Overall rating and opinion of "And Then I Met Margaret"

[TrishKissane]

I felt the book was just one more in a plethora of self help books. And I guess it really is. That said, I made every effort to read it in the frame of mind of it being the first ever one of these books I had been exposed to.
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.

[Lest92]

I also can't really stand self-help because the writers always seem so far removed from reality. "Then I met Margaret" is a collection of nice anecdotes but won't help you if you don't have the financial clout to achieve your dreams.

[N_R]

I haven't read the book yet but have it next on my list. Self help books can be quite misleading to say the least. They are always motivational and try to give ideas that can never actually occur in real life. It's getting harder and harder to get ahead and life is more complicated and fast.

[micoleon13]

I tend to avoid self help books by nature. I find that the author has to tread a fine line between passing on things learned by experience, and coming across as arrogant. Unfortunately, I found that this one leaned more towards the arrogant side, especially at the beginning with the name dropping of people he met and spoke to. I appreciate that many readers will gain enthusiasm and take away messages from this, but it has to be taken with a grain of salt, in that everyone has different experiences and hardships in life and what works for one person is not suitable for the next.

[N_R]

I have just completed a review of this book and about to publish in the private forum. I gave 3 out of 4 stars. Please check my review for the reasons.

Thanks for your review, very informative and I am looking forward to reading the book now!

[Sammy Rose]

I have read and reviewed "And Then I Met Margaret" by Rob White. I rated this book 3 out of 4 stars. Please see my review for my reasons for this rating. Thank you.

[kjoan]

I thought I was the only one who hates an arrogant-toned, self-help book. Really happy to see others who feel the same way. Society makes it look like the unsuccessful (read 'not rich') are those who do not work hard completely forgetting that there are other dimensions of 'success'. Every time I encounter that kind of mindset in a book I drop it. I wish the author had focused more on the strength of character of his characters.

[Mdoc]

Generally, they way the writer brings out his message in this book is so amazing. You can't stop reading.

[hkenney26]

I completely agree that it is arrogant to say that success will come if you simply "work hard enough." I believe that every success story, of course, has had some work behind it. However, what about those who have just been beaten down to the point where no amount of work could cause a come back? I believe that there is success for everyone if they try, but it may not be the same success as someone who was given resources and the chances to be successful. Not everyone is given the same chances for success.

[Reviewer Book]

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.

Too bad about the arrogance of the author. That is definitely off putting when reading this genre.

[Miacono0304]

I am not a self help kind of reader but this book was wonderful. I really enjoyed it, it made me think of all the people in my life and how they done something to make me a better person. I really have nothing bad to say about this book at all. I am going to tell everyone I know to read it. I think every person needs to read it because it makes you think about what the people in your life do for you with out you even realizing it. If I could give this book stars it would be 10 plus.

[Christina Rose]

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.

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.

[Christina Rose]

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.

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!

[Christina Rose]

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.

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.

[Christina Rose]

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.

I 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.

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.