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bookherd's review
4.0
This book delivers just what it promises, in a well-written, gently humorous package. Oliver Burkeman uses Stoic and Epicurean philosophy, as well as sober thinking about failure, safety and death, to explore a way of being happy without lying to ourselves about how hard life can be.
arielml's review
5.0
I loved, loved, loved this book. I may be a little prejudiced because it came into my life at the right time to strike a chord with me, but I found it incredibly helpful. In contrast to a lot of pop psychology books, it's written by a reporter rather than a researcher, so it felt more objective. The central thesis is that life is more fulfilling and satisfying when you embrace (or at least tolerate) the bad as well as the good, and he spends each chapter examining that idea from the perspective of a different tradition. Religion, philosophy, meditation, and psychology are all incorporated, and it felt like he did a very convincing job proving his thesis. The book was also written in an enjoyable, sometimes witty tone. I borrowed it from the library, but I want to buy it and underline the heck out of it.
Highly, highly recommended.
Highly, highly recommended.
obnorthrup's review
4.0
If I had to pick a single Oliver Burkeman book it'd be Four Thousand Weeks, but this works as a nice companion to that.
lipsandpalms's review
4.0
Positive affirmations have always felt disingenuous to me. I've been recently experiencing a difficult time and this book has allowed me to find strategies for readjusting my perspectives for success, failures, rejection, and even death. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who needs affirmations that aren't as saccharine as most.
klacebo's review
4.0
If I could suggest a book to end all self help books, this would be it. This isn't so much a "self-help" itself, but rather it presents the philosophy dating back in ancient history, that the pursuit of happiness (whatever that means) constantly and obsessively is what really makes people unhappy in the first place. The message behind the interviews, research and history is clear: don't see the world as binaries (depressed/euphoric, sad/happy, etc), embrace the middle ground and simply accept things as they come. One star subtracted from the total, because in the audiobook version I felt at times that another narrator would have been better than the author to read.
ida_s's review
4.0
This is a much better book than the title makes you think. It was well-researched and well-written, and it made some interesting points about how we understand happiness and ourselves. Definitely worth a read.
laurenwlfe's review
5.0
‘Life is a dance, and when you are dancing, you are not intent on getting somewhere. The meaning and purpose of dancing is the dance.’
Never thought I’d read a self help book that touts spending more time considering one’s own death. I loved it. Highly recommend reading said death chapter mid flight. In all seriousness, this book is my new Bible and I am planning on lending its dog eared, underlined self to anyone who will take it.
Never thought I’d read a self help book that touts spending more time considering one’s own death. I loved it. Highly recommend reading said death chapter mid flight. In all seriousness, this book is my new Bible and I am planning on lending its dog eared, underlined self to anyone who will take it.