Sarah Knight (1)

This book offers basic guidance on getting one's shit together i.e. being an adult: prioritize, plan, and commit. (I guess I have my shit together more than I thought because this advice seems obvious to me.) The author focuses on finance and work; I would have liked more discussion of dating and relationships. To be fair, I very much appreciate her acceptance that some people do not want a romantic relationship: "You can be hot shit all by yourself..." (Many advice books, and people in show more general, automatically assume that everyone wants a monogamous long term relationship, which is unfair.)

What sets this work apart from other advice books is the author's voice. She is intelligent, relatable, and fucking hilarious! She supports important points with irreverent humor, for example:

- When discussing how to maintain relationships: "...you could think of your relationship to your family member like you think of your relationship to your leg hair. You don't want things to get all prickly..."

- Why overcommitment is unhealthy: "...look what happened to Joan of Arc. SHE WAS A MARTYR AND SHE WAS LITERALLY BURNT OUT."

The author also demonstrates her GYST theory with vivid scenes from her own life, including having a panic attack because of work stress and dealing with an eating disorder in her youth. This self disclosure feels intimate without self pity, and it makes me want to read more about her life. I like this book as a memoir even more than as an advice book.

Recommended for all libraries. show less

Recently, on a whim (& perhaps as a reflection of my personal life the past year or more), I searched the library catalog for all books that had the word "f*ck" in the title. There are a few & I requested every last one of them.

This particular book's cover has a nice little call-out titled "A Practical Parody". And it is.

First, kudos to the publishing details (fonts, book size, layout, style of writing, etc...) in its parody of the famous Marie Kondo book. Imo, this is almost-but-not-quite show more on the level of Grady Hendrix who did an awesome Ikea-style catalog parody book (Horrorstör) & another great high school yearbook layout (My Best Friend's Exorcism) in those stylistic respects. Nonetheless, A+ for all those cool little details.

I had fun reading it. It's a mix of sarcasm, humor, & actual practical advice in a sort-of profanely twisted Miss Manners book.

I am sometimes a person who gives a f*ck, other times not so much. My life has been so crazy the past two years that I've developed anxiety which I would probably describe as situational (self-diagnosing here, meaning I don't think I really suffered from anxiety prior to this time in my life & I think I have it now because of certain situational events). As there is light at the end of my tunnel (& assuming that it's not an oncoming, speeding train on the wrong track barreling toward me), my anxiety is lessening & is less frequent. So, some of the advice is actually a nice reminder to me of some things I shouldn't worry about or spend time on... & that it's ok to do that. I know I know that already, but when anxiety rears up, it is sometimes hard to actually implement that self-care type of knowledge, kwim? I appreciate the reminder for myself.

Overall, I'd call it an entertaining, light read with some practical advice.

N.B. Obviously, if you are offended by the use of the word f*ck, you should probably skip this book. show less

I am sure most people who decide to read Sarah Knight’s parody of Marie Kondo’s über-popular minimalist self-help novel are doing so to get a few laughs out of the cuss-filled parody. After all, even the publisher lists The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck among its humor offerings. However, when you set aside the humor and the language and pays attention to Ms. Knight’s message, you may be pleasantly surprised at how much you actually learn about not worrying about those show more things that are not worth your time, energy, or money about which to spend worrying.

I went into this short bundle of laughs wondering what about its continued popularity and hoping that Ms. Knight might indeed teach me a few things. The book’s structure lends itself easily to reading in one sitting, but I wanted to stop stressing about ALL THE THINGS/PEOPLE/EVENTS so I took my time, stopping after each section to let its message sink into my brain. I worked through all her suggested exercises and probably gave each idea of hers more thought than is necessary. What I found, though, as I worked through the exercises is that for all her bluntness, Ms. Knight is definitely on to something.

Even if you are not in need of reducing your stress over things/people/events you may or may not be able to control, The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck is a speedy and fun read that not just pokes fun at Ms. Kondo’s method but also provides a rational look at stress and how to minimalize it. Ms. Knight’s breezy narrative style makes it an easy read, and her SorryNotSorry method gives you the freedom to take what you want from her advice and stuff the rest without worry. I am proud of the lists I made working through her exercises, and I do look at them at least once a week to remind myself what of what is truly important to me. When I can barely read headlines without feeling the acid in my stomach start to churn, taking back control by not giving a f*ck is a welcome change to 2018. show less

I never thought a book that had an expletive in the title and whose main analogy was based on the Chipmunks would be one of the most useful things I've read, but here we are.

I find it so much more accessible to get the intended advice from self-help books with this kind of humorous, straightforward, no-nonsense framing than ones with platitudes and flowery language.

I am 100% a Simon Chipmunk, based on the creepily accurate descriptions in the book. The entire analogy worked really well. show more Early on I realized that even though I'm quite successful using lists and being organized at work, I don't do it for my non-work life. WHY, self? I've already downloaded a to-do app and IT FEELS AMAZING. Applying the methods of strategizing and committing at home has cleared so much of the mental clutter the book is designed to reduce, so yeah. Super successful.

Also I felt directly called out in the perfectionism section, to the point that I had to pause reading to make room for my subsequent paradigm shift. Thanks, Sarah Knight. show less