Compare products

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

Best price: £5.99

The million copy bestseller Book of the Year at The National Book Awards ‘Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable.' - Stephen Fry

Positives

Neutrals

Negatives

56.1% 9.8% 34.1%

Senti Score  [65.9%]

Atomic Habits: The life-changing million copy bestseller

Best price: £4.99

People think when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minut..

Positives

Neutrals

Negatives

76.0% 10.5% 13.5%

Senti Score  [86.5%]

* hover your mouse over a word to see more details

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

angry utter tripe simply brilliant hilarious wrong excellent brilliant funny and informative dreadful waste complete waste poor amazing arrogant difficult truly brilliant honest

Atomic Habits: The life-changing million copy bestseller

avoid frustrating really awful disappointing better best great daily habits interesting meaningless absolutely brilliant good very disappointed disappointed excellent hacks simply brilliant

Compare Cons

very disappointed in both products

"could not be posted to amazon i'm very disappointed you have haven chosen not to allow my feed back i feel this is because the of my negativity which is the honest way i've been treated but 0n this occasion honesty is obviously not your best policy !"
99.0%

dreadful waste

"what a dreadful waste of tax payers money and loss to the nhs when such a caring and conscientious doctor is forced to leave the profession because he cannot face the lack of sleep the ridiculous demands the job makes on his physical and mental health his home life"
99.9%

complete waste

"a complete waste of time and money!"
99.9%

utter tripe

"i would recommend buying do no harm by the neurosurgeon henry marsh instead of this utter tripe"
99.8%

total waste

"i was so disappointed total waste of money"
99.8%

huge disappointment

"it was a huge disappointment badly written poor editing poor content a miserable little book"
99.6%

quite annoying

"what i didn’t like it was it sometimes demeans the patients pregnant women and having gone through two difficult births i found a man being glib about women’s health pain quite annoying"
99.5%

total disgrace

"the ruthless exploitation and abuse of medical staff is a total disgrace for which lying greedy politicians of all political parties are to blame"
99.1%

really irritating

"despite that though kay's descriptions had me laughing out loud and whilst i initially found it really irritating having to refer to the footnotes you'll see what i mean these were often the best parts of the book"
99.0%

soooo unfunny

"soooo unfunny it's unbelievable"
98.7%

absolutely awful

"absolutely awful"
98.6%

with caution

"so i'd recommend it as a good read but only if read with caution"
98.6%

unnecessarily crude

"i find the language he uses unnecessarily crude and lazy"
98.5%

with disrespect

"this book is a true account of how medical professionals are under valued un loved and treated with disrespect by a small minority of society and the catastrophic effect such attitudes have upon these human beings"
98.4%

uninteresting antidotes

"contrived forced humour sad uninteresting antidotes of life as a junior dr"
98.3%

quite depressing

"i actually found parts of the book quite depressing if i’m honest and some issues made me feel angry especially the injustice of what the author had to endure not just with some difficult and or dumb patients but worse with how he was often taken advantage of by the medical system with the long hours etc"
98.3%

difficult reading

"the huge amount of explanations also makes for difficult reading of the diary entries having to break off to read the notes"
97.8%

shocking technicolour

"this book shows in shocking technicolour the depth of the water junior doctors are thrown into with very little in the way of lifesaving equipment and kay managed to alter the mood deftly in his recounting of events that led to his decision to leave the profession"
97.4%

actual moron

"i'm not sure whether that would have had legs for a dinner table moment for him or whether he just thought i was an actual moron"
96.6%

quite archaic

"it's quite archaic but the nhs has outgrown itself with more high risk cases such as morbid obesity smokers and cases that are pregnant due to advancing technology therefore requiring high input without staffing that goes with these cases"
96.3%

rather insignificant

"nor do i think it's misogynistic just locker room talk which if you sit primly outside as a third party you could get on a hi horse and criticise but in the heat of the day to day is rather insignificant"
96.2%

exaggerated or farfetched

"you might think it exaggerated or farfetched but you'd be wrong"
94.9%

horrendous hours

"it's a wonder there aren't more accidents given the horrendous hours they work!"
94.5%

unnecessary bad language

"lots of unnecessary bad language that had never been mentioned in the reviews did nothing for the book"
92.8%

frustration anger

"this book clearly shows the overwhelming job doctors have in hospitals portrayed with humour frustration anger and sadness"
92.1%

crude language

"quite a few negative reviewers accuse him of poor crude language"
91.4%

awful sleep

"but even so seeing it written down in all its awful sleep deprived reality was still shocking"
91.0%

extremely distressing

"i enjoy reading books about life in medicine there’s been several of them recently henry marsh’s excellent books being amongst some that i have read and it’s good that the disclosures in these books about allopathic medicine are there for all to read: plus it seems cathartic for the authors to write about their experiences in medicine some of which are extremely distressing medical cases for which they get no debriefing or counselling and others about how stupid the nhs can be with how its managed"
90.8%

boring and repetitive

"the book itself is boring and repetitive"
89.9%

absolute idiots

"it also brings home the huge stretch put on the nhs by absolute idiots who have self inflicted stupid injuries on themselves but who are still seen and treated"
89.5%

unfunny and bland

"no idea why the hype about this book unfunny and bland"
89.1%

with this incompetent

"i would like to use one of his expletives myself in this review but fear it would mean a disqualification which is actually what the bma should do with this incompetent"
89.1%

time back owed

"drs aren't expected to go off sick get time back owed and expected to just keep on until finishing their job on shift"
89.1%

horrible descriptions

"i found it cynical occasionally bordering on misogynist in his horrible descriptions of women and their bodily parts when they are at their most vulnerable gynae detail in the book but perhaps not for a review but describing a womans vagina as a 'tw*t' is one such example "
89.0%

blood boil

"the part where adam says the beds were taken away from on call rooms so doctors can’t be seen sleeping on the job made my blood boil!"
88.3%

total lack

"i veered off into general practice and lasted a little longer than he did however in the end successive governments' total lack of anything remotely helpful or supportive finished off my career just the same and with an incredibly heavy heart i threw in the towel in my early 40's"
88.2%

pathetic person

"i mean why should i be wanting to read about some pathetic person who was never cut out to be a doctor in the first place?"
88.2%

bit boring and repetitive

"i was thoroughly enjoying this book until around the 65% mark on my kindle when his anecdotes started to become a bit boring and repetitive and his tone ever so slightly ‘cocky’"
88.1%

