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Other People's Diaries
"It sounds kind of strange, but do you know anyone who is really happy? Someone who is exactly where they want to be, who gets up every morning looking forward to what the day will bring? I have a theory..."Alice Day's theory has led to five strangers meeting in a bar to take part in her experiment. But can this one-time bestselling author, now a mother and housewife, follow through and change their lives for the better (and perhaps her own as well)?The strangers are a working mother stretched to breaking point, a childless woman whose only solace is fashion, a divorced father, a teacher who hates her job but loves a married man and a widow in her 60s hiding a painful secret.It is the little things that make life worth living, or so Alice's theory goes. Her aim is to see if the tasks she emails each group member can slowly turn their lives around.But with any experiment, there are outcomes. The small changes Alice suggests set off much larger ones and a betrayal dramatically affects everyone's lives in ways that, at first glance, are not for the better at all...
- GenresBook Club
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 15, 2013
A light and easy book to read. I didn't feel particularly close to any of the characters and a lot of the plots were predictable but I enjoyed it all the same. I like the reminder that you never know the battles a stranger is fighting under the surface and their reasons for being on the path that they're on.
May 27, 2023
Other People 's Diaries , has been sitting in my bookshelve for way too long , l thought it's about time l finally read it , and so glad l did, it was such an interesting and wonderful read.
It was a book that many people can relate to , are we really happy the life we live, a question we do ask ourselves but we may not say it out loud.
Alice Day a once famous author, had an idea leading five strangers meeting in a bar to take part in her experiment.
Alice Day a one time best selling author, now a mother and housewife, follow through and change their lives for the better and perhaps her own as well.
The strangers are a working mother stretched to breaking point.
A childless woman whose only solace is fashion.
A divorced father.
A teacher who hates her job, but loves a married man.
A widow in her 60s hiding a painful secret.
It is the little things that make life worth living, or so Alice theory goes.
Her aim is to see if the tasks she emails each member can slowly turn their ĺives around.
But with any experiment, there are outcomes.
The small changes Alice suggests set off much larger ones and a betrayal, dramatically affects everyone's lives in ways that at first glance, are not for the better at all.
This read, can really focus and question yourself are you really happy?
Such an intriguing read, the characters are so believable, and very much relateable.
GREAT Reading 📚 !
It was a book that many people can relate to , are we really happy the life we live, a question we do ask ourselves but we may not say it out loud.
Alice Day a once famous author, had an idea leading five strangers meeting in a bar to take part in her experiment.
Alice Day a one time best selling author, now a mother and housewife, follow through and change their lives for the better and perhaps her own as well.
The strangers are a working mother stretched to breaking point.
A childless woman whose only solace is fashion.
A divorced father.
A teacher who hates her job, but loves a married man.
A widow in her 60s hiding a painful secret.
It is the little things that make life worth living, or so Alice theory goes.
Her aim is to see if the tasks she emails each member can slowly turn their ĺives around.
But with any experiment, there are outcomes.
The small changes Alice suggests set off much larger ones and a betrayal, dramatically affects everyone's lives in ways that at first glance, are not for the better at all.
This read, can really focus and question yourself are you really happy?
Such an intriguing read, the characters are so believable, and very much relateable.
GREAT Reading 📚 !
July 21, 2018
I couldn’t put my finger on why this book seemed to lack a consistent flow - but reaching the end papers answered it for me. Two writers, not one. Sisters who live on opposite sides of the world and collaboratively write novels. I did want to finish the book (I rarely hate something so much that I don’t finish), but it was a fairly unremarkable piece of writing. Probably closer to two and a half stars for me.
November 23, 2019
Well written but not compelling. I loved the fact that it’s Australian and set in Brisbane (I’m a Queenslander) so recognizing various suburbs added an extra bonus to the story. I found the flow of the writing great but keeping track of the characters was a little hard at times. If they had a deeper level to them then it may have been easier. I’d love to have known a bit more about each one to really care about them and their different situations.
An easy likeable read.
An easy likeable read.
August 16, 2024
If you are feeling bad about your life then READ THIS BOOK! An honest account of 5 peoples lives but put in a funny storyline about an author trying to write her third novel. Disaster strikes when the diary entries are accidentally published….
July 31, 2019
Having so many characters made the book a bit confusing at times. I enjoyed it.
September 13, 2022
It is the process that went into the writing of this book that first attracted me to reading it—Australian sisters Kris Webb and Kathy Wilson write under the pen name of Kathy Webb. The fact that they live in different parts of the world and have to contend with different time zones and young families doesn’t seem to stop them as they also have under their belt two other successful novels Sacking the Stork and Inheriting Jack.
They write a scene or take a character as far as they can then send the result to the other sister to pick up from where one left off. Why didn’t I think of that? Would definitely help the old writer’s block!
Other People’s Diaries
Alice Day is a one-time famous author who hasn’t written anything good for over ten years. She is a stay-at-home mum who has lost any confidence she once had in writing anything half decent again. Her first book, Her Life, My Life was inspired by her grandmother, a mother of nine children who took pleasure in the simple old-fashioned things that life sent her way, and was a huge hit. The follow-up was a flop.
