Reviews

Calm: Calm the mind, change the world by Michael Acton Smith

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acatarina's review against another edition

3.0

Maybe it was because I've read another non-fiction and kind of the same "style" book only a couple months ago, but I got myself wanting to read a really good story instead of "Calm" while reading it.
It's basically a book about mindfulness and how it can reduce stress in our daily life.
I hope I can keep some habits like the grattitude journal. It also got me curious about meditation, maybe I'll give it a try.

kimlovesstuff's review against another edition

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2.0

Don't get the app and think it's good and then buy this. Because it's not good.
It does explain to you things like, you should go for a walk in nature to be calm though, which is very insightful.

jewelzbooks44's review against another edition

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5.0

Loved this book! So inspirational! I want to own this book. So that can do the reading of it everyday of this book. Amazing, mindfulness.

librarianinthewoods's review against another edition

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4.0

This is not a serious book on meditation and mindfulness. You are not reading Alan Watts or Thich Nhat Hanh or Jack Kornfield. However this is a simple and beautifully illustrated book that I received as a gift that is enjoyable to pick up. I did read it from cover to cover, however it can be enjoyed jumping around sections which are divided by the following subjects - nature, sleep, travel, relationships, work, children, creativity and food. It’s a nice companion, and some say an advertisement, for the Calm app that I’ve used for a couple years now. Simple meditations are sprinkled throughout and ideas for activities to find calm. Lots of these books I’ve picked up are disappointments but this was nice and I can see myself regularly flipping through it in the moment. There’s nothing revolutionary or new but reminders to do things we are know are good for us to be more mindful, more present, more centered. Sometimes it’s the simplest of things like putting down your phone, taking a walk, swimming in the ocean, writing a letter......

lisannedewolff's review against another edition

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3.0

I‘d say only pick up this book if you want to get a very base understanding of mindfulness and some tips and tricks to see if it’s your cup of tea and then go out to buy a book on the topic that’s a lot more informative and detailed.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I quite like having all the tips and exercises (basic as they are) bundled in one book I can easily pick up and leaf through again and again.

There’s also a number of interactive pages with your average, but enjoyable mindful activities (e.g. an adult colouring page) that I’m excited to work on.

Some of the pages are aesthetically pleasing, but others cringed me out a bit and had a very high “cheesy Tumblr quote” level that 16-year-old me would have been all over.

All in all, even though this book didn’t really give me a lot of new information on the topic of mindfulness, I do feel inspired to go out and press flowers, explore nature, improve my sleeping schedule, and in general embrace my imagination and childlike excitement even more than I do now.

barefootsong's review against another edition

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5.0

I've been using the Calm meditation app since January and I love it, so I picked up the book as well. It's a nice assortment of meditations, pictures, activities, quotes, tips, etc. The book is divided into sections on Nature, Sleep, Travel, Relationships, Work, Children, Creativity, and Food, and I found something useful in all of them. The book won't change your life (obvs), but it might put you on a calmer path.