philochs76's review against another edition
2.0
If Andy Rooney were reincarnated as a relatively attractive straight white girl, this is the book she would write.
As Andy would say: “Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done.”
Oh, and hot take - people are mean to Lena Dunham because she’s a girl. And arugula is elitist.
You can get updated versions of this brand of wisdom, and more, either from a witty quote of the day calendar from Bed Bath and Beyond, or from this book.
As Andy would say: “Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done.”
Oh, and hot take - people are mean to Lena Dunham because she’s a girl. And arugula is elitist.
You can get updated versions of this brand of wisdom, and more, either from a witty quote of the day calendar from Bed Bath and Beyond, or from this book.
jbourque85's review against another edition
3.0
"What If This Were Enough? Essays" by Heather Havrilesky
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"From the day we are born, the world tells us lies about who we are, how we should live, and what we should sacrifice to cross some imaginary finish line to success and happiness. More powerful than the outright lies we’re told, though, are the subtler, broader poisons of our culture, how we ingest and metabolize them until they feel like a part of us, yet we still can’t figure out why we’re sick."
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3.5 stars I think. I wanted to like this book more than I did. I wanted to love it so much. But honestly there was so much product placement-like talk about other books, tv shows and movies that I haven't read or seen that some times what she was trying to convey didn't come across well. I liked most of the essays and found some of them entertaining, I just wish there weren't so many references that I can't relate to. However there were A LOT of real world statements she made that hit me hard. There was a lot of good in this book.. I looked at my kindle notes and I highlighted 25 separate things which is way above average for me.
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"From the day we are born, the world tells us lies about who we are, how we should live, and what we should sacrifice to cross some imaginary finish line to success and happiness. More powerful than the outright lies we’re told, though, are the subtler, broader poisons of our culture, how we ingest and metabolize them until they feel like a part of us, yet we still can’t figure out why we’re sick."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
3.5 stars I think. I wanted to like this book more than I did. I wanted to love it so much. But honestly there was so much product placement-like talk about other books, tv shows and movies that I haven't read or seen that some times what she was trying to convey didn't come across well. I liked most of the essays and found some of them entertaining, I just wish there weren't so many references that I can't relate to. However there were A LOT of real world statements she made that hit me hard. There was a lot of good in this book.. I looked at my kindle notes and I highlighted 25 separate things which is way above average for me.
cdlindwall's review against another edition
5.0
The last three essays are worth the price of admission.
oneskyolder's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this book. I've read a couple of pieces from Ask Polly and found them to be deeply comforting because Havrilesky is so attuned to the human experience. But this book was so frustrating that I couldn't finish it.
Let's start with the title: What If This Were Enough? You'd think it's an implication that our imperfect lives are actually enough; an invitation to readers to extend gratitude towards the everyday! You're wrong.
The book is meant to be a critique on cultural forces like materialism, consumerism, and minimalism. It's just not a particularly productive one, because it reads like a litany of cliché complaints. Havrilesky's analyses are neither incisive nor insightful. She makes sweeping statements with no evidence to back them up, and is at times hyperbolic. She criticizes everything: 50 Shades of Grey, millennials, foodies, Disneyland, the list goes on. Ultimately, she comes across as judgmental, cynical, and bitter to me.
Since she doesn't offer readers any suggestions for how we might better navigate this bleak world she's constructed, I'm left wondering what the point of this book is. The last straw for me was when she referred to Marie Kondo as a 'personality disorder in motion'.
I've only read less than half of the book, so it's entirely possible that the later chapters are more insightful. But my rising blood pressure every time I read this book tells me that I don't have the patience to stick around and find out.
Let's start with the title: What If This Were Enough? You'd think it's an implication that our imperfect lives are actually enough; an invitation to readers to extend gratitude towards the everyday! You're wrong.
The book is meant to be a critique on cultural forces like materialism, consumerism, and minimalism. It's just not a particularly productive one, because it reads like a litany of cliché complaints. Havrilesky's analyses are neither incisive nor insightful. She makes sweeping statements with no evidence to back them up, and is at times hyperbolic. She criticizes everything: 50 Shades of Grey, millennials, foodies, Disneyland, the list goes on. Ultimately, she comes across as judgmental, cynical, and bitter to me.
Since she doesn't offer readers any suggestions for how we might better navigate this bleak world she's constructed, I'm left wondering what the point of this book is. The last straw for me was when she referred to Marie Kondo as a 'personality disorder in motion'.
