Goal of the day: 440 words. Written: 483.
This is the biggest disappointment of Lithuanian self-help books in 2016.
Which is not such a bad thing - there are simply so few Lithuanian self-help books and authors that almost all of them become disappointments. But a disappointment nonetheless.
I bought this book during the 2016 Book Fair, directly from the publishers' stand (published, of course, by Alma Littera, which publishes almost everything these days). I still remember Andrius Tapinas presenting his new book at the stand, wearing the same pink shirt.
(No - it turns out it wasn't a secret ad. Then I jokingly asked Andrius about it and he denied it.)
Then... For about three months, it sat in a pile of books along with other books bought at the event. And then I read it. And then recently, a week ago, I read it again.
A short assessment if you are not interested in reading the full review:
Design: 9/10. The cover and interior design are comfortable, pleasing to the eye and, most importantly, designed specifically for this book. Judging by the book's print run (1,7 thousand), the publisher did not plan for it to be a bestseller, but they did their best with the design.
Writing style: 2/10. Wooden. If Eva wrote in a more interesting, innovative style, this book was probably later emasculated by linguists and editors.
Book content: 4/10. I am very ambitious and very interested - a book about happiness! Research! Live examples! ...But there was none of that. 🙁
Content concentrate: 2/10. Many words about nothing. Was it necessary to write so much?
Overall: 4/10. I expected chocolate, I got poo.
Longer rating if you're interested in learning more:
The book consists of 36 essays, about 1,000 words long, in which happiness is compared to a certain area of life. Happiness and money, happiness and age, happiness and thinking, happiness and...
Ū! Interesting! If I was writing a book about happiness, I would do something similar. I'd take a topic and see what I could find!
(Actually, I'm already writing one. I don't know what will happen, but I'm slowly collecting texts for just such a book. Only better than Eva Tombak's "Pills of Happiness".)
...Eva, in fact, took the easy way out when writing. Instead of driving a jeep across the Australian desert, she got into a well-air-conditioned Chevrolet and drove the stunning distance between Sydney and Canberra.
(There is, of course, a wide tarmac motorway between these cities. These are Australia's two largest cities.)
Instead of backing up her essay with ACTUAL scientific studies, Eva simply writes that something is "peer-reviewed"... And nowhere does she give any references - so which studies, exactly?
As you know, Russian scientists are also conducting research. And even our Šiauliai University. But if you've ever wondered about the quality of research in countries around the world, you should know that trusting Russian research is like trusting the word of people who deny the roundness of the earth. 🙂
Instead of adding truly VISIBLE stories to the "Happiness Pills", it is filled with life examples that only happen in bad soap opera stories.
(Ir dar tieeeeeeeeeek teeeksto apie nieką!)
When I bought this book and held it in my hands for the first time, I expected new, unexpected, unheard-of themes, comparisons and examples. Something... New! Whether in style or content.
So when I opened it, I found a book that was probably written just to cover the 500 euros for the publishing.
(That's about how much cash you'll get after publishing a book with a print run of 1,500 copies in the major Lithuanian publishing houses.)
I'm sorry, Eva, but you can do better.
The theme of the book is amazing! The ideas are amazing! The overall implementation... 🙁
Not any happier,
Daniel