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rianaautumn's review against another edition
3.0
Adventures in Opting Out is part memoir and part self-help by Cait Flanders, whose first book, The Year of Less, was all about her decision to not shop for a year. In this book, Cait guides readers through the stages of "opting out" of different conventional things in life, from drinking or eating meat to moving abroad or choosing to not have children.
I thought this book was...okay. I'm not the biggest fan of self-help books as I find they can be a little insincere and preachy. I would much rather hear about someone's firsthand experience and relate it to my life than have them directly tell me how I should be applying their lessons to my life. Throughout the book, Cait uses a hiking metaphor which I didn't love as I'm not a hiker and often found the metaphor really had to stretch to capture her point.
I did enjoy the local references to Vancouver, as Cait is from Victoria and lived in Squamish, which made the book feel more home-y. And the advice Cait was giving was pretty good. There were definitely a few gems I picked up (though there were others I disagreed with) and it wasn't as preachy as it could have been. I think this book would be more helpful if you had a specific thing in mind that you wanted to opt out of, as applying the advice just more generally to your life is a bit abstract. I do wish this was more memoir - I would have loved to hear more about Cait's slow travel journey - but appreciate that wasn't the book she (or her publishers) wanted to write.
TW: substance abuse
I thought this book was...okay. I'm not the biggest fan of self-help books as I find they can be a little insincere and preachy. I would much rather hear about someone's firsthand experience and relate it to my life than have them directly tell me how I should be applying their lessons to my life. Throughout the book, Cait uses a hiking metaphor which I didn't love as I'm not a hiker and often found the metaphor really had to stretch to capture her point.
I did enjoy the local references to Vancouver, as Cait is from Victoria and lived in Squamish, which made the book feel more home-y. And the advice Cait was giving was pretty good. There were definitely a few gems I picked up (though there were others I disagreed with) and it wasn't as preachy as it could have been. I think this book would be more helpful if you had a specific thing in mind that you wanted to opt out of, as applying the advice just more generally to your life is a bit abstract. I do wish this was more memoir - I would have loved to hear more about Cait's slow travel journey - but appreciate that wasn't the book she (or her publishers) wanted to write.
TW: substance abuse
kazandra's review against another edition
3.0
Adventures in Opting Out by Cait Flanders is a non-fiction book written to share the experience of the author and other individuals who "opt out" of what others and society tell them to do. It also helps the reader to use those stories to reflect upon their own lives and identify any areas where they can intentionally opt-out of the things they don't actually enjoy. I think this is an important topic, especially in the midst of COVID which is forcing people to reflect upon their values and what is actually important in their lives. The writing includes hiking terminology as a metaphor for life and aspects of opting out which is unique, but at times became trite. I enjoy that the author pushes the reader to "opt-out" of the things not bringing joy to their live, but also highlights the importance of calculated risks rather than being reckless or hurting others in the process. At times I found the writing tone a bit harsh on individuals who don't fall in line with the author's lifestyle, especially aspects of minimalism. But I think like most goods keep the good and discard the irrelevant to you. Overall I recommend this for individuals who are more oriented towards the hiking, minimalist style.
Many thanks to the publisher Little, Brown Spark and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
Many thanks to the publisher Little, Brown Spark and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
runtobooks's review against another edition
4.0
this is my second of cait flanders' books i've read in the past few weeks, and once again i really enjoyed this one! while structured like a self-help book, i found a lot of the strongest points of this book were less the advice and more hearing about flanders' own mistakes and achievements. from moving to the uk to moving back home to bc when her initial trip didn't align with her values, to returning to the uk with a better idea of her wants a needs, this book is full of wisdom from someone who has lived and failed and ended up doing better than she anticipated.
what also worked for me was the hiking metaphor used throughout the book, especially since flanders is from the same city i'm from. i was able to really picture what she was saying, because i've done many of those same hikes myself!
what also worked for me was the hiking metaphor used throughout the book, especially since flanders is from the same city i'm from. i was able to really picture what she was saying, because i've done many of those same hikes myself!
gabbyblayden's review against another edition
2.0
DNFed at page 70 - I loved Cait’s first book and used to be a devoted reader of her blog. But this book feels like it has no clear direction. Very repetitive, always recalling material from her first book. Like a watered-down Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I do continue to love Cait’s short-form writing and the first book, but this one is a big ol “tell me something I don’t know”.
cheriekg's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoy Flanders. I don't find her writing to be earth-shaking, but she always reminds me of friend who is very grounded, sincere, and full of practical wisdom and for that reason I am predisposed to liking her. That said, this book was not her best work. I thought it would straddle the line between self-help and memoir, but in fact it is 95% self-help. But it's not even researched, evidenced-based self-help. Instead, it's Flanders giving gentle guidance and tips on "opting out" (a phrase she beats into the ground). The hiking metaphor she uses to structure her thoughts is overworked and there is simply not enough to say in the amount of space she takes up. It's not a long book, but it would have been a better blog post or blog series.
I still enjoy Flanders and have started listening to this book's accompanying podcast. I'm three episodes in and it's already better than this book.
I still enjoy Flanders and have started listening to this book's accompanying podcast. I'm three episodes in and it's already better than this book.
bookedinsideout's review against another edition
2.0
I really like the message of this book, listening to your gut, managing the pushback you might get from opting out, keeping important people in your life even if they might not understand… I think the tone and writing style just didn’t work for me. All of the analogies were cute but didn’t always make sense, and it veered more into self-help and giving directions rather than telling the story of how she spent a year traveling from place to place. I think these days I prefer my “self-help” more in the form of reading what works for other people and taking what might work for me over an instruction manual, and that’s a little what this felt like.
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
denlilleregnbue's review against another edition
4.0
I really love stories about people, going through life, when it is not easy. and somewhere along the ride, they learn something, that could be a form of freedom. I really enjoyed this book. it does talk alot more about the pain the person went through to get to there they are.
noisydeadlines's review against another edition
5.0
This was a perfect book to consume in audio form. I listened to it in the mornings and I enjoyed its friendly tone. It made me feel good about my life choices, because it touches on how it is important for us to build our own unique lives, without caring about "societal norms". Each one of us will choose a different path, and that's okay. I liked it because it is a memoir filled with hiking references. It's beautifully written and such a feel-good read.
kate_spenst's review against another edition
2.0
The hiking metaphor was a bit overdone for me but there was some lovely points on how to live a slow/similar life.