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1.03k reviews for:
The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help
Amanda Palmer
4.1 AVERAGE
1.03k reviews for:
The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help
Amanda Palmer
4.1 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book. I think there are a lot of factors to me liking this book, but the biggest one was that it was given to me by a friend during a somewhat rough time for me. I was worried about what I’m doing, where I’m working and why real life was feeling like this. She told me about something called The Fraud Police, and then ordered me a used copy of this book.
(This is where this review becomes more a blog entry than a book review, just FYI, friends.)
When I was reading it, that friend was on my mind the entire time, but especially when I got to the two small parts that mention The Fraud Police, which are basically imaginary police in your head that are telling you that someday, soon, someone is going to figure out you have no idea what you’re doing and call you out on it. Which really described where I am in my life right now.
I think another reason I enjoyed this book was because it was what I needed to hear right now. I’ve asked plenty of people for help (I’m living with family right now, I’ve used networks to get where I am, etc.), but I think asking people to see my struggle and see my emotion was something I didn’t feel like I was worthy of doing. But this book gave me more to contemplate in that regard.
I had a few issues with the formatting, since it was very much a manifesto and a self help book and a story combined but it wasn’t too terrible. I also had a problem with her using italics instead of just putting things in quotes. That really bugged me. But it wasn’t enough to make me put the book down, apparently.
I would definitely recommend sections of this book to people. The part where she talked about The Fraud Police was the most helpful/important to me, but I can see others taking significance from other sections of the book.
(This is where this review becomes more a blog entry than a book review, just FYI, friends.)
When I was reading it, that friend was on my mind the entire time, but especially when I got to the two small parts that mention The Fraud Police, which are basically imaginary police in your head that are telling you that someday, soon, someone is going to figure out you have no idea what you’re doing and call you out on it. Which really described where I am in my life right now.
I think another reason I enjoyed this book was because it was what I needed to hear right now. I’ve asked plenty of people for help (I’m living with family right now, I’ve used networks to get where I am, etc.), but I think asking people to see my struggle and see my emotion was something I didn’t feel like I was worthy of doing. But this book gave me more to contemplate in that regard.
I had a few issues with the formatting, since it was very much a manifesto and a self help book and a story combined but it wasn’t too terrible. I also had a problem with her using italics instead of just putting things in quotes. That really bugged me. But it wasn’t enough to make me put the book down, apparently.
I would definitely recommend sections of this book to people. The part where she talked about The Fraud Police was the most helpful/important to me, but I can see others taking significance from other sections of the book.
Even if it was clunky in some spots, I love her and I love this book. I learned a lot and was inspired. So there.
I was not a huge Amanda Palmer fan. I really didn't know a lot about her until she married Neil Gaiman (who is one of my favorite authors). One of my daughters is a fan. I started reading her online posts, and following her on Twitter, and found her to be not only quirky and interesting, but also genuine and interested. She wants you to engage with her. It's how she's made her entire career since the Dresden Dolls broke from the label the really didn't "get it." So, I wanted to read this book, to try and get an idea who this person was.
I can't recommend this book enough. No, it's not a step-by-step plan to help you learn to ask without the fear of hearing no. It's a memoir. It's a life story. It's honest and direct and it pulls very few punches. Palmer grew up in Massachusetts in a, if not wealthy, at least reasonably comfortable family. Yes, she's had some advantages, but she never took advantage. She left college to pursue her dreams- art and music. She spent countless hours dressed as a bride, busking for the dollars people would drop in her box in return for a flower from her bouquet. But it wasn't the "begging" that was important. Nor was it the realization that she could make more money as the Eight Foot Bride than at her job at the ice cream shop. It was here that she first began to understand that what most people wanted was just the one, tiny moment of connection. The moment when the Bride, up to then still and disconnected, would bend down to present a flower with a flourish and a moment of eye contact. That bit of interaction would become the cornerstone of her whole career.
She tells her story in small scenes, vignettes that jump around in time a bit. Through it all she is honest and doesn't gloss over the less than pretty parts. Because even for her, the woman who created the most successful Kickstarter campaign of an musician, the woman who did whole tours sleeping on the couches of fans who she didn't know other than email or Twitter, the woman who could announce a "ninja gig" in a park just hours before it happened and have hundreds or even thousands of people show up for music, conversation, and communing, there were many moments of doubt and fear. Moments when she worried about how she was going to ask for one more thing from people who had already given so much. And it is compelling reading.
As I said, this is not a self-help book, but it did teach me a lot. It made me rethink the way I look at Art and what qualifies for that label. You don't have to know who Amanda Palmer is, and you don't have to be a fan of hers or appreciate her sometimes unusual music, to understand what she is saying here. But I think if you read The Art of Asking, you will become a fan of Amanda Palmer, the person.
