I'll admit, I put off buying #Girlboss for a while, mostly because of my seething hate for any use of hashtags that's not strictly useful. I can manage #journorequest, and I can manage #bbloggers and #lbloggers for twitter chats, but that's my limit. I instantly unfollow anyone who uploads a selfie followed by #girl #selfie #london #pretty #like4like #no filter #hair #lipstick #follow4follow #iphoneonly #blueeyes ... you get the jist (that's a rant for another day). So when everyone's talking about a best selling book entitled #GirlBoss? Well you can understand my hesitation.
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about being dubbed a Girl Boss? Why not a Woman Boss? Or a Female Boss? Or why not just Boss? I'm not really sure why my gender should effect how good I am at kicking ass at what I do? I may be going off on a tangent again...
BACK TO THE ACTUAL BOOK. Now, there's no denying that Amoruso has done well for herself, she turned essentially selling unwanted old clothes from her flat into an incredibly successful business. But does she have to be so aware of it? My problem with this book is that it basically feels like Sophia's love letter to herself, and, to quote a very good review by The Guardian, it's about as shallow as a teaspoon.
This book isn't going to give you secrets to breaking through the glass ceiling, it's not going to tell you how to better your business or how to start your own company. The closest it gets is telling you to 'be a nice person at work'. Groundbreaking.
This book just kind of feels like an ode to her own success, I mean, the woman quotes herself on a title page at the beginning of a chapter. Throughout the whole book I just kinda felt like she was saying 'look at me, I'm such a badass and now I have millions of dollars, be a badass and you can have it too'. The book is littered with selfies that don't really make sense in the context of the text around it, it kinda feels like she just picked a load of pictures of herself she liked and put them in wherever they would fit. There's a fine line between telling your story and boasting, and this definitely felt like the latter.
I didn't really get the hype around this book, maybe because Amoruso and I couldn't be further apart if we tried, she rode the miscreant road, dropping out of school, shoplifting and taking jobs for the money, whereas I love to learn, and I love working and what I do, I always have. Maybe my whole view of the book was biased by the bloody hashtag in the title (in thirty years time I feel like she'll regret that choice), but I struggled to get any real message from this book.
Or maybe it's just because I'm too busy right now creating my own story to be inspired by someone constantly trying to hashtag me.
Have you read GirlBoss? What did you think?
I think GirlBoss is almost becoming another blogger cliche at the moment. I don't particularly want to read it myself, but I'm tempted to buy it simply to use as a prop in photography, which is pretty pointless! I was expecting GirlBoss to try to be empowering, but kinda fail... It's nice to be right sometimes! Thank you for the review - now I definitely will not be buying it!
ReplyDeleteBeth x
I really enjoyed reading this post. I've not read this book yet and honestly, I don't really have any intention of buying it. Like you, the hashtag just seems to want to attract a certain type of person and I agree with you about 'girl' boss - why can't we just be a boss! Thanks for the review - I think we're all capable of creating our own version of this story :)
ReplyDeleteHolly | http://abranchofholly.blogspot.co.uk/
I tried reading #GirlBoss when a friend sung it's praises but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I feel the same way you did: I couldn't relate to her and I didn't quite find myself ever connecting to what she wrote. Thank you for your review!
ReplyDeleteI've never read it and to be honest I completely agree with you about the title, it really put me off! This is the second negative review I've read on this book today so I definitely won't be buying it, there's nothing worse than a boaster!
ReplyDeleteHannah x
Hanniemc.co.uk
It's so refreshing to read a review like this instead of a "you've got to read this book" type post that I keep seeing time and time again. It's currently sitting in my Amazon basket, but I've been hesitant to click purchase as I too feel like I'm worlds apart from Sophia. I think it's time to remove it from the basket and replace it with something else that supports my passion for growing as a blogger, creative and as a person. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I'm a huge fan of these sorts of posts where the blogger is just so darn honest!
ReplyDeleteRebecca-Louise | Autumn Leaves
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Holly, and I'm glad you agree! I'd rather be a Boss than a #girlboss!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one that felt that way, unfortunately the book felt like more of a PR move to me than an actual interesting read!
ReplyDeleteIt most certainly is! Haha save your pennies and print a copy of the front cover! Or just use a book you really love! You're welcome, I'm glad I saved you some money! x
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately a lot of people just jump on the hype, and sing something like this' praises without actually being able to identify what's good about it! I think that's the main problem with this book, she's not relatable at all! Sounds like a good idea! Thank you Rebecca, that's my favourite thing to hear!
ReplyDeleteThere definitely isn't, glad I saved you the trouble! x
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more it's a self indulgent, over-braggy with advice thats about as groundbreaking as florals for spring and somewhat patronising at times. I HATED it! x
ReplyDeleteEmily - thebelljarxo.blogspot.co.uk
It was really nice to see this review, as it's quite different to a lot I've seen! I read it on recommendation from a friend before a lot of blogger hype, and I couldn't put it down. I suppose I'd consider myself to be relatively similar in personality to Sophia (minus the shameless bragging), as I feel like a bit of a square peg in a round hole. As a young person wanting to break into the fashion business, her advice on working smart, showing initiative and not being afraid to say how you really felt was really valuable to me, and her stuff about appreciating any job too, it inspired me to put my all into the café job I currently do part-time. I agree with the # thing, that makes me kind of ill. I totally do see your point of view as well, I did think there wasn't so much need for "btw, did I mention I'm a multi-million dollar CEO?" x
ReplyDeletewww.zoewithumlauts.com x