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Nov 11, 2011

Zjourney rated it:

What mixed bag! I thought I'd never get through it. Finally I just gave in & let the words wash by, whether I registered them or not. There a lot of good stuff in it, most excellent Rumi quotes - - & also just a lot of stuff.

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Feb 14, 2010

Tryn rated it:

The Not So Big Life makes my list of top 10 self-help books. Susanka develops an extended architectural metaphor for remodeling your life. Her advice is simple but not easy: slow down, do one thing at a time, be present in your own life by asking yourself "What is now?" every fifteen minutes. I need these reminders because there is constant pressure in my life to get more done in a day, multi-task, and keep a running to do list in my head instead of enjoying the task I'm actually d More...

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Jan 09, 2009

Elissa rated it:

This is my crunchy granola book for the year. Right now it's the right book for me in terms of reconnecting with myself and figuring out what I want and need out of life to make myself happy. The book is very clearly written and Susanka has a very calming voice that I enjoyed. Her work as an architect serves her well in creating dynamic visuals for the concepts she's discussing.

I've finished reading the book, but intend to go back to it throughout the year to complete the various More...

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Apr 06, 2010

Nicole rated it:

It's fine, but really there isn't much information here that you can't find in better self-help books. Her architecture metaphors are cute, but don't necessarily add to the message. I don't think the worksheets she has you do are all that helpful just because they don't:
- cause you take action
- provide any discussion when you're finished (other than your own)
Really, what is the point of spending 20 minutes filling out a worksheet on your preferences if there aren't follow up q More...

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Jul 22, 2008

Lisa rated it:

Sarah Susanka uses the metaphor of remodeling your house to remodeling your life. She's a famous architect who has written many books about remodeling. The lessons she has learned about life and space and a well lived life are encorporated into the book as well as many personal stories. There are so many things in this book that resonate with me. So many brilliant concepts. The book is so rich for finding the real meaning in life. In doing some of the exercises she asks you to do I found More...

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Mar 31, 2008

Martha rated it:

I’ve thought a lot about writing a spiritual memoir: telling about my spiritual path and sharing insights. Now I don’t need to! This book is categorized as a how-to book, but the memoir aspect of it is what makes it so accessible. The principles she writes about are identical to the ones we work with in our yoga practice, so if you’re looking for a way to ‘make room for what really matters’ in your busy life, this book is wonderful.

I could write reams about my experience reading this b More...

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Oct 13, 2007

Laura rated it:

I think I've only read a very small handful of self help books in my life, and I have a bit of an aversion to their format. They start out telling you about the problem, then move on to an overview telling you how they will teach you how to overcome it (but not actually telling you anything yet, just that they WILL tell you). The next step always seems so flimsy, where they actually tell you the secret of life, the universe, and everything. Or whatever it was they promised you. Only it's usu More...

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May 08, 2007

Kathryn rated it:

okay. If you know me, you know that it is RARE that I cant finish a book, once Ive started reading it. This one was so painful, I had to stop reading at chapter two.

Uh, kind of a no brainer, but architects do not make good self-help pseudo-psychologist gurus.

I am totally a member of the susanka architectural cult... Ive completely bought into the environmental psychology of placemaking and the importance of structuring your home properly to maximize the quality of domes More...

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Oct 29, 2010

sleeps9hours rated it:

Odd for an architect to make a move into self-help and this book demonstrates why. She seemed to believe that successfully working with people to create a beautiful living space was analogous to being a great life coach or therapist. Not so. She is far out of her element and strains to attach architectural metaphors to all aspects of life. More interesting if seen as a view into Susanka's personal ideology. Although this was a disappointment, her Not So Big architecture books are great!

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Dec 13, 2008

Annieb rated it:

Much like any self-help book, the key is to change one's own attitude. Susanka uses an interesting metaphor of a house remodeling (she is an architect) and she provides a step by step template which could be helpful. Very "Buddhist" -- her main ideas involve creating a "watcher" to recognize and think about reactive life patterns and incorporating daily meditation. Repetitiveness and overgeneralizations were sometimes annoying, but the acknowledgment of the difficulty and More...

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Apr 26, 2011

Kelly rated it:

Good questions and exercises if you actually follow through on what she is asking you to think about and change. Nothing groundbreaking and earth shattering but her suggestions all come at a good time for me. Made me think about my routines and changing my perspective with some homework to put those changes into effect. Didn't think the book was that well written - a bit too rambling and disjointed for people who are looking to shift how they think about time. The rambling parts made it a bit mo More...

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Jan 31, 2012

David rated it:

Self-help advice you've quite likely come across before (slow down, do one thing at a time, focus on what really matters to you, accumulating lots of stuff probably won't fulfill you spiritually...) presented via metaphor of remodeling a house as she does in her work as an architect. At first this is somewhat engaging (clutter in the house is like clutter in your schedule.......), but it gets old quickly.

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Aug 11, 2011

Kathy rated it:

Had never heard of this but stumbled on it at the library and the title spoke to me. Wow so did the book. this is a great book about getting your life priorities worked out and making your life what you want it to be. So much of what we fill our lives with is fluff. This book helps you get rid of the age old excuse (I don't have enought time) and make time for what gives your life meaning.

