_kael_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.25

Genres: self-help/personal development, philosophy, psychology, Adlerian psychology (Alfred Adler)

Thoughts: Packed with information cover to cover, which is a lot for an approx. 250-page book for me. A general learning I got from the book is to apply what you've learned in life, even in the smallest, biggest, & most complex problems that you have. Ofc, have nuance on certain things. Some statements are questionable, and I think I can only remember 1-2 that I highly disagree with. One I really had a big emotional reaction to
, concluding "attention-seeking" as the only purpose/reason why certain acts are done by people, specifically the youth
. Many are new, things you already knew, and things to ponder about. Though some statements contradict themselves, stating trauma doesn't exist but based on their future statements, they imply that it does. Regardless, everything is explained in detail in a way that cliche advice makes more deeper and broader sense, and gives you a deeper understanding, meaning, and realization to that advice. You can read summaries and highlights of this book, but I still suggest you read it entirely to understand those points in depth yourself. It gives a completely different experience. Despite the cons, the pros outweigh it (at about 90%?) that I want to keep the book as a reference book for life advice whenever needed, even if I already took down notes. Would love to discuss about this book though. Loved it from the beginning, still loved it 'til the end. It was also emotional in a way that I remember sad memories. What a roller coaster ride! In order to fully appreciate the book, don't take everything you learn as surefire 100% correct since some claims here don't really mention the source other than who said what. As an amateur, I can still completely claim that some statements aren't accurate like the attention-seeking part. Always filter the advice you get and take the best ones applicable and helpful to you. Maybe even convert unhelpful ones in a way that benefits you.

Writing: I also liked the writing style. I think this is the 3rd self-help book that I've ever read in my entire life, and I prefer this style of writing, Intro > Examples > P's Disclaimers > Y's Q's & Rebuttals > Conclusions, over the paragraph form of mentioning the advice > real life story example > citing specific applicable sources > etc. I can't seem to continue reading such books and I lose interest. I like how this is straight to the point, and the narrative/dialogue format of two people conversing made me engaged in the story and eat up the book daily if I could. The way the chapters start and end remind me of story books. 90 if not 100% of the chapters weren't bland. Though 80-90% of the youth's "replies" for the entire book that don't really add anything to the topics were completely unnecessary. He just repeats the Philosopher's main points in question form, and I think that's what made the book 10% longer. Though there are times that the things P & Y (Philosopher & Youth) were saying are repetitive of their previous points in the chapter, specifically the P. Some conclusions I found unnecessary for I already got the explanation from the chapter intros.
Also for someone whose intention is to prove someone wrong, he was quick to change his attitude at the very last chapter.


Happy reading!

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