I've only read less than half of the book, so it's entirely possible that the later chapters are more insightful. But my rising blood pressure every time I read this book tells me that I don't have the patience to stick around and find out.
selketjewett's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Some essays were hits and some were misses. They got better as the book went on. “Haunted” was one of my favorites. It’s time stamped in 2018 in ways that illustrate how much has changed since then and how much is exactly the same. I think it would be interesting to revisit this one in a few years.
lexiww's review against another edition
4.0
I was two-thirds done with my library copy, when I found a sizable crumb in the gutter as if it were some potent marginalia. I thought, "Thank god someone else has read this."
Reading this felt like holding a mirror up to my face and finally feeling at peace with the muddle looking back.
Reading this felt like holding a mirror up to my face and finally feeling at peace with the muddle looking back.
jeffreyreads's review against another edition
3.0
I really, really liked the idea of this essay collection since I believe it to be an incredibly important and relevant topic of conversation, especially in this day and age. However, it felt like the author lacked depth in her overall argument, since a lot of what she explains in the introduction isn’t actually explored much further.
It seems to me that her only argument was that the rise of technology and digital media has led to the general population, especially young people who have come of age with social media, to feel inadequate and even depressed because it feels like nothing will ever be enough to satisfy us and our unrealistic expectations and/or goals. I agree 100%. But she really doesn’t take the argument much further than that. A lot of the essays seem to be about an underlying theme that capitalism controls our lives and convinces us we need materialistic commodities to keep us sane in an increasingly consumer-driven world. Okay, cool. The idea that capitalism has put a spell on society and convinced them they need to buy things they don’t need to feel good about themselves is nothing new, ask anyone. If you’re going to make such a sweeping generalization about society at large, you’re gonna have to take it a lot further than that. Insipid anecdotes from your personal life and your own observations of pop culture and feminism are not enough to bring it all together.
It’s very well written, well rounded, and well researched. The first few essays really make you feel like this will be the book that will explain everything you haven’t been able to articulate. But then it feels like the author didn’t have much else to say about all that, and she decides to fill the rest of her word quota with analyses of pop culture and HBO television series. Congrats, you can analyze a cultural text. Just figure out how to bring it together with what you brilliantly put together in your introduction, and then your next book will probably be a lot better.
It seems to me that her only argument was that the rise of technology and digital media has led to the general population, especially young people who have come of age with social media, to feel inadequate and even depressed because it feels like nothing will ever be enough to satisfy us and our unrealistic expectations and/or goals. I agree 100%. But she really doesn’t take the argument much further than that. A lot of the essays seem to be about an underlying theme that capitalism controls our lives and convinces us we need materialistic commodities to keep us sane in an increasingly consumer-driven world. Okay, cool. The idea that capitalism has put a spell on society and convinced them they need to buy things they don’t need to feel good about themselves is nothing new, ask anyone. If you’re going to make such a sweeping generalization about society at large, you’re gonna have to take it a lot further than that. Insipid anecdotes from your personal life and your own observations of pop culture and feminism are not enough to bring it all together.
It’s very well written, well rounded, and well researched. The first few essays really make you feel like this will be the book that will explain everything you haven’t been able to articulate. But then it feels like the author didn’t have much else to say about all that, and she decides to fill the rest of her word quota with analyses of pop culture and HBO television series. Congrats, you can analyze a cultural text. Just figure out how to bring it together with what you brilliantly put together in your introduction, and then your next book will probably be a lot better.
jiyoung's review against another edition
3.0
I've enjoyed my fair share of Heather Havrilesky's advice columns in the past (as long winded as she tends to get). These are somewhat of a departure from the typical romance / advice fare; Havrilesky delves into social and cultural critiques on everything from TV zeitgeist to how womanhood can be mapped on to many of the horror tropes in Shirley Jackson's works. Most of the essays ultimately are criticisms of the rat race of modern life, and sometimes to an annoyingly obvious degree (Disney World is a capitalistic trap? Shocking.) I think Havrilesky writes sharply, though I wish she would've tackled maybe some less painfully evident theses/topics. This collection was a quick and fun read but too shallow to be fresh or truly profound.
jpperelman's review against another edition
1.0
DNF.
Am I getting pickier as I age or is this book just not enough? I really enjoy Ask Polly columns generally so I hope that my exhaustion with this white lady complains book doesn't ruin that for me.
🤷♀️
Am I getting pickier as I age or is this book just not enough? I really enjoy Ask Polly columns generally so I hope that my exhaustion with this white lady complains book doesn't ruin that for me.
🤷♀️