It may be a blogger/millennial faux pass to admit, but I didn’t know much about Emma Gannon until recently.

Sure I’d seem people talking about her first book, Ctrl, Alt, Delete: Growing Up Online  but it had never really piqued my interest.  Then I discovered her podcast, and whilst I’m not a dedicated fan I do enjoy dipping in and out of her episodes… cherry picking the ones that sound interesting or feature women I find admiring.

And it was through her podcast I learnt about this book: The Multi-Hyphen Method: Work Less

Create More and Design A Career That Works For You.  Now that my Master’s degree is well and

truly behind me, I’ve been toying with the idea of a side hustle and this book seemed like a great

place to start.

But… this book was neither an introduction to the topic, or even the warm up act. Normally I don’t

like to post negative reviews when it comes to books because even if you don’t like the content you

can appreciate the work that went into creating it. However, this book is disappointing all round.

In Emma’s defence, she has always said The Multi-Hyphen Method is not guide, or a tool kit. Even if the sub-title hints

at it ever so slightly. Instead it can be best described as a brief history of work and thin tales of

Emma’s previous roles, job perks and the odd ‘terrible’ boss.

Giving a brief history of work, work places and possibly some predictions for the future could

have been fine. And there are some places where it is fine. Emma raises some interesting points

and insights into the different industries she’s worked in. It’s interesting to hear about how she

handles her career when most of her family don’t have the experience or knowledge to offer

guidance.

That said… Maybe it’s just a hangover from all of my academic reading, but this book just seems

lacking somehow. Most of Emma’s references come from online magazines such as Refinery29 or

interviews with friends. And whilst love reading Refinery29, I just wished she would have included

some actual studies or research… or anything really.

I really wanted to love this book, to feel motivated by it and inspired. But instead I just felt tricked…

rather than a book, it would best be described as a printed blog, by a blogger that was only

publishing new posts for the sake of publishing new posts.

If you’re interested in work places practise and the history of work, I’d recommend the Eat, Sleep,

Work, Repeat podcast by Twitter’s Bruce Daisley any day.

Maybe I’m just not the target audience. If you’re fresh from school or have yet to enter the world of work then maybe this book could be a starting point. If you’ve started work, or like me been working for a while, I’d suggest giving this book a miss.

If you’re in the market for a new self-help book, this one may be of interest.

Confession: I bought Ice Cream For Breakfast, without really knowing what it was about. All I know was that it was appearing all over Twitter (you can find me here). Everyone seemed to love it and was a bit of a self-help book, but with a more low-key, fun kinda vibe.

What can I say? I’m easily influenced when it comes to shopping…

There’s no lying this book is a self-help book, but it doesn’t feel like a traditional self-help book. There are no giant chapters devoted to how the author discovered the meaning of life. There’s no promise of living happily ever after. Instead, it’s a book, which acts like an old friend. An old friend that shares a bottle of wine with you, then confirms: you are being a grade A tit, but that’s ok.

The premise of the book is all the lessons learned whilst Laura Jane Williams was working as a nanny, taking a step back from the writing career that had caused her to burn out. Is any of the advice ground-breaking? Not really. Is it needed? Absolutely.

Although the book is filled with great advice throughout, these are the two pieces that have stuck with me:

• Treat every day as an occasion – As much as I harp on about loving having a routine, they can become… well, a bit routine. Shocking, I know. Instead of just having that big trip to look forward to, you should try to treat ‘normal’ days as an occasion. This week me and Craig are going to be having a Wednesday Workout, whilst Friday is going to be Mexican & Sangria night. It may be small and a bit silly, but it helps bring the fun back to an otherwise standard day.
• Be the hero in your own story – Laura notes that whenever kids tell you a story, they are definitely at the centre, or at the very least the instigator. They did it, achieved it and you are going to know about it. As we get older, I guess we kind of loose this. Call it politeness, imposter syndrome or being a team player – either way, it can be easy to downplay your role. You may say your team achieved excelled all the targets set when really it was mainly you because Darren actually is a lazy sod and did sweet FA. Obviously be nice, be kind, but don’t forget to be the hero in your own story.

If you are looking for a life-affirming, perspective-changing book, it may not be the book for you. If you are looking for funny, simple reminders that being an adult can be just as fun as you imagined when you were small, then take my word; you won’t be able to put this book down.

P.s If you were looking for a perspective-changing book, these are my recommendations.