The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

By: Mark Manson

Narrated by: Roger Wayne

Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be positive all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people. 

For decades we've been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F*ck positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let's be honest, shit is f*cked, and we have to live with it." In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn't sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is - a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is his antidote to the coddling, let's-all-feel-good mind-set that has infected modern society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up. 

Manson makes the argument, backed by both academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited - "not everybody can be extraordinary; there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault". Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek. 

There are only so many things we can give a f*ck about, so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives. 

©2016 Mark Manson (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

EXTREMELY bizarre ending. Spoiler alert

The book starts off great in some banter and stories, the word 'fuck' is thrown around making Mark Manson ultra relatable. The middle is the usual content of self reflection/ self help. -You are part of your problem. It's a refreshing reminder to reevaluate your own thoughts.
SPOILER ALERT
The last chapter is a confusing near suicide attempt? The book ends with him speaking of how he inched closer and closer the the edge of a cliff and sat on the edge asking himself "if this is really it, if this is all there is?"
His senses and body take over ultimately grounding him back in reality and leaves him feeling "alive" and hopeful. Not my idea of how to end a self help book. I understand the last words are hopeful but the last 10 minutes literally put you on the edge of cliff "taking microsteps" inching closer until your legs are dangling over the edge.... rather an inappropriate ending for people that had just invested hours and dollars into self help. I really liked the book up until the last chapter. The last chapter has completely distracted me from the over all message. I dont think I'd recommend although there were several spots I bookmarked and made notes. Wont be buying his other book.

Its really directed at frustrated young men.

This book is very much directed at and written for angry/frustrated young males and that type of that demographic. It's deliberately not clear in the title or outer cover. So its a waste of money for the rest of us because its clearly written with the kinds of narrative and concepts that would be important to mostly young men or men who "want to feel young". Buddist concepts as well as thoughts on prioritizing or eliminating feelings, things, goals and people unless they truly matter are repeated over and over, The book has some concepts that were good in that they encourage emotional balance in cases where an individual may be overloading themselves. However, it seems like he's encouraging the reader to constrict in social/emotional growth and relationship maturity in many important ways by radical avoidance as oppose to thoughtful selection. I find the advise therein limited in a long term and practical use even for the selected demographic. So, it seems shallow and very casual in terms of encouraging truly life altering change.

I can't finish this

This book just goes around and around in circles, If there's a point, I am halfway through and don't care if I ever find out what it is.

Consider the source

A Millennial born into wealth understands the average person's hardships (his parents got divorced and he got caught with pot at school) and dispenses advice how to live while talking about his sexual exploits and travel adventures in 55 countries. Enjoy the substance! Great narrarator, though.

Could have been a good book

While reading the title I was quite appealed by this book, unfortunately its substance did not follow up.
The introduction is really good and very eyes-opening which got me very hyped. However, after barely one hour read I gave up due to the flood of (very long) anecdotes which has totally drown my interest.
For a counter-intuitive approach, the book is processing in the most standard (if not over-utilized) way like any self-help book out there.
If you have plenty of time listening to over-detailed stories then it might be your book. On the other hand, if you are more pragmatic and a "straight-to-the-point" reader like me it will require much more courage to focus and find pleasure in your reading/listening.

Not what I expected

Thought I was going to get something that would inspire me. Did not at all.

Neo-Stoicism

Many people cannot look their dark side directly in the face. So, let them continue to suffer. There are Stoics who sound less dark in their presentatko. Still the concepts are in essence the same. Look into Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus for further examples of Stoicism

Simply Awful Bro-Philosophy

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A (well) thought out argument would have been nice.

Would you ever listen to anything by Mark Manson again?

No

What does Roger Wayne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Seems to make an unreadable book somewhat listenable. He adds a sense of credibility where there isn't any.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck?

Anything but the first chapter. Everything else is absolutely worthless and cheap drivel.

Any additional comments?

