A Short Guide to a Happy Life
by Anna Quindlen
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.35 You Save: $9.60 (74%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of A Short Guide to a Happy Life
Book Review: Why is this a Hardcover Book???
Summary: 1 Stars
Ok, she has some great sentiments. And my life will improve once my bills are paid, but I already can remember that my cat sleeping is a beautiful creature, and that macaroni & cheese tastes just swell, in short: I already recall what is fine about life, I just want my bills paid. The short anecdote at the end about the homeless man is pretty good, but not worth [the money I paid].Read this at the bookstore, and you'll have enough to buy yourself two fine things: the fiction paperback of your choice and a cup of coffee to drink while reading your alternate selection, but spare yourself this particular title. Most of the stock photography we've seen before in other sources. One good source is the Hulton Getty Picture Collection series of books on the 20's, 30's, 40's, and 50's, etc. a few years ago. If it's awesome human interest pictures you're after, I recommend that particular collection. (Yet another thing to be happy about!) As a matter of fact, here is the ISBN for the Hulton Getty 40's: 3-8290-0521-0Book Review: A moving life lesson
Summary: 4 Stars
"A Short Guide to a Happy Life," by Anna Quindlen, is as short as the title promises: of 50 pages, 30 are photos and only 19 are text. I was motivated to read the book after first reading Al Franken's hilarious parody of the genre, "Oh, The Things I Know!"; I would recommend it as a companion text.Quindlen offers some advice pertaining to the title topic. Along the way she quotes Yogi Berra, John Lennon, and Gwendolyn Brooks, and cites the New Testament. I felt the strongest part of the book was her very personal account about how experiencing the death of a family member impacted her.
Yes, some of Quindlen's phrases strike me as a bit too self-consciously cute, and the concluding anecdote may be too sentimental. But the part of the book I found most effective is Quindlen's metaphor of having a personal reawakening or rebirth; this section is powerful and well written. Quindlen's "Guide" may not be the final word on the meaning of life, but it's a worthwhile read.
Book Review: Much To Think About In A Small Package !!
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this as a gift, and reading it made me pull myself up by the bootstraps and THINK. Is there anything here that you didn't know before? Probably not. But there's plenty to think about and re-think as we go about our daily lives. This book is a fast read with much food for thought, and the pictures are nice, too. It makes you realize how much in our lives we take for granted, and how much time we spend on the least important. We tend to ignore the stuff that really counts and spend most of our time complaining and then rehashing the irritating and the unimportant. That is, until some personal incident makes us realize how we or a friend or loved one comes to an end without enjoying the REALLY important fruits of life. Anna sums it all up for me with her well known statement "No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time at the office." Need I say more? Read this book and pass it on to those you love.Book Review: *short*, occasionally cliched but overall pleasant gift book
Summary: 4 Stars
"Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement." A perfect companion to a quiet Sunday afternoon, Anna Quindlen's book flows with trademark elegance and touches on the simple observations of a life worth living. At just 50 pages, it's a quick read and the page-size photos sprinkled throughout the book give it added charm. Some, including myself, may wish she included more.I'm a fan of Quindlen's Newsweek columns and found that the humanity she brings to her short guide echoes in her biweekly writing. She doesn't offer profound wisdom and her book won't change your life, but it will nudge you along a fulfilling path and, perhaps for a few, move us to embrace a handful of moments that allow us to live and to love. Though it reads like a commencement address at times, full of one-line quotables, it is as titled, simply a short guide to a happy life.
Book Review: A true treasure
Summary: 5 Stars
"A short Guide to a Happy Life" by Anna Quindlen is 50 pages of inspiration. It reminded me of the saying "good things come in small Packages". I read the entire book on the subway on my way to work one morning. I found myself
smiling and more inspired as I turned each page.
Though Quindlen professes that she is in not an ethicist, philosopher, or expert in any field, she is a novelist and knows about human
nature. This little gem of a book is written from her heart. She learned at the age of 19, when her mom died of ovarian cancer, how precious life is and each moment counts.
Another book I really enjoyed by award winning authors Ariel & Shya Kane is Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life This book is another gem and shows you how to stop "working" on yourself - and start living in the moment.