total idiot

"i mean what a total idiot"
87.8%

damaging themselves

"dr kay describes a descent into burn out and it is to his credit that he has the courage to get out of the profession when he is unable to laugh anymore rather than to continue to struggle like hundreds of other doctors do ultimatley damaging themselves their family their relationships and their patients"
75.0%

cruel toll

"too empathetic to the taxing nature of the life and work of a hospital doctor’s incredibly demanding and merciless daily life and the cruel toll it takes"
75.0%

unpaid overtime

"after pouring hard decades of your life into the nhs you can enjoy a salary that is nearly as high as what a 26 year old city lawyer or accountant gets and cut back your unpaid overtime to just a couple of hours a day with sunday afternoons for the paperwork"
74.9%

blatant falsehoods

"a lot of the stories are blatant falsehoods or ripped off from other medical 'diaries"
74.9%

hard long hours

"some of the stories did have me laughing but the overall impression it leaves is a doctor working hard long hours a job he takes great pride in but in difficult conditions at the limits of his knowledge and strength"
74.9%

very difficult

"this book even raised laughs on a very difficult day"
74.9%

screwed over

"as funny as this book is the final section will give you a big dose of reality as life as an a+e doctor and bring you back down to earth where the nhs is getting screwed over"
74.9%

vulnerable relatives

"the fact that it was non fiction made the humour seem tasteless these are real people kaye is writing about and the thought that relatives of his patients could be reading about their vulnerable relatives made me as a health professional myself distinctly uncomfortable"
74.9%

uncaring misogynistic

"he comes across as arrogant uncaring misogynistic with a god complex"
74.9%

grossly overpaid

"it should be read by each politician selected to be sos for health although i imagine they would simply pass it to their grossly overpaid advisor for a one paragraph brief"
74.9%

thankless hours

"i know junior doctors work incredibly hard long thankless hours with little pay to start with and i am so grateful to them i am a qualified nurse so know a little about the workings of hospitals "
74.9%

disrespectful inaccurate

"disrespectful inaccurate and offensive"
74.9%

disrespectful songs

"plenty of filthy condescending disrespectful songs about patients there too"
74.9%

impending doom

"kay does however fill the reader with the impending doom of his rather arbitarily chosen career"
74.9%

housing accommodation

"those young doctors deserve a footballers wage and free housing accommodation!"
74.9%

seems cathartic

"i enjoy reading books about life in medicine there’s been several of them recently henry marsh’s excellent books being amongst some that i have read and it’s good that the disclosures in these books about allopathic medicine are there for all to read: plus it seems cathartic for the authors to write about their experiences in medicine some of which are extremely distressing medical cases for which they get no debriefing or counselling and others about how stupid the nhs can be with how its managed"
74.8%

moan sometimes

"sometimes they’ll say nothing sometimes they might moan sometimes they might cry"
74.8%

threatening deplorable

"the situation is now desperately and in many cases life threatening deplorable"
74.8%

disastrous effects

"he describes passing through the grades of sho registrar and senior registrar none of which existed much after the millenium the sr grade having been abolished with disastrous effects by the then cmo calman"
74.8%

asleep worryingly

"one was found in bushes beside the car park sound asleep worryingly he had been driving for 30 minutes before getting out of his car and simply sat down and fell asleep"
74.8%

saddest part

"the saddest part is how they are treated by other more senior doctors and the management"
74.8%

greedy politicians

"the ruthless exploitation and abuse of medical staff is a total disgrace for which lying greedy politicians of all political parties are to blame"
74.8%

foul language

"it irritated me right from the beginning with its foul language and derogatory tone"
74.8%

supposedly written

"awful book smattered with totally unnecessary bad language if supposedly written by an intelligent educated person who moans all the time about a profession for which he is obviously unsuited for"
74.8%

money and loss

"what a dreadful waste of tax payers money and loss to the nhs when such a caring and conscientious doctor is forced to leave the profession because he cannot face the lack of sleep the ridiculous demands the job makes on his physical and mental health his home life"
74.8%

insult and slap

"but after reading this book i realise what an insult and slap in the face that comment really was"
74.8%

book dismissive

"i am not a prude but it was early into the narrative that i found the tone of the book dismissive misogynistic and overall lacking in empathy"
74.8%

nasty piece

"dr kay is a nasty piece of work"
74.7%

disaster something

"the end game a medicosurgical disaster something which doctors at the pointy end of healthcare will experience on a regular basis cruelly knocked him down"
74.7%

stupid things

"the prostitute who inserted a child's sponge vaginally to sop up menstrual blood the rich seam of finding humour in the category 'patients who put stupid things into their orifices' has been rather over mined in this book to be honest which has 'been schnitzeled flat by her clients' pummellings over the past three months' nice empathy there doctor"
74.7%

were too hard

"you were too hard on yourself but i understand completely"
74.7%

disappointing conclusion

"i’m glad others in the review section have also come to a disappointing conclusion about this book"
74.7%

panic attack

"sections are ‘read out loud to the nearest person’ hilarious the last section is so unrelentingly tragic it quite literally sent me into a full on panic attack"
74.7%

very angry

"but above all it made me very very angry!"
74.7%

saddest books

"this is one of the funniest saddest books i've read in a long time drama pathos whatever that means tears and laughter"
74.7%

very shocking

"also illuminating and very shocking"
74.7%

such stress

"i work in the public sector and understand that you need to be flexible but the thought that we’re putting junior staff under such stress is very unpalatable"
74.7%

ignorance ineptitude

"on many occasion during the book adam points to “stupidity” his own too negligence ignorance ineptitude and fallibility"
74.7%

ridiculous hours

"the last bit is perhaps the most important highlighting the bad distribution of nhs funds with the higher echelons being paid the most for doing the least whilst the staff on the ground working ridiculous hours and being paid such a low wage suffer most and as highlighted in this book eventually throw in the towel and leave"
74.7%

threatening emergency

"so much so that if i’m ever taken to a+e for a life threatening emergency i’d tell my doctor to finish their coffee first"
74.7%

very badly

"the book was very badly written boring in the extreme and not at all funny"
74.6%

emergency services

"in the nhs in some situations a gallows humour has to be adopted and i am sure it is the same for all the emergency services"
74.6%

unfair responsibility

"definitely gives you a better understanding of the ridiculous hours and unfair responsibility the junior doctors are subject to"
74.6%