When Alice asks herself the question “what is happiness and who is really happy with their life”, she comes up with a plan that involves five complete strangers writing about their lives and sharing it on a website. The Red Folder Project involves a blog, simple tasks set by Alice to help them change their lives for the better, along the way posting the results on a confidential website, the idea being to turn the outcome from each personal experiment and journey into a book. But Alice gets more that she bargained for.
Characters in Other People’s Diaries
It is the characters that drive this book – ordinary everyday people with the normal complications and problems that we all face in life. Kerry, the only man in the group, is a recently divorced father who hates his job in the family business and is still in love with his ex-wife.
Claire is unable to have a baby and her declining marriage is nearing its end. Megan hates her job as a teacher and is in a relationship with a married man that is going nowhere. Rebecca has a full-on career and is trying to balance her complex working life with parenthood – she is the mother of a sixteen-year-old girl who hates her and a three-year-old toddler who she leaves behind each day with a nanny she can’t stand. Lillian is a retired, gentle soul who is facing a long process of diagnosing a mysterious disease.
Alice makes up the six – all of which have nothing really in common except the fact that they would like to be happier in their lives. The six cover many spectrums of the problems we all face in day-to-day life that readers are bound to relate to one, or even just one aspect of each character.
Each chapter in the novel takes on some aspect of the journey for each of the characters and the transition from one to the other reads like a diary entry. The idea of being a fly on the wall and being able to read other people’s diaries may not appeal to all but this is an easy read and when an unexpected betrayal in the group spells disaster, it tackles the question of real privacy in this day of social networking. Other People’s Diaries is a light yet interesting read that tackles some of the questions people are often too busy to ask of themselves.
They write a scene or take a character as far as they can then send the result to the other sister to pick up from where one left off. Why didn’t I think of that? Would definitely help the old writer’s block!
Other People’s Diaries
Alice Day is a one-time famous author who hasn’t written anything good for over ten years. She is a stay-at-home mum who has lost any confidence she once had in writing anything half decent again. Her first book, Her Life, My Life was inspired by her grandmother, a mother of nine children who took pleasure in the simple old-fashioned things that life sent her way, and was a huge hit. The follow-up was a flop.
When Alice asks herself the question “what is happiness and who is really happy with their life”, she comes up with a plan that involves five complete strangers writing about their lives and sharing it on a website. The Red Folder Project involves a blog, simple tasks set by Alice to help them change their lives for the better, along the way posting the results on a confidential website, the idea being to turn the outcome from each personal experiment and journey into a book. But Alice gets more that she bargained for.
Characters in Other People’s Diaries
It is the characters that drive this book – ordinary everyday people with the normal complications and problems that we all face in life. Kerry, the only man in the group, is a recently divorced father who hates his job in the family business and is still in love with his ex-wife.
Claire is unable to have a baby and her declining marriage is nearing its end. Megan hates her job as a teacher and is in a relationship with a married man that is going nowhere. Rebecca has a full-on career and is trying to balance her complex working life with parenthood – she is the mother of a sixteen-year-old girl who hates her and a three-year-old toddler who she leaves behind each day with a nanny she can’t stand. Lillian is a retired, gentle soul who is facing a long process of diagnosing a mysterious disease.
Alice makes up the six – all of which have nothing really in common except the fact that they would like to be happier in their lives. The six cover many spectrums of the problems we all face in day-to-day life that readers are bound to relate to one, or even just one aspect of each character.
Each chapter in the novel takes on some aspect of the journey for each of the characters and the transition from one to the other reads like a diary entry. The idea of being a fly on the wall and being able to read other people’s diaries may not appeal to all but this is an easy read and when an unexpected betrayal in the group spells disaster, it tackles the question of real privacy in this day of social networking. Other People’s Diaries is a light yet interesting read that tackles some of the questions people are often too busy to ask of themselves.
June 9, 2016
Don't let the bland cover fool you - this book is an underrated gem. I thought the authors did a good job of showing how hard it is be a working parent, a non-working person who wishes she was a parent, a stay-at-home mum who works hard but never gets recognition, someone who knows they should keep their mouth shut during an argument but can't help themselves, a husband/wife who feels like they've lost the connection with their other half, a person who hates their job... I felt like I could really relate to all of the characters (although having just read the other reviews about how much people disliked/couldn't care less about the characters, now I'm worried :-) I didn't see any of the plot twists coming at all, although there were a few plot holes - would a working mum really consider a nanny as her only option for childcare? Has she never heard of a daycare centre? Would a beer-drinking tradesman really enter a competition to meet a chick-lit author? And how the hell did But I'd still recommend this book. It was nice to read about familiar places in Brisbane, where I used to live. Hell, it was just nice to read a clearly-written, honest book about real people with real problems that many of us face.
January 1, 2016
I was interested in the premise of this - 5 strangers agree to take on small tasks and write about them in an online diary to try and make their lives happier, organised by a writer who had one big success but is now an unhappy housewife.
