AngelaAndThenSome

Hello All! I would like to start off by saying I have decided to start reviewing some of the books that I have been reading as part of my becoming a superhero journey! Yes, books are definitely an important part of this journey as knowledge is power!

The first book I began to read was The Sh*t They Never Taught You by Adam Ashton and Adam Jones. Let me start this book review by explaining my thought process behind choosing this book!

My biggest obstacle was figuring out where to begin. I understood that the self-help, self-growth, etc would be a great category to start, but which book should be first or where should I exactly dive in? Through some google searches and Instagram book review accounts I stumbled across The Sh*t They Never Taught You and I was intrigued. This book is touted as “(it)…will take you on a journey through takeaways from over a hundred of the world’s greatest thinkers capturing lessons in personal development, career, business, personal finances, human nature, history, and philosophy. Every lesson will be useful, and one might change your life.” So…. as one can see this appears to have been an excellent jumping off point…so was it?

The Good

The primary positives of this book were that it was succinct, informative, and just the right amount of descriptive. The Sh*t They Never Taught You was succinct in that although it clocks in at over 600 pages, considering the other books it encompasses and the subject matter it covers- it does an amazing job of keeping in the right amount of detail, description, and without losing the “meat” or core lesson contained within each sub section. Continuing, the two writers (affectionately referring to themselves as Jonesy and Ashto) were able to keep every chapter fully informative and even expounded on the original authors ideas by giving their own feedback with personal stories about how the original book, lesson, or insight has affected or helped them personally. This book was also just the right amount of descriptive- essentially the authors did an amazing job of describing and keeping in the “meat” of each self-help, motivation, growth mindset book, etc,. that they themselves read. They were also able to successfully expound on what the original authors created and give us, the reader an understanding of “Do I want to read and/or pruchase this other book in full?” As a mom and just someone who (sadly) just doesn’t have hours to sit and read, it is great to read something so succinct, informative, and just the right amount of descriptive.

The Bad

Let me start off by saying yes, the book is $45. Is that a bit more on the expensive side? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

Considering how well they summarize and add to the original content, and how much all the books summarized and discussed would cost individually (not adding in the time that one would spend reading something that just wasn’t what you were looking for) it is definitely well worth it. I actually bought it digitally first for about $1.99 then I decided to buy a hard copy since I found it so worthwhile and useful for reference. Now moving on, this one would be my biggest complaint- I love Ashto and Jonesy’s added flare and spin on everything, but the chapter titles are not that great. Let me explain- I understand that this is where Jonesy and Ashto were able to be completely original but their title chapters are wholly lacking in description.

The primary section that each of these chapters fall under will give you a good general idea, but if I am using the books as a reference after a complete read through, one would be at a loss unless you remember the correct overall theme you’re looking for (and hopefully you, Ashto, and Jonesy are on the same wavelength in that categorization) and you might have to skim the few subsections to find the spot you’re actually looking for.

The Good

• Succinct
• Informative
• Descriptive (just the right amount)

The Bad

• Pricey (but worth it overall)
• Chapter Titles (not as descriptive as one would like)

Overall 9/10

Final Thoughts

If you’re not sure where to start this would be a great book to pick up. Within this book, you will have so many books summarized, with even more personal insight by the authors, AND you will get great ideas of where to go next and what other books that may interest you. I would recommend!