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Give It Up!: My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less
"Would it be possible to live without the designer coffee, the Kate Spade Bags, the technology that was a part of my every day existence? Could stripping away some of those items and habits make me a appreciate what I was so fortunate to have? I created a plan. Each month for one year, I would choose one of my favorite things and give it up cold turkey for one month. This...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
December 27th 2005
by William Morrow
(first published 2005)
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Ugh.. why did I buy this book? It seemed like such an interesting concept. The author wrote about her experiences with giving up one thing a month (such as alcohol, chocolate, etc) and supposedly how it changed her life. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst books I've ever read. The author came across as shallow and uninteresting. Her sacrifices weren't all that detrimental, but she certainly acted as though they were. And then, at the end, there was no lasting change whatsoever - all of the...more
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Okay, so this book had a very interesting premise. I like the idea of trying to live without something for a while. I honestly cannot imagine my life without tv, chocolate, or diet coke (diet dr. pepper as of late). However because there's 150 or so pages and 12 sections (one for each month) there's just not enough depth into anything. And some of the sections seemed pointless--like when she gave up chocolate...she regretted doing it and swore she wouldn't do it again. Well, that makes me really...more
Jul 27, 2008
Dixie Diamond
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those who live according to the gospel of Cosmo
Shelves:
economy,
borrowed_books
I'm still waiting for a book on economizing and simplifying that's written by a normal human and not by Shopaholic Barbie.
The immaturity, lack of reflection, and consumer-sheep mentality of this woman (and all her friends who were skeptical of her motives and sanity) is just amazing. Amazing, also, is the wasting of money. If I made what she does, I could retire at 50.
Mercifully, this sucker is short. Giving up your cell phone is not automatically simplification. Not talking on it for hours abou...more
The immaturity, lack of reflection, and consumer-sheep mentality of this woman (and all her friends who were skeptical of her motives and sanity) is just amazing. Amazing, also, is the wasting of money. If I made what she does, I could retire at 50.
Mercifully, this sucker is short. Giving up your cell phone is not automatically simplification. Not talking on it for hours abou...more
This would have been awesome to read when I was 24. Most of the inner debate she had was one of a 20something who really hasn't grown into her life yet.
That being said, I really like the premise and the exercise involved. I think we could all benefit from this type of exercise. We all have things in our lives that are unnecessary that we could stand to give up for our health and our wallets.
Glad I grabbed this at the library, but you could also just read through it in the bookstore, as it is a q...more
That being said, I really like the premise and the exercise involved. I think we could all benefit from this type of exercise. We all have things in our lives that are unnecessary that we could stand to give up for our health and our wallets.
Glad I grabbed this at the library, but you could also just read through it in the bookstore, as it is a q...more
I agree with some of the (negative) reviewers' comments on this book. The idea is good, but I was expecting some kind of transformation. It seems like the author learned something each month, but it certainly wasn't something that would change her life much. I imagine after this year, the author's lifestyle changed a little: she probably took the stairs more, took fewer taxis, maybe shopped a little more responsibly, but overall I was just expecting something more. It was almost like the author...more
This was recommended to me by my stepmom. It was a quick read, as it's less than 200 pages and a small book (in actual size). The author gave up 1 thing a month that she LOVED! The thing I liked most about it was that I discovered I really don't have that much stuff that would affect my life as much as it did hers. For example it wouldn't greatly affect my life if I gave up alcohol, shopping, eating out, coffee or elevators...for a month or longer. The one thing she didn't give up that would be...more
A good fast read and very inspirational. I don't need to work on many of the things Mary did (we all have our different habits) but nevertheless, this book inspired me to make a list and give up my own habitual stuff for a month (or maybe more) at a time. I'm already on my program. I highly recommend this book as a motivator.
