I really enjoy the How to Fail podcast which preceded the book but the book didn't, I felt, add a lot more that I hadn't already heard or learnt from that format. Elizabeth Day is very likeable, an excellent writer, and her willingness to share personal stories is absolutely a strength so it's an enjoyable read but it maybe misses the mark in the 'manifesto' element of the book for me. 

Whilst she is very open about her privilege, and this isn't a personal criticism of her, at times the 'failures' just felt a little flat when they weren't really all that much of a failure - not living it large in your twenties, or failing at one night stands is, ultimately, not much of a failure at all - so some of the poignancy was lost in those moments which felt more superficial. 

With one notable exception - I found the chapter on fertility issues to be incredibly moving and a real indictment of an industry which should be helping women at one of their most vulnerable moments and instead is, in many cases, failing at empathy.

As a fan of the podcast series this book is based on, I had high hopes. Thankfully "How to Fail" exceeded my expectations. We have all experienced failure at some point and while Day's perspective is from a place of privilege, there is something for everyone to relate to in the book. 

Part memoir, part self-help book, How to Fail is a book I will return to again and again as I Iearn to turn failure into future success.

After loving the podcast, I couldn't wait to read the book and it certainly didn't disappoint. Heartwarming and inspiring in equal measure.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to our readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me! Sends an important message to our students and will definitely make them think

How to Fail by Elizabeth Day is a funny, heartwarming and hopeful book that I see myself giving away as a gift to family and friends. It was relatable because it is a book about failure and we have all failed (or feel like we've failed) at something in our lives. 

Day lets the readers into her life and shows them how failure and success have a lot to do with perspective. Not only that but that we sometimes feel inadequate and worthless because of these failures. From family. friendship. fitting in and babies - this book explores multiple areas and will show you how our feelings are very similar (if not the same) when we fail and that it is difficult, but not impossible to learn how to fail better.

This is so good on making mistakes as a way of learning and getting better at something. People don’t often talk about failure, tending to highlight their success story to the point their success seems like a distant and unachievable thing. Elizabeth Day is so open and vulnerable about her mistakes. I found this relatable on so many levels. It made my feel less crap about the mistakes I’ve made (and will make in the future) 🙌 Highly recommended!

Written off the back off her hugely successful podcast, How To Fail delves into Elizabeth Day's own personal 'failures' rather than those of her guests. I'd never listened to her podcast before reading this, but I'm now working my way through the back catalogue. What I really enjoyed about this was how she peppered in the advice of others from the podcast throughout, so it wasn't just about her 'failures.' I think it's a really interesting topic and in this society a much needed look at what is a 'failure' and why we're so much harder on ourselves than we are to others.

It’s often the aim of books like this to sound like a chat with a good friend, but that’s not always achieved. No such fear with ‘How to Fail’- Elizabeth Day has succeeded in putting together a book that never patronises, is never holier than thou. It’s a reassuring exploration into the myriad ways in which we can err, and how we can be kind to ourselves when we do.

I adore Elizabeth's podcast of the same name - her honesty and authenticity in both her interviewing and the occasions where she is interviewed make it truly so emotive and engaging.  So I had a feeling her book was going to be just as great and it really didn't disappoint.  I found it so much more motivating to think of the lessons we learn from the things that don't go quite to plan than the self-help books that celebrate success and sometimes feel quite alienating.  Such a wonderful book and as much a memoir as a reflection on failure and making mistakes - I will be buying this for all of my friends.

I am OBSESSED with this book and accompanying podcast. Honest, raw, intelligent and so incredibly helpful in our current state of Instagram false perfection. Recommend forever!

I work in a high school and one the things I wish for the students I work with is that they learn how to fail. I don’t mean that in a nasty ‘fail-your-GCSEs’ way. That would be horrible of me but I do believe that failing is a valuable life lesson. 

Failing is inevitable. It is a part of life. Most importantly, it makes you resilient.

Failing is the subject of Elizabeth Day’s book How to Fail. She explores the various ways in which she herself has failed – be it simple things such as her driving test or the more bleed-all-over-the-page topics such as her marriage and not having a child. Day shows her own failures along with those of the celebrities that she has had on her podcast – How to Fail with Elizabeth Day.

It shows not only our perceptions of ourselves which is often warped and leans towards the negative but how what we deem a ‘failure’ may be something that others see success in. 

How to Fail by Elizabeth Day is one of the best non-fiction books that I have read in 2019. Day really gets her message across to the reader. It is ok to fail.

How to Fail by Elizabeth Day is a very cathartic read.

How to Fail – Everything I’ve Ever Learned From Things Going Wrong by Elizabeth Day is available now.

For more information regarding Elizabeth Day (@elizabday) please visit www.elizabethdayonliine.co.uk.

For more information regarding Harper Collins (HarperCollinsUK@) please visit their Twitter page.

I really wanted to love this, but it didn't do it for me. I enjoyed the humor and found myself laughing a lot, but don't feel like a really related to any of the 'lessons'. I also found that they didn't go together very well. However, I do recommend people at least check out this book - it's a refreshing take failure and an enjoyable read.

I found this quite an interesting read. 

The book generally discusses the concept of what failure means and gives an account of different failures from the author's perspective with a few insights from people she has interviewed. It covers life experiences such as growing up, friendships, career, marriage and relationships. It felt very genuine and personal, particularly the experiences of fertility treatment which I found quite touching.

