Overall rating and opinion of "And Then I Met Margaret"
- TrishKissane
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Re: Overall rating and opinion of "And Then I Met Margaret"
The author made some very good points mostly just two the first being to not be a conformist and the second to be more outward thinking than just "me, me, me".
It was well written and had some humorous anecdotes and life lessons, but did not blow my mind with anything new or fresh about how we see life and our role here on this earth.
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Thanks for your review, very informative and I am looking forward to reading the book now!
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Too bad about the arrogance of the author. That is definitely off putting when reading this genre.AliceofX wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 05:15 I should probably start by saying that I've never been a fan of self-help type books. I don't really have much to compare this book to, but I'll probably stay away from this genre in the future. What I disliked most about the book was how arrogant the author came off. Maybe I'm just a huge cynic, but I don't believe our destiny is entirely in our hands. There are people who say, "What doesn't kill you make you stronger." To me, that just means you weren't hit hard enough. You could have easily been left cripled and broken, but you weren't. That brings me to the crux of the problem. Sure, the author, like all of us, worked hard to get what he has, but in the end he also had the luck to not be given a heavier burden than he could carry. But then to go on and preach that you can achieve anything if you just work hard ... The world doesn't work like that. The world isn't fair and just. In the end, all we can say is, "There but for the grace of God."
To be completely fair, it was a well-written book with interesting stories. The "myth I believed" at the start of every chapter always made me intrigued, and made me want to continue reading. But in the end I just couldn't get behind the overall moral of the book.
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- Christina Rose
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It is unfortunate when the author of a self-help/motivational book comes across as arrogant. I’ve had similar issues with authors in the past, and it truly affected my enjoyment of the book, regardless of how well written it was otherwise. I’m still going to give this one a shot, though, since it’s BOTM.AliceofX wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 05:15 I should probably start by saying that I've never been a fan of self-help type books. I don't really have much to compare this book to, but I'll probably stay away from this genre in the future. What I disliked most about the book was how arrogant the author came off. Maybe I'm just a huge cynic, but I don't believe our destiny is entirely in our hands. There are people who say, "What doesn't kill you make you stronger." To me, that just means you weren't hit hard enough. You could have easily been left cripled and broken, but you weren't. That brings me to the crux of the problem. Sure, the author, like all of us, worked hard to get what he has, but in the end he also had the luck to not be given a heavier burden than he could carry. But then to go on and preach that you can achieve anything if you just work hard ... The world doesn't work like that. The world isn't fair and just. In the end, all we can say is, "There but for the grace of God."
To be completely fair, it was a well-written book with interesting stories. The "myth I believed" at the start of every chapter always made me intrigued, and made me want to continue reading. But in the end I just couldn't get behind the overall moral of the book.
- Christina Rose
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This book seems to have mixed reviews! I’m glad you enjoyed it so much. It does help when the chapters are short in a nonfiction book, at least in my opinion. A casual tone is helpful as well. Thanks for your input!Al Chakauya wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 07:58 Well, let me start by saying I liked the book so much. Rob has a unique way of sending the message home unlike other ordinary authors. The book has short chapters which makes the book enjoyable, to say the least.
The twenty-one life lessons in the book are nothing new but Rob makes them look new by the casual "tone" he uses throughout the book. The book is written in a way that even those who are not entirely into non-fiction books can enjoy reading. He puts his ideas in a logical and coherent manner which makes the life lessons both credible and compelling. For the aforementioned reasons I recommend the book to anyone from all walks of life.
I never put the book down once I started reading it- which is very rare for me. For me the book is intriguing as Rob tells his stories and those of the " ordinary mentors" he met in his course of life from being a poor town boy to being an abounding entrepreneur. I have no doubt giving the book 4 out of 4 stars, though there are a few grammatical errors.
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It is interesting that the chapters start out with myths. This seems an unique way to begin, and one I’ve not yet encountered. I’m looking forward to this part of book.fergie wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 10:51 I'm not a big fan of self help books either, but I enjoyed this one. I think it was the stories that kept it interesting, and the fact that the morals and "teachings" from it - which I agree can feel arrogant and patronising in such books - came from everyday people, not gurus. I know what Alex means, and later on in the book, once Rob has made it, the stories did start to feel more like the usual self help books, which preach about how to "make it", which generally means become rich and successful in business. Those were the parts of the book I wasn't so keen on.
The early chapters, where the stories are from childhood and are more general lessons for life were better, and that was the part I enjoyed most. The early chapters, you can dip in and out and just read them as good stories, with strong, well written characters.
However, all through the book, it kept up a well written, easy to read style. The chapters being divided into short, punchy, self contained stories with a myth to start with and reality to end with worked well too, I think.
- Christina Rose
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This is a very valid point. Everything is not always possible for everyone, and this idea is hardly explored in motivational and self-help books. Thank you for the insightful viewpoint.lavellan wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 14:09I agree as well. Toward the beginning of the book I was more interested as the stories seemed to be relatable to me, but as the story went on, he became a total narcissist. I enjoyed that he was willing to point out his flaws, but it seemed like he never really grew out of his self-centered ways. I disliked that the stories all followed the same formula where he encountered a problem, solved it, and then helped someone else. It became very repetitive after a while. It also is pretty easy to say that you can overcome anything when you’ve never encountered any true adversity in life. This book would be enjoyable to casual readers, but it wouldn’t be very helpful to people who have serious problems in their lives.AliceofX wrote: ↑01 Jan 2018, 05:15 I should probably start by saying that I've never been a fan of self-help type books. I don't really have much to compare this book to, but I'll probably stay away from this genre in the future. What I disliked most about the book was how arrogant the author came off. Maybe I'm just a huge cynic, but I don't believe our destiny is entirely in our hands. There are people who say, "What doesn't kill you make you stronger." To me, that just means you weren't hit hard enough. You could have easily been left cripled and broken, but you weren't. That brings me to the crux of the problem. Sure, the author, like all of us, worked hard to get what he has, but in the end he also had the luck to not be given a heavier burden than he could carry. But then to go on and preach that you can achieve anything if you just work hard ... The world doesn't work like that. The world isn't fair and just. In the end, all we can say is, "There but for the grace of God."
To be completely fair, it was a well-written book with interesting stories. The "myth I believed" at the start of every chapter always made me intrigued, and made me want to continue reading. But in the end I just couldn't get behind the overall moral of the book.