When he discovered that he had only six months to live, thirty-year-old Kevin Bates picked up his pen and wrote The Manual—advice for his five-year-old daughter, Lois, to live by, laugh at, and follow from twelve until thirty. Seven years later, when Lois is given The Manual, she can barely bring herself to read her father's words, the pain of his loss is still so raw. Yet soon Kevin's advice is guiding her through every stage of life from teen angst to career arcs, to knowing when she's at long last met "the one." While The Manual can never be a substitute for having Kevin back, the words left behind become Lois's steady support through all of life's ups and downs, and prove invaluable to unlocking the key to happiness.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Brit counselor Jaye offers a self-help manual dressed up as fiction in her debut. Lois's father, Kevin, died when she was five. Seven years later, she receives a book from Auntie Philomena on the day her mother remarries. The book, The Manual, is by her father and is chock-full of his advice for Lois, to be read one chapter per year, on her birthday. A list of seven rules includes a warning for Lois to not skip ahead, and she takes her dad's advice to heart, savoring the entries, the vast majority of which consist largely of standard self-help fare ( Tomorrow's not guaranteed, so live today; allow yourself the chance to really feel), while enduring the vicissitudes of life. It's decent if bland in its earnestness, and will likely find a place on more than a few bookshelves between Kübler-Ross and The Last Lecture. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Curl up and read immediately…a real tearjerker. After reading this, I felt that every parent should write a manual for their kids, a book of good memories or advice. The book is a reflection of the unconditional love parents have for their children.” (The Herald (South Africa) )
“A lovely, exuberant tearjerker of a book, perfect for curling up with on a wet afternoon.” (Lisa Jewell )
“A stunning debut.” (Pride, UK )
“A thought-provoking, lovely tale that will make you laugh and cry.” (The Sun, UK )
“Filled with useful advice on coping with the ups and downs of life…This is a heartwarming tale of the power of father-daughter love.” (Prima )
“A lovely, exuberant tearjerker of a book, perfect for curling up with on a wet afternoon.” (Lisa Jewell )
“A stunning debut.” (Pride, UK )
“A thought-provoking, lovely tale that will make you laugh and cry.” (The Sun, UK )
“Filled with useful advice on coping with the ups and downs of life…This is a heartwarming tale of the power of father-daughter love.” (Prima )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Life's Manual,
By The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews
This review is from: By the Time You Read This (Paperback)
Kevin Bates has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to leave his five year old daughter, Lois a gift of his thoughts and advice about life in a journal he entitles, The Manual. Seven years later, Lois receives The Manual. She's excited about her gift and especially values that it's from her father. When she begins reading, she learns her father has set a few rules. She can only read entries every year on her birthday, she's not able to read future entries and she can only refer to entries that have already been read. Year after year, Lois reads the new entries and she learns and cherishes the lessons her father has left her.
BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS is the debut novel by Lola Jaye. She spins an emotional story about an unconventional relationship between father and daughter. The character's thoughts were brought to life with depth and reality. A read that will have you wondering what you would do if you were in the same situation. Reviewed by Jaime L. Lincoln of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE Tearjerker of the year!,
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This review is from: By the Time You Read This (Paperback)
This book was great. It captures the amazing connection between father and daughter in a tender and believable way. The characters are well developed and the storyline is clear and easy to follow. I cried many times while reading this but they were happy tears because I felt such a connection to the characters. A+ recommendation.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What a selfish brat Lola was but the story is just ok.,
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This review is from: By the Time You Read This (Paperback)
When 30 year old Kevin Bates is diagnosed with a terminal illness he decides to write some advice for his then 5 year old daughter, Lola, to be given to her when she turns 12 covering the years until the year she turns 30, coined The Manual. The Manual is given to Lola when she is 12 and she couldn't be more excited to have something from her dad. The Manual comes with rules: Lola is to only read one chapter a year on her birthday; she cannot read ahead. She can refer back to previously read chapters at any point. There are many miscellaneous advice sections that she can read at any time that the topic is brought up in her life.The books follows Lola from the day she gets her Manual until her 30th birthday and last entry her father has written her. It sounds like it could be pretty emotional right?? Well, I hate to tell you this, but it didn't tug at my heartstrings. Yes I liked the story and seeing Lola grow up and mature with the help of her father's advice. However, Lola wasn't a very likeable character for me. She was OBSESSED with the manual. It was actually kind of creepy. I could also see where her obsession with the Manual and her dad's advice was having bad effects on her life. There wasn't a man alive who could be as perfect as her dad, so she self-destructed any relationship she was in. No man could stand anywhere close to the pedestal she had her dad on in her mind. Lola was very closed off with very few friends. Only 1 close friend, Carla, who grew up next door to her stuck with her the entire story. She took his advice to the extreme which, like I said, had adverse effects on her life. She was extremely distant from her mother when she remarried and then had a baby. I was very annoyed when Lola never mentioned the name of her stepfather or sister until the end. Throughout the story she referred to him as Bingo Caller and to her sister as The Sprog. What the hell? She was even told in the Manual to accept if her mom got remarried and to accept and love any new siblings. She was just plain selfish. When she finally got to the last chapter, I found myself kind of happy that this was it and maybe she could finally learn to be her own woman and change her ways. One other thing that annoyed me was her friend Corey constantly calling her "Lo-Bag". That was the main reason that I tagged this as young adult. It was just so immature and he continued calling her this into adulthood. But I have to say that I struggled to finish. It wasn't painful and I didn't find myself wishing it were just over, other than the Manual to be over. I mainly found myself annoyed at her selfish and self-destructive behavior. I am only going to give this 2 stars because it really isn't a great story and the writing is very simple and plain. Extra- In my review I said I gave it 2 stars, but that review was also written for Goodreads.com. There a 2 star review is "it's ok". On Amazon a 2 star review is "didn't like it". So on Amazon I upped my review to 3 stars because I do think the book was ok and I don't want to go so far as to say I didn't like it. It was really just ok.
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