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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
Thought this was brilliant, couldn't put it down! A very human account of a very powerful message.
Honestly, that tag line about this being one of those books that "actually has the potential to change your life" is kind of right. Reading this book makes me want to live life in a more full way. Meet new people! Try new things! And most importantly: SAY YES MORE.
I highly recommend.
I highly recommend.
Danny Wallace is strangely brilliant and brilliantly funny. I picked this up in a London bookstore and became the horrible tourist everyone hates - laughing loudly on the tube, ignoring the awe-inspiring sites, crashing into people while I tried to walk and read at the same time. And I didn't even care.
The best thing about Wallace is that he makes you feel like you're sitting across from him in the pub. You can hear his voice, see his expressions, and picture his wild gestures. I loved this book so much, that I went right back to the bookstore and bought "Join Me." Then I left a pair of shoes in my hotel room so I could fit both books in my luggage for the trip home.
Seriously, who wouldn't love this book?
The best thing about Wallace is that he makes you feel like you're sitting across from him in the pub. You can hear his voice, see his expressions, and picture his wild gestures. I loved this book so much, that I went right back to the bookstore and bought "Join Me." Then I left a pair of shoes in my hotel room so I could fit both books in my luggage for the trip home.
Seriously, who wouldn't love this book?
"It's incredible how a few words from someone you hardly know can have an impact on your life."
This book really is inspirational. If you follow me on twitter/my blog (fascistkillingblog.blogspot.com) you will know that I am currently battling chronic anxiety. I think to just 'say yes more' could prove a better solution than any. To drop all my worries and do it, is an idea that could change my life.
Of course, the book discusses the lack of freedom yes brings, and the power that is no. It is very philosophical and is a very intelligent peice of writing in a lot of ways, considering this man falls for every request on a scam email ever!
However, he seems a bit too naive at times, and his constant replies to emails become grating. Obviously this book is a true story, but I wish he could have pushed the action on a bit. I became bored halfway through. This is such a shame because it is a fantastic, wonderful story. If only he could have made it a tad shorter!
Nevertheless, everybody should read this book, it is incredibly uplifting and insightful.
This book really is inspirational. If you follow me on twitter/my blog (fascistkillingblog.blogspot.com) you will know that I am currently battling chronic anxiety. I think to just 'say yes more' could prove a better solution than any. To drop all my worries and do it, is an idea that could change my life.
Of course, the book discusses the lack of freedom yes brings, and the power that is no. It is very philosophical and is a very intelligent peice of writing in a lot of ways, considering this man falls for every request on a scam email ever!
However, he seems a bit too naive at times, and his constant replies to emails become grating. Obviously this book is a true story, but I wish he could have pushed the action on a bit. I became bored halfway through. This is such a shame because it is a fantastic, wonderful story. If only he could have made it a tad shorter!
Nevertheless, everybody should read this book, it is incredibly uplifting and insightful.
A very funny book about how life can change (for better of for worse) if you decide to say YES more often... or actually to everything and everybody.
I was laughing out loud and giggling while reading it, which doesn't happen very often, but Wallace has a very peculiar sense of humor and it shows a different point of view to everyday situations.
I know there is a movie also called YES MAN, which was also very funny, but I don't know if it's based on this book (it's definitely similar).
I was laughing out loud and giggling while reading it, which doesn't happen very often, but Wallace has a very peculiar sense of humor and it shows a different point of view to everyday situations.
I know there is a movie also called YES MAN, which was also very funny, but I don't know if it's based on this book (it's definitely similar).
I will not recommend this book to anyone. You’ll have to discover it on your own. I don’t even know why I read it. (Except that my Goodreads friend, Abby, had it on her list and really liked it.) Something pushed me towards it. Without even thinking, I got on Amazon and bought a used copy. Going against my better judgment, I said “Yes” to this book.
This book is not what it appears to be. It appears to be a British humour (don’t get me wrong, I like British humour) (with a “u”), [b:The Year of Living Biblically|495395|The Year of Living Biblically One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible|A.J. Jacobs|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266569301s/495395.jpg|2325789]-esque, full of language that I don’t use (Cursing. Not English.) type of book. But really it is a life-changing , inspirational, philosophical sort of book wrapped in a Monty Python sketch.
