Happiness expert Karen Salmansohn presents a unique interactive book that invites readers to literally open letters of encouragement, wit, and wisdom whenever they need a boost.Inspired by the trend of "open when" letters sweeping the nation, Instant Happy author Karen Salmansohn has created a bound collection of 12 notes for readers to flip open whenever they need a pep talk. With categories like "Open when you need a laugh," "Open when you're feeling stressed out," and "Open when you need courage," these little happiness-boosters are based on Salmansohn's viral posters that combine witty sayings with colorful graphics.
Karen Salmansohn is a bestselling author (with 2 million books and courses sold), leading behavioral change expert, and columnist for Oprah and Psychology Today, as well as the founder of the popular personal development site NotSalmon.com, which has a vibrant community of 1.5 million followers. Her most recent book is "Your To-Die-For Life: How to Maximize Joy and Minimize Regret . . . Before Your Time Runs Out." She’s been sparking transformations in individuals and companies for a few decades and is passionate about digging deep and finding fascinating insights, tools, and studies from all areas of life, including psychology, Eastern and Western philosophy, neuroscience, quantum physics, and more.
She began writing “self-help for people who wouldn’t be caught dead doing self help” in 1999 with the bestseller How To Be Happy Dammit—the very first personal development book of its kind to have a feisty title, edgy humor, and stylish interior design, which paved the way for self-help authors to write irreverent personal development books. Since then, she’s written many bestsellers, including The Bounce Back Book and Think Happy. Now she’s excited to pioneer the mortality awareness movement by illuminating life’s most avoided conversation—death—and reminding others to live more bravely.
When I opened this little book, I enjoyed the concept of individual letters for each mood that needed to be addressed. Thant being said, I wish it had been more to really invite a change. It was cute and bright with colors and images, but I thought perhaps it needed more envelopes.
I requested this from blogging for Books and I appreciated being sent the book to read and review. I wish I had found more meaning from the words. I do not think this would lift my spirits when I needed a lift.
I like this idea, and I do feel it inspires people the way it is supposed, but it feels too simplistic. I have a real problem with the recommended price of U.S. $14.99/Can. $19.99. No way is this worth that. It reminds me of something you could grab at a dollar store.
The idea is to open the envelope shaped pages to reveal an inspirational "letter." It contains only 12 of these. I seriously went through the entire thing in less than five minutes. The design would be an awesome chilren book. My son was very amused by this thjng, but the content isn't very child appropriate. It contains the word "idiot" and "pissed off."
This is a darling book sure to please any woman or girl. I was an avid letter-writer when I was a girl and the sight of an envelope still thrills me. The addition of something to read within an envelope is even more wonderful. This little book captures all the delight of handwritten, personalized letters and pairs it with inspirational topics to boost the spirit. The illustrations are unique and charming. The words are generally witty and uplifting. However, I was disappointed by the lack of depth in this book. One cannot be truly encouraged with a mere phrase or mantra. I know many, many people won't agree with me but I think Bible verses are what was lacking in this book. Scripture really gives hope and joy and comfort and future. At the same time, don't get me wrong. I also appreciate a variety of inspirational quotes and witty sayings that aren't Scripture. I simply found these ''letters to lift your spirits'' lacking in depth and quality. I do know that many women will find this a fun and thoughtful gift however, and be happy to receive it in a gift basket or any form of gift.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review.
This is an uplifting book with letters to address your mood. If you are looking for a deep message that changes your mindset, this is not the book for you. This is for when you are in a specific state of mind and need something that addresses the issue. You are probably already familiar with the messages in the letters, but the purpose of this book is to offer timely encouragement that lifts your spirit.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way.
I’m an optimistic person, but even the most positive people have down days. And when that happens, Open when… the little book of letters is sure to lift your spirits.
The format is one of the neatest and most unique things about this book. The hardback cover bends an inch from the spine and opens to a dozen pages folded into envelope shaped treats.
The envelope letters are colorful and decorated with diverse illustrations, sharing inspirational messages to brighten shadowy days.
The themes of each letter are as follows: Positivity, Memory, Patience, Confidence, Karma, Truth, Thankfulness, Calm, Forgiveness, Resilience, Growth, and Happiness.
This book of letters is adorable. It makes an exceptionally thoughtful and unique gift for a supportive friend or loved one. I can’t recommend it high enough.
5 Stars
Cover: Love Title: Love Pages: 24 Publisher: Ten Speed Press ISBN: 978-1607749646
I received a complimentary copy of this book from BloggingForBooks.
I know you should never pick a book by its cover, but I thought this looked super cute. Kind of like the gift books I see on the Target shelf near the greeting cards.
Sadly, I didn't think the watercolors inside looked nearly as nice as the cover. While the paintings and lettering aren't terrible, I didn't find most of the art or typography to work much for me in either appearing clean, calm or inspiring. The few exceptions I liked where art and message made me sort of smile are Life Renovation painting room, Being Different unicorn, Idiot beach, Happiness Kitten. I could see myself sending those to others for a lift, but think my $ would be better spent selecting something on my own from the greeting card aisle.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to browse through virtually.
