Who Doesn't Want to Have a Good Day?

As an NPR devotee, I have become a big fan of the behavioral sciences lately. That was my initial draw to this book, even though I was concerned the work applications may not interest me, since I don't work in a traditional field. Much to my surprise, this book is not only funny and well paced, it's full of practical, and even better, science based advice that is useful in every walk of life. I feel like I learned a lot about my career life, but also interacting with my spouse- and even interacting with my toddler. Additionally, the author does a great job reading it, which is always a big crapshoot with author readers. I can't recommend it enough.

37 people found this helpful

Uh la la!

I was hesitant about getting this book, due to some reviewers objecting to three things:

1. "It only relates to the business-environment"
Simply not true. Yes, it does focus on business, but as we all know, business/work is a large part of most people's lives – furthermore, much of the advice is directly applicable to communicating at home, doing home chores and so on.

2. "It's too scientific / dry"
I personally don't find it "brain-scientist dry" at all. To the contrary, I'm thankful this isn't one of those Malcolm Gladwell-ish bestseller-recipe-based books, full of amusing anecdotes and uselessly dumbed down pop-science that would be more justified in a Wired article.

3. "It's all been written before by Kahneman et. al."
Yes, some of the concepts have been mentioned/covered before in other works, but what Caroline does superbly in this book, is making it easy to comprehend and directly applicable to your daily life. The book is well organized.

It's an intelligently written book, by an obviously smart woman. As a former McKinsey partner, she can be expected to have a clear, rational, sharp mind – and she does indeed deliver.

To top it off, Caroline has narrated it very well.

In fact, it's one of those books I finished fast, and already wanted to re-listen to, sooner rather than later! So much so that I haven't deleted the download from the app, which I normally do when I've finished a book.

15 people found this helpful

Wow! Well done! Filled with practical tools to change your life

First off, I don't do reviews. I read tons of books and just don't take the time to do them because I expect a book to be good. This book was a masterpiece that so exceeded my expectations that I not only listened to it, I bought it hard copy and then outlined it so I would better learn it. I love how she incorporated science into work and home strategies.

13 people found this helpful

A good book bur not for audio format

How could the performance have been better?

Carolyn Webb should not have narrated it. Her voice is light and hard to listen to for very long without becoming distracted.

Any additional comments?

This is a good book with a fair number of good information to impart. It reads well. It fails as an audio book. In part because the narrator's voice made me want to want to go to sleep whenever I tried listening to it and in part because its really designed not to be read from cover to cover but rather explored which you just cannot easily do with an audio book.

5 people found this helpful

Excellent advice

Too often I find books on the subject of habits go into the science behind everything way too deeply and not enough into actionable takeaways. This is not the case with this book, so it felt like a breath of fresh air. Will definitely go through again and again.

6 people found this helpful

Wonderful Ideas, Empathetic Narration

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

While what Ms. Webb says can improve our lives on a daily basis; even under the direst of circumstances, I can find and apply a number of Ms. Webb's suggestions and improve the most hopeless situation.

Any additional comments?

For someone who reads from and listens to a lot of energetic, motivational speakers, there comes a time when one can, perhaps incorrectly, believe he/she has heard it all.

And then ... You hit that surprising gold mine - of fresh ideas, of tried and trusted solutions, of information rooted in multi-field research, of stories followed by crisp bullet-point advice that can really work and does not make one cringe and feel judged ....

And just when you are celebrating having learnt so much .... more veins of Gold are discovered. The ideas just keep coming.

And all this in a narration that is caring yet not falsely encouraging and that reminds I can do it.

This is what "Good Day" narration by Ms. Webb does for me. So much so, a few aural lessons from this book follow my daily meditation and prayer routine in the morning.

2 people found this helpful

Boring

I could not finish the book because it was sooo long and boring. Might be a better read. The narrators voice and slow speed of talk could be what killed it for me.

1 person found this helpful

Great evidence-based guide, for life and work

A great evidence-based guide for life and work! The author did a great job summarizing the current state of knowledge and emotional intelligence and delivers practical and effective recommendations that trascend the work live and will help readers get the best out of themselves at work and home.

Good book to have a good day

I recommend this book, even if contain n too much stories,
This is to be listened one time,

A good step towards helping yourself...

Just like any changes you want for yourself it has to be done one at a time and deliberately. This book gives you some good things to look at first. She gives reminders on some of the previous chapters which help show how with one change it can be incorporated with others. A book I will be listening to more than once to help on the road to self improvement, which can be influencing to others who are important in your life.