12
20 Comments

Was 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck' worth it?

As the title asks... I literally started it yesterday and honestly, I agree with the content, I don't necessarily find it to be novel either but I absolutely can't stand how he delivers the message... Does it get significantly better? Is there something to this book that made it so popular? Or should I see about getting my money back and finding a bullet point list that summarizes it?

Edit: I ended up returning it, just not for me. I bought Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio instead. Really happy with my choice so far.

  1. 3

    It's an ok book.
    There is no breakthrough but the way he is presenting things goes from funny to a bit boring.

    I stopped reading those self-help books as I usually find them interesting but not really useful in the long run.

    1. 3

      I definitely hear that, at this point I think Id rather just read the sources directly i.e. Marcus Aurelius, Charles Bukwowski, etc.

    2. 1

      @ThomasMalicet any other books recommendations?

    1. 1

      It could be a tweet.
      You have a limited number of fucks so give your fucks to what really matters: family, health, friends and meaningful work. The rest doesn't deserve your fucks.

      Here, you just saved 30 bucks

  2. 2

    I would recommend reading anything by Seneca or any other notable Stoic. I think Mark Manson does a decent job in distilling down the key points of Stoicism but I think sometimes he misses the mark. However, if you are in a rush I think the book does its job.

    1. 1

      Yea I dont particularly care for people boiling down stoicism generally I think they tend to really miss the mark. Ive read a few of Ryan Holidays books and found them to be very good, also read Meditations and I have Seneca's book on my list as well.

  3. 2

    I found it to be a half-baked rediscovery of Stoicism. From that point of view, it's not worth it. Maybe the only way it's worth it is that it's a bit more "down to earth" and tied into a life we can relate to.

  4. 1

    I listened to the Blink.

    I'm glad I listened to the Blink, but I'm also glad that I just listened to the Blink.

  5. 1
    • Is there something to this book that made it so popular?
      I couldn't find it, please let me know if you could.
  6. 1

    If you keep reading you will find something of value for you. I didn't particular liked how it started. Found the information a bit rote. But it got more insightful as reading continued. I skipped some of the stories to get to the main insights.

    1. 1

      I definitely dont see it being worth the full read but getting the bullet points is what i just ended up doing.

  7. 1

    I found internalizing the message of the book to be quite easy, while I found the sequel (which had some tangent on AI) and other motivational books like "Unf*ck yourself" to be not great. YMMV.

  8. 1

    I actually bought the audiobook and it was ok. I found it motivated me for a little bit, but not so much as to light a fire🔥 under my a$$ like Gary John Bishop’s book “Unf*ck Yourself” (but it’s could have been Gary’s Irish accent though). I would say return it if it doesn’t resonate with you.

  9. 1

    I really enjoyed it, but I actually like Mark Manson's other book more, "Everything is F*cked". I would HIGHLY recommend the audiobook too. Mark narrates it, and it's good stuff.

  10. 1

    I guess I'm the outlier. For me it was very helpful to define my values and more generally who i am. It did get boring in 2/4, but then got more interesting at 3/4. My wife however found it boring, I pushed so she'd continue, and she didn't gain any value even later. So not for everyone.

  11. 1

    If you don't like the delivery it's not worth it. There are lots of books saying pretty much the same thing and this one works really well for people who like that style or delivery. The style isn't going to change much the further you read. Saying that - as someone who did like the delivery, I think it's a good book. It occasionally go back to it and read a few chapters when I start giving too many fucks and it helps centre me again.

  12. 1

    i love it. 110% one of the most influential books i've read.

Trending on Indie Hackers
How I grew a side project to 100k Unique Visitors in 7 days with 0 audience 49 comments Competing with Product Hunt: a month later 33 comments Why do you hate marketing? 29 comments My Top 20 Free Tools That I Use Everyday as an Indie Hacker 16 comments $15k revenues in <4 months as a solopreneur 14 comments Use Your Product 13 comments