The self-improvement memoir had a brief moment of popularity and bookshelf saturation. I found this version funny and full of personality. Ultimately it didn't leave a huge impression on me, but it was a quick read and enjoyable in the moment.

About two thirds of the way through this book, I found myself wanting to befriend the author. Her style is personable and inviting and she tells an appealing story about reading several different self-help books she tries out over the course of a year and a half. She examines several areas of her life, including taking care of her home, parenting, marriage, finances, and spirituality. Some of her attempts are more half-hearted than others, and I didn't agree with all her conclusions, or all her reviews (for those self-help books I had also read). But I enjoyed her description of her experiences, and found I was racing through this book faster than most. ( )

In the pursuit of happiness, thirtysomething Jennifer devotes two years to self-improvement, reading recommended experts on housecleaning, finance, marriage, parenting, health and spirituality. Reality impinges on ideals when she tries to put what she's learned into practice in the household she shares with husband, son and two dogs. Humorously, she analyzes her moods, revelations and changes, sending up herself and the self-help gurus, though at times her tone gets self-congratulatory and snide. Includes questions for discussion. ( )

I really didn't enjoy this book at all....maybe I'm not the right demographic...being single and childless, I can't relate to the husband/marriage/child/parent issues that Niesslein writes a good deal about. I didn't find the book particularly funny....mostly it's just her opinion of a bunch of different self-help books she read.

I actually stopped reading about 3/4 of the way through, realizing that my own life would be happier if I stopped forcing myself to read about 2 years in the life of this person that I couldn't relate to and don't care about. The book was too self-centered for me....yes, it's a memoir, but usually the things we like about such books are how we can relate to them and I couldn't.

I also wasn't a fan of the thought that any conservative idea that was in a book she read had to absolutely be FLAT OUT WRONG! She practically has a breakdown because she thinks the author is pretty cool until he has a conservative statement to make and then she has an identity crisis, because how could she have possibly believed the other stuff he said?! Give me a break.....that's not how you appeal to the masses. This book might have a niche market for people who are very similar to Niesslein herself, but since I'm not, I couldn't stomach it. ( )

Practically Perfect is a humorous look at one woman’s two year experience with the world of self help books. The author tries out numerous best sellers in the common categories (house, finances, marriage, children) to see what works for her and her family. I really laughed along with her as she described some of the silly advice found in these books. I think anyone who has read self help books, will find this an amusing and educational break. ( )

Practically Perfect In Every Way is a non-fiction book chronicling one woman’s attempt to improve her life with the advice from self-help books. Jennifer Niesslein, on the surface, seems to have it all. She has a loving husband, an adorable son, good health, and financial security. However, when filling out happiness quizzes, she only scores as “slightly happy.” To try and fix this, she starts combing through the complicated world of self-help and self-improvement.

The best thing this book has to offer is probably Niesslein herself. She is a clear, engaging narrator, brimming with intelligence and a genuine desire to prove her life. She isn’t brainwashed by self-help gurus, which allows her to actually analyze what the books and guides are saying. For example, when reading books about improving marriages, she points out the misogynist bent in some of them when they put all the pressure (and blame) on the wife. At the same time, however, Niesslein tackles her project with gusto. She’s cynical but not so cynical that she isn’t willing to actually open herself up and explore the paths her project may lead her on.

She divides her book into various sections, such as marriage, children, health, finances, etc. I thought that was a good idea because it allows her (and the reader) to really sink teeth into one idea at a time, instead of trying to juggle everything. I did find the beginning of the book a lot better than the end. I’m not sure why, since there was no real change in tone, and the ending was more dramatic and personal as Niesslein begins to struggle. Maybe it was because I felt like the book started losing steam? It did start to feel repetitive as the same concerns and issues were rehashed over and over again.

I still enjoyed it though, for its compelling voice and its intelligent approach. If self-help is your interest, you should give this book a try. ( )

As a reluctant self-help connoisseur, I looked forward to reading Practically Perfect. It's an account of Ms Niesslein's two-year exploration of the self-help mainstream. Feeling not quite perfectly happy, despite her youth, her adorable son, perfect husband, her satisfying work at the magazine, Brain, Child, and her large house in Charlottesville (one of the prettiest towns in the country), she decided to find out what the experts say. Over a period of two years, she concentrated on learning how to improve her house (Feng Shui, Real Simple magazine, and FlyLady), her money situation (David Bach, Suze Orman, and Vicki Robin and Pete Dominguez), her marriage (Laura Schlessinger and Dr. Phil), her mothering (a variety of sources), happiness itself (Martin Seligman), making friends (Dale Carnegie, Abigail Van Buren), health (Jorge Cruise, Andrew Weil), and religion and spirituality (Ann Lamott, Harold Kushner, and Oprah). Although Niesslein describes the range of advice that she read about, the book is chiefly a memoir. To enjoy it, one must be as interested in her as in her self-help adventures. She writes well and amusingly. If it weren't for the subtitle of the book (My Misadventures Through the World of Self-Help, and Back) I would have been surprised that it all ended with the development of panic attacks and her conclusion that her self-focus, caused by reading self-help books, was the cause of the attacks. Up until then, she seemed to be enjoying the project and appreciating some of the advice. You have to wonder whether she (or her publisher) wanted to cash in on the hint of an expose. In any case, her commentary is occasionally humorous and insightful. ( )

Are you as fascinated with the vast array of self-help books as I am? Having moved from Germany to the US, I couldn't help but notice that there are so many, and on such a big array of issues - from organizing your wardrobe to finding love! Despite my fascination, I remain doubtful about this literature. Do they work?

