Adam J. KurtzRecensioni

Maybe I'm the wrong target audience for this? I found most of the ideas and prompts were stuff I already do and had thought of long ago. Maybe best for younger audience or people less used to creative exercises?

Sem sombra de dúvidas, uma das piores coisas que eu já vi publicada...
0,5

A gentle book reminding us that we are doing the best we can and it's all right.

I have been in a creative slump, and this was suggested to me by a friend as a good source to help with motivation.
What I loved about it was that it wasn't too overly complicated. What it isn't, is a self help book that tries to hard, or takes itself too seriously. It's almost simplified, and easy to get through, yet surprisingly poignant and effective.
Kurtz writes easily, and makes the advice simple to understand and apply to yourself.
Overall I thought the book was really quite wonderful.

This short book is more of a creativity journal than a self-help book, although to be fair it does operate on both levels. It appealed to me as I walked by it in the library with its clever title -- like an obedient child, I read the exhortation "Pick Me Up" and immediately did. The handwritten font used throughout, the simple but catchy illustrations, and the couple of funny and/or inspirational quotes I read when flipping through the pages quickly made me decide to check it out and bring it home for deeper perusal.

My observation after reading this book is that it really is a better one to own than borrow if you were to use it the way its designed. The author points out that he is not a therapist but he still gives some good advice and motivational thoughts throughout the book, although these are all interspersed with some less helpful ones (more on this later).

The book appears to be used best as a continuous interaction, thus acting as a growth tool. Pages call out to be written in and drawn on by the reader. These include many useful tools like a page with various blank lines and a heading inviting the reader to "write a list of things that are bad now, then cross them off as they become irrelevant." This is a great idea to not only take stock but to also see how once seemingly insurmountable problems become obsolete over time.

On the other hand, some pages call for silly responses like a blank page that tells the reader to "draw a bath any time you need to chill" and an even more ridiculous prompt on the following page to "add bandages to this page so it doesn't fall apart." Sure, it makes the book a little bit more charming in its own weird fashion, but it doesn't really invite the reader to grow the way the other interactive pages do. Still other pages just seem like a promotion for the book itself like one that calls for writing "a thank-you note to someone you won't see again. Put in the universe with #pickmeupbook!"

Overall, I thought this was an unusual book that is definitely not your usual nonsense found in the self-help aisle. Instead of a supposed expert shoving their ideas in the reader's face, this book actually allows the reader to pause and reflect on his or her life, and then to make notes about their current state that can be revisited at a later time for further reflection and positive development. I recommend it for those who like to doodle and write out their thoughts and use them for future reference.