The premise, of course, is, after meeting a stranger on a bus who told him he should “say ‘Yes’ more,” Danny Wallace takes it quite literally and says ‘Yes’ to EVERYTHING. Amazing results ensue.
(Skip this paragraph if you’d rather avoid a long-winded travel log.)
Danny’s visit to Singapore actually reminded me of our honeymoon to Greece and Turkey. When we arrived in Istanbul late in the afternoon the first day, we started to walk from the pier into the city. We were young, didn’t speak the language and were a bit overwhelmed at a filthy, unknown city (and this is after having loved running wild on the streets in Athens!) We immediately went back onto our ship and spent the evening aboard. Not to be discouraged, the next morning we decided we were going to enjoy and see Istanbul whatever it took. We walked off the ship and accepted the first man who asked if we wanted a taxi. Fiko (to whom we still refer lovingly thirteen years later) was our Turkish guardian angel as he drove us around the streets of Istanbul pointing out various mosques and their relative ages, “That mosque, almost new! 500 years old!” He took us to a mosque not in our guide book. He walked us around to the back entry and through the mosque (walking on prayer rugs! Augh!) took our shoes (“Will we get those back?”) and gave us coins to toss into the courtyard fountain. When we expressed our wish to see The Blue Mosque, he said, “We will go there, but first I must make a stop to my cousin’s rug shop.” Ah. The old “Drive the Tourists to Our Shop and You’ll Get a Commission” trick. We were NOT in the market for a rug. We were poor newlyweds. There is no way we could afford a Turkish rug! (And HOW would we get it home?! Pay for shipping?!) Fiko insisted that we needn’t buy a rug, he just wanted to get something at the shop. SO… we followed him up the dark staircase into the upper room of his ‘cousin’s’ rug shop. (I know!) We were kindly offered a place to sit and had to go through the zillionth time of “Mormons Trying to Politely Decline a Cup of Tea.” Coca-cola was offered and we quickly accepted. Then, the cousins said, “We know you are not going to buy a rug, but if you were what color rug might you like?” We tossed out a few colors and immediately two of the cousins grabbed gigantic rugs and unfurled them before our eyes. “No, no, thank you. We can’t afford a rug.” “Yes, but if you could which would you prefer?”. So we pointed to one and then they were rolled up and two or three smaller rugs were unrolled. You get the idea. We ended up buying a 2x4 Turkish rug for about $500 (which we LOVE to this day!). That business done, Fiko shows back up and we are whisked off to the Blue Mosque. After that, he asks if we would like to see the Topkapi Palaces. We agree and off he drives. He asks for our money for tickets and we hand him (with blind trust) enough money for the three of us to go inside the palace. He pushes to the front of the line and brings back two tickets, gives us the remaining money and tells us that he has seen it plenty of times, he doesn’t need to go in. He will wait for us (with our newly purchased rug in the trunk!) until we get back out. He tells us to go in, turn right, look at the jewels, turn left, see fancy room, etc. Now we are both slightly nervous. What if he takes our rug? We quickly follow the path he recommended (albeit TOO quickly. One day we will return to Istanbul and see the Topkapi palace in all it’s splendor) and rush back outside and Fiko is nowhere to be seen in the parking lot. After five minutes of looking for him, he comes rushing out of a well-covered shady spot, waving his arms and shouting, “Here I am! Over here!” (He probably wasn’t expecting us to finish our palace tour so quickly.) We both quietly breath sighs of relief and question our distrust of this wonderful man. He takes us to the Hagia Sophia and back to our ship and we most appreciatively thank him for an amazing day in Instanbul.
***
I’ve actually been told that I should say ‘No’ more. I already say ‘Yes’ to so many things I end up teaching Sunday School, singing in the church choir, saying the closing prayer in Relief Society, making a salad for the Ward gathering and taking dinner to the mother who just had a baby all on the same day (and this is just church! This doesn’t cover PTA or Political activities!). I don’t regret saying ‘Yes’ often. After reading Yes Man I’ll be even more willing to say yes to things I would normally decline… mostly in the hope that I’ll end up in Singapore.
Besides all this, it is full of humour (with a “u”).
