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yates9's review against another edition
1.0
I started reading eagerly interested in learning something about failing. The text is all in a very personal key and you will not get general knowledge rather a sense of familiarity to failure in the author’s life and her interviewees. I found the whole insufferable, boring, mostly obvious, and overly concerned in a personal key to viewing failure that I am not sure could help others, I found it hard to relate to in any case...
If I had paid attention it was reviewed for 5 stara or something like that from Grazia magazine, something I have never looked at but that I don’t like just on the basis of the engracing name.
If I had paid attention it was reviewed for 5 stara or something like that from Grazia magazine, something I have never looked at but that I don’t like just on the basis of the engracing name.
ragwortreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Amazing read, inspiring and relatable
rbrogan12's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
anyagt's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed Day’s writing style, How to Fail examines the act of failure in all parts of life, with themed chapters including Tests, Family, and Career. Part memoir, part self-help, and supported by snippets from interviews Day has conducted with various celebrities over the years, the book covers the way failure impacts us and how we can re-frame it to reach success. It’s an important topic and no doubt helpful for many but failure is subjective, and for me, the analysis was shallow and too dripping in privilege to be interesting. My inability to connect with the author's voice meant I took very little away from this book, the reflections I have heard many times before by people-pleasing perfectionists. Ultimately, I think I'm just incredibly envious of this level of 'failure'.
allysadventuresinbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audiobook on audible, read by the author.
Really wonderful insights in this book, definitely would recommend reading it!
Really wonderful insights in this book, definitely would recommend reading it!
ivi_reads_books's review against another edition
More an article than a scientific book
stellahadz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
This book is equal parts memoir and self-help; if you go in expecting exclusively one or the other you'll likely be disappointed. In some aspects, How To Fail isn't particularly groundbreaking - it expresses ideas that have been expressed before in other media, including Day's own podcast, but that is not to say that it is badly written or not worth the read. Some parts resonated deeply with me - for instance, the chapter in which she talked about failing her driving test and feeling like a fish out of water after finishing school because "[i]n adulthood, no one gives you marks for getting the answer right." Other parts made me roll my eyes a bit - not all of us have the means to go on a yoga retreat in Morocco to cope with a bad breakup - but then again, it's not the author's job to be relatable to every single reader, it's her job to share what she's learned from her own experiences. Day isn't afraid to discuss her experiences with infertility, sexual harassment, and divorce, and I commend her for her willingness to address these topics from her own perspective.
Not all of it was for me, but I can see this book being helpful to people dealing with similar issues as Day, and more generally to younger adults wanting to start engaging with self-help literature.
Not all of it was for me, but I can see this book being helpful to people dealing with similar issues as Day, and more generally to younger adults wanting to start engaging with self-help literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Bullying and Sexual harassment
Minor: Domestic abuse