How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.

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What’s How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending About?

People being compelled to choose between having money to buy food/shelter/necessities and health (all while maintaining a social media presence) in the midst of worrying about the immanent death of the earth from climate change and various and sundry pandemics—this is the book for you.

a collection of essays, how-tos, and “inspirational” phrases to help you laugh when staying both sane and productive in a commodified world feels impossible. From “‘Doing What You Love’ and Why That’s Bad,” to “Why I’m Prioritizing My Career Over Finding a Better Career,” this collection perfectly skewers the indignities, big and small, of living through late-stage capitalism.

The Narrators

Mara Wilson and Jay Aaseng did a great job—a very dry delivery (unless something else was called for) and earnestness really sold the satire. I can’t help but imagine that they had to do many takes of parts of this because it was difficult to get through with a straight face. Even for professionals like they are.

I think Aeseng got to show a little more range in his performance, but that’s just because some of the things he was asked to do demanded it—when Wilson got to do more than the straight, dry reading, she stepped up as well. Maybe if I wasn’t multitasking, I could’ve taken more notes and kept better track, and I’d see that the ratio was different.

Essentially, they did a great job—I’d listen to more audiobooks by them—and they thoroughly entertained me.

So, what did I think about How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending?

The website for Reductress states that it’s

The first and only satirical women’s magazine, Reductress was founded in 2013 by Beth Newell and Sarah Pappalardo. The mission of Reductress is to take on the outdated perspectives and condescending tone of popular women’s media.

and that tone and direction are clear throughout this book. Thankfully, even when it’s not targeted toward me, I can still (frequently) enjoy humor and satire done well. And this book, reader, is done well.

Very little of the satire and humor was mean-spirited toward an individual, political persuasion, or most lifestyles (I honestly can’t think of an example at the moment that was, but I’m going to say this to be safe). It does skewer the lifestyles/thinking of those who promote/require people to have to hold down a side-hustle or three to make ends meet, for example. But even then, not in a mean way.

I don’t think people should grab this audiobook, however. (no offense to the narrators, see above) Or if you do, don’t listen from beginning to end in a sitting or two. Listen for 15± minutes at a time and then switch to a podcast or other audiobook. It’s just too much at once, and all the jokes blur together. Also, I’ve looked at some of the samples of the book online—between the graphics and layout, and the ease of picking it up, reading a bit and then putting it down; print is the way to go with this book.

That said—I thought it was frequently hilarious, funny at almost every point—each piece had something that made me grin or chuckle. Most had several lines that did that—and a good portion made me laugh out loud. I even played a couple of pieces to my wife and daughter (my chronically ill daughter really enjoyed the piece, “How to #Grind when your #SideHustle is #ChronicIllness”). It feels like cheating to mention this one in particular, but I have lived (and know others who have, too) “Why I’m Prioritizing My Career Over Finding a Better Career.” Reader, I laughed so hard. And cringed.

That’s pretty much my reaction to the book as a whole.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone with the above caveat about format.