Genre:                    Non-Fiction / Self Help
Publisher:              Harper Collins
ISBN:                      9780063000681
Edition:                  Paperback
Page count:           85
Release date:        October 2019

We got this little book during the “Week of the English Book” here in the Netherlands. Previously, I had read “The Subtle Art of not Giving a Fuck” (although I still don’t understand why they put a * where the u should be, since they’re not giving a fuck… 😛 ). I found that book enjoyable, but it was mostly about using common sense and having a stoic approach to life. It wasn’t much new to me. This little book is about three subjects and is a collection of multiple blog articles by Mark Manson all in a compact little bundle. Was this any good?

Like I said, the book is broken into three parts, each one about the three words from the title. It contains an article about how life is divided in four phases and what happens when people get stuck in certain phases. It’s about love and how you can best approach it. The last part of the book is Manson giving us seven book tips, absolute must reads that can change your world view. The funny thing is that I had already stumbled upon that article years ago and have read five of seven of his recommendations. 🙂 They’re all worth it so far, with the exception of  “Antifragile” which I loathed to read, because of the disrespectful manner in which the writer expresses himself towards those he sees as his opponents. I read that Manson thinks similarly about him too, haha!

This book was a good and easy read with some really well chosen articles. They’re chock full of wisdom, tips and the occasional witty remark. De only thing that bothers me about Manson’s “popular” writing style is that he has a tendency to curse unnecessarily, and this really doesn’t add any power to what he says in my opinion. In fact it brings it down a little. I like my non-fiction to be factual, funny and devoid of curse words. 😉

If you haven’t read anything from Mark Manson this little book is a recommended starting point, so you can see if his writing style appeals to you. The article about unconditional love and friendship was one that I really appreciated. It confirmed how my love for Bren is unconditional and why some of my friendships and relationships ended because there were conditions (even though I didn’t see them before). Life Love Books gets a well deserved four star rating!

Cover: 🌟🌟

Paper Smell: 🌟🌟🌟

Print/Lettering: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Originality: 🌟🌟🌟

Information: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Happy reading!

~Jeffrey