massive drain

"the book does not hold back on any of the difficulties you need to overcome on a day to day basis or the massive drain it has on your own life and instead of painting a picture of doctors as being beyond human it gives a more realistic view"
74.6%

traumatic events

"the nhs relies on the goodwill of its staff working past their time usually writing up notes or incident forms that you haven’t had time to do during your shift or swapping their shift due to staff shortages at the last minute relies on them building their own support network instead of giving them the right support to deal with traumatic events that are all too common in the job but no amount of training will ever prepare you for working through their breaks “because the ward is too busy”"
74.6%

complete mockery

"the 6 month all change rule also makes a complete mockery of the info i am given"
74.5%

spoiler alert

"spoiler alert: the ending is not what you might expect"
74.5%

failing systems

"what this has also done is make me even more proud of the nhs and its amazing staff and made me even more irritated by the inability of our government to see that and their inability to fix stuff such as failing systems"
74.5%

derogatory tone

"it irritated me right from the beginning with its foul language and derogatory tone"
74.5%

rather depressing

"it paints a rather depressing picture of life as a doctor in an inefficient and stretched system"
74.5%

very sad story

"also known for his song parodies he was the entertainment at prince harry's 30th birthday adam's decision to leave medicine and go into entertainment full time is explained here and it's a very sad story"
74.5%

dangerously long

"how they cope with the dangerously long hours on duty and often with huge responsibility prematurely on their shoulders is an eye opener"
74.5%

crumbling structure

"they can be confessional and moving and frequently highlight the crumbling structure of the nhs and the failure of politicians to appreciate the effect of policies they enact"
74.5%

terrible toll

"i am in awe but equally so angry about the way the national health service is funded run politicised putting not only patients’ lives at risk but the terrible toll it has on the medical profession"
74.5%

often ridiculous

"no only is it eye opening into the life or lack of of our junior doctors and the often ridiculous situations they face it will also make you realise without a doubt that the wellbeing of our healthcare providers is worth fighting for"
74.4%

living babies

"an example that haunted me was that if a baby has died in the womb the mother is still obliged to deliver it in a normal labour ward surrounded by mothers giving birth to healthy living babies how insensitive is that?"
74.4%

lousy wage

"ever been a duty solicitor in crime and had to spend all night in the cells and be paid a lousy wage"
74.4%

unnecessary antibiotic

"read this book and then look yourself in the mirror before nagging the doctor for an unnecessary antibiotic or sticking something not designed for the purpose inside yourself!"
74.4%

negative reviews

"i'm always very sceptical of books and reviewers that claim a book is 'laugh out loud' funny and probably would have been more swayed by the negative reviews had i not decided to read the first few pages before buying"
74.3%

forced humour

"at first i was somewhat irritated by the appearance of forced humour but this quickly gave place to enormous respect and sympathy"
74.2%

seem brash

"i wish a little more time had been spent on expanding the entries mainly because their brevity sometimes makes the author seem brash when i don't think it is the case"
74.2%

mixed feelings

"mixed feelings but overall i didn't enjoy it as much as i'd hoped"
74.2%

left exhausted

"the nhs simply does not look after it's staff and like the doctor in the book both he and i and many other staff have left exhausted and frustrated that we never had sufficient staff the management who know very little about medical matters are running the nhs and telling medical staff how to do their jobs!"
74.1%

very poorly

"having experienced our health service quite extensively as a father to a very poorly child this could be seen as a very worrying portrayal of the system you rely on however reading this retrospectively when the dark tunnel of constant fear and worry is behind you it really is quite cathartic"
74.0%

silly vapid

"to be fair he seems fairly misanthropic generally but i can't help thinking that if you view women as silly vapid and a collection of icky body parts that's not going to make you a wonderful practitioner"
74.0%

missed sleep

"well written extremely frank description of one young doctors journey to becoming a consultant the long hours the unexpected objects inserted in surprising places the cost to his health physical and mental the kindness the missed sleep the missed parties and the ones he'd wished he'd missed"
73.9%

arrogant condescending

"he is rude arrogant condescending hates his job moans about his pay his patients his colleagues etc etc etc"
73.9%

threatening cancer

"" as distressing as infertility clearly is it is hardly the same as a life threatening cancer"
73.8%

stupid injuries

"it also brings home the huge stretch put on the nhs by absolute idiots who have self inflicted stupid injuries on themselves but who are still seen and treated"
73.8%

working staff

"the nhs is on its knees and those in power need a damned wake up call it would do them good to roll their sleeves up and actually work on the wards theatres corridors all areas beside the hard working staff from the lowest paid to highest to see what real hard working people have to cope with on a day to day basis"
73.8%

callous disregard

"the minister in charge must be aware of this but have a callous disregard for the suffering"
73.4%

impending privatisation

"now jeremy hunt’s inadequacy has been somersaulted by further political manoeuvring brexit & the impending privatisation of this marvellous institution"
73.4%

bungling inefficiencies

"the fault lies with the legions of politicians who have lied and bullied anyone who has tried to highlight the bungling inefficiencies and refusal to accept the need for the health service to be properly funded"
73.4%

very uncomfortable

"i've also felt my anger escalate to a very uncomfortable level"
73.1%

main problem

"the main problem i had was the short written record of events and i was left wondering if i was reading a comedy script or a account of life in the nhs"
73.0%

wasted my money

"i'm afraid i didn't like the author's style and in this instance felt that i wasted my money"
72.9%

treated flippantly

"the human condition in extremis is not to be treated flippantly"
72.9%

pointless remarks

"pointless remarks?"
72.8%

thrown annually

"billions of our tax money are thrown annually at the service"
72.8%

overwhelming focus

"whilst there is a is an overwhelming focus on female medical issues due to the author’s career path this is more than compensated by anecdotes about degloving and the dubious use of candles and fans by foolish males"
72.8%

cause problems

"sadly the long working hours and overworked staff continue to cause problems and there doesn't appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel"
72.8%

practically no sleep

"they survive on practically no sleep they never get cover and they have to know every inch of every medical condition they might encounter"
72.7%

difficult conditions

"some of the stories did have me laughing but the overall impression it leaves is a doctor working hard long hours a job he takes great pride in but in difficult conditions at the limits of his knowledge and strength"
72.7%

