I listen to my wife’s advice on what to read for the following reasons:
1. Because after thirty odd years, she knows my taste.
2. She’s very well read herself (far better than I am - but don’t tell her I admitted it!).
However, advice and gentle suggestion are very different to being ‘told’ you have to read a certain title and are even issued with a timetable for completing the task. The ultimatum stated .... “Read it by 1 December or else I’ll start without you!”
Yes - not just bossy behaviour but behaviour that goes way beyond bossy!
I dug my heels in as you’d expect, and met her insistence and righteous fervour with sarcasm and the odd withering glance (mostly I withered when she wasn’t looking). But eventually, gentle reader, her eyebrow arched just one too many times, and my resistance collapsed.
Booohoohoo! (sound made by weeping man).
The book I was forced into reading, you’ll need to know?
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: a simple, effective way to banish clutter forever by Marie Kondo
Did I enjoy reading this book?
Nooo!
Do I think the author is a nut?
Yes.
Was it worth reading?
(Grudgingly) Yes.
Booohoohoo! (same sound of man weeping again).
Yes, this book was definitely worth reading. We were deluged beneath an ocean of clutter that had been acquired over decades. The simple points Marie Kondo makes, and her practical tips about getting rid of accumulated clutter, were definitely a new and useful approach for tackling this very real problem of having too much stuff!
And I should know about too much stuff - having had the unenviable task of reducing my late mother’s belongings shortly before she went into sheltered accommodation and a greatly reduced living space. I counted over twenty car journeys I made to the municipal tip/recycling centre, and approximately the same number to local charity shops. Mam hadn’t been able to throw out anything over her whole lifetime - hanging in a wardrobe were all my father’s clothes, despite him having passed away seventeen years before. It filled me with great sadness, and there were real tears shed at times; I vowed I wouldn’t leave such a legacy for my own son to have to deal with.
If you seriously would like to get rid of the clutter that surrounds you and lighten-up your life - then read this book! Fortunately, the book’s title covers a considerable percentage of the entire reading matter if you’re tackling it on Kindle - so, mercifully, not too much more to go!
Would I recommend this book as a practical aid to de-cluttering?
Yes, definitely.
Would I recommend this book as good reading?
Sorry, I must’ve dropped off, what was the question again?
However, I did read something over the same period that satisfied all criteria. From First to Last by Damon Runyon is a truly fantastic read . This is a companion volume to On Broadway by Damon Runyon and between the two they contain (I understand) just about all his stories. They are truly delightful, literally from first to last! The language, dialogue and cast of quirky characters are richly comic and unique.
We have had these books on our shelves since the late 70s and Jude had encouraged me time and time again to read them. I resisted, mainly because I told myself I didn’t like short stories much.
I don’t think I had a closed mind. It must simply be because short-story writing has improved.
Okay, I was wrong again!
1. Because after thirty odd years, she knows my taste.
2. She’s very well read herself (far better than I am - but don’t tell her I admitted it!).
However, advice and gentle suggestion are very different to being ‘told’ you have to read a certain title and are even issued with a timetable for completing the task. The ultimatum stated .... “Read it by 1 December or else I’ll start without you!”
Yes - not just bossy behaviour but behaviour that goes way beyond bossy!
I dug my heels in as you’d expect, and met her insistence and righteous fervour with sarcasm and the odd withering glance (mostly I withered when she wasn’t looking). But eventually, gentle reader, her eyebrow arched just one too many times, and my resistance collapsed.
Booohoohoo! (sound made by weeping man).
The book I was forced into reading, you’ll need to know?
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: a simple, effective way to banish clutter forever by Marie Kondo
Did I enjoy reading this book?
Nooo!
Do I think the author is a nut?
Yes.
Was it worth reading?
(Grudgingly) Yes.
Booohoohoo! (same sound of man weeping again).
Yes, this book was definitely worth reading. We were deluged beneath an ocean of clutter that had been acquired over decades. The simple points Marie Kondo makes, and her practical tips about getting rid of accumulated clutter, were definitely a new and useful approach for tackling this very real problem of having too much stuff!
And I should know about too much stuff - having had the unenviable task of reducing my late mother’s belongings shortly before she went into sheltered accommodation and a greatly reduced living space. I counted over twenty car journeys I made to the municipal tip/recycling centre, and approximately the same number to local charity shops. Mam hadn’t been able to throw out anything over her whole lifetime - hanging in a wardrobe were all my father’s clothes, despite him having passed away seventeen years before. It filled me with great sadness, and there were real tears shed at times; I vowed I wouldn’t leave such a legacy for my own son to have to deal with.
If you seriously would like to get rid of the clutter that surrounds you and lighten-up your life - then read this book! Fortunately, the book’s title covers a considerable percentage of the entire reading matter if you’re tackling it on Kindle - so, mercifully, not too much more to go!
Would I recommend this book as a practical aid to de-cluttering?
Yes, definitely.
Would I recommend this book as good reading?
Sorry, I must’ve dropped off, what was the question again?
However, I did read something over the same period that satisfied all criteria. From First to Last by Damon Runyon is a truly fantastic read . This is a companion volume to On Broadway by Damon Runyon and between the two they contain (I understand) just about all his stories. They are truly delightful, literally from first to last! The language, dialogue and cast of quirky characters are richly comic and unique.
We have had these books on our shelves since the late 70s and Jude had encouraged me time and time again to read them. I resisted, mainly because I told myself I didn’t like short stories much.
I don’t think I had a closed mind. It must simply be because short-story writing has improved.
Okay, I was wrong again!
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