This book is not what it appears to be. It appears to be a British humour (don’t get me wrong, I like British humour) (with a “u”), [b:The Year of Living Biblically|495395|The Year of Living Biblically One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible|A.J. Jacobs|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266569301s/495395.jpg|2325789]-esque, full of language that I don’t use (Cursing. Not English.) type of book. But really it is a life-changing , inspirational, philosophical sort of book wrapped in a Monty Python sketch.
The premise, of course, is, after meeting a stranger on a bus who told him he should “say ‘Yes’ more,” Danny Wallace takes it quite literally and says ‘Yes’ to EVERYTHING. Amazing results ensue.
(Skip this paragraph if you’d rather avoid a long-winded travel log.)
Danny’s visit to Singapore actually reminded me of our honeymoon to Greece and Turkey. When we arrived in Istanbul late in the afternoon the first day, we started to walk from the pier into the city. We were young, didn’t speak the language and were a bit overwhelmed at a filthy, unknown city (and this is after having loved running wild on the streets in Athens!) We immediately went back onto our ship and spent the evening aboard. Not to be discouraged, the next morning we decided we were going to enjoy and see Istanbul whatever it took. We walked off the ship and accepted the first man who asked if we wanted a taxi. Fiko (to whom we still refer lovingly thirteen years later) was our Turkish guardian angel as he drove us around the streets of Istanbul pointing out various mosques and their relative ages, “That mosque, almost new! 500 years old!” He took us to a mosque not in our guide book. He walked us around to the back entry and through the mosque (walking on prayer rugs! Augh!) took our shoes (“Will we get those back?”) and gave us coins to toss into the courtyard fountain. When we expressed our wish to see The Blue Mosque, he said, “We will go there, but first I must make a stop to my cousin’s rug shop.” Ah. The old “Drive the Tourists to Our Shop and You’ll Get a Commission” trick. We were NOT in the market for a rug. We were poor newlyweds. There is no way we could afford a Turkish rug! (And HOW would we get it home?! Pay for shipping?!) Fiko insisted that we needn’t buy a rug, he just wanted to get something at the shop. SO… we followed him up the dark staircase into the upper room of his ‘cousin’s’ rug shop. (I know!) We were kindly offered a place to sit and had to go through the zillionth time of “Mormons Trying to Politely Decline a Cup of Tea.” Coca-cola was offered and we quickly accepted. Then, the cousins said, “We know you are not going to buy a rug, but if you were what color rug might you like?” We tossed out a few colors and immediately two of the cousins grabbed gigantic rugs and unfurled them before our eyes. “No, no, thank you. We can’t afford a rug.” “Yes, but if you could which would you prefer?”. So we pointed to one and then they were rolled up and two or three smaller rugs were unrolled. You get the idea. We ended up buying a 2x4 Turkish rug for about $500 (which we LOVE to this day!). That business done, Fiko shows back up and we are whisked off to the Blue Mosque. After that, he asks if we would like to see the Topkapi Palaces. We agree and off he drives. He asks for our money for tickets and we hand him (with blind trust) enough money for the three of us to go inside the palace. He pushes to the front of the line and brings back two tickets, gives us the remaining money and tells us that he has seen it plenty of times, he doesn’t need to go in. He will wait for us (with our newly purchased rug in the trunk!) until we get back out. He tells us to go in, turn right, look at the jewels, turn left, see fancy room, etc. Now we are both slightly nervous. What if he takes our rug? We quickly follow the path he recommended (albeit TOO quickly. One day we will return to Istanbul and see the Topkapi palace in all it’s splendor) and rush back outside and Fiko is nowhere to be seen in the parking lot. After five minutes of looking for him, he comes rushing out of a well-covered shady spot, waving his arms and shouting, “Here I am! Over here!” (He probably wasn’t expecting us to finish our palace tour so quickly.) We both quietly breath sighs of relief and question our distrust of this wonderful man. He takes us to the Hagia Sophia and back to our ship and we most appreciatively thank him for an amazing day in Instanbul.
***
I’ve actually been told that I should say ‘No’ more. I already say ‘Yes’ to so many things I end up teaching Sunday School, singing in the church choir, saying the closing prayer in Relief Society, making a salad for the Ward gathering and taking dinner to the mother who just had a baby all on the same day (and this is just church! This doesn’t cover PTA or Political activities!). I don’t regret saying ‘Yes’ often. After reading Yes Man I’ll be even more willing to say yes to things I would normally decline… mostly in the hope that I’ll end up in Singapore.
