Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Author: Mark Manson
Genres: Nonfiction, Self-help
Release Date: September 13th, 2016
Publisher: HarperOne
Pages: 210
Format: Print, Hardcover
Where to buy: Amazon

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

For decades, we've been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let's be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." In his wildly popular internet blog, Manson doesn't sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is—a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let's-all-feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.

Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—"not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault." Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I wanted SO bad to enjoy it—and I think I set my expectations entirely too high, which is why I'm so irritated that I sorta-kinda hated it.

There were some really good points in the book, some "aha" moments for me. There were a few quotes that stood out to me:

• "Adversity and failure are actually useful and even necessary for developing strong-minded and successful adults." (Page 44)
• "The true measurement of self-worth is not how a person feels about her positive experiences, but rather how she feels about her negative experiences." (Page 46)

...But the rest for me was just regurgitated garbage, Eastern philosophical statements we've all heard before, and comments about existentialism that he seemed to know absolutely nothing about. Honestly, it sounded like he just read a bunch of self-help books or books on Eastern philosophy and then tried to translate the information into his own words. Blah. Not the book for me.

Oh, and page 128 about rape and false memories? What the hell? I truthfully don't even know why that was thrown into there. I won't give too much information in case any one out there is actually wanting to read it, but let me just say I wasn't impressed. Not in the least.

My rating:

One lonely little heart. Boo.

Blog Tour: When Faults Collide by Claire Granger

This is my stop during the blog tour for When Faults Collide. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 1 till 14 July, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.

When Faults Collide (Faultlines #1)
By Claire Granger
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age category: New Adult
Release Date: July 1, 2015

Blurb:
Asha is a 23 year old graphic designer and blogger living in Richmond VA with a dark past. She grew up in India in a brothel where her mother was a prostitute and came to America to live with her father when she was 13. 10 years later and while she has survived, she lives her life under a strict set of rules and lives fairly sheltered in order to protect herself. Her most important rule: never get involved romantically.

Then she meets Blake, a 25 year old music venue owner with an equally dark past. From their first encounter, Asha finds it difficult to follow her own rules and can't deny the connection between the two of them.

Can Asha overcome her demons to go beyond surviving to thriving and will Blake be the perfect broken piece to the puzzle of her heart?


You can find When Faults Collide on Goodreads

You can buy When Faults Collide here:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble

About the Author:
Claire grew up in Texas, but her family moved to Virginia in 2001. She now resides in Richmond with her husband, 4 children (2 sets of twins!), and their fur babies.

She blogs over at The Granger Bunch and has her first novel releasing this summer! "When Faults Collide" is a contemporary romance, the first of the "Faultlines" series! She is already working on book two of the series as well as a non fiction and a few other exciting projects!

She is passionate about racial identity and equality issues, foster care, adoption, and non-profits that work to help victims of sexual assault and trafficking.

She is shamelessly addicted to romance, erotica, dark/twisted/taboo, smutty, sexy, anti-hero, flawed hero, controlling, mind blowing books! Basically everything that would make her mother cry. ;)

She loves hearing from her readers- it keeps her going! Thank you so much for all of your continued support!

You can find and contact Claire here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Instagram


Here are some fabulous excerpts from her new book:

Excerpt 1:

As I walked back into my bedroom, I thought about Blake. Was he sleeping on the other side of my wall? Could he hear me in here?

I shook away my thoughts. I didn’t need to worry about what he was doing because he didn’t matter.

That’s when I heard the music.

“No way” I whispered.

The Lumineers “Stubborn Love” was playing softly through the wall.

It was one of my favorite songs, and obviously Blake had no idea why I loved the lyrics so much.

Talk about a crazy coincidence. I decided to tweet my favorite line.

AshaGirlRVA: It’s better to feel pain than nothing at all. #Lumineers #GoodnightMrGreenEyes

I plugged my phone into the spare charger on my nightstand and climbed into bed. I heard my phone ding a notification, which was nothing new, but decided to turn them off for the night.

I swiped my phone on, and then saw the comment left on twitter. I gasped.

Blake_RVA: @AshaGirlRVA Glad you like it. #GoodnightMsBlueEyes

“Well shit.” I said before turning my phone off and throwing my arm over my eyes.

