Category: Self Help

Recent Reads: Roar by Cecelia Ahern

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Roar by Cecelia Ahern is made up of 30 short stories, and are all stories about different women, one per story, who each have something to discover.  They are enjoyable stories, and feel like fables, as each story has a message. 

I enjoyed the surprise of the moment of revelation in each story, and trying to guess where we were going to be led. These are very much told from the point of view of these women do not value themselves sufficiently but are uplifting.

Roar was published on 1st November 2018 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Cecelia Ahern on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins.

Recent Reads: Power Hour: How to Focus on Your Goals and Create a Life You Love by Adrienne Herbert

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Power Hour: How to Focus on Your Goals and Create a Life You Love by Adrienne Herbert is about carving time for yourself to work on your goals, and the suggestion for when to have your power hour is early in the morning – 5am.

As someone who often wakes up at 5am, this is something I really agree with!  I do most of my reading early in the morning, and can sometimes be found blogging then as well. 

The idea of Power Hour is that you set your goals and use this time to help you achieve them, as it’s time that you have no other commitments during.

This book has suggestions and actions for you to carry out to help you see this time as helpful.  I enjoyed reading the book and learning about how Adrienne Herbert uses this time.

Power Hour: How to Focus on Your Goals and Create a Life You Love was published on 31 December 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Adrienne Herbert on Instagram, Youtube and Facebook.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Random House.

Recent Reads: Tiny Habits by B J Fogg

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Tiny Habits by B J Fogg is about making a habit to do something small, having that fixed to something that happens regularly, and celebrating when you do it.  Like 2 push ups after you pee.

Yes, that really is the idea.  Obviously it’s a little more complicated than that, and there’s some more behavioural thinking about what to do when, and about how to break a bad habit, but that’s the basic principal.  There are suggestions for things other people have done, how they’ve done them, and the problems they’ve overcome.  

It really is an inspiring read, and did make me think about some of the habits that I’ve generated over the years, and which ones have stuck, and which ones haven’t!

If you want some ideas on how to help you change something, then this a good book to read for ideas on how to do that.

Tiny Habits was published on 31st December 2019.  You can buy it from Amazon, Waterstones, or your local independent bookshop.

You can follow B J Fogg on his website or on Twitter.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Ebury Publishing.

Recent Reads: Wintering by Katherine May

Posted on by Pam

My rating: ?????

Wintering, How I learned to flourish when life became frozen, is a book that I read a little while ago, and only now, whilst writing the review in this time of Coronavirus, do I realise how needed this book is.

It’s about accepting that at times you need to withdraw, and that you can’t do everything with enthusiasm and bounce.  That at times you need to take time for you.

Katherine May discovers Wintering when she is ill, her husband is seriously ill, and when both of them are getting better, her son hates school, and she decides to home school him.

It was an enjoyable read when I was reading it just in the winter, and thinking about the idea of having time to recuperate, and not be angry at yourself for not being able to do everything.

And then Coronavirus has happened, and the world is mostly in lock down.  

This book looks at going into wintering, but also coming out of it.  There is hope, and there is certainty that things will get better.

Wintering was published on 6th February 2020 and is available on Amazon and Waterstones, and through your local bookshop!

You can following Katherine May on Twitter and through her website.

If you’re interested in self help books, then here’s some others that I’ve reviewed:

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo ????

An Edited Life by Anna Newton ????

Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch ????

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Random House, Ebury Publishing (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

 

Recent Reads: The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying up by Marie Kondo, illustrated by Yuko Uramoto

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

KonMarie has been a way of tidying up that has been around for a while, and is one of those that lots of people rave about!

A Netflix series came out in 2019 called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, and I really enjoyed starting it!  You could tell who had watched it from Instagram posts about folding clothing!

This is the manga (graphic novel) about how to implement the KonMarie method, as you follow along Chiaki, a young woman with a super messy apartment, who is helped by Marie Kondo with how to tidy her apartment, and see the magic of it helping her life.

I really enjoyed the manga, seeing the uncertainness of Chiaki, saying the things that you know clients and others who have put the method into practice will have said!  It showed exactly what you should do, making it clear, and giving you the reason why you do this.

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up was published on 17th October 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Marie Kondo on Twitter, or through her website.

You can follow Yuko Uramoto on Twitter.

If you’re interested in self help books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: An Edited Life: Simple Steps to Streamlining Your Life, at Work and at Home by Anna Newton

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

An Edited Life: Simple Steps to Streamlining Your Life, at Work and at Home by Anna Newton, and is full of lists and ideas for how to make life easier for you, with suggestions for how to easily arrange to see friends with Doodle.  You could also use it for meetings!

I found this to be an easy read, as I was curious about what Anna Newton does, but also because I’ve been reading this type of life style guides for years, and enjoy finding new ideas like Doodle, and having it reinforced that you should buy one thing that is expensive, and will last, than five things that aren’t.

It’s full of life hacks, and suggestions, so if you need some life help, this is a good book to read!

An Edited Life was published on 10th January 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Anna Newton on Twitter, or through her website.  I follow her on Instagram, and she also has a YouTube channel, where she talks about capsule wardrobes, skincare, beauty, and vlogs!

If you’re interested in other self help books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch is a guide for how to clean your house, and how to enjoy yourself whilst doing it!

It has a lot of stories from Mrs Hinch’s personal life, such as how she met her husband, lots of recommendations for cleaning products, how to clean things, and space for you to write your own lists in, things that make you happy, and things like bits you want to declutter.

I discovered Mrs Hinch on Instagram in August last year, but I’m afraid I don’t remember how, although I remember Caroline Hirons mentioned her.  

Definition: ‘Hinching’, which is often taken to mean cleaning, but I would define it as using one of the many hints and tips from Mrs Hinch, such as diluting fabric softner with water, put in a spray bottle, and then spray on clothes or bedding to freshen up the scent.  

You might have seen Mrs Hinch on This Morning, or in the papers!  Either way, she’s got 2.4 million followers on Instagram, and inspires people to clean.  I think it’s because she’s the first person I’ve found cleaning her own home with the products, so I could trust her recommendations.

Definition: ‘Hinch haul’, which is buying multiple cleaning products, possibly buying more than you need, so you can stock up your Narnia (a store cupboard in your house or garage for extra supplies of cleaning products).  Popular stores to carry out a Hinch Haul: B&M, Home Bargains, Poundland, little shops with cleaning products in.  Products typically purchased: cleaning products Mrs Hinch uses, cleaning clothes, and baskets for storing these things in!

I thought this book is an ideal gift to give to someone leaving home for the first time, or first time buyers, because there’s lots of information on how to clean things, and how to make your house a home.  

Whilst there is a contents page, I think this book could have benefited from an index page, and it would have turned a nice book into a really useful home help!

You might have noticed there’s some grey creeping into this post, and that’s because Mrs Hinch’s home is very grey! When I first saw a photo, I thought she had been playing with filters!  Her book is also a pale grey, and a Dave the duster in silver.

Hinch Yourself Happy was published on 4th April 2019, and is available on Amazon  to buy on Kindle and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!