An inspirational account of how to succeed at what you love.

Ack. I was hoping the use of "F*ing" was a cover only thing, so that it wasn't offensive on store shelves. Realistically, I find it particularly hard to follow advice from anyone who writes "f*ing" and "bullsh*t" and the like, and that's done throughout the book.

Also, so much of the book was pretty basic self help stuff. Why spend your money on something you can read in 30 minutes you already know when it's not even really being explained in a creative new way? If there was some unique way the information was being presented here, I'd be all for it...because we all need to find that one way that finally makes the pieces click together...but I didn't find it in this book.

Can I have my 30 minutes back, please?

A short but inspiring book for creatives of any sort who need a pep talk and a push in the direction of creation. "Not F*ing Around" is an exhortation to stop giving in to excuses, to stop letting others get in the way of your creative dreams and to not let the mundanities of life prevent you from going after what you really wish to do.

This book in a nutshell? Stop dreaming and start doing.

If you want the experience of having gone to see a motivational speaker while sitting on the lounge in your pyjamas, then this book may be what you're looking for. It read to me like a motivational speaker's speech that basically went along the lines of 'if you can dream it then you can do it' along with other clichés and plenty of anecdotes.

What you'll get from this book is common sense advice to move you from thinking about it to doing it, whatever your creative 'it' may be. I didn't read anything revolutionary but it was a quick read. If you feel the need to read something positive to get your butt into gear, try this book. More power to you.

My favourite sentence: "The more people who align their lives with love, passion and action, the better this world becomes for everyone."

Biggest annoyance of the book? Following a statement about how we're all on our own hero's journey and an anecdote about Luke Skywalker saving a planet with a suggestion for how you can step up your own hero game ... by fixing the photocopier again even though you didn't break it ... Really?

At times I felt like I was sitting around a campfire listening to a guy in a tie dye shirt chilling out and telling me, "The Universe will guide you towards your highest good" and that my inner critic is a "snotball" (actual quotes).

This book wasn't for me and if I hadn't committed myself to reviewing it I wouldn't have made it past the first 20%, but just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean you won't get something from it that launches you into creative overdrive.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you very much to NetGalley and Smith Publicity for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.