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

I have mixed emotions about this book. I was totally into reading it not because of the title but because of its selling success. It seemed great at first, down to earth with a message of looking at ourselves from a different perspective, but truthfully, for me, the best chapters were the last three. It does offer an interesting view of how to conduct your life based on what is really important to you, what you really care about. I did notice, of course, all the F-words, but I managed to get some good advice too and I enjoyed a lot all the little stories from author’s life or other people’s, famous or not. Lots of things mentioned in the book are logical and make immense sense, and then others are either intriguing or in total disagreement with me. The mixed feelings that I have are most probably due to certain different beliefs and also from different life experiences. As the author said when we look back at some things that we said or believed in the past we can see now that we were wrong, that our perception has changed, the same as he admits that he may think in the future about some things he wrote in this book. I do encourage freedom of speech, so I do admire him for being so straightforward and I am sure he doesn't expect everyone to agree with him. I bet he is actually having fun looking at the “boom” he created with his book.

Reader type: Readers of self-help books with a taste for a different approach. It is definitely not the classical type. It may work for you very well, first if you want to change and second if you don't get offended easily. Due to the language, I would suggest for 18+ readers.

Some of the quotes that intrigued me:

"The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one's negative experience is itself a positive experience."

"Not giving a f*ck does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different."