Intrigued by this issue, I was absolutely taken with Jennifer Niesslein's book. She seems to be leading a fairly normal life (husband, kid, dog, house, full-time job, etc.), but decides to see whether she can improve all of that with the help of self-help literature. For two years, she conducts a series of experiments on her house, finances, marriage, mothering, health, spirituality, and her social skills. She does not buy into the expensive self-help talks and seminars (which I found very likeable). Instead, she focuses on a couple of popular books for each area, supplemented by real-life advice from her friends and family.

Her journey through the world of self-help makes for an absorbing and often hilarious read. Niesslein shows lots of humor and good sense while trying the various experiments. She remains critical of the advice offered in the self-help books, and gives really smart comments on many of them. Good and bad aspects of trying self-help are brought up, and it becomes clear that, while e.g. having a somewhat more organized house may be nice, there can be serious downsides to looking into oneself all the time.

I enjoyed reading the book very much. It inspires the reader to think about the benefits and pitfalls of using self-help, while being very entertaining. I would strongly recommend it to anybody who's fascinated by self-help books, and even to critics of this literature.

I was thrilled when I found out I was going to be receiving and reviewing this book. It has all of the elements I love in a book - a smart and tough main character who is not perfect, a chick lit type of slant (even though this is a non fiction) and of course, the humour!!!!

Jennifer Niesslein is happy - sort of - but now she is starting to question what is happy? and how do you know if you are?

These are all valid questions and I have to say that if Niesslein was just going for the laughs with this book - she could have tackled an easier subject. Yet, she manages to take a very difficult and somewhat taboo subject and turn it on its ear!!!

I think that many of us hit a wall where we start wondering about our lives - no matter how great it may look to other people and Niesslein decided to start her self-evaluation by using the tools she felt comfortable with. So with the help of Oprah, Dr. Laura, Suze Orman and David Bach, this memoir takes us through all the ups and downs that Niesslein goes through on her quest to find the answers that will make her happy (happier?). Yes, it is a big world of self help out there and some of it was actually helpful to her - but the most interesting thing for me, in this book, is the progression that Niesslein makes just by discovering who SHE really is - without the help of all these outside influences. All she really needed was the willingness to look inwards.

This book is witty, cute, charming, a little sad at times and I loved the spirituality of sorts that Niesslein is willing to open herself up to. The main characters in her life are well written and delightful and reading this book was a joy.

I cheer Niesslein on and I am inspired by her! ( )

This book follows our author as she embarks on a quest to improve her lifestyle, finances, and marriage using self-help books. I would recommend this book for someone who is less cynical than I am and who is interested or intrigued by the good, the bad, and the ugly of self-help books. I'd prefer just the bad and the ugly, myself.

I stopped reading this book about half-way through because ultimately it just wasn't very interesting to me. However, I would recommend it to people because I think my lack of interest was more personal than based upon deficits of the book itself. I had hoped this book would be an academic exploration of self-help books from a skeptic and do something similar for self-help what Barbara Erinreich's Nicked and Dimed did for menial labor. But the author of Practically Perfect seems truly interested in attempting to correct herself using self-help books and that wasn't appealing to me.

I wanted this book to be something different from what it was, but that doesn't mean that the book itself was bad. ( )

http://www.book-blog.com/2007/08/nies... ( )

There are a lot of things to recommend this memoir about the two years the author spent trying out various forms of mainstream self-help. Niesslein's tales of trying to follow the advice of the sort of luminaries one finds on the Oprah show is full of insight and humor. Her chapter on attempting to improve her already decent marriage with the help of Drs. Laura and Phil is particularly funny, and I found her commentary on trying to be a better parent very moving. Other sections of the book don’t flow quite as well: her chapter on attempting to follow the personal finance advice of gurus David Bach and Suze Orman reflects the dullness of the subject, and the continual summaries she provides of the books whose wisdom she is attempting to implement slows things down at times. Overall, though, I would recommend this book to anyone who has been seduced by the grandiose promises made on the back of self-help books. The author has some very sharp observations about how many of these programs not only fell short of their promises, but were actually detrimental to her overall well-being. ( )

One woman's experiment to try self-help systems. I looked forward to reading it, though it lost steam for me at the end. ( )