book title may have communicated her feelings (or lack thereof) very accurately, but the title created a misleading intro to the book itself (which may be why I noticed she never finished reading it). It's definitely a self-help-esque type of book and at times gives some great advice. Overall though, I thought it promoted a defeatist type of attitude to life in general and at some points, I STRONGLY disagreed with the advice it gave and the failure for it to consider the larger social and political implications of some of the recommeded actions. I appreciated the effort by the authors to put this kind of guidance into everyday language/perspective, but felt like they used that as a crutch because they had to recommend your response be F*CK it to every problem and they had to stuck with that theme. Each chapter was titled F*CK something: SERENITY, LOVE, COMMUNICATION, etc. and I felt that although it was a cute approach and at times quite humorous as well, at other times it was just flat out bad advice. With all that said, there were still some helpful nuggets of wisdom in there, so it wasn't without any redeeming quality. Still one of my lower rated books though.
dilchh's review against another edition
2.0
Ah, see how promising this book was going to be? This was going to be a different self-help book. This was not going to be those lame ass self-help book you have been tricked to read. Oh no, you won't be tricked into reading a self-help book when you read this book. Why? Because look at how no-nonsense the book title is. Look at how the book is not speaking to you in the condescending shrink tone like the other self-help book. Oh how this book was a promising book.
But, of course, once a self-help book, will always be a self-help book.
Behind the no-nonsense crap the book's language is, behind the cuss words that made the book seems like a fun and easy to read kind of book, behind all those glittering promises that this was going to be a different self-help book than the other self-help book; this was still the exact same and carbon copy of all the other self-help book out there.
What this book is good at is one thing; good marketing. Imagine a situation where you're feeling incredibly blue/gloomy/sad/depressed etc. and you just want to get out of the rut, then you see this book somewhere. With its blinding yellow cover, and the attractive title, and the promise of the practical advice for managing life's impossible problems; now why wouldn't you give this book a try? After all the countless annoying self-help books that you've read before this, this books seems like your hail Mary book. This was the book that was going to save you. Then you read the introduction part, and you just knew it that this was the book; the promised book for all your life's impossible problems.
But, see, it's not. It's all just good marketing. You read the first few chapters and you're nodding your head thinking that, yep 'tis book is my jam 'cause it's full of cuss words and whatever. But the thing is, as you progress with the book, the cuss words are getting less and less, and the condescending tone of typical self-help book starts to emerge. The language now turns into the know-it all ones. Like it knows how to fix your problem, any of your problem, and if you still can't, maybe because you're not trying hard enough.
See, another thing about this book apart from its good marketing is that this book promotes acceptance. It tells you to accept the things you can change and to move on forward from there, as oppose to spending the rest of your entire life trying to change the unchangeable things. While this is a good advice (it really is, I was not being sarcastic about it), I don't think I need to read the whole entire book about it. Because, as interesting as the chapter classifications are, every single thing says the exact same thing just with a bit of twist here and there. Every single examples being said always be answered with something about accepting that things are beyond your control, that sometimes you are not responsible for the shits in your life, and what you can be in control is how you move forward from the shits. Well, it don't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Although, to be completely fair, most people in their darkest times almost always failed to notice the simple truth that for most of the time, all the shitty things in your life can happen out of your control. But, hey, if we're being petty about everything, I stand by my judgement that this book is not that different from other self-help book and that basically this was all just good marketing.
Oh wait, you think that this book is still different from the others? Because it speaks simply? Yeah, sure. You're right on that one. But after three chapters in and the whole entire content of the books uses the same formula (and basically is just saying the same thing), you are as bored as you would be when you're reading other self-help book. It started with a monologue about something, then it gets into some examples, followed by some pep talk on how to overcome the said example problems, and closed it all with a letter on how to overcome it. Over and over and over again, that is the whole content of the book. See if you're not tempted to end the book before it actually is over.
To be fair, I don't think a self-help book is something that you would be reading like you would to a novel or any other type of books. I guess self-help book is something that you read like you would read a yellow pages book; you open the table of contents, look for which section that would help you and stick to that chapter only.
So, all in all it was not a bad book. It was pretty enjoyable and I gain some interesting bit from it, but I really wouldn't be recommending this book freely. Give this book a try if you're going through a rough patch, but just stick to the specific chapters that correspond to your problem only; or you would lose sight of what the book is trying to say (like it did to me).
But, of course, once a self-help book, will always be a self-help book.
Behind the no-nonsense crap the book's language is, behind the cuss words that made the book seems like a fun and easy to read kind of book, behind all those glittering promises that this was going to be a different self-help book than the other self-help book; this was still the exact same and carbon copy of all the other self-help book out there.