I thought it was fairly well written, with a conversational tone and good balance between serious topics and humour.  

However, there were several instances within the book where I thought the account was too heavy handed with personal bias and judgement - such as sweeping statements about male obstetricians and a whole chapter on anger about a partner ending a relationship.  

Overall I would recommend a read

I think we all know that failure isn't the end of the world and that it's "never a failure but always a lesson" but that doesn't change the fact that we're still so hard on ourselves everytime we fail and remember those moments even years later. This is why Elizabeth Days book 'How to Fail' is so amazing. It is a reminder. A reminder to not be so hard to ourselves and to allow ourselves to fail. It's also a feel-good book since you realize that you are not the only one that has to deal with failure and embarrassing moments. 
Thanks NetGalley and Harper Collins Uk for my eARC of this book.

How to Fail
By Elizabeth Day
Published by Harpercollins
Available in hardback, ebook, audio
Forthcoming in paperback

And then in the middle of April, I read one of the books that will be in my top five by the end of 2019 or even be the best book of the year.

Elizabeth Day's How To Fail is a magnificent book, looking at failures and how they can make you stronger. 

I discovered Elizabeth Day the other year when I read her article on embracing failure, which made me pick up and read her novel, The Party, and started to listen to her podcast series where she talks to people about their failures.

Failure is part of everybody's lives - sometimes we run from it, sometimes we let it consume us and stop us from taking risks. Failures can be small, some can be huge, some can be so personal that we don't want to talk about them. Elizabeth tackles failures by giving an insight into her life with honest accounts full of humour and sadness on failing at sports, relationships - marriage and divorce, pregnancy and family. The chapters on the desire to have a baby, and having a miscarriage are raw and brave, opening up to the reader, showing an area of womanhood that is not normally discussed. Elizabeth shows the reader that failures are not a dead-end - there is a possibility even if it feels like there's nowhere else to go.

I felt like her honesty and openness really spoke to me (I know, cliche alert) especially the chapters on divorce, relationships and career. As you can see from my photo, I read this via ebook but I feel like I'm going to need to buy this in physical form as I'm going to be referring to it a lot. At times I was nodding along, agreeing, tears in my eyes. 

This is a mainly a memoir but How to Fail is also a self-help book in disguise. Elizabeth shows the reader that we shouldn't let failure limit or define our lives. This book is about standing up for what you desire, knowing that there will be failures but you're willing to accept the challenge. We need to acknowledge failures in our lives and use this to become a stronger person.

How to Fail is a tremendous book, and I really think everybody should read this as we've all faced some sort of failure in our lives. You can buy How to Fail from your favourite bookshop.

I was sent a copy via Netgalley.

This was the first book I've read from this author and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well written and the characters were well thought out.

I loved The Party and I found Elizabeth's writing in this non-fiction book just as compelling and enjoyable to read. The book was well structured and drew out really interesting life lessons from Day's experiences and other people she's interviewed for her podcast. It was funny, moving and insightful at different times.

The reason I couldn't quite move to 5 stars (I'd give it 4.5)  is I did find the levels of privilege a bit hard to relate to. Of course, the experiences of heartbreak, grief and infertility are universal and Day writes about them well. She also acknowledges several times in the text that she has had many advantages in life. In some ways, I felt the overall aura of  privilege was worsened by citing the experiences of her podcast interviewees because it emphasised they mostly came from similar backgrounds - it ended up feeling cosy sometimes...  

Despite this, I would definitely recommend the book and Day's smart, sharp writing. I will look out for whatever she does next, either as a novelist or memoir writer.

Beautiful, heart wrenching and genuinely life changing! Elizabeth Day has a great way of weaving such a compassionate web of stories and I really connected with her.

You know that feeling when you discover a book and you think "oh my god this is my life?".  Meet Elizabeth Day's amazing literally version of her cracking podcast (which has become my bible since the opening pages).  Every single page in this wonderful creation is an insight not only into Elizabeth's life but into life in general.  

The book is spilt into various chapters dealing with childhood, career, motherhood (more on that), relationships etc and is a brutally honest account of the writer's life thus far interspersed with quotes from her interviewees from the podcast.

The chapter that connected with me on a personal basis was the chapter about motherhood.  If any of you know me and have read this then you will know what I am talking about.  I did find myself nodding, tearing up and having to breathe deeply as emotions I thought long surpassed bubbled to the surface.  Also the author's schooldays - yep been there! 

It is not hard to see why this work has been so beloved by the book community at large and I have only one thing to say if you haven't read it - WHY?? Go and rectify this immediately!!!

Five stars!

Thank you 4th Estate, Elizabeth Day and NetGally for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm really not sure what I made of this book.  On one level I applaud the concept yet its execution was not quite what I expected and, for me, fell a little flat.  

I do not have the benefit of having listened to any of the podcasts which gave the idea for this book and, maybe, had I, I may have understood more?  

Whilst I appreciated the open and honest discussion of some very personal material I found myself thinking that much of the rest of the book was an opportunity to name drop.  This took away some of the power of the work.  I felt that the message would have been so much more effective had the book been less generic and more specific. I'd love to hear more about the author's fertility issues and how she reconciled these "failures" - this would be a very powerful read (and one that resonates personally).  Other "failures" seemed rather trite in comparison.

I'm glad I read the book but would be unlikely to read it again.   Would I recommend?  Possibly but with reservations.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.