I liked the chapter on elevators. I may try to do that. I could not relate to her cellphone chapter, though. I am never on my phone and cannot understand people who are cons...more
I liked the chapter on elevators. I may try to do that. I could not relate to her cellphone chapter, though. I am never on my phone and cannot understand people who are cons...more
Before I opened the book, I'd thought Carlomagno's focus would be along the lines of Suze Orman-like advice - saving significant money by removing lots of "little things" from one's routine. There is that in certain essays (dining out, taking cabs, etc.), but the main focus of examining how these features (for lack of a better term) came to take on such a place in her life makes the book unique. She uses each month as an effective Time Out to re-center herself in that area, rather than a self-co...more
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At first I was terribly annoyed by this author. She seemed spoiled and superficial and not all that interesting. The chapters were at least short and pretty easy to get through, which made it more bearable. Had the book been any longer I would have been bored. Initially she seemed like a wannabe SJP, and a spoiled brat with too much time and money on her hands. Once the book progressed, though, she developed her personality within her writing a bit more, so she became more likable; and the chapt...more
I had already read this, but it was prior to documenting everything on Goodreads, so I decided to read it again, since the first time I read it in one sitting (if I remember correctly). Now it's a pretty rad concept, and for that I have to give it 3 stars. The author decides to do basically a year long lent project and give up one extremely important thing every month. It ranges from cell phones, to using a taxi, to swearing to chocolate. Now this concept had quite the potential, it could have t...more
I thought this book would be an interesting exploration of living well with less. Most people know their bad habits and would want to try changing something that isn't good for them or change something to enhance their life. The author chose some interesting things to give up when knowing full well she won't permanently give up chocolate or coffee because those are things in her life that really make her happy. It wasn't about a full life it was more about avoidance for 30 days.
I thought the ide...more
I thought the ide...more
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Funny that I would find this book right before Lent begins, for starters. From the introduction, "Raised as a Catholic, I was required to observe Lent by sacrificing something that was dear to honor our faith." OK, so maybe she doesn't have her theology down pat, but, you get the idea. Her biggest problem (in her opinion) was a shopping compulsion...so she gives up shopping during the shortest month of the year, as she figured it would even harder to do in the other months. Carlomagno gives up o...more
This was definitely a memoir more than a how to minimalistic guide. The stories were cute, but I just couldn't relate to a lot of them. It's hard for me to review this without being critical of the author, which isn't warranted - the things she gave up were totally luxuries, and hedonistic ones. Many martinis and gossiping with friends, 3 trips to the coffee shop for lattes, $50 cab rides, swearing, giving up eating out all the time and learning to cook. My lifestyle financially would not be abl...more
Most of the other negative reviews have clearly stated what I found cringe-worthy about this book. The author doesn't really give anything up - rather, she spends 12 months sacrifice one thing at a time to explore how much she misses her favorite things. And when she says 'sacrifice' that usually means finding a substitute, mooching off of others, or feeling morally superior for living without some completely unneccesary luxury for a couple weeks. No great revelations here. This strikes me as a...more
This book is a very quick read, and I read it purely for amusement. Initially, I leaped over the chapters that did not interest me in favor of the items she was giving up that I could not imagine living without: Cell phones, Chocolate and Multitasking. This inspired me to ultimately go back and pick up the other chapters. I feel like I already live such a simple life compared to her and I was amazed that she gains a new insight about the role these things play in her life, but she concludes to g...more
I loved the premise of this book: to...eliminate unnecessary facets of life, in essence to determine what I could live without...and to create an appreciation for everything I was already so fortunate to have."
The author wrote: "The biggest lesson of all was not about what I had given up, but what I had gained."
There was not a lot of depth to this book, but I did come away with some ideas for simplifying my life and to guarantee as Thoreau said that: "when I come to die, discover that I had not...more
The author wrote: "The biggest lesson of all was not about what I had given up, but what I had gained."
There was not a lot of depth to this book, but I did come away with some ideas for simplifying my life and to guarantee as Thoreau said that: "when I come to die, discover that I had not...more
What a crappy book. A brilliant idea taken and ruined by a shallow author who learned next to nothing from her experiment. How hard is it to really give up buying shoes for a month? Seriously. LAME.
Take the content found in an average issue of Real Simple, drain away most of the common sense, and throw in a wannabe-Sex in the City lifestyle and you'd have this book. The author gives up one thing per month (ranging from coffee to chocolate) to learn about "living better with less" but she only manages to draw the most shallow of conclusions from her thought experiment. And I don't think most people will be able to relate with her particular lifestyle. For example, one of her particular chal...more
I hardly ever give up on a book, but this one was unbearable. The author comes across as a cliched UES sorority girl - obsessed with shoes, chocolate, shopping, martinis (should I be thankful that they weren't Cosmos?). I couldn't relate. I started reading this because she was scheduled to speak to the Women's Leadership group at work, but I canceled my attendance after reading the first few chapters. The "give something up for a time period" trope has been done better elsewhere.
