Scan barcode
tildahlia's review
4.0
A solid collection of essays about modern life, focusing particularly on the mirage of social media and the self-loathing it can engender. Havrilesky is an advice columnist and her understated wisdom comes through in some fantastic passages. A lot of the essays confirm things you already know about the modern condition, but in a very well-written and thoughtful way.
dilchh's review
3.0
A collection of essays from Heather Havrilesky that I bought during the time I was angry at the world and how most of the time we live in this world just trying to fulfill other people's expectations for us with no end in sight. •
The title of the book took me by surprise as I was just asking myself the same question. I just wished people ask this question more often. I also wished I had liked this book more, because I really did thought this was my cup of tea. Unfortunately it was not. •
Whilst there were definitely a lot of points that the author made that resonates positively with me, I can't help but not being able to enjoy her essays. There are more than one occasion where I felt she's using much too difficult and complicated words just to show that she can. She also referenced a lot of books and movies in an annoying way people criticised a book or movie so as to seem intelligent and different than the common folks. •
To be frank, I stopped reading just two essays away from actually completely finishing the book altogether. I didn't want to anger myself more by how I felt the author can be quite condescending at times, and how she sounded really pretentious with her big words.• It's not entirely bad. I'm sure most people would actually enjoy this book l, and I might actually be in the minority for not enjoying this book, that being said, to each their own, I suppose. •
The title of the book took me by surprise as I was just asking myself the same question. I just wished people ask this question more often. I also wished I had liked this book more, because I really did thought this was my cup of tea. Unfortunately it was not. •
Whilst there were definitely a lot of points that the author made that resonates positively with me, I can't help but not being able to enjoy her essays. There are more than one occasion where I felt she's using much too difficult and complicated words just to show that she can. She also referenced a lot of books and movies in an annoying way people criticised a book or movie so as to seem intelligent and different than the common folks. •
To be frank, I stopped reading just two essays away from actually completely finishing the book altogether. I didn't want to anger myself more by how I felt the author can be quite condescending at times, and how she sounded really pretentious with her big words.• It's not entirely bad. I'm sure most people would actually enjoy this book l, and I might actually be in the minority for not enjoying this book, that being said, to each their own, I suppose. •
whoanelle's review
Wow, so many highlights and passages resonated with me. I was hoping this book would offer insight on how to counter our culture of mass consumption but it’s mostly critique. Honestly just not in the best place to be reading something that feels so depressing! But I’m gonna reflect with what I’ve read and sit with how I wanna show up more human and contented in my life!
khuizenga's review against another edition
3.0
This was interesting. Although I’m inclined to agree with a lot of the societal critiques in this book, Havrilesky sees things very differently than I do. She’s quite cynical to her core, and sometimes I would find myself chuckling at her complete horror at small descriptive scenes I wouldn’t have thought to be horrified by (“she’s so dark” I would murmur). And then she goes and writes an essay on true romance that is so beautiful in its description of daily love that I’m left in tears at the end so there you go. Not my favorite collection of essays, but I did enjoy them.
omp's review
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I read this in early February, and in a season of every social media influencer trying to persuade us to be more, do more, mean more, these essays were a balm. While I didn't agree with everything the author had to say, I am now flipping back and finding 32 pages flagged...so, there was a lot that resonated with me. Does this really say anything that we haven't heard before? Probably not. Is it sometimes overly broad and a bit callous? Most likely. Is it alright to just be OK? Absolutely.
.
"...not many people seem interested in "what you're like." They just want to figure out what you're worth."
.
"...not many people seem interested in "what you're like." They just want to figure out what you're worth."
mandirigma's review
4.0
3.5/5 stars
I had mixed feelings on nearly every one of these essays. I appreciate what Havrilesky explores in these essays -- the manufactured happiness of Disneyland, the role of gurus like Tim Ferris, what social media and ideas of success are doing to our culture -- and her main ideas on consumerism and capitalism and the cult of positivity really resonate with me. But each of the essays starts out with pop culture criticism and kind of meander to her point. I was tempted to skip a few essays either because I had gotten a few pages in and still wasn't quite sure or interested enough in where she was headed, or because I actually hadn't seen/read whichever piece she was critiquing (Revolution, Billions, After Claude, John Updike's Rabbit novels, there were really so many references in this book that I had no experience with). I stuck it through all of the essays and was ultimately glad that I did, though I felt many of the essays focused too much on the pop culture references and criticism, and by the time the essays were done it felt like she was barely scratching the surface of her thesis.
Still, I really appreciated what she was getting at in each of these essays. This is a good collection that reminds you to slow down, look behind the curtain, and embrace the regular imperfections of life.
I had mixed feelings on nearly every one of these essays. I appreciate what Havrilesky explores in these essays -- the manufactured happiness of Disneyland, the role of gurus like Tim Ferris, what social media and ideas of success are doing to our culture -- and her main ideas on consumerism and capitalism and the cult of positivity really resonate with me. But each of the essays starts out with pop culture criticism and kind of meander to her point. I was tempted to skip a few essays either because I had gotten a few pages in and still wasn't quite sure or interested enough in where she was headed, or because I actually hadn't seen/read whichever piece she was critiquing (Revolution, Billions, After Claude, John Updike's Rabbit novels, there were really so many references in this book that I had no experience with). I stuck it through all of the essays and was ultimately glad that I did, though I felt many of the essays focused too much on the pop culture references and criticism, and by the time the essays were done it felt like she was barely scratching the surface of her thesis.
Still, I really appreciated what she was getting at in each of these essays. This is a good collection that reminds you to slow down, look behind the curtain, and embrace the regular imperfections of life.
bluestjuice's review
3.0
Well, I hated this when I began it, but by the time I finished it I rather liked it. The more nuanced explanation is that it's somewhat uneven. This is a collection of essays loosely grouped around the themes of ambition, self-improvement, and self-discovery, but it's not a self-help book and in fact takes a dim view generally of the 21st-century passion for constant improvement and 'living your best life.' It's a complicated topic, of course, because there is a lot of tension between the ideal of striving for betterment and the ideals of accepting the current moment, self, world, fully. Both ideals have value but, of course, exist on opposite sides of a spectrum that is always in flux. We, meanwhile, live in a culture that is unduly influenced by consumer and corporate influences all pointedly driving home the idea that we are definitely not enough, in no way, and more purchases will inch us a fraction closer. That's a thing I can get behind dissecting. Heather's writing wanders into the downright scathing in places, however, and I found myself uncomfortable and unmoved as she grittily described the ennui and disgust she experienced surrounded by mindless hordes of humanity at a Disneyland park. Her writing is better when it allows a hopeful glimmer, or simply when she acknowledges her own personal humanity and the way she struggles to reconcile these conflicted ideals within herself. We can't give up striving, entirely. It's not wrong to want to make the world a better place. But she is right, too, to point out the essential selfishness of a worldview that is all about making a better self and to hell with what anyone else wants or needs in the process.
lgmaxwell722's review
3.0
This book has just enough of what we need: reminders life is always going to be all right. Each essay in this collection pinpoints a potentially challenging topic: consumerism, relationships and unpacks how what we have in front of us is all there is. Part autobiography, part self-help this is a perfect read for anybody who needs faith in the world. This book does not rant, rather it guides with knowledge and insight.