This is essentially the most mindless book I have listened to. He takes a simple concept and explains countless ways while beating his already weak horse into a pulp. The preview of the book is literally all you need to understand the whole "concept" of Manson's garbage philosophy. He ridicules self help books despite the fact he has written a terrible yet, ''edgy" one. Save your time and money and skip this.

Perspective-shifter!

This is an amazing book for those who are ready to listen to cold, hard truths that have the capacity to shift your perspective. Read this if you're ready to elevate! 🌻

Good Story, Not Breaking New Territory Though.

The narrator is great but it seemed to me like the lessons and insight faded pretty quickly after Chapter Two. There are no practical lessons or action items here, just a long editorial on the meaning(lessness} of life. It was good but there are definitely better options for your money. Maybe start with "The Four Agreements", for example.

80% filler

Initially I thought this book was superb. An interesting take on analysing oneself, sharp humour, a breath of fresh air.
But then about 20% of the way into this it is abundantly clear there is no substance. As soon as the humour thins out and the author starts going into lecture mode he’s out of his depth. Very simple anecdotes that have been heard in various guises many times over. Then it seems to turn into a platform solely for the author to constantly tell us how many sexual conquests he has supposedly had. Most people know the psychology behind that.
It took so much effort to try and get through this increasingly mundane and narcissistic book but I finally gave up when the author made himself out to be some sort of holier-than-thou deity because... he’s so honest. So honest that he doesn't refrain from telling his wife if she doesn't look good before nights out, resulting in her storming off in obscenity laden huffs. What amazingly profound, deep and admirable people. But most of all...honest.
I was thinking about stating what a rip off this book is, then it dawned on me - I bought a book that clearly states on its cover, in no uncertain terms, that you shouldn’t care about anything. What a mug I am! This guy is really funny.

This is a horrible book.

This book is dreadful. It has no soul. Just a load of nonsense sewn together with even more swearwords. Boring and uninspiring- a waste of a credit.

Complete overrated

Another shallow self help help book. Nothing special on this one. Its actually quite the opposite.

The word fuck has been burnt into my eardrums

This audiobook would’ve been alright if the word fuck wasn’t repeated literally 5 times in every sentence. I consider myself a pretty liberal person, and maybe it was just the annoying American accent, but it feels like using fuck constantly was just a way to make up the word count. This audiobook has no substance, the narrator is annoying, and the author comes across like a massive knob pretending to be down to earth. It’s not funny or enlightening - don’t download.

Terrible, lazy, uninformed.

Author somehow put a big long rant into chapters and called it a book. So many mistakes . Was there any editing at all? Waste of money. 1 star because I had to give at least 1.

Below average, basically a simplistic view on stoicism

Really?? I gave it 2 stars as far play he wrote it, but this isn’t new at all, he’s basically handed in someone else’s homework...

That’s a credit I’ll never get back... the narrator was fine, easy to listen too.

The actually content of the book is average at best, I can’t think for the life of me why it’s received so many 5 stars, it’s not new or revolutionary, it’s basically rehashed stoicism theory with a load of bland personal stories trying to back up the points..

Personally there are better books, I listened it to see what the hype was about, now I wish I’d saved the credit for something more interesting... that’s my personal take on it..

First half interesting, second half meh

The first part of the book, with its slight over use of vulgar language, gives a different perspective on how to approach life. I liked the description of where best to place your "f**ks to give".

Unfortunately the second half of the book descends into waffle about the authors life experiences, which are not particularly interesting.

Awful narrator

The book contains many self praising statements and anecdotes where the author glorifies himself to sometimes cringeworthy levels, but the message is agreeable. The book could have the same effect as a 20 page essay, most of it seems to be filler and personal anecdotes.

What absolutely ruins the experience is the narrator. With the most condescending voice, he emphasises curse words like an edgy teen like the rest of a sebt and mimics the voices of women in falsetto

Odd

After scintillating start, I found it developed into a collection of uncorrelated ramblings . I hoped for instruction and less observation. Maybe I'm missing the point.

Just ok

There are a couple of good points in this book and it is funny sometimes, but there is nothing new and I got bored by the end.