stupidly injured

"of course this is a book about sick people not just the stupidly injured so there are some moments there where you realise how fragile a human life can be and exactly what the mind and body is or is not capable of"
72.6%

spent hours

"for anyone like me who has spent hours and days in a&e or sundry hospital wards it is impossible not to be moved by the excessive demands placed upon our medics at all levels"
72.6%

they enact

"they can be confessional and moving and frequently highlight the crumbling structure of the nhs and the failure of politicians to appreciate the effect of policies they enact"
72.6%

hurtful honesty

"from cringe worthy blunt to hurtful honesty"
72.5%

nasty experiences

"not a book just a list of nasty experiences and some awful medical definitions"
72.4%

difficult births

"what i didn’t like it was it sometimes demeans the patients pregnant women and having gone through two difficult births i found a man being glib about women’s health pain quite annoying"
72.4%

ridiculously long

"not the reality of ridiculously long hours etc"
72.4%

ultimate resignation

"this book reports through six years of “private” diaries the course of adam kay’s career from medical student to senior registrar and the reasons for his ultimate resignation from the national health service"
72.3%

relentless pressure

"eventually the pressure is too much and sadly he resigns from the nhs as a retired doctor i was really able to relate to his struggles and the sense of relentless pressure from the job often without time to eat or do anything else and i think things are worse now than when i was in practice"
72.1%

sick people

"of course this is a book about sick people not just the stupidly injured so there are some moments there where you realise how fragile a human life can be and exactly what the mind and body is or is not capable of"
72.1%

wrong reasons

"sounds like he went into medicine for the wrong reasons and learned the hard way"
71.9%

mental insurance

"don’t be put off by the intrusion of gallows humour i think most of us needed it as a form of mental insurance!"
71.9%

indulgent self pity

"lots of cliche over indulgent self pity"
71.7%

cold realisation

"you cry through laughter and the cold realisation of the abhorrence of doing the most important job in civilisation as an underrested underpaid under appreciated servent of society"
71.6%

relentless saviour

"the guy illustrates himself as a relentless saviour throughout every page of the book with his stories of self sacrifice and dedication to life but then makes fun of someone for grieving their dog"
71.4%

suspicious places

"a mockery of the misconceptions of medicine a giggle at some of the silly things people do and say an account of many objects rammed into suspicious places and a personal insight into the experiences of one junior doctor"
71.3%

edinburgh fringe

"i am a doctor and bought this having seen his show advertised at the edinburgh fringe then being unable to get tickets"
71.3%

creaking friends

"i fled the nhs 18 years ago and even then it was overstretched and creaking friends tell me how much worse it is now which is heartbreaking to hear"
71.2%

line staff

"i hope the "lay person" can gain a better understanding of the stress of the medical staff before their numerous complaints about front line staff as managers in their offices have no idea of what really matters on the "shop floor" was disappointed when i finished the book a hard act to follow adam kay!"
71.1%

more squeamish

"there are a few sections where the more squeamish might find it a difficult read"
71.1%

hardly surprising

"it is hardly surprising that this book has been a bestseller in the uk given its warts & all account of life working as a junior doctor in the nhs"
71.0%

babies at birth

"is the third poorest performer compared to the 18 developed countries on the overall rate at which people die when successful medical care could have saved their lives" 3 "it has consistently higher rates of death for babies at birth or just after perinatal mortality and in the month after birth" it is sad to say but for a number of serious conditions you are less likely to survive when treated by the nhs than if you were treated by an "average" health care system"
70.8%

shame adam

"what a shame adam felt he had to stop being a doctor but totally understandable"
70.5%

most bitter

"the is the most bitter sweet book i have ever read and if i was prime minister it would be law that everyone reads it"
69.8%

proved too much

"my major sadness is that the pressures proved too much for adam he isn’t the only one"
69.8%

basically anecdotes

"interestingly in it highlights how hard doctors work also v funny in places asia basically anecdotes about former patients"
69.7%

sadness reading

"i've shed tears of both laughter and sadness reading this book"
69.7%

difficulties exhaustion

"having been a junior doctor myself i completely identified with all his difficulties exhaustion and emotional commitment and dedication"
69.6%

obvious detriment

"and to the obvious detriment to any personal relationships or families?"
69.4%

decisions medics

"am not in a medically related field however this book was really insightful as to what it must be like to be a medic and the really difficult decisions medics need to make day to day"
69.4%

crass humour

"still other reviewers have taken him to task for his potty mouth and crass humour"
69.3%

arrest the decline

"doctors teachers and so many public service professionals are leaving their "vocations" and this little book gives us an insight into why and why as a nation we should try to arrest the decline"
69.1%

life expletives

"a very good book marred by unwarranted low life expletives"
68.9%

broken this taboo

"dr kay with his book has broken this taboo"
68.9%

poor content

"it was a huge disappointment badly written poor editing poor content a miserable little book"
68.7%

unrealistic demands

"the writer is simply but tragically burnt out by the extremes of his workload & the book has a very poignant message about the unrealistic demands we place on our hospital doctors"
68.7%

womens problems

"this was a book club choice for me as this is womens problems!"
68.3%

frighten her to death

"frighten her to death !"
68.3%

quite angry

"i felt quite angry after reading this as it clearly shows the disregard the government has for our medical profession"
68.2%

lots of cliche

"lots of cliche over indulgent self pity"
68.2%

simply unnecessary

"however comments like ‘the midwife will run along and do the bloods’ and his endless comments about the stupidity of his colleagues nurses and patients was simply unnecessary"
68.1%

nurse paging

"i have been the impatient nurse paging an already overstretched junior doctor to come and review a patient prescribe more pain relief or fluids check gent or vanc levels or write a discharge letter as the patient is standing in front of me dressed holding their packed belongings with their angry relative who has come to collect them"
67.8%

suffer any pain

"luckily i do not suffer any pain"
67.7%

important issue

"style lacunae: gaps in the text that does not deal with an important issue and is therefore not effective or convincing "
67.6%

deprived reality

"but even so seeing it written down in all its awful sleep deprived reality was still shocking"
67.5%

poorer state

"if it wasn't for how hard some doctors and nurses work beyond their official working hours the nh s would be in a poorer state then it is now"
67.4%

bang your head

"you bang your head against a brick wall trying to get the government to understand i am in education"
67.4%

