2015, Quercus Editions Ltd, London
How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do (A No F*cks Given Guide)
Last summer’s long-gone read, this sweet title tempted me during an airport layover. It was so catchy I wondered if the book must be bad. Not so. Abstain if you’re not amused by regular repetition of “f**k”, but it’s a funny, quick read. Plus, the advice is pretty good: As long as you’re honest and polite, it’s OK, advisable and preferable to do what you want to do rather than what everyone else wants you to do. Or as stated on page 17: you don’t always have to say Yes!*
For example, it’s OK to say to a friend, colleague or family member, “I’m sorry, I don’t have time to read your self-published novel about gnomes, but I wish you all the best with it.” Simple and direct and, if delivered politely, very effective. (p. 136)
The author addresses 4 main areas where you can "not give a f**ck". Here they are with some examples:
Main area you can not give a f**k about
Things what other people think
Work the dress code
Friends how many times little Bobby vomited last night
Family group photos
From the same author you can find the books Get Your Sh*t Together and Calm the F**k Down. I guess the marketing concept worked, but I decided one was enough for me. (However, I later found a book with a similar title, but different author, see next post.)
*My step-daughter Diane read Knight's book after me. She said it made her think of the movie Yes Man, about a man who decides to always say "yes" for a year. It’s on Netflix.
Here's a more detailed review of the book from Vogue magazine: https://www.vogue.com/article/life-changing-magic-of-not-giving-an-f
I'm pretty excited that you were commenting on this just an hour ago. Here I was typing away at my non-book-related post (thereby completely missing my unrealistic goal of doing posts on 4 or 5 books today), and meanwhile, one of my loyal yet understandably "captive" fans (see Back to Blog Tea post) was meanwhile actually reading my blog freely?! Is this even possible? I'm quite honored.
As for Bobby's health, I think the writer was referring to a friend who might go a bit overboard describing her children's illnesses. Or it could be a case of "don't have kids don't care". I personally remember silently willing co-playgroup members to Please Stop talking about the color and consistency of bab…
Absolutely agree about not giving a f*ck about what other people think or a dress code. Not sure about the friends part though. Why not care about Bobby's health if the parent is a close friend? Also confused about the family one and group photos...is that looking at group photos of a distant family member? Eunha, this should ring a bell with you!