Nicole

If it weren't for the post office essay I would've given this one star.

I can be kind of a gullible and woo-woo type of person. I enjoy learning about religions because I can mentally dive into anything to try it out in my mind. I can get down with versions of manifestation. But I couldn't stand most of this book. Especially, “vibrating at a higher frequency.” The only things that seemed legit were the same as The Secret. I hated what she said about basically just choosing to not have a mental illness. And, I can't help but be super skeptical of anyone trying to convince me to use a method to get rich when they are getting rich off people buying into their philosophy or way of life. It's like, if you can't definitively disprove manifestation you give the people hope and they give you money? Others have said it better but I like recording my thoughts for my own record.

I actually might have given this 4.5 stars if I could. I was instantly immersed in the characters and their intertwined stories. The book is emotional, and has some dark themes, but there is also optimism in the way some people change themselves in positive ways.

Picoult did a great job of capturing the fear and complete floundering we experienced during the beginning and worst of COVID. One scene in particular struck me as especially poignant and I was reminded of how difficult it was to sometimes have different stress levels in a relationship. But, I really kept feeling the entire time that it's too soon to release a book about the pandemic. 

I mostly enjoyed the storyline in the Galápagos, though it felt like a Hallmark movie and the way she wrote about Beatriz's self-injury felt pretty cringe, though I can't articulate why.

But then after the twist, I became increasingly more frustrated with Diana and the book became repetitive. I didn't understand what she wanted from people or what she was trying to accomplish when she kept insisting her time on the island was real. Like, how? Eventually an explanation was concocted but then it felt like a really unconvincing, woo attempt at sci-fi. Plus, so many paragraphs kept ending with, "He said this but if only he knew I thought that."I thought the ending was appropriate and am glad she ended the relationship with Finn. Real or not, her experience showed her that her heart was not in it anymore. The pandemic really did change so many things for us, even if we were privileged to stay healthy and employed. So, despite my grievances with a lot of the book, I do support the end.

It's not quite one star because I spent most of my time going, "eh? 🤨" instead of, "ugh 😵‍💫" but it was another case of me putting a book on my tbr because I saw it somewhere once and didn't look into it. I don't know if it was because I had the audiobook, but the entire time I felt like I just wanted to ditch it and read a summary instead. I struggled to connect the stories with any actual point or takeaway. The conclusion at the end helped but otherwise I felt like, what are we doing here?

This was ultimately not the book I needed, but I learned some valuable lessons (looking at you, responsive desire) and it included recommendations for books in the realm with which I do need help. At a time I was feeling quite broken, it also showed me how much is going well and normal that I do have to be grateful for.

It was tricky to determine how I felt about this book. I did enjoy reading it, but underneath I had an unsettling feeling. I'm admittedly biased as a consequence of having been in an unhealthy relationship where suicide was threatened as a means of control. So, the thought of a significantly younger woman having to attempt to prevent a man's suicide and then falling in love with him in the process? I had trouble ignoring the alarm bells going off in my mind. That being said, I realize the story was not a manipulative scenario and the more romantic side of me could understand some aspects and go along with it.

Before reading this book, I thought the idea that each of one's possessions should spark joy was irrational. Mostly, I still feel this way. I feel no joy when I pick up any given kitchen utensil, but they sure do make my life easier and get used frequently. So, I think I should keep them. I think this message has the most value for things like clothing, books, decorations, etc. I watched the minimalist documentary before reading this book, and I thought it was interesting how they have different views towards objects, but ultimately the same goal of only owning what's most valuable - whether that value lies in usefulness or its ability to make you happy. There's a middle ground between the two and I think that's what we should strive for. One should only have items that are either useful or which make you happy. Do you need spoons? Absolutely. Should you keep that decoration you adore which has no useful purpose? Definitely.

Classic case of: Nicole blindly chooses a book based on social media popularity, the pretty cover, and one quote she saw somehow that ended up being the opposite of what the author was saying. I didn't hate it (which would be 1 star or DNF) but I wouldn't go so far to say that I liked it.

Gave up around page 299 after trying too long to give the book a chance. There were multiple days I didn't read it at all because of how much I wasn't enjoying it.

I rated the book based on my enjoyment of the story and it did touch on some uncomfortable truths, like any book about race should. But, I felt really iffy about the fact that it was written by a white woman. In the acknowledgments, she basically admits that no research was done to get any perspective from anyone who worked in these roles or survived the pre-civil-rights era. I think there's still a benefit to keeping these issues in the public mind regardless of the speaker, but I felt guilty about it. It's like they said about Skeeter's book, that a white woman is benefiting from the stories of black women. So, I'll now be seeking a more authentic story to round things out.

This made me want to read Atomic Habits again because that was such a better-written book. I saw another review state that this one reads like an infomercial and I completely agree. With all the talk about the conferences and certified coaches, it really feels like he's trying to sell you something. I didn't find that necessary. I would think that most people choosing to read a habit book already believe in behavior change and trust the author's expertise to some extent. Plus, the amount of definitions he created felt excessive and took away from the core information, for me.