I can't recommend this book enough. No, it's not a step-by-step plan to help you learn to ask without the fear of hearing no. It's a memoir. It's a life story. It's honest and direct and it pulls very few punches. Palmer grew up in Massachusetts in a, if not wealthy, at least reasonably comfortable family. Yes, she's had some advantages, but she never took advantage. She left college to pursue her dreams- art and music. She spent countless hours dressed as a bride, busking for the dollars people would drop in her box in return for a flower from her bouquet. But it wasn't the "begging" that was important. Nor was it the realization that she could make more money as the Eight Foot Bride than at her job at the ice cream shop. It was here that she first began to understand that what most people wanted was just the one, tiny moment of connection. The moment when the Bride, up to then still and disconnected, would bend down to present a flower with a flourish and a moment of eye contact. That bit of interaction would become the cornerstone of her whole career.
She tells her story in small scenes, vignettes that jump around in time a bit. Through it all she is honest and doesn't gloss over the less than pretty parts. Because even for her, the woman who created the most successful Kickstarter campaign of an musician, the woman who did whole tours sleeping on the couches of fans who she didn't know other than email or Twitter, the woman who could announce a "ninja gig" in a park just hours before it happened and have hundreds or even thousands of people show up for music, conversation, and communing, there were many moments of doubt and fear. Moments when she worried about how she was going to ask for one more thing from people who had already given so much. And it is compelling reading.
As I said, this is not a self-help book, but it did teach me a lot. It made me rethink the way I look at Art and what qualifies for that label. You don't have to know who Amanda Palmer is, and you don't have to be a fan of hers or appreciate her sometimes unusual music, to understand what she is saying here. But I think if you read The Art of Asking, you will become a fan of Amanda Palmer, the person.
I am a casual listener of Amanda's music. I had seen her TED talk, and was greatly unaware that a majority of people know her only through that. And I only vaguely knew of the recent "controversies" she found herself in. I came to read this book because I like the way she writes her songs, and was curious about her life. I loved reading this book. She is so flipping interesting, and she doesn't sugarcoat anything.
However, there was something else going on in this book. I started to wish I could think and be like Amanda. To be better to myself and to those who support me. To open myself up to people and to ask for help. How fitting a feeling at a time when we are making resolutions.
This book just gave me good vibes, and a longing towards art, music, and anything that gives me joy.
However, there was something else going on in this book. I started to wish I could think and be like Amanda. To be better to myself and to those who support me. To open myself up to people and to ask for help. How fitting a feeling at a time when we are making resolutions.
This book just gave me good vibes, and a longing towards art, music, and anything that gives me joy.
Amanda Palmer is a badass and this book SCREAMS badass. Full of great advice and interesting background stories, Amanda teaches us that you are not in this world alone. Even at our darkest moments, we can reach out and ask for help. What a powerful message.
Completely entranced by this lovely, trusting message. I have a new hero and she is amazing.
Loved this book and I'm loving the music it has introduced me to. Amanda is an utterly foreign being to me - she lives life with such trust and abandon. It's fascinating to read about a woman who thinks of an idea and then just decides to act on it - sometimes consequences be damned. In my sheltered little middle-class life, the experiences I read in this book are completely fantastical. I found myself reading the lyrics to one of her songs (she includes many sprinkled throughout the book) and immediately diving for my earbuds to search for the song so I can hear how the melody goes. It's also a quick read, with chapters being broken into little tangents. Perfect for anyone with limited reading time or a short attention span. haha
Listened to the audio book and it was amazing. If you like her, her music, and/or art in general, you'll love this book. The audio book was narrated by her and featured breaks with her songs related to the topics on the chapter, but it also had a couple more artists I believe. She touches on struggles with compassion, love, money, creativity and humanity. I loved it!
This book, it is joy, sorrow and connection. It is about love, loss, moving on, forgiveness, strength and fighting. It is meant to make you understand human connection at a level that we've forgotten.
I enjoyed this book to no end. Amanda Palmer made me understand connection through her TED Talk and Feel through her book. Each story or part of her life is precious and raw.
You made me connect with you and gives me hope for my future. The Fraud Police and you overcoming it helped me overcome my own fear of them. You've given me the strength to call myself an Artist. I hope one day, I meet you so that I can thank you in person and then I can tell you that you're the reason I'm a Real Artist.
I enjoyed this book to no end. Amanda Palmer made me understand connection through her TED Talk and Feel through her book. Each story or part of her life is precious and raw.
You made me connect with you and gives me hope for my future. The Fraud Police and you overcoming it helped me overcome my own fear of them. You've given me the strength to call myself an Artist. I hope one day, I meet you so that I can thank you in person and then I can tell you that you're the reason I'm a Real Artist.