Besides all this, it is full of humour (with a “u”).
I'm not a fan of the nonfiction genre because the truth can be stranger than fiction - it's not just a cliche, you know - and I'm always left wondering whether or not the author has taken some poetic liberties with his own life. But after reading some YA horror, a translation and a collection of short stories left me feeling I'd been cheated of great literature (thank you for that, Tumblr, by the way), I decided it might be time that I read a memoir of a Yes Man. And I'm glad I did.
This book is full of your feel good moments - falling in love, growing up, having adventures, larger than life characters (hypnodog!), letting go - to spiritual aspects and a few moments of depression. It's real. It's a real book - and no, I'm not accusing anyone of saying it doesn't exist - but it's a book that you can read to feel better about the world, feel better about yourself, allow yourself to make mistakes and take risks even when you normally wouldn't.
That being said, it's probably the only memoir I've ever read. Don't get me wrong, I've read several biographies and autobiographies, but never a book about a certain time the author's life. I've tried in the past - Cherry by Mary Karr comes to mind, Smashed is another one and then there's Prozac Nation- but I never got pasted the first few pages, or chapters. But Yes Man was different. How could I possibly say no to a book about saying yes?
I couldn't, and there was never a time I wanted to put it down - even when I should have been working, I was reading Danny Wallace's words, laughing with him and feeling sad when things were going differently than expected. In many ways, the book inspired me to say yes a little bit more. Even to things that I would normally find tedious or annoying - let me give it a try again. While reading, I even took down a couple of notes about references he'd make - I went as far as buying an Ian Rankin book just because he mentioned the author's name.
Maybe this book can change my life around. Or maybe my cynicism is just too strong to be pushed under the mat. Either way, I've never thought about it until I read the book. And that says something, doesn't it?
This book is full of your feel good moments - falling in love, growing up, having adventures, larger than life characters (hypnodog!), letting go - to spiritual aspects and a few moments of depression. It's real. It's a real book - and no, I'm not accusing anyone of saying it doesn't exist - but it's a book that you can read to feel better about the world, feel better about yourself, allow yourself to make mistakes and take risks even when you normally wouldn't.
That being said, it's probably the only memoir I've ever read. Don't get me wrong, I've read several biographies and autobiographies, but never a book about a certain time the author's life. I've tried in the past - Cherry by Mary Karr comes to mind, Smashed is another one and then there's Prozac Nation- but I never got pasted the first few pages, or chapters. But Yes Man was different. How could I possibly say no to a book about saying yes?
I couldn't, and there was never a time I wanted to put it down - even when I should have been working, I was reading Danny Wallace's words, laughing with him and feeling sad when things were going differently than expected. In many ways, the book inspired me to say yes a little bit more. Even to things that I would normally find tedious or annoying - let me give it a try again. While reading, I even took down a couple of notes about references he'd make - I went as far as buying an Ian Rankin book just because he mentioned the author's name.
Maybe this book can change my life around. Or maybe my cynicism is just too strong to be pushed under the mat. Either way, I've never thought about it until I read the book. And that says something, doesn't it?
(started in 2021)
I've read Danny Wallace's books moret than I've read any other, and I wanted to re-experience the story in an easier way so I tried this abridged audiobook. There are parts of it that frustrate me - most notably that one of the rules made is that no one who knows Danny is the Yes Man can take advantage of it, and then almost all the conflict in the latter half of the book revolves around that - and, really, I don't know if I now believe any of this whereas when I read these as a kid and a teenager I believed every word. But this book (and Danny's other books) are still important to me, and while it may fall short of a 5 it certainly doesn't fall to any other rating
I've read Danny Wallace's books moret than I've read any other, and I wanted to re-experience the story in an easier way so I tried this abridged audiobook. There are parts of it that frustrate me - most notably that one of the rules made is that no one who knows Danny is the Yes Man can take advantage of it, and then almost all the conflict in the latter half of the book revolves around that - and, really, I don't know if I now believe any of this whereas when I read these as a kid and a teenager I believed every word. But this book (and Danny's other books) are still important to me, and while it may fall short of a 5 it certainly doesn't fall to any other rating