This little book is a lot smaller than I expected. Not as many letters as I had hoped and honestly, not that uplifting. I like the overall idea. It would make for a cute small gift but as for truly boosting your mood, this isn't the book of letters for me.
" I received this from Blogging for Books for free. All opinions are my own."
I wanted this little book because I thought it was the cutest little thing!! It also got here in perfect timing. I've been having a rough few weeks and this book brought up my spirits.
I didn't know what I was expecting for this book. But I do know that I wasn't expecting "letter-like" pages. They even have their own little envelopes!!
This book is super adorable. The illustrations are so freaking cute! My favorite one is the unicorn :)
I definitely recommend this book to anyone. If you've had a bad day, pick it up. If you need a pick-me-up, read it!
It's so inspirational to look at a book like this, everyone should have one.
'Open When' by Karen Salmansohn is a book of 12 letters that you can pop open during various life moments.
Each letter contains a time to open, like when life gets messy or after you've been hurt. They all have as few as a sentence, and in some cases some short paragraphs. There is design and typeset for each one, but I didn't find myself overly impressed. Some of the advice seems good, but some feels a bit mean-spirited. The advice for when someone's been mean is that "sometimes the first step to forgiveness is understanding that the other person is an Idiot" (that last word in larger font and all caps). Perhaps that would spur a laugh, but it served another purpose for me.
The book is very short and feels mostly pretty light in the advice it gives. This is a book for the mildly hurt or grieved, not for the deep hurts we sometimes have. These are band-aids, not deep surgery. Maybe this is a gift book for that friend who is always having shallow problems.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Ten Speed Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
The first step to forgiveness is understanding that the other person is an IDIOT
OPEN WHEN: LETTERS TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS is an unusual book. The impact of this little book goes beyond it's brief length. OPEN WHEN is actually a book of letters that you "open" as needed. Each letter is filled with encouraging, uplifting affirmations. Each letter is accompanied by cute artwork depicting an actual envelope to be opened.
I admit I was a little skeptical when I started reading the letters. I wondered if this was some sort of new age enlightenment? What's the purpose of this? Does this really do any good?
Yes, when an open mind, I found these uplifting messages are genuinely helpful. The letters are not trying to mesmerize the reader into new age thinking; on the contrary, the use of positive affirmations is a well-established method of improving feeling of well-being, and even performance.
I decided to see if there was any scientific research to support using positive affirmation. I discovered that there is indeed solid scientific evidence to support "self-talk" like this. The evidence is easy to find.
One study at Carnegie Mellon University showed that "a brief self-affirmation activity at the beginning of a school term can boost academic grade-point averages in underperforming kids at the end of the semester." Research published in "Society for Personality and Social Psychology" showed that self-affirmation caused executives to have higher confidence and perform better.
The first letter points out that even optimistic people can have blue days: "POSITIVE PEOPLE have negative thoughts too." The letter suggests that people who remain positive "don’t allow those thoughts to grow too big. And they make sure to stop those negative thoughts from following them around all day. "
Here's my favorite letter: "Next time you feel sad or stressed, do a Mental Rental and check that happy memory out again." Even before reading this little book, I had already found this advice to be true. I have personally recalled happy memories as a way of adjusting my attitude.
There was one message that really surprised me: "Sometimes the first step to forgiveness is understanding that the other person is an IDIOT."
Wow--Why didn't I think of that?
All in all, I found this little book to indeed be an uplifting source of encouragement. I suspect that engineering-types may not be too receptive to the encouraging affirmations, but I encourage readers to keep an open mind. I found it worth the effort.
This isn't the kind of book I normally review but again I've been trying to branch out into different books.
Honestly I loved this. You just can't help but smile or laugh when you read certain points and this is definitely a good pick me up when you are down or any other citations in life. This is pretty great to buy for yourself or for someone you care about, I actually have a person in mind that I would get this book for.
This book arrived on the perfect day! I have been having a really awful week honestly. I completely forgot that I requested this for review. As soon as I opened it I read through it and every letter I read fit perfectly (I read them all like I said I had an Awful week) The Illustrations for all of the letters were really pretty. There are 12 letters overall, each promotes happiness and optimism. Great start for anyone wanting to get into "Open When" letters!
Sometimes the first step to forgiveness is understanding that the other person is an IDIOT."
I love that quote and it is oh-so-true.
OPEN WHEN is a cute book with whimsical graphics that will appeal to a wide variety of readers.
Karen Salmansohn is a "Happiness Expert" and she has created this book to help people boost their spirits.
This a collection of 25 notes that readers can open at the appropriate time; such as "Open When you're feeling stressed out" or "Open when you need courage." If readers do this they will then read a letter that will help them to boost their happiness quotient within the context of that particular situation.