suffer most

"the last bit is perhaps the most important highlighting the bad distribution of nhs funds with the higher echelons being paid the most for doing the least whilst the staff on the ground working ridiculous hours and being paid such a low wage suffer most and as highlighted in this book eventually throw in the towel and leave"
67.2%

star reviews

"as a nurse with over forty years experience in neonatal care i was hooked into this book by the 4 star reviews"
67.2%

health pain

"what i didn’t like it was it sometimes demeans the patients pregnant women and having gone through two difficult births i found a man being glib about women’s health pain quite annoying"
67.2%

amateur transplants

"as a fan of amateur transplants and their work as a band i already had a predisposition to enjoy adam kay's work and the book never failed me"
67.1%

picture warning

"also why condoms should have a picture warning on the packet"
67.1%

constant constant need

"the author dr adam kay worked principally in the obstetrics & gynaecology depts of various hospitals & writes of constantly having to deal with one life threatening crisis after another of over long shifts often having to be extended by yet another crisis 10 minutes before he is due to clock off & of the constant constant need for sleep"
67.1%

were n't about work

"also i wasn’t sure some of the diary entries particularly those which weren’t about work were really true eg the stag do "
67.1%

feel guilty

"it made me feel guilty about complaining about how hard i work in my flexible part time work that stretches to almost full time and sometimes 7 days a week"
66.8%

life or lack

"no only is it eye opening into the life or lack of of our junior doctors and the often ridiculous situations they face it will also make you realise without a doubt that the wellbeing of our healthcare providers is worth fighting for"
66.8%

much pressure

"there is an underlying message that the nhs is itself suffering from too much pressure on essential doctors and nurses"
66.5%

they deserve

"should read this book and maybe just maybe our wonderful nhs and medical staff would get the funding they deserve"
66.4%

multiple emergencies

"examples of the stress experienced by so called “junior doctors” working often unsupported and having to deal with multiple emergencies often at the expense of their personal commitments"
66.3%

give the book a miss

"if anyone is slightly squeamish about that area you might want to give the book a miss"
66.3%

drain reading

"if you don't laugh like a drain reading this then your name is probably jeremy hunt"
66.1%

that i did n't enjoy

"there was an underlying tone that i didn't enjoy"
66.1%

ruined each time

"i synpathise with adam kay and how hard he worked etc etc but the way he tried to put his point across was completely ruined each time because rather than write properly with descriptive adjectives he repeatedly used swear words"
65.9%

unfortunate error

"it must be aweful to be accused of a mistake knowing full well that you were so tired and could hardly stand when this unfortunate error occurred i think in this man's case it was when through a mishap in communication a baby died and very nearly the mother"
65.6%

very skeptical

"hearing the hype surrounding this book i was very skeptical i was concerned that a dr had turned patients worst moments in to humour to sell a book"
65.5%

unless you want

"also if you don't like the use of the "f" word in this book probably not for you and also probably not one to buy your aged aunt unless you want to"
65.4%

explained to them

"the contempt for women who ask questions or want options clearly explained to them"
65.4%

that disaster

"i was that disaster"
65.4%

unless something is done

"unless something is done about it there will be no nhs with cheap doctor slavery but i guess this is what the main aim is from the powers that be"
65.3%

stretched to the limits

"an nhs already stretched to the limits in terms of staffing will only get worse if we cant support the staff we have"
65.3%

their inability

"what this has also done is make me even more proud of the nhs and its amazing staff and made me even more irritated by the inability of our government to see that and their inability to fix stuff such as failing systems"
65.2%

ridiculous demands

"what a dreadful waste of tax payers money and loss to the nhs when such a caring and conscientious doctor is forced to leave the profession because he cannot face the lack of sleep the ridiculous demands the job makes on his physical and mental health his home life"
65.2%

unrelenting attachment

"i like the unrelenting attachment to the profession and healthy disrespect for ruling politicians and most of all the glimpse into the life of a specialist doctor"
65.0%

bash out all three

"it's hard to write funny it's hard to write compelling it's hard to write heart breaking unless that is you're adam kay in which case you can apparently just bash out all three while you're working as a doctor"
65.0%

unable to laugh

"dr kay describes a descent into burn out and it is to his credit that he has the courage to get out of the profession when he is unable to laugh anymore rather than to continue to struggle like hundreds of other doctors do ultimatley damaging themselves their family their relationships and their patients"
64.9%

unimaginably traumatic

"this must be an unimaginably traumatic experience for a caring doctor"
64.8%

negative reviewers

"quite a few negative reviewers accuse him of poor crude language"
64.7%

it's rubbish

"my opinion is it’s rubbish"
64.6%

waste of time

"waste of time"
64.5%

need sleep

"firstly this book should come with a health warning: do not start reading this late at night unless you don't need sleep and secondly if you do read it in bed ensure you are alone as you may end up in hospital when your partner threatens to shove your kindle up your rectum because your constant laughing and snorting is keeping him awake but thankfully having read up all about pr's i felt confident that the junior doctors would be able to remove it if necessary"
64.5%

before buying

"i'm always very sceptical of books and reviewers that claim a book is 'laugh out loud' funny and probably would have been more swayed by the negative reviews had i not decided to read the first few pages before buying"
64.4%

nothing sometimes

"sometimes they’ll say nothing sometimes they might moan sometimes they might cry"
64.4%

down for my taste

"was looking for humour but a bit of a let down for my taste"
64.3%

very mixed

"i had very mixed views about this book"
64.2%

moan moan moan

"it was moan moan moan"
64.0%

quite shocking

"on a more serious note the reality of being a junior dr and the long hours is quite shocking"
63.9%

repetitive stories

"starts off very funny indeed but soon turns into an endless list of boring and repetitive stories about the gynaecology ward"
63.8%

much hierachy

"i know there is a shortage of both nurses and doctors but my personal opinion is that there is too much hierachy involved in the nhs"
63.7%

much swearing

"this book just isn't funny at all and there's too much swearing i it"
63.7%

being late

"the two parts which will stay with me forever is the description of the lost swab incident yes we do crawl around the floor and delve into the ‘bran tub of doom’ on such an occurrence and the reason for being late out from work almost every single shift"
63.7%

could hardly

"it must be aweful to be accused of a mistake knowing full well that you were so tired and could hardly stand when this unfortunate error occurred i think in this man's case it was when through a mishap in communication a baby died and very nearly the mother"
63.7%