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Dec 20, 2010

Rachel added it

This is a book I'm only having success with slowly. I've found that if I flip through and let one sentence grab my eye - then I can zero in on that sentence or paragraph - then spread forward and backward a few pages or even a chapter. I think I'm just getting used to the didactic tone and once it jars less, I'll be able to take and practice and learn and soak up the goodness here. For now, I just have to take it slow or I'll wind up avaiding the book's judgement of me and my lifestyle. (Which i More...

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Dec 05, 2011

Jenny rated it:

Very well written-like so many of Susanka's books but this particular one is so methodical and dense in self evaluation without pointing you to direction afterwards that I just skimmed it to finish. If you are really, really lost and have a lot of time on your hands this book might feed your soul in thinking about the space you live in. Otherwise search for another title.

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Apr 04, 2011

Marjanne rated it:

So technically I only ready about 80 pages of this book. It was doing nothing for me. I think I was really more interested in the author's first book, The Not So Big House, and was not prepared for the whole "lets rebuild your soul" angle. The writing was ok, but it just was not getting anything valuable out of this and did not see the point in finishing. May or may not actually read the author's first book.

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Oct 25, 2010

Karina rated it:

I was disappointed by this book. Maybe my expectations were too high. I mean, I love to read books about house design (and Susanka's Not So Big House books are awesome) and I love, love, love to read books about living a simple life. So why did this attempt totally flop? I don't know, but I really wish it hadn't. I was bored by the first page. I skimmed most of it. It was way too long for what it was, repeated things over and over, and was stretching the analogy a little too far for me.

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Jul 19, 2010

Janice rated it:

I'd give this a rating between 3 - 4 stars. I think that the points could've been made more concisely and thus this book could've been shorter. I listened to it over several weeks and found there were some nuggets and ideas that will be useful over time. The alignment of shaping your life & "downsizing" it with respect to what matters to you, and the parallels with designing a house were interesting.

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Jan 28, 2010

Amberjean rated it:

Ew. I'm really interested in the whole small-house thing, from all kinds of angles, so I picked this up on a display at my library, to see what it was like.

Turns out, there is such a thing as abusing metaphor.

I'm sad to say, I didn't even make it through chapter one. This was a DNF for me.

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Apr 08, 2009

Sally rated it:

My copy of this book, signed by the architect author (small houses) during a San Antonio bookstore visit, is a prize posession. Written before the current economic crisis, she was one of the first to say many Americans want to get beyond the materialistic American Dream - to a larger life -

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Jun 27, 2010

Andrea rated it:

I have enjoyed her Not So Big House books, and I really like this one so far.

The most valuable part of this book for me were the instructions on making a binder to help you discover what really matters in your life. At the end of each chapter Susanka gives you a writing or thinking assignment to help you delve deeper into what makes you who you are. There are also mini assignments scattered throughout the text. She covers everything from dream interpretation to listing objects tha More...

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Feb 03, 2010

Jessietaylortanner rated it:

I really wanted to like this book.
I had a longer review nearly finished when Fiona came and Baby-Konged it into oblivion and now I do not have the energy to rewrite it all. I will summarize briefly: She should stick to what she knows, architecture. Her version of self-help is flimsy and unfounded in anything substantial. I do not feel like I need to search for the meaning of life through introspection and an unhealthy preoccupation with self. I agree with her philosophy of simplification i More...

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Apr 27, 2009

Tina rated it:

So far, this books is absolutely life-changing for me. I will write more later! I am amazed at the fact that an architect wrote a book that is impacting me so much psychologically! Wow, the concept of a not so big life is so simple but yet something that has eluded me for years.

UPDATE: Fantastic book. Sarah Susanka actually taught me a few things about time management and even delved into some things I would have expected from a fellow psychologist and not an architect. What in More...

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Feb 08, 2012

Erin rated it:

This book has some very good ideas about evaluating you life and the direction you are headed. However, it is extremely introspective and analytical. It is a book you must make time for, and I found my attention span waning after a while.

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Jul 01, 2009

Linda marked it as to-read

Seemed like an appropriate purchase at the American Institute of Architects bookstore in DC (just 2 blocks from the White House). Very much like her philosophy in architecture and anxious to read what she has to say about life.

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Jun 23, 2011

Karen rated it:

I think Sarah goes off the rails here. She is an architect, not a life coach or therapist. Surely there are people who are much more qualified to write about these ideas. They all seemed sort of obvious to me.

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Feb 11, 2010

Heather RK rated it:

Sarah Susanka writes about profound things in a simple, down to earth way. Being an architect, she uses accurate metaphors from architecture to convey ways of "remodeling" one's life. Inspirational.

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Sep 17, 2009

Juliana rated it:

I really enjoyed reading this book. I can say that this is one of the few books that thought me something I can use daily and improve my life.
I like Susanka's perspectives to live a more fullfiling life.

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Aug 27, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Eh, it was ok. I was listening to the audio book and didn't actually finish. I understand what she's saying and agree with the message, but it's hard to beat the way Eckhart Tolle delivered a similar message in New Earth.

I really enjoyed her Not So Big House book, though. The worksheets that help you figure out how much space you really need are helpful.

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Feb 15, 2009

heltones added it

Got this after listening to Sarah Susanka speak at a building science conference about architecture and about the topics in this book. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this sort of thing for the past decade or more, so I'm finding little of it groundbreaking to me, personally. However, I think it's a big jump for a lot of people bought into the SOP of life in America. I'll update this review when I get further. I'm looking forward to the new gems that are bound to be in it, as well as the More...

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