The only thing that I would change about this book is that I would have liked it be longer. I rate this book as 4 out of 5 stars.
I really enjoyed this book. It is written by happiness expert Karen Salmansohn and the book is a unique interactive book that invite you, the reader to open letters of encouragement, wit and wisdom whenever you need a boost. I've not seen a book like this before and its definitely something I will be recommending to friends and family.
This little book would make a wonderful gift. It is full of both inspiring and silly text, complimented by beautiful watercolor illustrations. The letter format is fantastic.
Thanks to Netgalley I received an advanced reader copy. This is a cute short little book with illustrations and a few sentences to encourage you. It was super short and sweet.
I really like the idea of this kind of book but I would like to see something a bit longer as well in the future.
Love! It's on NetGalley. I want to read more by this author! Been asked not to review til closer to publication date so I will wait to add my full review. I will buy this little book. It makes me feel happy.
this is an adorable book & a quick read (it's not a novel). I love books like this that are well suited as a gift. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to send this to someone who needs a little bit of extra cheer in their lives. The imagery and the words were really touching.
This is a TINY book. The "envelope" size is small than your usual envelope, and there's not much more than a paragraph...if that, in each "letter". And there are only 12 letters.
Honestly, the book made me sad, because it seems like the kind of things you would own only if there is no one around to encourage you. I mean, what's a generic paragraph from a stranger going to do for you that some good friends or close family couldn't do more?
I also was mixed up as to what kind of book this was. I knew it was "letters to lift your spirits" but I was thinking it was from the "faith" section - from a Christian perspective. It's not. It talks about karma, and about Buddhist belief, and how the first step to forgiving someone is realizing they're an idiot. Hardly Christian thoughts!
While the artwork is absolutely adorable, the content is so less than stellar that it's not a book I'll be keeping around. But, if you like generic messages of affirmation and positivity, this might do it for you.
I received a complimentary copy of Open When... from Blogging from Books in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book couldn't come in better timing. The day it came in I was having a really bad day and decided to go for a walk on my way out I checked the mail. To find my book had a arrive earlier than excepted. This book was a very cheer up book with tons of emotions including some I didn't know where consider emotions. I became very curious and decided to open all of them I loved the envelope idea it was a great idea. It gives a Suspense to curiosity.
Open When is an excellent idea. It's small, creative and requires a minimal modicum of interactivity. Each page has an opposite page, which, acts as a sort of envelope. Included topics are;
For a Bad Day When Your Attitude Needs Gratitude When You Need to Find Inner Strength
However, you'll have to get the book to read all of the categories. It's really nice and would make some excellent giving of gift. We know so many people who would benefit from having this book that we will probably keep it. Yeah, we are selfish sometimes.
It's ugly. But, the book is great. Treat someone you love!
I have to admit that I was pretty surprised when I received this book in the mail. I don't know why, but I was under the impression that Open When: Letters to Lift Your Spirits was going to be much larger. I assumed, since there were various letters included, that the book would be 8.5x11" or a different size similar to that one.
Piggybacking off of my last point, I was disappointed to learn that the "letters" included were actually considered "mini-letters." Honestly, I thought that this would be an inspirational and motivational book full of helpful letters for any occasion. So you can only imagine how I felt to find less than a paragraph on each of the 24 pages.
With that being said, the book wasn't all that bad. Personally, I really enjoyed the watercolor designs on the covers and I especially liked the artwork by Maggie Chiang and Katarzyna Lesiakowska-Tofil. And of course, I liked the overall layout of the book as well. I thought that the envelope designs and the origami layout was a nice touch and perfect for keeping the "letters" hidden until they're needed.
When it comes to the actual content though, it was hit or miss for me. It seemed like a lot of the notes were either instructing you to do something, instead of giving advice, or they were a little too cliche. More specifically, I thought that "Truth" and "Resilience" were too cliche for my liking.
On the plus side though, there were a couple of notes that did stand out to me. My favorites from the collection included: "Patience," "Confidence," "Thankfulness," and "Growth." Not only were these the envelopes that I felt I related to most, but I also felt that these were the one's that the author put the most thought into too.
There is something that I need to point out though. While this book may be great for a preteen or someone living a simple life, I can't say that it would be great for everyone. Personally, as someone that struggles with mental illness, I find it difficult to believe that these notes would be helpful to anyone else struggling with anxiety, depression, or any other similar diagnoses. Obviously, I don't expect this book to work wonders, but including a letter like "Positivity" could really discourage someone struggling with depression. Instead of brightening their day like this book aims for, it could instead make them feel guilty about their thoughts and their actions.
Overall, I'm not sure how likely I would be to recommend this book to others. I guess if you're looking for a cute little pick-me-up to let someone know you're thinking about them, then it would be a good purchase; but truthfully, I can't imagine anyone paying full price for this book. I hate to say it, but this book just doesn't seem worth it to me. I ended up reading it in the time that it took for my computer to update and I really don't see myself reading it again.