Laurie C. (lauriehere) reviewed Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work on + 37 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Patial Review - I just received this book late last night after my husband got home and he checked the mail, almost to late to read! I am only on page 40 so far, but I must admit I LOVE this book! It is HARD TO PUT DOWN! Even with a migraine today! This book is about manners, behavior, and just plain ol' making it 'work' no matter what! A lot of his views he writes about are views I have had for a long time now, thinking I could not do anything about them, but I can! It is about using every possiblity, availability and creativity to 'make it work'. I look forward to reading the rest of this book! So far, Tim has taught 'me' from his experiences how to handle some behaviors in some very creative ways I would never have thought of. This book is a MUST READ for anyone who is open to always learning better ways of living life, handling people, and being able to live with yourself by the decisions you make. When I am finished completely with this book, I will give a 'full' review of the complete book. Right now I am enjoying SO immensely that I had to give a 'partial review', at least.
Laurie Carlson
lauriehere
Laurie Carlson
lauriehere
Kaarla V. (hestia74) reviewed Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Artist and educator Tim Gunn, improbable star of the mega hit TV series Project Runway, introduces the timeless rules to succeed in life for a new generation in this, his second published book (the first was A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style). Most of his rules are based on old-fashioned values that have gone dangerously AWOL in modern society, like honesty, politeness, industriousness, fairness, consideration, team work, contributing to your community, etc. You will enjoy this book immensely if you are a fan of Mr. Gunns approach to mentoring the designers of Project Runway, but even if you dont follow the series, this is a book that can be enjoyed on its own.
While the rules can get pretty basic (Rule 4: Dont abuse your power) his way of presenting them, with examples from his own life, make you reminisce about times when you might have broken them, and then banged your head against a wall for having done so.
One of the best elements of this book is the way the author talks about very private stuff, without giving away too many embarrassing details. We get to know about the man who broke his heart while Gunn was just a young man in love, and the retrospectively funny story about Anna Wintour, hard-as-nails Vogue magazine Editor-in-Chief.
Some of the stories that Gunn presents in the book are so far removed from the experience of normal people (i.e. those who actually work for a living in an average office) that they can be a bit hard to believe, like the story of the young girl and her mother whom Gunn met at a dinner and who talked about the rest of the world as if she was the owner and everybody else in it were her servants, including Tim Gunn. Its not that Gunns exaggerating or lying, but that it can be unbelievable that people like that really exist.
The book can get a little sprawling, all over the place, but Gunns voice remains authentic all along. This book was co-written with Ada Calhoun, author of Instinctive Parenting: Trusting Ourselves to Raise Good Kids, and founding editor-in-chief of the online magazine Babble.com.
While the rules can get pretty basic (Rule 4: Dont abuse your power) his way of presenting them, with examples from his own life, make you reminisce about times when you might have broken them, and then banged your head against a wall for having done so.
One of the best elements of this book is the way the author talks about very private stuff, without giving away too many embarrassing details. We get to know about the man who broke his heart while Gunn was just a young man in love, and the retrospectively funny story about Anna Wintour, hard-as-nails Vogue magazine Editor-in-Chief.
Some of the stories that Gunn presents in the book are so far removed from the experience of normal people (i.e. those who actually work for a living in an average office) that they can be a bit hard to believe, like the story of the young girl and her mother whom Gunn met at a dinner and who talked about the rest of the world as if she was the owner and everybody else in it were her servants, including Tim Gunn. Its not that Gunns exaggerating or lying, but that it can be unbelievable that people like that really exist.
The book can get a little sprawling, all over the place, but Gunns voice remains authentic all along. This book was co-written with Ada Calhoun, author of Instinctive Parenting: Trusting Ourselves to Raise Good Kids, and founding editor-in-chief of the online magazine Babble.com.
Dana S. (ladybugfairy) reviewed Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work on + 3 more book reviews
I am a huge Tim Gunn fan after watching him on Project Runway for years, so I expected to like this book, but I didn't know quite how much. I loved learning about Gunn's childhood, his relationships with his family members and the personal struggles he went through. It was a good reminder to "be kind no matter what." I love his attitude about life, his work ethic, and pretty much everything about this book.
Amanda P. (nanjo) reviewed Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work on + 48 more book reviews
This book was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a few simple rules on how to look and be fabulous. However this was a few life lessons mixed with interesting stories of Gunn's life. It was more gossipy and catty than what I would have thought from Tim Gunn. That being said it was a fun read for any Tim Gunn fan. :)
Karen B. (Jitterbug3) reviewed Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work on + 198 more book reviews
Loved, loved, loved it! What a great little gossipy good time. I never knew, although I should have, that i had so much in common with Tim. I was with him on almost every single thought he expressed regarding manners and how to treat people and sadly how lacking it is today. While much of it sounds basic--apparently the basics are difficult--they are still important! Great fun read!
dsunny21 -
The title, "Gunn's Golden Rules" gives the impression that each chapter will have a rule and than go on to explain said "rule" but really all Tim seems to do is just ramble. I almost stopped reading in the first chapter because he was all over the place!! But like a trooper, I carried on...it helped being able to hear his voice as I read and it had a few funny, interesting stories. I'm sure in the book Tim said, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" so I will end my review here.
SALLY W. (thameslink) -
Reading this book was such a positive experience! It is delightfully written and Tim Gunn's plea for more consideration of others in our life is a timely one. Not only that, but this was a fun read, and once I started I could hardly bear to put it down. Raving about this book, a quick, satisfying read that can actually enrich your life!
Connie A. (jazzysmom) -
What an enjoyable read. Tim Gunn is a very interesting man. He is surprisingly just "normal". He doesn't come across as pretentious or preachy. He shares some wonderful memories of his pretty normal family life growing up and stories of his family life now. All very interesting. He shares his life long fears and insecurities, and some of the funniest stories during his career and travels. Although he has worked and associated with some very famous people, at the end of his day he likes to go to his small apartment and spend time alone. I really enjoyed this book. It was entertaining, brought a message, and I couldn't put it down once I started reading. Loved the book!
Jackie M. (jackiemo) -
I picked this up at a discount store after seeing Tim Gunn on the cover. I didn't really read the cover or inside flap. I really loved this book. I was expecting ideas on how to get myself out of sweatpants and into real clothes after years of being home with kids and what I found was a wonderful book on manners. Sounds boring but the personal stories shared really illustrated how a little kindness and politeness goes a long way. Tim Gunn knows what to share from his own life and, more importantly, what to keep private. It is nice to know that a true gentleman still exists.
Lynn (TheLankyYankee) -
I read this book with Tim Gunn's voice in my head.
