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Smile Or Die
Smile Or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World | Barbara Ehrenreich
A brilliant, savagely funny attack on the cult of positive thinking - Ehrenreich's most commercial book since Nickel and Dimed.
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The_Penniless_Author
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Pickpick

I've always hated America's almost religious devotion to optimism, so this book had me before I had even cracked the cover. Ehrenreich traces "positive thinking's" course from 19th-century healers through Norman Vincent Peale, prosperity gospel preachers, and pseudo-self-help tomes like 'The Secret'. Makes a compelling case that our refusal to deal with reality and even consider negative outcomes is responsible for many of our current problems.

SamAnne This book is right up my alley. Will need to check it out. 3y
Liz_M Ooh, sounds good. I really liked her 3y
The_Penniless_Author @Liz_M As did I. Those are the only two books of hers I've read. I should make it a point to search out others. 3y
42 likes6 stack adds3 comments
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arlenefinnigan
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Barbara Ehrenreich argues, rightly, that we could all do with being more of a #MardyBum #AyUpAugust @squirrelbrain @Cinfhen

squirrelbrain This sounds really interesting - stacked! 5y
39 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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arlenefinnigan
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vivastory I loved Nickel & Dimed, I need to read this one! 5y
arlenefinnigan @vivastory it's brilliant! I instinctively hate the cult of positivia and she makes a great argument for 'positive thinking' often being unhelpful. 5y
34 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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keithmalek
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#7favesin7days 5/11

Post a book you love each day for 7 days, without review or comment, with the hashtag #7favesin7days in your post so we can keep it going!

23 likes2 stack adds
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Decalino
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this contrarian book, an exploration of our national obsession with positive thinking. Diagnosed with breast cancer, Ehrenreich rejects the idea that staying positive affects the outcome of her illness; she is angry, and understandably so.With this book, she deconstructs the culture that believes in The Secret, requires laid-off workers to smile and embrace change (even for the worse), and fails to fully examine the roots of depression.

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rabbitprincess
Pickpick

Although this was published nearly 10 years ago, some parts still seem relevant today, particularly those talking about the belief that individual success or failure is the sole reason for one's situation in life (no thought to societal or systemic issues). With inequality deepening, this is an even more important read than before.

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rabbitprincess
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RAAAAAAGE at lack of parallelism! Barbara Ehrenreich gets me 😄

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BookishShelly
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This is my current read and it‘s quite interesting. #giveawayrealtalk

40 likes2 stack adds
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arlenefinnigan
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#BlackBooks #riotgrams
I believe the title of this was subsequently changed. I prefer the original.
@bookriot

Louise The title says it all! 😆 6y
Sace Looks interesting. Just put it in hold at my library. And the title was different. 6y
Sace PS I like this title much better 6y
arlenefinnigan @RestlessFickleBookSlut it's a really interesting book. Reads a bit like a sociology text book but it's well worth it. 6y
keithmalek The original title was Brightsided and I loved it! 6y
32 likes4 stack adds5 comments
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Bertha_Mason

I can't wait to check this book out and read all about how ableist and abusive and destructive "positive psychology" is. It'll definitely be in my next library haul.

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Bertha_Mason

Virulently ableist, multiply bigoted "positive psychology" enthusiasts will be blocked if they follow me on here. If you're reading this and you're one too, you ought to read the tagged book, and you can also eat my entire ass.

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arlenefinnigan
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#SameBookDifferentCover #AprilBookShowers
Different title, in fact. They changed it to 'Bright sided'. Guess they thought Smile Or Die was a bit aggressive. 😂
@RealLifeReading

tpixie Lol 7y
Marchpane I like Smile or Die much better (what does that say about me? 🤔) 7y
rockpools Drives. Me. Mad! Don't know how long I spent trying to track down a copy of 'Cocaine Blues' only to find it had been toned down to 'Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates' for us poor sensitive souls in the UK. 7y
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Oryx Sounds like an interesting read 7y
arlenefinnigan @RachelO oh my God what a delightfully English title 😂 7y
arlenefinnigan @Marchpane same here! I bought it for the title! 7y
33 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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I survived the epic slump, a banned book that was a rough read, and a long detailed biography. My strategy was picking a few short books to get my reading back on track. Looking forward to December reads!

DebinHawaii Great job getting over the slump! 📚👍😀 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @DebinHawaii Thanks! It was far fewer pages than I usually read, but I think I survived! 7y
Liberty Look at your adorable Bitmoji! 😊 7y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage @Liberty Aww thanks! And she never has bed head! (edited) 7y
Cinfhen I'm LOVING your Bitmoji - I became paranoid to use mine when the warning alert came up, it said enabling this app could compromise my private personal accounts 😬 7y
Cinfhen And congrats on awesome reading stats👍🏻 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen Thank you! I did some reading about Bitmoji and security. The way I use it doesn't seem risky too me. Hope I'm right! 7y
Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage well I'm LOVING your Bitmoji and very tempted to start using mine❣ 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen You should! From what I could tell, it's the keyboard that's the issue. I mostly just use mine from the app as a copy and paste. That's not supposed to be an issue. 7y
Cinfhen Thanks Barbara 💝 7y
99 likes10 comments
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Beholderess
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I am not enamored with positive thinking, especially of the obligatory kind, so I love this book so far.
#nonfiction #nonfictionlove #psychology

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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Pickpick

If you don't always feel relentless optimism and have had friends tell you to "snap out of it," you might like this book. If you loved or hated The Secret, this book might offer you a new perspective. I found it especially meaningful during the last days of the 2016 election cycle.

I listened to it on audio and found it easy to absorb. Highly recommend.

