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One Good Deed: 365 Days Of Trying To Be Just A Little Bit Better (2012)

by Erin McHugh(Favorite Author)

3.4 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1419704176 (ISBN13: 9781419704178)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Harry N. Abrams

review 1: I was really looking forward to reading this book, as I myself am currently working to perform one good deed (or act of kindness, as I've been calling them) per day. It was my new year's resolution- the first one I've ever been excited to work on and the only one I've ever tried to keep. I started my project long before I even heard of this book, and when I saw this title on my library's list of new books, I was really excited to read it, because I thought it would be full of recommendations and good ideas for good deeds. I was disappointed. There are some really good bits in this book, but sometimes it is self-serving, and other times I really don't think the author should have bothered to write down what she did that day. For example, one day she noticed a woman wearing ... morea tacky outfit, and she didn't tell the woman "wow, your clothes are ugly." We're supposed to consider that a good deed? Does that mean there are actually people who go around telling complete strangers that they hate their clothes in regular practice? I have never met such a person, and it was a little disconcerting to read that the author considered holding her tongue on this day to be a "good deed." Another time, she truly did something nice for someone. She mentioned that it was a "two-part" good deed. So on the one day, she tells us about this act of kindness (something about helping an acquaintance with a project, I think) and the next day, the acquaintance stops by the author's workplace and thanks her for her help- then hands her a receipt, as the acquaintance had bought lunch for the author as a thank-you. The end. How is that a good deed? Was the good deed accepting a free lunch? I don't get it. For every truly interesting or inspiring good deed the author presents, there are three lame ones. I was happy to read the positive life changes the author experienced through her experiment, but all in all, I ended up feeling that this book was a waste of my time. After reading so much in the book about the life of authors and the struggling publishing industry, I'm a bit ashamed to say this, but I am glad I didn't spend any money on it. : /
review 2: Wow, what a bunch of great ideas of how to improve your life, mainly by observing the world and its people, and meeting their needs instead of concentrating on our own.Out of the 365 wonderful suggestions, here is a sampling:Share a memoryShare the wealthShare your knowledgeCount your blessingsBe niceDo what you canMake a little sacrifice.Be as generous as you canWhen you are wrong, apologize!Renew a friendshipDo unto othersThere is sheer joy in giving joy!Hardest of all--Hold your tongue!Love is everything!All of these admonitions are backed up with stories and anecdotes from the author's attempts to enact those goals. Some failures along the way too. Everything makes good lessons for us all!OK, I am off to do a good deed, whether anybody wants it or not! less

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