This was an interesting book and different to what I expected. I expected a book about the mechanics of how the internal voice works (do our vocal cords really move and make sound like some people claim?). It isn't a repeat of self-help books but if you like that genre I would give this a try.

I've been waiting for a book like this for a long time.

In theory a book about chatter probably shouldn't be as readable as this, but it really is well written with great anecdotes, examples, and practical tools to help you have a bit more control of the chatter that goes on in our heads. It was that enjoyable to read that I was disappointed when I turned the page to see 'Conclusion' in bold font. (The Kindle registered less than 60% through the book so was wasn't expecting it yet).

Some of the tools are common sense or already well published, but some of the others were new to me. The book also has a nice section after the conclusion that neatly reminds you of all the tools mentioned throughout the book - so no need for tons of highlighting or folding over the corners of pages.

Ethan Kross has done a great job of making this subject accessible to everyone in his clear writing. He comes across as a really nice chap and I look forward to reading more books from him in future.

My copy of Chatter was provided for free from Netgalley in return of an honest review.

This is an easy to read an insightful look at how we can manage and harness our inner voice. Chatter has plagued me most of my life and this book has helped me accept that we all have it and it isn't going anywhere. To consider my inner voice as an essential part of me and use it to support me is like a gift that keeps on giving. I enjoyed the anecdotes and research details. The tools are repeated and clearly laid out at the end, which I found useful too.

I don’t think I’ve ever learnt more from a book than I have with this one. I saw myself in every chapter, therefore the tips and solutions felt like they were tailor made for me. I have definitely taken tools and tips from this book that I will use for the rest of my life. There was also a good balance of scientific jargon and every day language, making it really accessible and not at all patronising.

Interesting book about something that most of us experience - chatter inside our head.

This book is well written by a respected psychologist and neuroscientist, and is aimed at the average person with little grounding in psychology. Each chapter focuses on different types of chatter we experience and how we can learn to live with it, control and use it to our advantage.

At the end Tools section gives you more ideas of how to apply his theories to your own life, showing that small changes can make a big difference to the chatter than goes on in our head.

Award-winning psychologist Ethan Kross explores the importance of the inner voice within our daily lives. Tell a stranger that you talk to yourself, and you’re likely to get written off as eccentric. But the truth is that we all have a voice in our head. When we talk to ourselves, we often hope to tap into our inner coach but find our inner critic instead. When we’re facing a tough task, our inner coach can buoy us up: Focus—you can do this. But, just as often, our inner critic sinks us entirely: I’m going to fail. They’ll all laugh at me. What’s the use? In Chatter, acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross explores the silent conversations we have with ourselves. Interweaving groundbreaking behavioral and brain research from his own lab with real-world case studies—from a pitcher who forgets how to pitch, to a Harvard undergrad negotiating her double life as a spy—Kross explains how these conversations shape our lives, work, and relationships.

He warns that giving in to negative and disorienting self-talk—what he calls “chatter”—can tank our health, sink our moods, strain our social connections, and cause us to fold under pressure. But the good news is that we’re already equipped with the tools we need to make our inner voice work in our favor. These tools are often hidden in plain sight—in the words we use to think about ourselves, the technologies we embrace, the diaries we keep in our drawers, the conversations we have with our loved ones, and the cultures we create in our schools and workplaces. Brilliantly argued, expertly researched, and filled with compelling stories, Chatter gives us the power to change the most important conversation we have each day: the one we have with ourselves. It's accessible, fascinating and puts a whole new slant on the issue of your inner voice; a voice so often dismissed as unnecessary or even annoying. Kross explains in detail how this voice can be used to guide us and by talking to ourselves this is effectively our method of thinking out loud. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Random House UK, Ebury Publishing and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.
Chatter: The Voice In Our Head, Why It Matters – and How to Harness It, is a fascinating exploration of the voice in our heads. The book explores the significance of chatter in our lives and how we can use tools in the book to transform it from critic to coach.

I absolutely demolished the book, getting through it in just a few days. It flowed well, contained interesting scientific studies, and laid out the tools for you to follow. I found the information about the tools within the chapter sometimes hard to apply to my own life. However, the author has also talked about them in detail at the end of the book which makes things much clearer.

My only gripe about this book is that just as I felt like I was getting to the real bones of the book, I was confronted with a chapter titled ‘Conclusion’. I honestly checked back to the front to make sure I wasn’t missing half the book, but sure enough it was correct.

I felt like I had walked off a cliff with this book. On my Kindle I was just over half way through and yet here was the conclusion? I really felt like this book could have continued on further, with more examples and explorations of the themes. While this was a real let down for me, perhaps part of the reason for this is there just isn’t much more to write about now, considering the early research into this subject.

Overall, I would 100% recommend this book as a short, but fantastically powerful way of learning more about the chatter inside your head. It explains things clearly and in an easy to understand way, while also providing the evidence to back the tools up.

Finally, the tools are wonderfully simple, and I think with a bit of practice could become a staple for me in my day to day life. I will certainly be recommending this book to others.