I don't usually read self-help books, but since I feel that I'm perpetually unlucky, I thought that maybe I needed to read a book about how to make my own luck and if maybe that some of the luck work for me. The book gave a lot of useful tips and offered some good suggestions for everyday life.

I was SO pleasantly surprised by this book. I was slightly scared it was going to be overly sciencey and very very factual to the point of being dry (I seem to be reading a lot of those lately), but this was not that at all!

I loved how the author weaved in facts with personal stores and examples. It was just really entertaining and informative to read

How luck happens looks at the science behind luck and if we can harness it for ourselves. Great read.

Go to Lots of Parties

In HOW LUCK HAPPENS, authors Janice Kaplan and Barnaby Marsh take a deep look at events that people often ascribe to “luck.” The authors argue that most of these situations happen not because of chance, but because of specific human actions—which might not be so obvious at first.

For example, the seemingly fortunate person might have been incredibly persistent despite numerous failures. Thomas Edison is cited as such an example: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Another path to luckiness is developing lots of connections: “People who know how to play the networking game often end up looking like the luckiest ones around. . . What appears to the outside world as random luck often comes from networking behind the scenes.”

The authors cite the power of observation as another factor that makes one lucky. Those who can spot clues have an advantage: “We get lucky when we know where we want to focus—or which possibilities we want to fire up.

I thought the most useful chapter was Chapter Five, “Connect to The Power of Other People.”
If you have lots of contacts, you will appear lucky. So, “Talk to the guy next to you on the plane . . . Give luck to get luck. . .. Rely on the strength of weak ties. . .. Go to every party.”

In Chapter Five, DO NOT MISS the discussion on “the strength of weak ties.” In the entire book, I thought this point was outstanding. When you are trying to get a job (for example), your closest network knows the same people as you do, so these connections are not too useful. It’s in your most distant connections, your “weak ties,” where the benefit happens: “Connecting with them opens up a whole new community of possibilities—and because each new person is connected to many others, your possibilities are suddenly vastly larger.”

So, all in all, I found HOW LUCK HAPPENS to be an interesting, inspiring book. I had not made the connection between “luck” and connecting with people before-that was a useful point. I was not so keen on the format of the book, where the author describes her conversations with experts in the field. Nonetheless, there are some excellent ideas in this book—especially that point about “strength of weak ties.”


Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

A nice collection of stories and facts on how to become more strategic and make luck happen. While I don't think this book was my cup of tea, I think it could be a very inspiring book for someone just starting out in the world. It's less of a "how-to" book than a series of stories on how famous people have put themselves on the path to luck with tactics that are more down to earth than buying a lottery ticket.
I do think it's well written with a friendly voice. Enjoyable read!

This book wasn't quite what I expected. It's told in more of a story format and less as a how-to for creating luck in your life. I enjoyed learning how various people recognized and jumped on opportunities and ultimately created successful lives, as well as the extra tidbits of info. Some elements got a bit repetitive, and at times I would have preferred less of a story and instead had exercises readers could put into practice to enhance their own luck. However, some readers might enjoy it for that reason. I couldn't relate to many of the situations or people highlighted throughout the book, which made it hard to stay engaged. The topic of this book would have lent itself well to a prescriptive format, at least in part. I would have appreciated a summary of key points at the end of the book to have a concise takeaway for improving luck.

I received an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.