As someone who often feels overwhelmed by the pressure to be productive, I appreciated the humorous take on the cult of productivity that permeates our society.

The essays, how-tos, and graphics all perfectly skewer the indignities of living through late-stage capitalism. There were moments when I found myself laughing out loud, but I have to admit that reading a large chunk of their articles all at once did become a bit tiresome.

Overall, I think this book would be a great gift for any friend who works too much and needs a reminder to relax. However, some of the jokes didn't land for me personally, so it might not be for everyone. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the fresh perspective on burnout and productivity, and it definitely gave me a much-needed chuckle.

How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending is the kind of book that would be a brilliant joke gift, but probably isn't actually meant to be read all the way through. The snarky humour (I'd expected satire, but it's really just sarcasm) works well enough in article or blog format, but gets old when stretched out to book length.

So while reading it for this review (I had an eARC from NetGalley) was tedious, that in no way takes away from the gag-gift potential, since that's clearly the perfect market for this.

I love Reductress as much as the next aging feminist hipster but this was not a topic that required a book length manuscript.

I really enjoyed this, and think it's a funny read for anyone hitting the burnout phase right now. I am familiar with Reductress, so the writing style did not surprise me. I'll be recommending this.

When I first picked this book, I thought it would be a self-help one, full of advice and relatable situations. It's not quite that, but it didn't disappoint. At all!

The sarcasm in this book is so sharp, I love it! It's a great book to have a few laughs - I mean, I couldn't stop laughing while reading it haha. And it's so relatable - I could relate to most of the situations described there - which sucks, but it also comforts to know that I'm not alone.

This was a very enjoyable read - and a fast one, I finished this book in two days. I totally recommend it! Rating: 5/5 stars.

This was actually pretty funny! I was not expecting how funny this book actually was. Some parts had me laughing really hard. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is extremely funny and witty, while also managing to be extremely depressing. This book is a collection of humorous essays about common struggles we face in modern society. This tackles topics , such as, feeling hopeless about climate change and the housing market. It slowly infuses other topics into the conversation like hustle culture and occupational misogyny.

This book is extremely thought provoking. Despite making me sad by reminding of the world's injustices, it also gave me hope due to the humor of each author, and inspired me to take life more light-hearted since it will mostly suck anyhow, and we all will manage to die eventually. Go out there and kill it, the book says, But also take a big chill pill and don't let injustice kill your joy.

I know a few people in my life who would enjoy this, and I will recommend it to them. Mostly because it gives clarity and insight to topics we typically rage about during our deep, late-night convos,

Thank you Netgalley for giving me access to this ARC!

This book was such a fun and easy read that had me reevaluating many aspects of my daily routine, especially work and what I do with my free time. As real as it was, it was also funny and easily digestible! This book had me questioning so much and at the same time it gave me research, packaged in irreverent and hilarious examples to which you could only respond “yeah makes sense”. I think the book is peak Reductress and an enjoyable self-improvement book that does not seem like one but is.

I'm a frequent reader of the Reductress site so I was happy to get an ARC of this book. If you like the site as well, you'll enjoy this book - it's basically a long string of Reductress articles themed together and packaged into book form. It would be a little repetitive to read all at once, so I broke it up into smaller sections so that I could still enjoy the humor inherent in these satirical takes on grind and hustle culture. Almost all of the short segments/essays were in the "this is funny because it's true and it's also sad because it's true" category.

I will definitely need to read this book over and over again. This book absolutely depicts how I feel like so many people in the world have been feeling over the last few years. We were forced to open our eyes even more to how we spend our time and learned about ourselves during this time. We are all struggling with getting back to the life we had before but holding on to the time we had for ourselves. This book brought laughter to these struggles and is a moment of relief from the struggles.

I am of the firm belief that these days, satire writers are in fierce competition with regular news media given just how ridiculous (and sad) things are. Satire, of course, is not new, and throughout history, it has been used as a salve to make what seems like the end times a little more palatable. And How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending: Productivity, Burnout, and Why Everyone Needs to Relax More Except You aims to be just that.