There are some valuable tools here, though. First, the act of celebration is something I haven't seen in any other habit methods. I'm not a peppy person by nature, but I will be using this tool in my habit journey. Sometimes habits themselves don't bring us enough joy and satisfaction (especially at the beginning), so it would absolutely help to do something to force yourself to feel good and accomplished after you do a new habit. Second, the recommendation that you rehearse a habit multiple times before inserting it into your existing routine probably helps. This is something I came across while reviewing research on sleep habits while getting my Psychology degree. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to now that this book helped me realize my unreliability getting out of bed on time is really going to limit my ability to incorporate positive habits into my morning routine. Lastly, the author takes the concept of the small habit further than anyone else, and that will really help some people.

Overall, I think maybe a book just wasn't the best vehicle for Fogg's expertise. I bet if I heard him give a speech it would come out more authentically.

It was okay. Some parts were truly laugh-out-loud funny but most of it was just alright.

It took me a little while to get into it, and for some reason I kept mixing up certain characters. But beyond that, I enjoyed it. I especially liked the parts that made me appreciate the little miracles of everyday technology that we either take for granted or consider nuisances. The author creates a captivating and emotional picture of the post-pandemic society.

I went into this expecting it to be kind of silly and it was. I am a basic bookish bish though so the theme suited me just fine. Some of it was frustrating, especially when she was daydreaming about the creator of the bullet journal being a woman out to create a prettier planner focused on calligraphy and stickers and I was just yelling about who on the research team let this slide because it was created by a real dude and it was originally supposed to be simple and utilitarian. (Don't get me wrong I love a good Instagram-worthy spread and have so many stickers it's just a personal pet peeve when people don't know where it started.) Bit then on the flip side, the scene with the Inner Animal crowd had me actually laughing out loud and it's been a long time I had that reaction from a book. As a major introvert, I don't believe someone who likes solitude as much as Nina can be as social as she is, but overall I enjoyed the story.

I really feel like I should've liked this book, but I didn't. I thought my ebook file was corrupted when I discovered the creative use of spacing and lack of punctuation. I can absolutely see how it could lend a more poetic vibe to the story, but that's the unfortunate thing - I don't like poetry. I usually like short stories like these but I just could not give it a fair chance. I kept trying to read faster to finish the book but the writing style forces you to read more slowly.

This should be required reading, or there should be some way to get this knowledge out to the masses so that we can collectively realize and accept the importance of sleep. It's not convenient but to deny it isn't helping anyone.

This is going to be more of just my thoughts than an actual review.

I read this at a unique time. I was approaching the end of my 3.5 month COVID-19 furlough and I had established a beautiful and fulfilling schedule of hobbies and habits. In order to maintain this healthy routine, I planned on waking up at 4 AM each work day and going to bed around 10 PM. This would allow for just six hours of sleep, and that would be if I fell asleep immediately and didn't awaken during the night, which is unrealistic.

I thought the decrease in sleep would be worth it to keep running, lifting weights, doing yoga, meditating, practicing piano, etc. as I had been during furlough. After all, these are good healthy things that are encouraged by experts. This book effectively sat me down and said, “Look. You're wrong. Here's why.”

The section about teenagers and school schedules was especially depressing. When I was in high school I stayed up late to complete assignments or IM my friends even though I had to wake up at 5:30 AM to get ready and get to the bus at 7:00 AM. I fell asleep in my classes. I fell asleep doing homework. I fell asleep hanging out with friends. I wonder what my life would've been like if I wasn't sleep deprived basically all the time and I really hope that things change by the time I have a teenager.

We really do need to stop looking down on people who prioritize sleep.

It was a unique experience to find this book and read it while under a stay-at-home order due to a global pandemic. I didn't realize this was a YA novel at first though, which led to some dislike. I usually like YA novels but I was judging the book as an adult novel. I liked it better after I realized my mistake, except I found it a little too unbelievable that they actually go to Hawaii.

Well, I finished it, but I've never skimmed a book so hard in my life. The main point about waking up early to give yourself a valuable hour is legitimate. The activities suggested to fill the hour are worthwhile. If I could design the perfect day, it would have a lot in common with the structure suggested here. But this is a lot of book to say that and the structure of it being a novel really just felt like a circle jerk of haughtiness and randomness. I'd suggest skipping it and just looking up the core concepts.

I loved this and I'm definitely not a fan of time travel. It's so much more than that.

I ended up doing a lot of skimming through the last quarter of this book. I didn't know much about it before I checked it out, and hoped it would be a good introductory book on the history of Chicago. It covered a lot of topics, but I found myself only caring for a few.

I was kinda into the story for a while, but then it was trying to be too many things while excessively descriptive. I also definitely didn't peak in high school nor do I obsessively reminisce about those times, so I didn't get that vibe, either.