Customer Reviews

The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Let me start by acknowledging that I could not finish the book. The expectations that the author raises are very high. By the fifth chapter, we are told the same thing zillions of times: you can slow down and make your life more enjoyable. Repeat, repeat, going nowhere. The premise that you can think about remodeling your life the same way you can a house looks preposterous at first, but it is one most of us can relate to and I though it would work. Unfortunately the book does not deliver. It is full of anecdotes from the author's life, with very little "universal" advice, i.e. advice most can relate to. I pushed myself to read, as I am about to make a move from a big life to a not so big one. Unfortunately the chapter on interpretation of (sleeping) dreams did it. It devalued the whole book for me. Her dream may be reasonable to her, but the use of a dream to make an obscure point and her convoluted and personal interpretation made me think that I was no longer reading a serious book.

I've thoroughly enjoyed Susanka's shelter books, but I'm beginning to think she must have had a heck of a ghostwriter and editor for them. This book's premise is good, but actually trying to get through it is another matter. Ponderous, tedious, just plain boring, all come to mind. Save your time and money. If you want to simplify your life, go clean out a couple of closets instead.

I LOVE the Not So Big House books - I have purchased all of them. I saw "The Not So Big Life" at our public library and took it home, and am I glad I borrowed and didn't purchase it. I enjoy the writing style and outlook of her architectural style books, but unfortunately this book is lacking in practical method in simplifying your life, which is what I expected from the title. It makes annoying assumptions that the reader has the luxury (as obviously the author has) to step back from the real world. Making copious lists of life experiences and their effect on my psyche doesn't do it for me. I tried several times to read it from the beginning, to "flip through," to try and find chapters that applied to me, with no luck. Some reviewers say the book worked for them, but I highly encourage you to check it out at your local library before placing your order.

Susanka creates a life for herself with the insight of the sensitive architect that she is. Recommending a notebook to collect thoughts, she instructs the reader go through exercises that will assist him/her with making changes and improving their existance. Take the time to read this book...it is enjoyable, well executed and will make you look at things differently. I recommend this for all ages, teenage, middle-age and older.

I just couldn't get into this book. I bought on the recommendation of a friend, but it's just not for me. I couldn't get past the constant previewing. The author is continually telling me how great things will be once I've read the book and done whatever it is she wants me to do. But the prose style is turgid and she takes forever to get anywhere. And then she just seems to want to me make lists. But I guess if I knew what to put in these lists, I wouldn't "need" this book in the first place. Pass.

This is such a beautiful book and comes at the perfect time for me... I am an executive with tons to do and frankly I have lost touch with what is really important to me... this book reminds me and gives me tools to make small shifts in my day and my thinking to bring in the much needed fresh air!

I got this book from a friend who knows how VERY much I enjoy Susanka's Not So Big House books. I also love reading books about how to improve myself and my life, so this seemed at first glance like it'd be perfect for me.

Unfortunately, since I have read a few self-improvement books, I didn't find anything truly new and helpful here. I appreciate that Susanka is trying to draw in an audience that might not normally buy self-help books, but her writing pace here is slow, lacks passion, and didn't get me fired up to do even the things that I already thought were a good idea. (I think a good editor might have made all the difference here, unfortunately the editor didn't edit much.)

Don't get me wrong, the book is not without value; but for me, growing up with a new-age mom, excited all my life about reading books that help me make the most of myself - I didn't find anything truly new here, and it wasn't presented in a fashion that made up for its lack of newness.

At the end of the book I had three bookmarks in it - one for a quote that showed the importance of our surroundings to our inner life, and two for points that Susanka made that I felt were new takes on old subjects. But overall, I didn't get the cover price in value out of this. Not that I am bitter, the Not So Big House book that I own is falling apart at the seams from use, so I owe the author a debt of gratitude there.

Susanka has written an accessible and logical book outlining how to begin to really know yourself. "The Not So Big Life" is full of practical wisdom that everyone can put to use to create for themselves a richer and more rewarding inner life. If you believe that life is a journey of personal evolution, you will love this book!

There are actually some interesting and helpful ideas in this book. But I found the author's naivety and arrogance quite off-putting. She seems to think that everyone should follow the same steps she has taken on her own quite recent spiritual path in order to utterly transform one's life. She draws heavily on the Buddhist principles of mindfulness and meditation but presents these ideas almost as if she was the first one to discover them. Otherwise, it's a hodgepodge of her own various tools and insights, such as a simplified presentation of dream analysis and various kinds of visualization. So read it if you're interested in knowing what has worked for her; but beware that the premise of the book is that what worked for her should be a blueprint for everyone else.

I've read self help books, anti-clutter books, the meaning of life books, how to take control of everything books. Sarah sensibly and sensitively directs our attention from what we think the problem is to the source of the solution that is not as apparent as it may seem. I enjoyed the simple exercises that are, yes, all about me. In particular, her take on love is stunning.