Brought to us by the witty minds responsible for Reductress, a satire website that is mostly driven to cover topics that cater to women, How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending is as funny as it is depressing. So, spoiler alert, if dark humor is not your thing, this book should remain on the shelf at your preferred bookstore—there are a few passages that tease at suicidal ideation, the reality of burnout, and, as the title suggests, the world ending.

In my case, I laughed more than I thought I would at this collection of brand-new essays and listicles targeting capitalism and its kin: consumerism, rugged individualism, and hustle culture. Satire so often demands flagrant exaggeration of how bad the targeted subject is, so I have to tip my hat to the writers and editors behind this book, who have to one-up actual news pieces such as “‘I’m Selling My Blood’: Millions in US Can’t Make Ends Meet with Two Jobs” and “‘Live Free and Die’? The Sad State of US Life Expectancy.” It’s tough competition, but I guess someone has to try to make light of the economic hellhole we are currently living in.

At times, I felt personally called out by articles that really dig at the concept of working yourself to death—and, worse still, by the notes congratulating me on reading an actual book. I also got a really good chuckle at the little side features of “Productivity Advice from Boomer Dad,” complete with things that are not far off from actual career advice my boomer father handed down. As delightful as all of that was, I fear I may never mentally recover from the playful yet startling pitch of a fanfic with the romantic pairing of actor Timothée Chalamet and the Pokémon Mewtwo.

All that said, would I recommend this book? For the price tag of $19.99, I’d likely wait until it went on sale. Its cover certainly makes it a worthy addition to any burnt-out employee’s home office, and it might make an excellent gag gift for that friend who is somehow affiliated with a dozen multilevel marketing schemes at once, but it is hard for me to justify that cost and overall entertainment value when I look at the current price of eggs.

How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending is available now for preorder in the Reductress shop and arrives on shelves in May 2023.

A highly satirical book, that shines the light so hard i the way life is nowadays. As someone who is currently burnout it is hysterical and extremely sad at the truths that are spilled throughout this book It was a fun read.

Super funny and enjoyable read from folks whose humor really speaks to me as a young professional woman in the current era. Less so an advice book and more so a good laugh, but I’d recommend.

Prior to reading this, I didn't know about Reductress. I selected this book purely on the basis of the synopsis/blurb that felt relatable enough, so I wasn't expecting the writing style. A few chapters in, I finally looked up the Reductress website out of curiosity, and found that this book is consistent with the Reductress site in its voice. Meaning, there's no shortage of all the sarcastic and satirical parts.

The main difference is that the book's chapters are longer than the individual blog entries, and so it feels like a lot of rambling and over-explaining a single concept rather than the bite-sized entries their regular readers might be used to.

I see the appeal of this for Reductress fans. But speaking as someone who was unfamiliar with them beforehand, this book wouldn't be the "lure" that would get me to become one.

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, they had me at the dedication! In a series of short self-help articles, this book tackles things like hustle culture, burnout, and the American labor system all with the classic Reductress humor and wit. A fun read!

I hadn’t seen anything about Reductress before this but the satirical humour and look at burn out in the modern world sounded like something I’d really enjoy. Unfortunately, whilst some of the jokes landed the majority didn’t for me.

If you’ve seen the Reductress memes, you have a good idea what this book is all about. Kind of like The Onion mixed with How To Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.
I enjoyed most of it. As with all comedy, here’s some jokes that I don’t get or don’t enjoy.
But in a dark comedy way, this book will probably cheer you up, remind you that you’re not the only one going through these things and make you feel human again. It may even give you the strength and motivation to quit your job and join a non-profit so you can spend all day fundraising for your salary.

This was really funny, but also kind of exhausting. I like Reductress and I like their style of satire, but it took me a while to finish this because reading a giant chunk of their articles wasn’t as fun as I thought it’d be.

But it is a really hilarious take on hustle and productivity and I think would be a really great book to give to your friend that works too much.

I've read Reductress for years and love their humor. I enjoyed this book, but it felt like reading their website for hours. I would probably recommend it as a coffee table book. It feels like something you pick up every now and then more than something you would want to read from start to finish.

Thank you for the EArc NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing. Oh boy, where to begin, from the terrible graphics to the un enjoyable text, this book was a bomb for me. I couldn’t get in to it and I wasn’t thrilled with having to finish it. Not for me.