Excerpt 2:

“So are you upset because he follows your tweets or because you tweeted about him to begin with?” Katherine asked me from across the table, sticking a piece of pastry in her mouth.

She was pretty nontraditional as far as therapists go. Sometimes we met in her office, but many times- like today, we met at a restaurant in the city and just chatted like friends. She was my fifth therapist and her model of talking to me like a person and a friend instead of like a client is the only reason she was able to get through to me.

Despite my disagreements with her, I valued her input on things in my life. She knew the whole story, the things that Lily, Tom, my dad, and Marcy would never hear about. She knew it all.

I breathed out in frustration. “I don’t know. I don’t want to censor what I write about. But I also don’t check every follower. I get new followers every day. I’m annoyed that he knows he got to me. That’s what I’m annoyed about. What if he reads my blog?”

She shrugged. “Why not? If you really never have any intention of talking to this guy romantically, then he’s just another reader. If you were thinking you may like to get to know him, your blog is a great way for him to learn about you and your story.”

I pursed my lips. “Well, I am not interested in ANYTHING with him. Nothing. I just don’t like it.”

She laughed. “Asha, you’ve been seeing me for almost 9 years. You’ve had a lot of guys show interest in you. You have never once been flustered at conversation with them, nor have you spent any length of time talking about them with me. So, obviously, you have some interest there.”

I nodded. “Right, but how can I un-interest myself?”

She chuckled again. “I don’t think it works that way, dear. It’s okay to be interested in a guy.”

I opened my mouth to protest but she continued.

“I get it. Your rules. But Asha, we’ve talked about your rules before. You cannot live your life in a bubble and refuse to let anyone in romantically.”

I nodded again. “Yes I can.”

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of When Faults Collide. These are the prizes you can win:
- a signed copy of When Faults Collide by Claire Granger
- a $25 Amazon gift card

For a chance to win enter the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 456

Format: Print
Where to buy: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is. She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

Thoughts

First off...okay..."Haunting and dreamlike"? Are you serious? I would say this book is anything but. This book was not haunting. It didn't scare me at all. It was not dreamlike. I was not mesmerized by it. Honestly, I would put this in my "WTF did I just read" list. Because forreal....WTF did I just read? And not in that good woah-this-book-rocked-my-socks-off kind of way, but that I-have-no-idea-what-just-happened way.

I will admit I was surprised by the ending, but it still left a lot to be desired. There were 59 chapters in the book. I repeat - 59 chapters - and it took about 50 of them to get me to understand what the hell was going on. It just kept going and going and going until finally I understood what the book was even about. I was left feeling kind of blah...like I just wasted the last two months (yes, it took me two months to actually finish this book) reading a bunch of nonsense.

Mara was even more blah than the feeling I had after reading. She was so blah she makes blah look good. I felt no real connection to Mara; it was like reading the same crap over and over. And Noah wasn't much better, but he was just a teensy bit better. I couldn't connect with him either, but at least I felt like I had a better idea of what his character was like. And the cheesy lines at the end of chapters? Seriously? "But it felt, somehow, like I had already lost." and "But there would be no shelter in Noah's bed or in his arms from the howling of my sins." WHAT???! I don't even get it. I. Can't. Even.

Okay, but in all honesty: I might actually read the second book, because the author did a pretty good job of making me want to know what happens next. It could be promising.

Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: January 1, 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 391

Format: Print
Source: Paperback Swap
Where to buy: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

Thoughts

Okay...I seriously adored this book. I don't usually get infatuated with characters, and yes, I know they're fictional, but Patch was a serious hottie. Everything about him screamed "total badass". Definitely my type of guy. Anyways........the ending of this book was a real shocker. There was a great build-up to the action, and I had no idea it was coming, which I love in a book. There was one thing I didn't like, though: Nora's friend Vee. There was just something about her that didn't click with me. She wasn't a very rounded character, and every time she spoke I found myself cringing. She wasn't just your typical ditzy chick, she was obnoxious. That being said, this was a great book and I would totally recommend it! I'm a little late on this series (by like three years), but I can't wait to read the next one!

Review: Order of the Dimensions by Irene Helenowski

Release Date: September 14, 2012
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 318

Format: E-book
Source: Author
Where to buy: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

When Jane Kremowski first began her graduate studies in physics at Madison State University in Wisconsin, little did she know where her work would take her. Now, she is embroiled in a multitude of dimensions all leading to different outcomes. She and her colleagues therefore must act wisely in order to take and keep away the Order of Dimension from falling into the wrong hands for the sake of her loved ones.

