California Mom

No, just No!

Revisado: 10-16-23

I didn't make it very far in this book before deciding I should turn it off. It was shockingly bad. The final straw for me was the author's story about parents getting revenge on their child by cutting her hair off in her sleep. This story had followed a story about a couple physically restraining their child for an entire session to try to show them who was boss. I decided that perhaps this was not the right book for me. I'm surprised that all of the positive reviews. Although I only listened to the first few chapters of this book, it seemed to recommend overpowering and punishing your defiant child. Research shows that this is incredibly outdated and not the correct approach.

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sooooo good!

Revisado: 06-26-22

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, and I have to admit I wasn't excited to listen to it. I had set on my shelf for over a year and I recently decided to give it a try. it sounded vaguely familiar but I didn't know anything about it. wow, it was amazing in the performance was absolute perfection. an epic adventure and an American classic. definitely worth a second listen! I recommend it.

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loved the stories and Stephen Fry

Revisado: 03-08-22

I had never read Sherlock Holmes before. I was so glad to find this on audible. I truly enjoyed the stories and Stephen Fry did an amazing job reading. I recommend this to anyone looking for something entertaining. worth a second or third listen too.

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slow and uninteresting

Revisado: 03-08-22

I began struggling immediately in the first chapter, and had hoped it would get better but really couldn't get through more than a couple of chapters. I couldn't relate to the main character and nothing seemed to be happening. The reader had a very flat tone which didn't help either.

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tedious, long winded, self indulgent and gawdy

Revisado: 02-06-22

I had never read the classic "Dorian Gray". I was excited due to the overwhelming number good reviews.

I found the book to be tedious, long winded, self indulgent and gawdy. The characters are pretentious, misogynistic hedonists attempting to justify their immortality by calling it art. Through verbose dialog, the characters spout ridiculously shallow ideals veiled in ornate language in an attempt to present them as enlightened or progressive. I found it torturous to see the book through to the end. I despised all of the characters and perhaps that was the point. It occurred to me that the excess of description and pointless dialog in the book could have been intentional, possibly to give the reader an experience of feeling tortured, just as Dorian feels tortured, although I think that is doubtful. I have never disliked a character more than Dorian Gray, and was incredibly relieved when it was over. Perhaps the fact that I found relief and satisfaction in the ending of this book instead of horror and repulsion was what the author intended, again to mirror the character's experience. If so, he truly was a genius. But somehow I doubt that was his intention. Though undoubtedly a satire, I cannot forgive the style of writing or believe the decadent style itself was meant to be satirical. I expect the author believed he was creating art and exploring important social, moral and artistic ideas in his decadent prose.

I found the book horribly boring, tedious, and in need of editing. The actual story could have been written in 3 chapters without all of the ridiculous and pointless dialog about life, art and society. Edited down to 3 chapters the story just *might* have been good. My musings above regarding the authors intent are my attempt at understanding why the work is so revered.

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enjoyable and thought provoking

Revisado: 02-05-22

I found this book enjoyable and thought provoking. I didn't love it as much as the Jurassic books, but still enjoyed it all the same.

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Life Story of a Neurotic Little Girl

Revisado: 06-30-18

The content of the book may have been okay, but the author comes across as a neurotic little girl, constantly talking about how much she enjoys throwing things away, talking to her possessions, and personifying every item in her home. Every personal story she references involves her parents, her siblings, and coming home from school. She even talks about how you should deal with your parents when throwing things away. I found this very hard to relate to.

To sum up the book, you should only own a handful of items, and all items you should own should bring joy. You should pick up each item in your house, and see if it brings you Joy or not. If it does not, get rid of it. The author loves throwing things away so much, that she would sneak into her parents and siblings closets as a child and throw their things away without them knowing. I think she has a problem. I'm glad she's found a career and throwing other people's things away since that brings her Joy.

