The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

There's a lot of wisdom in this in-your-face personal growth audio, which is notable for its contrarian advice and a narrative style that sounds at once hip and adolescent. Actor and voice-over pro Roger Wayne captures most of Manson's oppositional energy, and he narrates with a lively engagement that only occasionally sounds overdone. Wayne's likability helps to moderate the writer's often bombastic writing. Manson, a popular and controversial blogger, uses over-the-top rhetoric and powerful stories to urge his listeners to be more honest with themselves, less accepting of personal growth orthodoxy, and more realistic about the suffering that comes with any kind of striving. Though Manson and his narrator at times try too hard to succeed, the audio delivers enough worthwhile ideas to make it useful. T.W. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

July 15, 2016
An in-your-face guide to living with integrity and finding happiness in sometimes-painful places.Popular blogger Manson (Models: Attract Women Through Honesty, 2011) criticizes self-help books for their fundamentally flawed approach of telling readers they're special, assuring them that they can surpass--but, notably, not solve--problems, and encouraging them to embrace their exceptionalism. The author sternly disagrees, showing readers "how to pick and choose what matters to you and what does not matter to you based on finely honed values." Unlike simple affirmations or personal growth books designed to flatter or soothe, Manson urges readers to "change what you value and/or how you measure failure/success." Having better values creates better problems to solve, and those achievements will lead to a legitimately improved life. Throughout, the author continually slaps readers sharply across the face, using blunt, funny, and deceptively offhand language when expanding on his key principle: "Not giving a fuck does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different....There's absolutely nothing admirable or confident about indifference. People who are indifferent are lame and scared. They're couch potatoes and Internet trolls....They hide in a gray, emotionless pit of their own making, self-absorbed and self-pitying, perpetually distracting themselves from this unfortunate thing demanding their time and energy called life." Manson's cheeky but thoughtful opinions combine with in-depth advice in such sections as "You're Wrong About Anything (But So Am I)" and "How To Be a Little Less Certain of Yourself" (hint: "if it's down to me being screwed up, or everybody else being screwed up, it is far, far, far more likely that I'm the one who's screwed up"). This book, full of counterintuitive suggestions that often make great sense, is a pleasure to read and worthy of rereading. A good yardstick by which self-improvement books should be measured.

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