Thoughts

The concept of this book really intrigued me. I love anything that has to do with time travel and alternate realities. It started off a bit slow for me but it got more interesting as I turned the pages. The characters seemed a bit flat to me, but it was nice to see them develop throughout the story. I liked the fact that the end of each chapter had a sort of cliff-hanger, and once I got started it was hard for me to put the book down. The only major issue I had was the over-explaining of certain things, such as when a character spoke. I was told the feelings of the characters, and wasn't really able to think for myself. I don't like being told everything; I enjoy the mystery behind the characters and the plot, and this story lacked that. All in all, I was really glad that I read this book and would gladly read other stories written by Irene.

Review: Beyond Shame (Beyond #1) by Kit Rocha

Release Date: September 16, 2012
Author Info: Website | Facebook
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Pages: 354

Format: E-book
Source: Netgalley
Where to buy: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond–beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman's daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier.

The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four's ruthless leader, and he'll defend the O'Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet.

Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense sexual attraction, and soon they're crossing ever boundary Noelle barely knew she had. But if she wants to belong to Jas, first she'll have to open herself to the gang, to a dangerous world of sex, lust, and violence. A world where passion is power, and freedom is found in submission.

Thoughts

Wow. Words cannot describe how I feel about this book. It was everything I expected and some. I've only read a few books in this genre (Adult Fiction, Erotica) but I'm slowly but surely beginning to love it. It wasn't just about sex either, like the summary sort of implies. It has an actual story line to it, with actual characters and an actual plot. It's true! I was so hooked on this book that it was hard to put it down; I think hubby even got upset some nights because the book was getting all my attention!

And for anyone who thought E.L. James was risqué...Fifty Shades ain't got nothin' on this book! The intimate scenes were detailed but not nasty. The difference between this book and other books in the erotica genre out there is that this one had a theme of dystopia also. It had a sort of Hunger Games feel to it in the way that each "sector" or "district" had its own industry such as farming, production, etc. 

The characters were really easy to connect with, and the men in this story were just plain hot. Smokin' hot. Man, this was such a great book. I would totally read it again in a heartbeat. Oh and to make things 100x better, Kit Rocha (Moira Rogers) is coming out with two more books in the series! YAY! Check out her page from the link above, where you can even request some goodies to go along with your obsession for the book. :)

Review: Chosen (House of Night, Book 3) by P.C. & Kristin Cast

Author: P.C. & Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Why I read it: Bought it

Summary:

Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn.  Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies.  And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends.  So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before.  Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity.  Speaking of rare: Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having threeboyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster.  Just when it seems things couldn’t get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith, and Zoey’s horrid step-father in particular, are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres.  But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely reflects the truth…

Thoughts:

From the first book I read in the House of Night series, Marked, I was hooked. The language is not hard to follow or understand, and I zoomed through the book in about two days. I do have one major problem though: P.C. & Kristin are extremely repetitive. Things are drawn out and sentences (such as Zoey saying she's "such a ho") are all over the book. The dialogue may be easy to follow, but it's so repetitive that you almost feel like it's a chore to read. 

The characters failed to develop much from the first book to the third. The characters seem a bit stereotypical to me, also. You have Zoey (the leader of the pack), The twins (the shopping-obsessed drama queens who always agree with each other), Damien (the level-headed gay friend), Stevie Ray (the "odd-ball" mediator), and Aphrodite (the spoiled brat). As they get older their attitudes and personalities don't seem to be changing much, and they should be. They aren't maturing like actual human beings. To be honest the only characters I see developing are Aphrodite and Neferet.

Other than these obvious issues, I did enjoy the book, and will read the rest of the books in the series. I enjoy books about vampires and alternate worlds if you will, and Chosen did live up to those expectations. The whole concept of the book is great and the action keeps you interested, so it truly is a hard one to put down. I'm excited to read the next novel in the series, Untamed, because it is one of those series that has lots of twists and turns; you never know what to expect.

Where to buy it:

You can buy this book from Amazon here

*Any purchase made through this link will result in a small commission for me. :)