What this book is good at is one thing; good marketing. Imagine a situation where you're feeling incredibly blue/gloomy/sad/depressed etc. and you just want to get out of the rut, then you see this book somewhere. With its blinding yellow cover, and the attractive title, and the promise of the practical advice for managing life's impossible problems; now why wouldn't you give this book a try? After all the countless annoying self-help books that you've read before this, this books seems like your hail Mary book. This was the book that was going to save you. Then you read the introduction part, and you just knew it that this was the book; the promised book for all your life's impossible problems.
But, see, it's not. It's all just good marketing. You read the first few chapters and you're nodding your head thinking that, yep 'tis book is my jam 'cause it's full of cuss words and whatever. But the thing is, as you progress with the book, the cuss words are getting less and less, and the condescending tone of typical self-help book starts to emerge. The language now turns into the know-it all ones. Like it knows how to fix your problem, any of your problem, and if you still can't, maybe because you're not trying hard enough.
See, another thing about this book apart from its good marketing is that this book promotes acceptance. It tells you to accept the things you can change and to move on forward from there, as oppose to spending the rest of your entire life trying to change the unchangeable things. While this is a good advice (it really is, I was not being sarcastic about it), I don't think I need to read the whole entire book about it. Because, as interesting as the chapter classifications are, every single thing says the exact same thing just with a bit of twist here and there. Every single examples being said always be answered with something about accepting that things are beyond your control, that sometimes you are not responsible for the shits in your life, and what you can be in control is how you move forward from the shits. Well, it don't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Although, to be completely fair, most people in their darkest times almost always failed to notice the simple truth that for most of the time, all the shitty things in your life can happen out of your control. But, hey, if we're being petty about everything, I stand by my judgement that this book is not that different from other self-help book and that basically this was all just good marketing.
Oh wait, you think that this book is still different from the others? Because it speaks simply? Yeah, sure. You're right on that one. But after three chapters in and the whole entire content of the books uses the same formula (and basically is just saying the same thing), you are as bored as you would be when you're reading other self-help book. It started with a monologue about something, then it gets into some examples, followed by some pep talk on how to overcome the said example problems, and closed it all with a letter on how to overcome it. Over and over and over again, that is the whole content of the book. See if you're not tempted to end the book before it actually is over.
To be fair, I don't think a self-help book is something that you would be reading like you would to a novel or any other type of books. I guess self-help book is something that you read like you would read a yellow pages book; you open the table of contents, look for which section that would help you and stick to that chapter only.
So, all in all it was not a bad book. It was pretty enjoyable and I gain some interesting bit from it, but I really wouldn't be recommending this book freely. Give this book a try if you're going through a rough patch, but just stick to the specific chapters that correspond to your problem only; or you would lose sight of what the book is trying to say (like it did to me).
doritobabe's review
2.0
couldn't finish this book. it became very repetitive and the humor annoying... almost as if it is disrespecting and disregarding of some mental illnesses. although, it does feel like a constant friend telling you: "get over it. accept it. you can't help anyone but yourself."
bookgirlsolutions's review
5.0
If you only buy two self help books I recommend this as well as The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck! Both fantastic down to earth and easily applicable entertaining reads.
booklovinalicia's review
3.0
This book was amusing but repetitive. After the first couple chapters you can pretty much get the gist of what they are trying to tell the reader. It could have been a lot shorter, and if not for the comedy aspect I would have stopped reading a quarter of the way through.
Read my full review at www.booklovinalicia.blogspot.com
Read my full review at www.booklovinalicia.blogspot.com
lucia_bell's review
3.0
Meh, some of his blunt opinions could be a little offensive when they didn't need to be.
90sinmyheart's review
4.0
book: This was too meaty to read. I just don't have the energy. I'm going to try the audio book. I liked the first chapter!
audiobook: only got about a quarter of the way through, but i got the gist of it. and i liked that gist.
Uodate: I own this book because I found a used copy for cheap and sometimes i use it as a resource!!
audiobook: only got about a quarter of the way through, but i got the gist of it. and i liked that gist.
Uodate: I own this book because I found a used copy for cheap and sometimes i use it as a resource!!
naleagdeco's review
4.0
Picked up this book because of the irreverent title and iconic cover, and it's a keeper.
The book is ultimately a self-help book, although it's idea of helping is more about getting you to accept that life will never be the perfect thing that you wished for, and more importantly how to _cope_ with life's imperfections and the stuff you'll never really get away from while also giving you practical advice on how to deal with the stuff you could get away from.
I wish this book had been out while I was still a young 20-something, wondering if I was cynical because I couldn't find the right practice to believe in or be devoted enough to to turn my entire life around into something 100% awesome. This book confirms a lot of my feelings about things (which lead to me nodding "yeah, yeah, obviously" while reading it but I'm sure I'll need to pick it off my shelf over and over for reality checks.
I really enjoyed the chapters on depression/anxiety because they were incredibly relevant to me. AFAICT the way they described depression/anxiety seemed reasonable, and the way they handled it as something that will _never really go away_ was incredibly useful as a framework to rotate my life around ... it's something I'll have to deal with and manage, never cure.