She also thinks you should throw away all papers. Most of the papers and her home, and her clients homes, are notes from seminars that people go to. Also very strange, because I imagine the majority of papers in an American's home have to do with taxes. They must not have income tax in Japan, because she doesn't address what to do with these. b

Overall, this book had more personal stories in it than advice. The personal stories graded on my nerves so badly that I barely got through the book. If you do choose to read it I believe you can learn everything in the two middle chapters.

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The missing manual- Parenting advice for everyone

Revisado: 04-17-16

Where does Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was life changing- It was one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to.

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

Alan Sklar was very entertaining. He sounded very natural, as if he was the author or story teller. I'm very tempted to find other books he's done.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but I listened to it in the car while driving. Once getting through it once I started it again. It was that good :)

Any additional comments?

There isn't a handbook that they hand you at the hospital when you become parents. Most of us are out there winging it, doing the best we can. I knew what kind of parent I DIDN'T want to be. I also had a sense of what good parents should be like, but wasn't sure how to do it. When my oldest turned 3, I also had a 2 month old baby. I can't be sure that my 3 year old is strong willed- though he may be. But he is three years old, and as I keep hearing, 'Terrible twos are nothing, wait until you see three!" As he adjusted to having a sibling, his toddler tantrums were becoming commonplace and he seemed to stop listening to me altogether. I found myself exhausted every day as I tried giving him guidance on certain behaviors: I was asking him politely to stop doing things, then telling him not to, then repeating myself, then asking him if he was listening, then asking him how many times I had to tell him, etc. I was getting frustrated, beginning to feel angry and powerless, and wondering why he was 'choosing' to misbehave and break the rules when he knew better. At the same time, he was getting angry at me, and telling me so. Occasionally he was walking up and hitting me out of frustration. I thought to myself, "If we don't get this figured out now, there is no way he will listen to us or respect us in 10 years!" There was no way I was going to wait until he was a teenager to learn to parent in a more effective way. I knew if I did, it would be too late. I mean, if he doesn't follow the rules at 3 years old, there's probably no way he will follow them when he's 13!

This book really changed my life. Honestly, I was doing things wrong, and I sort of knew it, but wasn't sure how to do it better. Like most parents, I knew that we needed to be consistent and set limits, but what does that really entail and how do we do it effectively, respectfully and without drama? This book has those answers and more. First the author gives insights into the child's behavior and the parents methods of teaching, and examines whether they are compatible. I now understand that his job is to test and mine is to teach. And my method of teaching (i.e. talking and repeating myself over and over again) was completely ineffective for my child. I would venture to guess this doesn't work for most children, but I only know my own experiences with my child. I was expending loads of energy, exhausting myself, and both my child and I were frustrated most of the time. He also examines other ineffective 'teaching methods'.

The author then lays out a very simple methods that I think most people can follow. He also gives loads of examples of ineffective methods, and then explains better, more effective approaches. The examples really appealed to me and I found them wildly entertaining. In some respects I was glad to know I was not alone in my struggles. I also felt they were real world examples of how to put the methods into practice (and what not to do). I don't think these parenting methods only work for strong will kids. I think all children can benefit from consistency, limit setting, respect, and teaching.

Thank goodness I found this book. It really changed my life (and my son's.) I truly believe he will be better prepared for life if I parent him this way. The methods in this book felt so natural. By following the suggestions in the book, I began setting limits, and following through with consequences. I now feel that I can be consistent because when I am not tired and worn down from repeating myself and battling him, I make good, logical decisions. Personally, I feel like a weight has been lifted: I have more energy, and don't feel so worn and stressed all of the time. My son is more compliant and isn't getting frustrated and angry at me anymore because I am able to express clearly what I want him to do and he knows now that it is not optional. He is even helping around the house. "Setting Limits" is really is the best parenting advice I've ever found. I feel like this is the missing parenting manual and have already recommended it to several friends.

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esto le resultó útil a 16 personas