nursing staff

"as a retired member of the medical profession a junior doctor as he was then relies heavily on the nursing staff to keep them right in many aspects of patient care and senior consultants preferences on procedures"
63.5%

unable to carry

"i am sorry he was unable to carry on"
63.5%

same stuff

"i'm a doctor and been through all the same stuff and i must say he sounds quite melodramatic and over the top"
63.1%

plain old accidents

"it doesn't shy away from how negligent quick fixes or plain old accidents might come about i'm not sure i'd have a steady hand after no food or sleep for one day least of all two with a never ending bleep and no rest in sight"
63.0%

rather arbitarily

"kay does however fill the reader with the impending doom of his rather arbitarily chosen career"
62.9%

unlikely to be the last

"the real tragedy is that he's unlikely to be the last"
62.9%

life or death decisions

"working insane hours they are expected to make life or death decisions and be able to function on a level that requires total concentration and commitment"
62.9%

forgotten most of

"i read it really quickly probably won't ever read it again and i've forgotten most of it"
62.9%

sales figures

"on the whole though it's a cover to cover whinge about how tough life is as a junior doctor i am sure much the same could be said of junior teachers or junior most things even junior lawyers and how badly the nhs operates again i am sure much the same could be said of most institutionalised professions and maybe this needed to be said by someone to get the attention the nhs needs but kay doesn't offer any solutions or practical advice and it certainly doesn't explain the extraordinary sales figures"
62.8%

desolation irritation

"but it doesn’t stop there once one becomes a consultant the desperation desolation irritation and sometimes rage re appear at regular intervals"
62.7%

third poorest performer

"is the third poorest performer compared to the 18 developed countries on the overall rate at which people die when successful medical care could have saved their lives" 3 "it has consistently higher rates of death for babies at birth or just after perinatal mortality and in the month after birth" it is sad to say but for a number of serious conditions you are less likely to survive when treated by the nhs than if you were treated by an "average" health care system"
62.7%

too emotionally heavy

"it's probably worth noting that a large part of the book focuses on gynaecology and obstetrics so i imagine it might be too emotionally heavy in parts for people who've had difficulty in either area as a patient"
62.7%

ignore these aspects

"there is a political element to this book and given the recent issues that the nhs faces it would have been wrong to ignore these aspects"
62.6%

sadly doubt

"also the level of pastoral care for junior doctors seemed to be totally non existent one hopes that it has changed since the diaries were written but somehow i sadly doubt it"
62.6%

clearly never

"he was clearly never cut out to be a doctor he hated every minute of it and is no great loss to medicine"
62.6%

read anything remotely

"i don’t usually read anything remotely to do with human services as i work in them but i happened on this one after a recommendation"
62.5%

awful reality

"he's perhaps lucky he chose obstetrics because we can imagine those in a&e or say cardiology face this awful reality far more frequently than an obstetrician"
62.4%

very worrying

"having experienced our health service quite extensively as a father to a very poorly child this could be seen as a very worrying portrayal of the system you rely on however reading this retrospectively when the dark tunnel of constant fear and worry is behind you it really is quite cathartic"
62.3%

does n't ring true

"the time framework of the book doesn't ring true"
62.3%

bordering on misogynist

"i found it cynical occasionally bordering on misogynist in his horrible descriptions of women and their bodily parts when they are at their most vulnerable gynae detail in the book but perhaps not for a review but describing a womans vagina as a 'tw*t' is one such example "
62.2%

emotional mess

"but do not do what i did and read it while on the bus going to and from work on the way in i was laughing so hard people were giving me funny looks while on the journey home i was an emotional mess after having something in my eye for 20mins *a complete lie"
62.1%

compulsive reading

"this book makes compulsive reading as we follow the ups and downs of adam kay from a medical student to an over worked senior registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology"
62.0%

occasional visitor

"whether you're an occasional visitor to hospitals or there far too often you will enjoy it"
62.0%

tragic times

"yes there are tragic times"
61.9%

quite cathartic

"having experienced our health service quite extensively as a father to a very poorly child this could be seen as a very worrying portrayal of the system you rely on however reading this retrospectively when the dark tunnel of constant fear and worry is behind you it really is quite cathartic"
61.8%

misogynistic just

"nor do i think it's misogynistic just locker room talk which if you sit primly outside as a third party you could get on a hi horse and criticise but in the heat of the day to day is rather insignificant"
61.7%

suffer the most

"yes i know the budget is tight but something has to give and sadly it is the patients and those working the frontline that suffer the most"
61.7%

hard hitting

"some hard hitting and sad stories that will show people what it is really like working in hospital"
61.6%

faint hearted

"there are definitely a few ‘ouch’ moments and the frequent talk of bodily fluids all the things that can go wrong with the human body and things that people do to themselves for pleasure or vanity might not be for the faint hearted!"
61.6%

retain their sanity

"people who are offended by what he's written need to chill or come up with a alternative to dark humour that helps medical professionals retain their sanity"
61.5%

abandoned the rest

"mine certainly is not i became really bored at 25% so abandoned the rest"
61.5%

offensive excause

"thank god he has left and the way it has been written😫😫😫 quite frankly i am astounded this boring and offensive excause for a book was written by a person of allegedly high intelligence"
61.4%

giving up in frustration

"managed to plough my way through 20% before giving up in frustration"
61.4%

rather less

"other reviews have taken a rather less sympathetic approach that his book is essentially a 280 page whineathon"
61.3%

human stupidity

"other passengers may notice when you get to the bits about human stupidity"
61.3%

obesity smokers

"it's quite archaic but the nhs has outgrown itself with more high risk cases such as morbid obesity smokers and cases that are pregnant due to advancing technology therefore requiring high input without staffing that goes with these cases"
61.1%

very sad reflection

"this is a really funny book but at the same time a very sad reflection of how ridiculously stretched staff at all levels are and how over worked and underpaid they are by the nhs!"
61.1%

totally criminal

"the unbelievable pressure the people who save lives work under is totally criminal they have no time for a private life no time to relax barely any time to sleep"
61.1%

unable to get tickets

"i am a doctor and bought this having seen his show advertised at the edinburgh fringe then being unable to get tickets"
61.1%

very sad events

"the lack of public resources and some very sad events"
61.0%

angrily described

"having an alternative career as a writer would have helped but the relentlessness of the work so angrily described must have made the decision easier"
61.0%

