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A review by thomasdm15
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
0.0
Well... this review won't differ too much from what other poorly-rated reviews said.
It all started when a good friend of mine (kind of a book addict, not gonna lie) sent me a picture of the cover of this book during one of her many book shopping spree because she thought I would relate. And I did!
I'm not really into self-help books (though I have read great ones in the past) and, by the looks of it at least, this one looked really funny and had great potential.
The disappointment I have been feeling ever since opening that book can't even be described... so much potential ruined... as many other people on this app have put it before, it's just a really surface-level retelling of some pretty popular/famous psychological stuff like Stoicism, Buddhism, etc. During the first 50 pages or so I was kind of let down but I did not give up hope about the book getting better and the author was telling me something along the lines of "this is not your typical self-help book, I won't just shove information down ur throat as clear facts with little to no explanation about them whatsoever"... except that's all this book really was... There were so many good points being made (to name a few: decide what you should care about, the part about relationships with little to no boundaries and relationships with strong boundaries, etc.) but the author never dared go deeper into them and every time it felt like "oh yeah... that's right" but nothing thought-provoking or mind-blowing (as the author makes u want to believe there will be). Maybe that is because I already agreed with most of the main points that were being made but it still felt like a big let down. I have so many things I could say about the book itself but that would be pointless and there are countless of good reviews on here that are wording it way better than I can.
HOWEVER, I still need to talk about the author for a bit. At first, I thought he was very amicable, it felt like a really close friends was telling me things straight up and it felt nice. However, that feeling didn't last long and the pedant attitude and constant swearing (which would be fine if it added an extra layer to what was said, spoiler: it did not) really got annoying. It felt more and more like having a conversation with the drunk know-it-all at a party you already didn't want to be at in the first place. You may never have been in that situation but you will quickly understand what I mean if you decide to read this book.
Overall, I wouldn't say the book is complete garbage and should be thrown out the window, there are some good parts but also some REALLY bad parts. I really struggled to finish it and it was clearly one of the least enjoyable book I read, I'm sure there are other books about the matter that are way more interesting to read (I would take any suggestion, honestly, I have been so let down that my thirst for what the book promised has not been drenched). I would still advise you not to read it and do something better with your time!
It all started when a good friend of mine (kind of a book addict, not gonna lie) sent me a picture of the cover of this book during one of her many book shopping spree because she thought I would relate. And I did!
I'm not really into self-help books (though I have read great ones in the past) and, by the looks of it at least, this one looked really funny and had great potential.
The disappointment I have been feeling ever since opening that book can't even be described... so much potential ruined... as many other people on this app have put it before, it's just a really surface-level retelling of some pretty popular/famous psychological stuff like Stoicism, Buddhism, etc. During the first 50 pages or so I was kind of let down but I did not give up hope about the book getting better and the author was telling me something along the lines of "this is not your typical self-help book, I won't just shove information down ur throat as clear facts with little to no explanation about them whatsoever"... except that's all this book really was... There were so many good points being made (to name a few: decide what you should care about, the part about relationships with little to no boundaries and relationships with strong boundaries, etc.) but the author never dared go deeper into them and every time it felt like "oh yeah... that's right" but nothing thought-provoking or mind-blowing (as the author makes u want to believe there will be). Maybe that is because I already agreed with most of the main points that were being made but it still felt like a big let down. I have so many things I could say about the book itself but that would be pointless and there are countless of good reviews on here that are wording it way better than I can.
HOWEVER, I still need to talk about the author for a bit. At first, I thought he was very amicable, it felt like a really close friends was telling me things straight up and it felt nice. However, that feeling didn't last long and the pedant attitude and constant swearing (which would be fine if it added an extra layer to what was said, spoiler: it did not) really got annoying. It felt more and more like having a conversation with the drunk know-it-all at a party you already didn't want to be at in the first place. You may never have been in that situation but you will quickly understand what I mean if you decide to read this book.
Overall, I wouldn't say the book is complete garbage and should be thrown out the window, there are some good parts but also some REALLY bad parts. I really struggled to finish it and it was clearly one of the least enjoyable book I read, I'm sure there are other books about the matter that are way more interesting to read (I would take any suggestion, honestly, I have been so let down that my thirst for what the book promised has not been drenched). I would still advise you not to read it and do something better with your time!