Official Review: Anti-Habit System by Aleksandra Anonymous

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CataclysmicKnight
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Official Review: Anti-Habit System by Aleksandra Anonymous

Post by CataclysmicKnight »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Anti-Habit System" by Aleksandra Anonymous.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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There are lots of books that help people quit things cold turkey, and Anti-Habit System by Aleksandra Anonymous is definitely not one of them. Instead of promoting the sudden stop of bad habits, she instead suggests cutting back on them, ultimately aiming to change them from habits to things that you control. Instead of smoking a whole pack of cigarettes in a day habitually, for example, the goal would instead be to smoke when you want. In addition to smoking, the main habits covered also include drinking, drugs and unhealthy foods.

I'm going to be completely honest: I expected to dislike this book shorty after I started reading it. The writing didn't really flow and the setup was going nowhere fast, and that's in addition to the fact that most extra-short books are usually lackluster. However, once Aleksandra began discussing specifics (around 10% of the way into the 29-page book) the book majorly turned around. This isn't a scientific book, in fact it's written as if she's simply speaking to us, but that certainly doesn't make the book any less worth reading.

The focus on the book, as Aleksandra puts it, is to bend the habit, not break it. After a bit of discussion about herself, she details how she bent her habit with liquor, swapping from shots of hard liquor to dry wine. She had read that drinking some dry wine a day is actually healthy, and once she tried the swap she learned it gave her a buzz and helped her relax without leaving her with a hangover. She does the same with smoking - first by restricting herself from smoking in the house so that each cigarette had to be a choice, not a habit. After this, she swapped to rolling her own to save money and even replaced cigarettes during the day with e-cigarettes.

After discussing her strategies with drinking and smoking, as well as a bit about drugs (hence her anonymity), she points out the importance of exercise and how to replace bad habits with it. Finally, in the end, she has a rather nifty table that lays out the changes she made herself over half a year. The fact that she was able to make major changes herself and show them off attests to the wisdom in this short book.

I was really surprised by Anti-Habit System. It's so short, yet still has some great information in it. I feel really odd giving a book less than 30 pages a 4 star rating, but the stumbling in the first few pages isn't enough to knock a star off from the excellent-yet-simple information the rest of the book contains. Her writing was also far from clinical - she felt relatable and genuine, which makes her strategies more believable. Therefore, I'm giving the book 4 out of 4 stars despite how short it is. Anyone with bad habits can get some use from it, especially those who want to break the habits she broke (and who aren't seriously addicted and in need of assistance beyond books).

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shurkin18
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Post by shurkin18 »

Wow, didn't expect that o-O
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Post by gaporter »

I expected this would be a book about stopping snacking, rather than the hard habits like drugs. But if she can manage a drug habit this way, the system must be worth looking into. Nice review!
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Post by CataclysmicKnight »

Thanks! And yes, I really expected something typical, especially with the extremely short length of the book. I wouldn't have been too surprised if the book was simply a quick 5 step program with a tiny bit of detail about each. I was happily surprised at just how wrong I was :D
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Post by braver »

Interesting - does she talk at all about how effective this is in the long-term?
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Post by gali »

Sounds like a good book to help one with his bad habits. Well done to the author for managing to change her habits. Good job on the review!
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Post by jamesabr »

I never liked cutting habits cold turkey. This book sounds right up my alley! I like your honesty in regards to how you first thought the book was going to be bad. Your input on its quality is good and thorough. Good review. :D
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Post by kandscreeley »

I actually believe this works. I used to drink a lot of regular Coke. I did this kind of thing with that, and now I don't drink any. I'm sure it can be applied to anything. Nice review. Sounds like a useful book.
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Post by mindyg123 »

In depth review. From what I've read this isn't your average self help book and it has caught my interest so I'll be reading it especially since I'm trying to quit smoking. Thanks for making this free and congrats on being BOTD.
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Post by pankaj549 »

i thought it was just like other books but really it does is different and meaningful
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Post by bluegreenmarina »

Sounds like the author found an approach that has a much more likely chance of appealing to people who are on the fence about quitting certain behaviors or might just be looking to cut down on them... some empowering concepts! I'd like to find out if her approach works in the long term.
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Post by Sarah_Khan »

Great job on the review! I just finished reading the sample and like you mentioned, I found the writing hard to follow. I'm glad to hear that it gets better. :)
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

Thank you for the information review! It's nice to hear that the author was able to make positive changes in her life. That is such a big accomplishment. Congratulations to the author for receiving such a positive review!
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Post by Ellie Gatillo »

Congratulations on such a well-written review! I'm happy to know that you enjoyed the book even though it was a short read. I have some of those "bad habits" so I'm going to read this book and see if it can help my case.
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Post by greenstripedgiraffe »

Wow, this must be an amazing book to have such a high rating, given that it is so short and also a self-help book! Great review!
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