repetitive rather

"don't get me wrong it's very readable and quite amusing but it got repetitive rather too soon"
60.9%

turning a blind

"i have also been the nurse on nightshift when things have been the “q” word turning a blind eye as a junior doctor sneaks into the day unit next door for some shut eye because they are exhausted on their 5th night"
60.9%

real tragedy

"the real tragedy is that he's unlikely to be the last"
60.9%

ugly cry heartbreaking

"it’s also ugly cry heartbreaking"
60.8%

womb screams

"i'm just a little old fashioned where the f word is used so commonly these days everywhere so much that babies will be bungie jumping out of the womb screams 'f who turned the light on'"
60.7%

laughter tears

"i won’t spoil anything but that part is where your laughter tears change to sad tears"
60.7%

sarcasm and self

"his dry sardonic wit literally had me crying with laughter his sarcasm and self depreciating humour and observational comedy was pure gold"
60.6%

concerned about the

"it left me even more concerned about the nhs and how it’s going to cope with the baby boomers generation growing old"
60.5%

died in the womb

"an example that haunted me was that if a baby has died in the womb the mother is still obliged to deliver it in a normal labour ward surrounded by mothers giving birth to healthy living babies how insensitive is that?"
60.4%

wrong could i

"how wrong could i be"
60.4%

arrogant and rude

"contrary to their views that the author was arrogant and rude and didn’t care about his patients adam struck me as a great dedicated doctor"
60.4%

icky body parts

"to be fair he seems fairly misanthropic generally but i can't help thinking that if you view women as silly vapid and a collection of icky body parts that's not going to make you a wonderful practitioner"
60.4%

arrogant and conceited

"this doctor came across as arrogant and conceited"
60.3%

already dying

"i don't want to get too much into the political side of it as i'd probably write enough to make my own book but a huge change needs to happen and asap before an already dying nhs finally gives up the ghost completely"
60.3%

intimidation lack

"however they did not effectively address the bullying boasting intimidation lack of consideration and nastiness they had to endure because of the consequences to their career"
60.2%

very little sleep

"what doctors have to deal with on very little sleep the huge responsibilities they have and the decisions they have to make are shocking"
60.1%

despite this

"despite this the brevity does also help in conveying the rush and chaos of the job and how little time there really is to care or show you care as the next emergency beckons tiredness overcomes you and numbs you"
60.1%

worse than the average

"from the report: 1 "the uk’s nhs performs worse than the average in the treatment of eight out of the 12 most common causes of death" 2 ""
60.0%

brutal reality

"but this really brings it home in all its falling asleep at the traffic lights brutal reality"
60.0%

bad medical system

"i agree with most comments that the book is very funny but we should not forget the roots of a bad medical system that allows individual or a group of individuals to fail to apply knowledge if any correctly"
60.0%

inadequate funds

"uproariously funny for the most part but tinged with the frustration that medical staff in the nhs are fighting an uphill and possibly a losing battle in terms of patient satisfaction due to inadequate funds and trained personnel"
59.9%

their training

"their training is an ongoing baptism by fire during which sadly more and more doctors are moving abroad to countries where they are properly valued properly paid and never asked to work continuously for close to 100 hours"
59.8%

losing wonderful doctors

"we are losing wonderful doctors like this from the profession due to the unbearable intolerable pressure they are put under"
59.8%

irritating at times

"very accessible for non medics kay provides footnotes to explain procedures and medical jargon throughout the book which can be a bit irritating at times but are also funny in their own right"
59.8%

wasting saga of brexit

"read it in oct 2019 when the whole stupid time and money wasting saga of brexit was in full cry"
59.7%

short sections

"the short sections on cancer are particularly tough"
59.7%

sheer exhaustion

"life seems to be a tsunami of problems accompanied by sheer exhaustion"
59.6%

their views

"contrary to their views that the author was arrogant and rude and didn’t care about his patients adam struck me as a great dedicated doctor"
59.3%

these doctors

"we should support these doctors more"
59.3%

were so tired

"it must be aweful to be accused of a mistake knowing full well that you were so tired and could hardly stand when this unfortunate error occurred i think in this man's case it was when through a mishap in communication a baby died and very nearly the mother"
59.1%

miserable little book

"it was a huge disappointment badly written poor editing poor content a miserable little book"
59.0%
...

very disappointed in both products

"very disappointed"
99.0%

daily habits

"there's so much insight into human psychology and how it manifests in our daily habits"
99.3%

really awful

"i was really really really awful at it"
98.9%

terrible thing

"and usually that's a terrible thing because then no matter how good the book is i can't help feeling slightly let down"
90.7%

smoking cessation

"i wish i’d had this useful book at my elbow when i worked in smoking cessation"
74.9%

overly simplistic

"it follows the typical self help formula of common sense and old ideas combined with overly simplistic charts and celebrity anecdotes to remind you of what you already know"
74.7%

find fault

"i can't find fault with this book"
74.4%

occasional relapse

"‘never miss twice’ has become my profile picture and such a great way to deal with the occasional relapse to laziness or when life takes over"
74.1%

slightly let down

"and usually that's a terrible thing because then no matter how good the book is i can't help feeling slightly let down"
73.8%

unnecessary repeat

"i wouldn't say it's the beat english as sometimes you feel it's a bit lengthy with some unnecessary repeat"
71.3%

took me a long

"took me a long while to read it as stopped to consider a lot"
69.4%

routine chores

"" unthinking habits are all about economy of effort in routine chores"
68.1%

lightweight reading

"this is lightweight reading however"
67.5%

awfully dumbed

"it is a noble relative to the awfully dumbed down duhigg on habits but belongs to the same family"
66.6%

stuck out most

"one of the bits that stuck out most for me was how sometimes we need to learn to love the boredom of a good habit in order to endure it for the long term"
64.7%

making scam

"it's also double the price and a money making scam on what could be a blog post"
64.0%

meaningless resolutions

"given it is 2 january 2020 i'm excited to trade in meaningless resolutions for actual behavioural change strategies that work"
64.0%

long winded

"and okay to be totally fair the power of habit did indeed help me understand how habits are formed but it was also kind of long winded and included organizational & societal habits too things that i personally wasn't interested in "
63.4%

untenable lines

"but it would be helpful to the reader if he worked out these untenable lines of thinking beforehand and avoided taking the reader down them altogether"
62.5%

no longer functional

"com' is no longer functional and therefore the additional resources are not available"
61.5%