I was really wanting to like this book. The author spends a month doing without one of her attachments in life, from alcohol in January to multitasking in December. But I felt like it was more of a game with her, because at the end of the month, she resumed her habit and went on to a new thing to avoid for the next month. Sure, she philosophizes and makes noises about all the good it's done here to do without shopping for a month, but it all felt like an exercise for a college class and not a re...more
She gives up a luxury item (Starbucks, cell phone, etc) for one month to better her life. Not just a step-by-step of how she dealt with the changes, but more of what she came to realize each means to the overall population, to society. It explored aspects of our daily lives many take for granted and no longer consider in any form. Provides a fresh perspective that we can all learn some easy and simple lessons from that should be givens.
This book was nice for it's easy and quick readability, but it really felt like the author just threw it together. The idea of giving something up each month is a good concept but the input and emotion really were missing. The author never really let's you into what she felt or how things went, the book all feels like a summary as opposed to a full story. It is missing an emotional connection and you walk away feeling a little disappointed.
I'd heard of this book from comments on a blog where the blogger had decided to not purchase anything unnecessary during this year.
Carlomagno, the author, chose to give up 12 of her comforts (one per month) during a year. Sort of like Lent. And it really did help her to change her life. After each month, she was able to again have what she had sacrificed -- but she did learn a lot about herself each month. And, after each month, she is able to find that she can live without as much of what she h...more
Carlomagno, the author, chose to give up 12 of her comforts (one per month) during a year. Sort of like Lent. And it really did help her to change her life. After each month, she was able to again have what she had sacrificed -- but she did learn a lot about herself each month. And, after each month, she is able to find that she can live without as much of what she h...more
I found this book simple. I could have gotten just as much information had she given me a list of items she gave up. She had no particular insights other than intentionality. Since many of my goodreads friends have JVC connections, we already got this and on a much deeper level. Don't bother with this one. I'm sure this book will mean more and will be eyeopening to those that have not spent any time already exploring intention. It is a great concept and has changed my life, this book is meant fo...more
Despite quite a few poor reviews, I liked this book. Yes, it's short, the ending is abrupt, the "aha!" moment you expect at the end never comes, but taking the book for what it is: one woman's story of sacrificing something each month, it has merit. The author doesn't beat the reader over the head with her life-changing epiphanies but who needs that anyway? It's inspired me to weed/pare down areas in my own life and that really is the point.
This book is not very good. I actually could not finish it. The premise is the author gives something up every month: booze, chocolate, cell phone, etc. The book lacks any real analysis of the consumerist culture and she ends up cheating or just waiting until the next month. I recommend passing it up. This type of experiment may have been revolutionary in 2005, but it pretty common and a lot of people do it better now.
This was a book about giving something up each month that could help the author, kinda like lent and giving something up to help you with Jesus. I though this book was okay but it's nothing I would like to read again. It was boring and not very interesting, though I did like the concept of what she was doing and may try it myself with different topics. I would not recommend this book to other.
The idea of giving up something for a full month is a good one. The author lives in New York, is single and is much younger than I am, so the things she gave up are many that I can't relate to, for example taxis, yet I could understand the challenge giving up taxis presented. I have been mentally putting together a list of 12 things to challenge myself with in 2012.
The longer I read this book, the more I realized that this
lady is in real trouble. She drinks enormous amounts of alcohol and
coffee, watches tv for thousands of hours a year, eats out all the
time, and talks constantly on her cell phone. From a simple
lifestyle point of view, she needs to do way more than give up
things for a mere month.
lady is in real trouble. She drinks enormous amounts of alcohol and
coffee, watches tv for thousands of hours a year, eats out all the
time, and talks constantly on her cell phone. From a simple
lifestyle point of view, she needs to do way more than give up
things for a mere month.
Should have listened to the reviews--the negative ones. Didn't really care for the book, but it was ok. The author decides to give up one thing each month. She gives it up, obsesses over it, then goes right back to whatever she gave up. I really don't think she learned much from it, nor changed her habits. I'm glad this was a borrowed book & that I didn't buy it.
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