How Do We Know We're Doing It Right

Essays on Modern Life

By: Pandora Sykes

Narrated by: Pandora Sykes

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Modern life is full of choices. But how do we know what our best life looks like? And what if we get it wrong?

Incisive, wide-ranging and witty, How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?, explores the questions, anxieties and agendas that consume our lives. Pandora Sykes interrogates the stories we’ve been sold and the ones we tell ourselves - from happiness to wellness, womanhood to consumerism - in ways that are both surprising and reassuring. 

With insight and warmth, How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? will spark a thousand conversations and encourage us to find our own path to contentment.

©2020 Pandora Sykes (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Accent too posh but damn good book

Terribly posh accent but stick with it as it’s a damn good book.. well done Pandy but someone else to read it please.

good with a few buts:)

I had to come back and update my review as the first time I didn't do the book justice.
The beginning is rather lengthy and feels a bit like an annual report on the current state of retail on the high street of Britain.
Luckily the listen gets more engaging further into the chapters and raises interesting questions about how our lives are impacted by social media, the pressures associated with current lifestyle and hyper mediated world.
Quite a good listen though at times would perhaps prefer an actress to read as the performance is a bit stiff at times.
Interesting enough content though.

Not very exciting

This book doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know. It is a chatty magazine style book littered with pop references which won’t date well (there’s a whole section where she basically lists online clothing retailers 🤷‍♀️). The narration is also a little over the top, she reads it as though it’s a magical tale of fiction, aided by the string of unnecessary adjectives she is so fond of. Not as good as I’d hoped, sorry.

Disappointing

Most of this book is summaries of other books, shows and trends. No real insight into Pandora’s life or experiences, there are some snippets but not much which makes me think her life and experiences aren’t really book worthy (I’m nearly the same age as her, no one wants to read a story about my life either!). I love Pandora on the high low and have enjoyed her journalism but this was just not good. The only good thing I got from this book was recommendations for other things to read. Perhaps this work would have been better as columns about millennial women, trends etc

So pleased I got the audio book!

Really loved listening to Pandora. The essays are well researched and really interesting. It's funny and relatable. Made me feel better that I'm not doing it right and the format lends itself superbly to audio book. Feels like you're having a chat with your friend.

Unoriginal and Inconclusive

Love the High Low and was surprised to find out this is just an extended version of Pandora’s commentary on other people’s work, rather than any original thought. Summarising an interesting observation (Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror for E.G) and including your own reflection of it with a life example shouldn’t warrant a full audiobook.

Great insight into modern life’s questions

Pandora analyses and questions modern life’s confusion in a clever and fabulously articulated manner. Love !

A must read !!!!!

A brilliant book. So articulate and well written. The perfect reminder to not get so sucked in to the currents of societies pressures. I will be recommending to all my friends

Absolutely fantastic!!

Absolutely loved this. Pandora nails the whole modern life struggles and dives deep into the issues we face today as millennials. I was hooked on this book from the start.
Pandora is a joy to listen to as well, I must disagree with the other listener who called her "too posh", she's definitely not posh, just articulate with her words.

You are not insane 😂

This book is just lovely, so many points are so relatable and knowing that others think this way is an excellent form of millennial therapy ❤️ How Pandora writes is full of her personality, really is a joy to listen too.