I would have liked it better if any of the characters had been nicer: they are all wallowing in misery with their first world problems - 2 of the women are unhappy mothers complaining about either having too much to do (Rebecca who works) or not doing anything fulfilling (Alice who doesn't), Kerry is a selfish alcoholic who wonders why his marriage fell apart, Lillian is facing a mystery illness but has no symptoms and is all depressed about it but won't tell anyone. Megan is an immature teacher who'd rather play video games and sleep with a married man, but the worst was Claire who gave up work 15 years ago to try for a baby that never happened and wonders why her husband resents her.
The good thing about reading about ordinary middle-class people complaining about made-up problems is you feel better about your own life, although I couldn't help feeling that if they all had chosen cats over children they'd be happy. It's set in Brisbane which is where my BF lives so that was sort of interesting and the ending kind of resolved things, so overall I quite liked it even if the characters annoyed me.
I would have liked it better if any of the characters had been nicer: they are all wallowing in misery with their first world problems - 2 of the women are unhappy mothers complaining about either having too much to do (Rebecca who works) or not doing anything fulfilling (Alice who doesn't), Kerry is a selfish alcoholic who wonders why his marriage fell apart, Lillian is facing a mystery illness but has no symptoms and is all depressed about it but won't tell anyone. Megan is an immature teacher who'd rather play video games and sleep with a married man, but the worst was Claire who gave up work 15 years ago to try for a baby that never happened and wonders why her husband resents her.
The good thing about reading about ordinary middle-class people complaining about made-up problems is you feel better about your own life, although I couldn't help feeling that if they all had chosen cats over children they'd be happy. It's set in Brisbane which is where my BF lives so that was sort of interesting and the ending kind of resolved things, so overall I quite liked it even if the characters annoyed me.
February 12, 2017
This book is about Alice, who is an author who is looking for inspiration for her next novel. She comes up with an idea- to choose five random people, learn about their lives and then try to make suggestions to help them be happier.
I really enjoyed reading this book.
All the characters were interesting and I wanted things to work out well for all of them.
It is told from the point of view of each character as well which made the storyline seem more fast paced.
There were a few twists that I wasn't expecting.
I really enjoyed reading this book.
All the characters were interesting and I wanted things to work out well for all of them.
It is told from the point of view of each character as well which made the storyline seem more fast paced.
There were a few twists that I wasn't expecting.
September 9, 2016
'Other People's Diaries' by two sisters who write under the name of Kathy Webb, had a good premise: six people who are unhappy with their lives sign up for a project in which they are asked to do something each week that will make them happy - little things that Alice, the instigator of the project, believes are the key to happiness and a contented life. I initially liked this a lot as each chapter chops and changes between the participants and the reader gets involved in their lives. However, the problems they had annoyed me: a woman who moaned about her life but did nothing to help herself; a woman with a family she basically ignored in favour of her job; a divorced man who just seemed weak and didn't know what had gone wrong with his marriage; a woman who didn't think it wrong to have an affair with a married man..... The tasks Alice sets them to do are interesting and some readers will reflect on their own lives and what they would do in similar circumstances. A bit predictable but a bit of a page-turner to see if what you think will happen, actually happens to all the people.
April 23, 2016
Initially I was hooked. The concept of the plot is an intriguing way of bringing six strangers together to explore six very different characters and storylines. I wanted to be part of 'The Red Folder Project' and make small changes to live a happier life.
By the middle the plot felt a little mundane and did nothing to advance the story in a compelling way, and it didn't build adequately to the final climax. Certain characters felt underdeveloped and I found myself wishing the novel focused on only two of the main characters instead.
An easy summer read that's not quite satisfying but will leave you inspired to live a simpler and happier life.
By the middle the plot felt a little mundane and did nothing to advance the story in a compelling way, and it didn't build adequately to the final climax. Certain characters felt underdeveloped and I found myself wishing the novel focused on only two of the main characters instead.
An easy summer read that's not quite satisfying but will leave you inspired to live a simpler and happier life.
October 13, 2012
Alice Day's theory has led to five strangers meeting in a bar to take part in her experiment. But can this one-time bestselling author, now a mother and housewife, follow through and change their lives for the better (and perhaps her own as well)?
May 3, 2009
Nice easy reading. More chick lit than I usually choose to read but the story held my attention. Interesting to note that the author is actually two people - sisters who combine their work.
December 31, 2012
Interesting character fiction and a quick read, but the authors "try a little too hard" at the end. I read it cover to cover without any regrets.
September 8, 2013
All in all this book was ok, it is about 5 different people and broken down into their individual stories. However it was so hard to remember who was who and you were constantly getting lost.
November 10, 2013
The idea of the book was good but it didn't really do much in the end. All a bit meh:-/
July 16, 2015
While I hate the term , this is light weight chick lit .....ZZZZZZZZZZ. For those that don't know this is actually written by 2 sisters who write under the name Kathryn Webb
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews