102 Free Things to Do: Inspiring Ideas for a Better Life

by Alex Quick

Everyone knows that the best things in life are free . . but it's easy to forget in a world of constant advertising and competitive consumerism. 102 Free Things to Do is a warm, wise and witty reminder that almost everything that really matters can be done on less than a shoestring.
Beautifully illustrated, always entertaining and full of surprising nuggets of advice and information, this is one of those rare books that might just change your life. Or at least make you feel a bit more like getting out of bed in the morning.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Grace]

DNF at 20%

One, it doesn’t even live up to the title, you have to buy things to do some of these things. Not even that you have to travel somewhere to do something, but you need to buy a poster or food. Two, the writing is very wish washy and a bit condescending. Three, this book feels like it was made in a day and feels like it could’ve been a blog post.

[Jemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alex Quick's writing is interesting, a bit wordy, but he gets his point across. Well done, Mr. Quick, for writing a book about 102 free things to do - really, that's quite good.

However some of these ideas were strange... The strangest was the suggestion for going "Dumpster Diving" as a way of getting free food. The writer explains that he has often done this activity outside supermarkets, where their bins aren't locked, and found many wrapped and sealed products with use-by dates either that day or in the future. From that point of reading onwards, I became increasingly sceptical about Quick's ideas. I thought this suggestion was disgusting at best. Bins are dirty, right? I work in a supermarket at the moment. Even if we didn't lock our bins, the stuff we put in those bins is not edible. Very strange idea indeed.

Don't get me wrong, the book is full of useful ideas for engaging with your inner self and with the people in your community, building yourself as a more rounded human being and having a positive impact on other people's lives.

Some excerpts:
'43 Make Christmas presents for your whole family one year'. Wholesome, but potentially very disappointing for the recipient.
'27 Learn to meditate'. Something I highly encourage.
'68 Notice beauty'. Yep. Go do that.
'29 Spend a day and night in a forest'. Surely very pleasant.

On the whole, this book is pleasant enough and does give one a sense of creating a nicer life for oneself, but I don't have any reason to keep this book and read it again. I don't need to go back to the book as a reference tool to remember what gems it holds. There weren't any gems. I felt like I was condescended to. I'm passing it on to somebody else.

[Ms Warner · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should actually be called “102 things that the smuggiest of all smug people should do if they want to feel even smugger”. There’s some general good ideas here, but the author is condescending and smug. It’s a good word that one. Smug.

[Lindsay Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely easy read. Great ideas given and took away a few more books to read.

[Jen Healey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet, quick read, full of warm ideas to remind us about what really matters in life. My favourite suggestions being -

Treasure your precious human body; Don't confuse affluence with well-being; Ask a child for advice; Give up craving for recognition; Notice when things have improved; Practice random acts of kindness (and, if time permits, senseless acts of beauty); Remember that making mistakes is part of being human; Visit Project Gutenberg; Support your local eccentric; Act without expecting anything back; Reflect on something you're grateful for; Fan the flames of desire (a good kick in the pants for me to start writing again); Contemplate imperfection and impermanence as forms of beauty; Come to terms with ageing; Be a Bookcrosser; Make your gratitude less perfunctory; and Smile.

The book itself obviously goes into just enough detail to whet your appetite for suggested activities for enhancing the everyday things and trying out something different.

[Jio Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easily read in a single sitting, although many of the ideas explained in this book merit further investigation. I found a few things that I liked the sound of (for instance, the one- sentence diary, which is a very popular idea), and remembered a few things I have yet to take advantage of (Project Gutenberg). As mentioned in other reviews, the idea of eating roadkill and taking food from bins is not ideal and you won't necessarily learn any particular lesson from this activity other than receiving tetanus and sincerely wishing you didn't. Overall, it is a rather inspiring read, especially for the new year where people are more prone to start new habits and projects.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. It doesn't really offer any new ideas on free things to do. Some of the ideas are stupid, such as "confront someone politely". Oh yes, I'm bored let's get out there confront someone for the sake of entertainment. Another one "reach your ideal weight" goes as far as suggesting women eat 1,500 kcal/day and men eat 2,000 kcal/day, as if every man and every woman were the same and the same starvation rule could be applied to every single one of them. How about go see a nutritionist instead? I get it, that would cost money.
Not worth my time. If you do end up with this book in your hands I would suggest you just read the headlines cause everything else is just blubber.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, it's an easy read, prettily illustrated, with a variety of suggestions, something for everyone. My favourites were 1, 2, 9, 54 and 99.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some strange ideas but a few good ones too