The therapy section is incredibly surface-level but it does lay out a great mapping of possibilities, as well as a important reminder of how would should approach looking for therapy that's grounded and will limit the temptation of throwing money after money into an unmeasurable success metric.
I was slightly less impressed with the chapters on love and communication, not because they weren't equally practical but because they tended to mirror the status quo when it came to typical cis heterosexual norms. I think it did a good job being clear that the "men are from mars, women are from venus" is bullshit, but the same pragmatic cynicism that permeates the rest of the book also means that the book accepts language that implies that women and men deal with relationships in a heavily gendered way. It kind of sucks for example that women tend to be pigeonholed into the manic pixie dream girl or "crazy bitch" role, and that men tend to be notoriously bad at dealing with intimacy and emotion, but while I don't think the book demands this is something inherent to gender, it views itself as helping people within that framework instead of challenging it (which was never part of the authors' scope, but it's unfortunate given how much the crappiness of relationships is as much social expectations as it is people's failings.)
Each chapter has a very clear structure, text followed by suggested self-written letters followed by a joke matrix of utopian but completely impractical outcomes and solutions. It got boring after a while and seemed repetitive, but for my favourite chapters I chose to read them and identified with the imagined letter-writers so I will admit that for the areas I'm still working out in my own life, they were poignant even while having a sort of silly humourist column feel about them.
If you don't feel your life is perfect and you don't already know the exact fix, I'd highly recommend reading this book and keeping it around if you're the kind to stress yourself out about life's problems. Even if you feel everything can be solved by the simple use of X, I recommend having a copy anyway since since it's a great reality check. I wish everyone I knew still in their teens and 20s would read it, but I suspect they're not yet old and crotchety and they might as well appreciate reading the book when they're ready to appreciate it and have lost the energy for devoting one's whole life towards that all-encompassing solution which will solve everything :D
I assume must people don't need to read every chapter in this book, but I assume most people will really benefit from at least one chapter.
The book is ultimately a self-help book, although it's idea of helping is more about getting you to accept that life will never be the perfect thing that you wished for, and more importantly how to _cope_ with life's imperfections and the stuff you'll never really get away from while also giving you practical advice on how to deal with the stuff you could get away from.
I wish this book had been out while I was still a young 20-something, wondering if I was cynical because I couldn't find the right practice to believe in or be devoted enough to to turn my entire life around into something 100% awesome. This book confirms a lot of my feelings about things (which lead to me nodding "yeah, yeah, obviously" while reading it but I'm sure I'll need to pick it off my shelf over and over for reality checks.
I really enjoyed the chapters on depression/anxiety because they were incredibly relevant to me. AFAICT the way they described depression/anxiety seemed reasonable, and the way they handled it as something that will _never really go away_ was incredibly useful as a framework to rotate my life around ... it's something I'll have to deal with and manage, never cure.
The therapy section is incredibly surface-level but it does lay out a great mapping of possibilities, as well as a important reminder of how would should approach looking for therapy that's grounded and will limit the temptation of throwing money after money into an unmeasurable success metric.
I was slightly less impressed with the chapters on love and communication, not because they weren't equally practical but because they tended to mirror the status quo when it came to typical cis heterosexual norms. I think it did a good job being clear that the "men are from mars, women are from venus" is bullshit, but the same pragmatic cynicism that permeates the rest of the book also means that the book accepts language that implies that women and men deal with relationships in a heavily gendered way. It kind of sucks for example that women tend to be pigeonholed into the manic pixie dream girl or "crazy bitch" role, and that men tend to be notoriously bad at dealing with intimacy and emotion, but while I don't think the book demands this is something inherent to gender, it views itself as helping people within that framework instead of challenging it (which was never part of the authors' scope, but it's unfortunate given how much the crappiness of relationships is as much social expectations as it is people's failings.)
Each chapter has a very clear structure, text followed by suggested self-written letters followed by a joke matrix of utopian but completely impractical outcomes and solutions. It got boring after a while and seemed repetitive, but for my favourite chapters I chose to read them and identified with the imagined letter-writers so I will admit that for the areas I'm still working out in my own life, they were poignant even while having a sort of silly humourist column feel about them.
If you don't feel your life is perfect and you don't already know the exact fix, I'd highly recommend reading this book and keeping it around if you're the kind to stress yourself out about life's problems. Even if you feel everything can be solved by the simple use of X, I recommend having a copy anyway since since it's a great reality check. I wish everyone I knew still in their teens and 20s would read it, but I suspect they're not yet old and crotchety and they might as well appreciate reading the book when they're ready to appreciate it and have lost the energy for devoting one's whole life towards that all-encompassing solution which will solve everything :D
I assume must people don't need to read every chapter in this book, but I assume most people will really benefit from at least one chapter.