YVO’S SHORTIES #63 – Girl, Wash Your Face & All Your Perfects

Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around two completely different genres and two completely opposite reactions… The part memoir, part self help book Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis only managed to frustrate me, while contemporary romance All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover hits most of the marks.

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Title: Girl, Wash Your Face
Author: Rachel Hollis
Genre: Non Fiction, Self Help, Memoir
First published: February 6th 2018
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Finished reading: November 10th 2018
Pages: 241

“If you constantly make and break promises to yourself, you’re not making promises at all. You’re talking.”

Fact: I hadn’t heard of the author before when I decided to add Girl, Wash Your Face to my TBR. Fact: I didn’t check out the existing reviews properly before getting a copy, or else I would probably have never considered reading it. This part memoir, part self help book seems to be having two extreme and opposite reactions depending on if you have a similar mindset and background to Rachel Hollis. If you loved it and her advice helped you in any way, that’s great. It shows that we are all different and work in different ways, which is the beauty of life. BUT. It also means I’m by no means entitled to ignore my feelings of pure frustration either. Oh yes, this is going to be rant, so don’t say I haven’t warned you. I was hoping to find something interesting and inspirational in Girl, Wash Your Face, especially after hearing others swear by it. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Let’s see why, shall we? First of all, the preaching. Yes, religion plays quite a big role here and both the Scripture and God are used numerous times to supposedly get you back on track. This whole preaching is a big no no for me and a huge turn off. I respect religions, but forcing your religion on others is infuriating. That said, the tone she uses in Girl, Wash Your Face is belittling and doesn’t respect others who don’t fit her idea of ‘successful in their lives’. It’s easy to talk about problems from the privileged background she has, saying it’s up to you to improve your future and achieve your goals, when there is more than enough money in the bank and health as well. Trust me, not everyone has it that easy and it just feels as if she is discriminating everyone who doesn’t have it as easy as her. ‘Get your act together!’ feels more like a mother scolding a child without respecting individual struggles and differences, and seriously left me with a bad taste in my mouth. And then there’s the whole chapter about weight. No no no NO! As someone who has struggled with her weight her whole life, this is just seriously offensive. I should just drink water and stop use food as comfort? Excuse me, because there are a zillion reasons for a person to struggle with their weight, and just exercise and other simplistic tips aren’t going to cut the deal. Who is she to give advice in the first place?! Also, her whole idea of being happy means you have to be thin, successful and other warped ideas is offensive. And I can’t get over the fact just how full of herself she is, talking about how successful she is all the time, all she has achieved and how wonderful her life is. Yuck. Ah, and don’t even make me start about the whole chapter about the first year she dated her now husband, how he treated her like dirt and then glossed over it saying: ‘but he’s wonderful now!’. Basically saying it’s ok for someone to psychologically abuse you and who knows, they might change later? Not cool. I could keep on rambling for a long time, but I hate being this negative so I’ll leave it here. As you might have guessed already, Girl, Wash Your Face wasn’t exactly a positive experience for me.

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Title: All Your Perfects
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
First published: July 17th 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
Finished reading: November 10th 2018
Pages: 320

“If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim.”

I always seem to be having a love-hate relationship with CoHo’s books and it’s always a surprise how I will react to her books. I was hoping All Your Perfects was going to keep up my recent positive streak, and I guess I got lucky. There is a lot to love in this newest novel, and part of me wanted to give it an even higher rating. BUT. I just couldn’t ignore the frustration I felt with everything related to the cheating (SPOILER: especially since he gets to be painted as some sort of hero and apparently it was her own fault he did it in the first place.) Justifying cheating is NOT ok, and I was seriously disappointed to see the story go that way. That said, there is no doubt Colleen Hoover is a star in creating flawed and realistic characters that will have to go through a lot before they reach the final page. The story is divided in Then and Now chapters, and I have to say I enjoyed the chapters in the past considerably better. This has a lot to do with Quinn. I get that she goes through a lot and is suffering from depression, but her constant complaining did get a bit too much for me. The ending was a bit too abrupt for me as well, as the change was a bit too drastic for me to be completely believable. I still think All Your Perfects was mostly a great read though and once again she has managed to make me enjoy a genre I normally tend to stay away from. And that is something not to take lightly.

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ARC REVIEW: We’re All Mad Here – by Claire Eastham

Title: We’re All Mad Here
Author: Claire Eastham
Genre: Non Fiction, Psychology, Self Help
First published: November 21st 2016
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Finished reading: September 25th 2016
Pages: 200

“If you have scars from the past, then bear them. We spend so much time trying to ignore pain, when sometimes the best way to heal is to release it.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

When I was browsing Netgalley a while back, this title really caught my eye and not only because of the colorful cover. Let’s just say I’m an introvert myself and while I don’t think I actually have social anxiety, this guide written by Claire Eastham is without doubt really interesting. We’re All Mad Here, or The No-Nonsense Guide To Living With Social Anxiety as the author put it, is all about explaining what exactly it implies to be diagnosed with social anxiety and what can be done to make it easier to live with it. It shows that the author knows what she is talking about (she has social anxiety herself), and I could really appreciate the personal experiences she decided to include in this guide. The prose is easy to read and the whole story has a healthy dose of humor as well despite the more serious topic. And while We’re All Mad Here might not be the most complete guide out there, I think has quite a few interesting pointers for those who don’t know much about social anxiety. Recommended!

