Adulting: how to become a grown-up in 468 easy(ish) steps by Kelly Williams Brown

from goodreads

4 stars

I have another secret to share. My husband and I really aren't adults, we are just big kids that wear an adult exterior. Somethings just seem so difficult for us to do. Like wanting to tidy our house. Or remembering to sweep the floors every day. Simple adult things to do yet it seems like Mount Olympus for us. Every now and again we say, "We need to be more adult like". It works for a few days and then back we revert to our old ways of putting things off instead of pulling up our socks and getting it over with. Like honestly, why would I choose to clean my oven when I could read a totally awesome book? Do you sometimes feel like a fake grown up too?

Synopsis

This is a great guide of how to be an adult. It breaks things down into these categories: get your mind right, domesticity, cooking, fake it it till you make it, get a job, money, maintenance, friends and neighbours, love, times were tough, families. It goes through things in detail. It is a humourous read that makes you feel good about where you are in the adult range of things and inspires you to become more. This book is based of the blog adultingblog.com.

My Thoughts

As soon as I saw this book I knew I had to read it. I look around at all my peers and they seem to have this whole grown-up thing put together. I feel like I am always scrambling to be a grown-up. My house is always messy, and I never feel organized. (Seriously, where do people put their stuff. Do they not have possessions or are all their cupboards filled to the gills?) Williams Brown makes being a grown-up seem not that hard and she has some really good tips. Nothing she has in there seems undoable. You just have to do it. (I guess that is the hard part, actually doing something.)

She is really good at encouraging the reader and calling out the reader, without ever making you feel bad. You laugh along with her and agree with her. Her flow charts are hilarious, yet honest and helpful.  I love her tips for having an organized move. I will definitely use it next time we move. Though, I hope never to move again, well at least not until we are ready for retirement living.

For me I found that there was a bit too much swearing for my taste. Some of it was just unnecessary and so it took away from the book. Even with that, I think it would be a great gift to give to a twenty something in your life. Heck it would be a great gift for any person. Even if you think you have the whole adult thing figured out, this book is still great to read. You might pick up an extra tip or two.

After reading this book this is what being a grown-up means: be nice, be humble, use common sense and send thank you cards. That doesn't seem so hard, does it?