Longer review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1242767397

#nonfictionnovember

acc5446 lord, i scrolled too fast and thought you wrote "menstrual cycle" ? 7y
MyNamesParadise What is The Secret about? I've definitely seen it around, but never knew what it was about 🙈 7y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage @MyNamesParadise It's about using positive thinking and the law of attraction to achieve what you want - things and opportunities. (edited) 7y
geodynamical_nonfiction Oh good. I was hoping I would vicariously find this book to intersect with the Secret. Will check your other review. 7y
geodynamical_nonfiction Thanks for linking the extended, solid review. As my friend anonymous would say, "Trickery is never-ending. Know the signs of insanity." 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @geodynamical Glad to have helped you. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of this book! 7y
104 likes11 stack adds7 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Next up for #nonfictionnovember is this gem. I'm about 20% in and definitely appreciating her approach. #nonfictnov

BookishFeminist Love Barbara Ehrenreich 🙌🏼 7y
thebookmagpie I loved this one ☺️ 7y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sounds interesting, I added it as well 7y
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Megabooks Sounds good. Added to TBR! 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @BookishFeminist This is the first of her books I've read. So far it's 👍🏻! @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ebooksandcooks I'm guessing you'd like it too. @thebookmagpie Yay! Glad to have your endorsement! 7y
geodynamical_nonfiction Marshall Rosenberg regards positive, judgemental praise as life-alienating communication. Positive judgements such as "charming" "brilliant" or "beautiful" do not show appreciation for what the other person actually did. Judgemental praise in the workplace or the classroom seems to get results at first, but soon the receiver of the praise sees the praise as manipulation and productivity lessens. 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @geodynamical Huh - interesting quote. Sounds like the same vein as this book, although I'm not too far along! Thanks. 7y
geodynamical_nonfiction @BarbaraTheBibliophage enjoying your nonfiction shares :) 7y
79 likes7 stack adds9 comments
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GoneFishing

... critical thinking is inherently skeptical. The best students -- and in good colleges, also the most successful -- are the ones who raise sharp questions, even at the risk of making a professor momentarily uncomfortable. Whether the subject is literature or engineering, graduates should be capable of challenging authority figures, going against the views of their classmates, and defending novel points of view.

37 likes3 stack adds
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Here's my rainbow of ebooks for#septphotochallenge. I have a LOT of ebooks to choose from. #bookrainbow #ROYGBIV #somethingforsept

90 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Notafraidofwords
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Everything is perfect here, or as perfect as you want to make it. Dreams go out and fulfill themselves; wishes need only to be articulated. It's just a god-awful lonely place.

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Notafraidofwords
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I hope everyone can read this. I almost died laughing and I'm at the Nissan dealership getting an oil change, everyone is looking at me crazy.

Lacythebookworm I ❤️ Ehrenreich! She's sharp! 8y
Notafraidofwords @Lacythebookworm my first time reading her. I like her voice so far! 8y
Hooked_on_books Kind of reminds me of the pieces of flare conversation from Office Space 8y
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Zelma @Hooked_on_books totally. "we just want you to express yourself." "So you want me to wear more flare?" ? 8y
Notafraidofwords @Zelma seriously true. 8y
39 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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Notafraidofwords
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My new nonfiction read. My boyfriend is a big believer in positive thinking and I am not. So I plan to antagonize him with this book (just kidding you guys). I'm just interested this part of our culture.

TheWellReadOwl 😂😂 8y
Notafraidofwords @TheWellReadOwl it's an interesting read that's for sure. 8y
47 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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FaisalJ
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'A friend of mine...once engaged a "life coach" to improve his finances and was told to overcome his negative feelings about wealth and to always carry a twenty dollar bill I his wallet "to attract more money."' I laughed out loud at the ridiculous advice.

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thebookmagpie
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Pickpick

Although a little simplistic and repetitive in parts, this was a great short read about what positive thinking really means and how it can be a dangerous influence on people's lives. The chapters about cancer and the financial crisis were particularly good.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I'm going to need to read this one, I've noticed this more and more lately in our society and it's disturbing on some levels, because the flip side is if you didn't get better, etc etc it's your fault for not wanting it bad enough, or for not smiling enough. 8y
BookishFeminist Love Barbara Ehrenreich 8y
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Magslhalliday If you're enjoying this I'd also recommend Oliver Burkeman's books investigating the self-help industry. 8y
thebookmagpie @Riveted_Reader_Melissa it's definitely something I've thought about a lot in the last few years due to certain circumstances and I have to agree with you, it's a pretty creepy attitude. 8y
thebookmagpie @BookishFeminist she's so smart and funny! Will definitely be checking out some of her other work. 8y
thebookmagpie @Magslhalliday ooh those sound v interesting! Will have a look at them. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @thebookmagpie Yes, very creepy. Now if you aren't successful it's because you are lazy, but if you're sick you're lazy too. Being a disabled person in America isn't for wimps! Sheesh, talk about a no win situation. 8y
56 likes13 stack adds8 comments
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thebookmagpie
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Starting to catalogue all my books with this bookcase - it's the first of four! Wish me luck...

Simona @thebookmagpie I wish you luck 👍 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Looks pretty! 8y
Readaholics What are you using to catalogue them? An app? 8y
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thebookmagpie @Simona thanks! Managed to get the whole living room done so that's a start, I keep most of my books in the spare room though so that'll be the real challenge! @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled.com thanks ☺️ 8y
thebookmagpie @Readaholics I'm using the LibraryThing app, I've been an intermittent LT user for years but I cleared my account out and decided to start again from the beginning. I need somewhere to catalogue everything and the LT app lets me do that super quickly and I much prefer it to Goodreads. 8y
Eyelit Ooh - I didn't know librarything had an app... Happy day! 😄 8y
thebookmagpie @Eyelit I have to admit, that and Litsy were instrumental in me defecting to iPhone 😊 8y
74 likes7 comments