Social anxiety is more common than people think and can take on many different forms. From physical symptoms, distressing thoughts, insecurity to self-doubt, they all make a person want to avoid social situations and things will become worse over time. This guide explains what social anxiety exactly is, why it happens and how to improve your situation. It’s a guide that will help you beat social anxiety matter if it is related to school, university, work, social media or parties and dates. Honest insights about the author’s own social anxiety are mixed with a healthy dose of humor and many tips on how to make things better.

I like reading non fiction every once in a while and this social anxiety guide is without doubt an interesting read. We’re All Mad Here mixes the author’s own experiences living with social anxiety with general information about what it exactly is and why it happens in the first place. It turned out to be a really interesting read that is both easy to read, funny and has interesting pointers for those who want to learn more about the topic.

BOOK REVIEW: Steal Like An Artist – by Austin Kleon

Title: Steal Like An Artist
Author: Austin Kleon
Genre: Non Fiction, Self Help, Writing
First published: September 7th 2010
Finished reading: April 1st 2016
Pages: 160

“Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land, among people that do things differently than you. Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.”

I was in the mood for non fiction the other week and I have been intrigued by the full title of this book ever since I first heard about it, so I decided to just pick it up despite having other non fictions reads I should probably have read first. I’m glad I did now, because I literally flew through the pages of Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. Rather than being a ‘dull’ self help book, this book is a fun mix of helpful advice, descriptive illustrations Austin Kleon drew himself, quotes and other interesting facts. I loved the layout of this book and overall Steal Like An Artist is without doubt highly creative, entertaining and totally relatable. The author is not afraid to give credit where due and it shows that he is using his own experiences to give advice that he by no means claims is the only ‘correct’ way. It’s simply a guide that might help you find or enhance your creative side; I can tell you I have so many quotes highlighted on my kindle! Overall I think this little book would be the perfect bookish gift for anyone who is trying to be creative, regardless of the fact what kind of creativity that is. Recommended!

Creativity is everywhere and for everyone if you know how to stimulate your artistic side. In this guide you will find out how to do just that with a combination of facts, quotes, illustrations and the following ten chapters.

1. Steal like an artist
2. Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started
3. Write the book you want to read
4. Use your hands
5. Side projects and hobbies are important
6. Do good work and share it with people
7. Geography is no longer our master
8. Be nice (the world is a small town)
9. Be boring (it’s the only way to get work done)
10. Creativity is subtraction

Be yourself and don’t be afraid to use what is already out there to create your own vision… Nothing is original, so embrace influence, collect ideas and follow your interests wherever they take you. These ten chapters will hopefully help you to put yourself in touch with your artistic side and then only your own imagination is the limit of your creativity…

It’s hard to write a proper summary of this book since it has so many illustrations and chapters that might not fully connect together other than that they are all about exploring your creative side. I guess the best way to find out what Steal Like An Artist is all about is to just pick up your own copy and start reading… It’s a fast read and you won’t be disappointed!

BOOK REVIEW: The Happiness Project – by Gretchen Rubin

Title: The Happiness Project
Author: Gretchen Rubin
Genre: Non Fiction, Self Help, Memoir
First published: December 29th 2009
Finished reading: December 16th 2015
Pages: 315

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”

I normally quite enjoy reading memoirs, but honestly I’m really not that into self help books. I decided to pick up The Happiness Project anyway since I got a free paperback copy at a book exchange earlier this month. I actually quite enjoyed the first part… The idea of investing time and start a project to bring more happiness to your life sounds interesting, but unfortunately reading about Gretchen Rubin‘s own experience started to turn into something annoying after a while. I mean, she pretty much already had a great life before the project: an according to her handsome and succesful husband, two healthy little girls, a job she loves and a great home in NY. I don’t mind her wanting to be happier, but she did come over as a bit hypocrite in some chapters. I know some people see her as a great example, but I personally would have preferred reading about someone with a bigger and more genuine challenge. As far as the prose: it shows that Gretchen Rubin did a lot of research for her project and I liked that she incorporated blog comments in her chapters. Do I agree with everything she said? No. But I do believe the right person might benefit from at least part of her message.

Gretchen Rubin was taking the same city bus as she always did when she had the realization that “the days are long, but the years are short”. She also realized she wasn’t as happy as she could be and wasn’t focusing enough on the things that really matter. Hence the happiness project was born, where she wanted to try and focus on improving a different aspect of her life each month. Every chapter tells the story of her adventures during a specific month, giving advice and contemplating both the good and bad parts. Novelty and challenge turn out to be powerful sources of happiness, money can help buy happiness when spent wisely and small changes can truly make the biggest difference… All those conclusions and more can be found in the happiness project.

Gretchen Rubin had some very interesting ideas in her book, but I can’t say I agree with all of them nor do I think her already almost perfect ‘before’ situation is the best example of a ‘proper’ happiness project. Everybody has the right to be happier and I’m not saying she was wrong doing the project OR writing about it, but I didn’t like her tone in some chapters. Would I recommend this read? Only if you like self help books and are interested in the theme.