their execution

"once established these are initiated each time automatically because that's your time to do x and they are cumulative 10 pages day adds up to a complete book at some point but they are most definitely not unthinking or automatic in their execution"
60.6%

manifestly untenable

"32 35 but this is manifestly untenable believing you are a writer is not the same as actually writing a book nor does mere belief lead to action"
59.0%

negative habits

"i cannot recommend the book enough if you are stuck in your negative habits and want to acquire a set of empowering ones"
58.8%

additional resources

"com' is no longer functional and therefore the additional resources are not available"
58.1%

have forgotten

"i'm reluctant to call this a 'self help' book because that lump it into the 95% of 'self help' that contain inspiring words & messages that make you feel great for a couple hours but after 2 weeks you have forgotten"
56.8%

seem obvious

"it has some points which seem obvious however puts a different spin on and some which are not so obvious"
56.4%

best school manual

"my copy is heavily highlighted and i am going to return to this textbook or handbook it’s not a misnomer the book deserves study like the best school manual before final exams many times"
56.3%

term `` habit

"for example he uses the term "habit" to refer to three quite different things without taking into account the differences: first what one might call "unthinking habits " such as making coffee first thing in the morning automatically no decision required you just do it without thinking but there is none of the progressive effect that clear describes as a virtue of "habits"
54.6%

does n't come into

"only half way through and seeing progress already it’s all about your systems and thankfully will power doesn’t come into it"
54.6%

acknowledge my bad habits

"this book helped me begin to acknowledge my bad habits and devise strategies to eliminate them whilst simultaneously providing an easy to follow guide on building good ones"
54.5%

which is crazy

"which is crazy i know!"
54.0%

going to be cheesy

"i did warn you i was going to be cheesy: yep this book has changed my life"
54.0%

not read this book

"i wouldn't have ever done that had i not read this book"
53.9%

n't know how good

"i have enjoyed reading the weekly newsletter james sends out so knew the book would be good i just didn’t know how good"
53.8%

trying to do too much

"trying to do too much or change too much too quickly"
53.7%

filled in the gaps

"while some of the ideas in the book were hacks i have adopted when i try to change or build new habits this book really helped me understand how habits work and filled in the gaps for me"
53.7%

however was disappointing

"his book however was disappointing"
51.6%
...

Compare Pros

simply brilliant in both products

"a simply brilliant book written by a natural craftsman"
100.0%

absolutely brilliant in both products

"absolutely brilliant book"
100.0%

highly recommend in both products

"excellent book for a gift of reading yourself highly recommend"
99.6%

fascinating insight in both products

"a fascinating insight into the hard work of the staff of the nhs"
99.4%

really good in both products

"a poignant heartbreaking book a really good read but with a hard hitting message"
99.3%

good insight in both products

"a good insight into what really goes on behind the scenes"
96.8%

absolutely loved in both products

"absolutely loved this book"
92.2%

well written in both products

"well written the author has a wry sense of humor and brilliant turn of phrase"
91.2%

really well in both products

"really really well enjoyed"
74.9%

enjoyed this in both products

"enjoyed this"
74.6%

true insight in both products

"an excellent book that gives a true insight into the life of a junior doctor"
74.6%

recommended read in both products

"a recommended read to anyone who would like a truthful account of how life is as a junior doctor working for the nhs"
74.5%

great book in both products

"this got a few laughs from me well done adam for producing such a great book!"
74.4%

added humour in both products

"any medical jargon is clearly explained with added humour the resuscitation one is brilliant "
74.3%

very interesting in both products

"the nuffield report "the nhs at 70: how good is the nhs" is very interesting reading and compares the nhs to 17 other health systems in developed countries"
74.3%

very happy in both products

"thank you adam for speaking up and making me laugh and inventing paracetamoxyfrusybenzoneonycin which has made me very happy in impossible situations"
74.2%

truly brilliant

"truly brilliant read and an eye opener for all!"
100.0%

funny and informative

"both funny and informative"
100.0%

truly hilarious

"there are some truly hilarious stories in here"
100.0%

truly excellent

"this is a truly excellent book"
100.0%

brilliantly humorous

"but this is also a brilliantly humorous account which tackles some very serious issues including the weaknesses inherent in mankind and highlights how thankful we should all be for the compassion of those in the medical profession and that they are human too!"
100.0%

brilliantly hilarious

"that sounds very serious it is but that aside it is mainly a brilliantly hilarious read"
100.0%

highly entertaining

"whilst the approach of the author may be a little too cynical for some this is a highly entertaining read that may go some considerable way to highlighting the issues that our medical professionals face in trying to follow a vocation whilst working within a system that places unreasonable demands upon them for little tangible reward"
100.0%

brilliant achievement

"it's is a brilliant achievement"
100.0%

truly magnificent

"i’m nothing to do with the health profession but appreciate what a truly magnificent job they do"
100.0%

excellent story

"no self pity in this book just a down to earth and sometimes humorous sometimes sad excellent story of how the nhs is still the great institution it is due to the people who work for it and how they continue to work for it when when others would have thrown in the towel"
100.0%

most hilarious

"adam kay captures this perfectly but weaves it between the most hilarious stories from his time in practice"
100.0%

brilliant writer

"he has a wicked sense of humour is a brilliant writer and i wish him every success in his new career"
100.0%

fantastically funny

"as for the book it is both heartbreaking and fantastically funny well written and easy to plough through"
100.0%

extremely funny

"at times the stories are extremely funny but the other side is the sadness and the amazing expectations that we place on junior doctors"
100.0%

truly dedicated

"just read it enjoy it and be super grateful that we are lucky enough to have an nhs and truly dedicated heroes like the author working in it"
100.0%

exceedingly moving

"laugh out loud funny exceedingly moving engaging engrossing worrying"
100.0%

brilliant wordsmith

"adam kay is a brilliant wordsmith providing the reader with many hilarious laugh out loud moments coupled with the often absurd realities of life and the inevitability of death"
100.0%

highly amusing

"the way in which our struggling young hospital doctors are abused and undervalued is nothing new but adam kay’s diaries sharpen our understanding with detailed anecdotes which are often highly amusing but frequently utterly heartbreaking"
100.0%

superb narrative

"if you are interested in all things medical this is a superb narrative"
100.0%

wonderfully hilarious

"thank you adam for a wonderfully hilarious well written account we thoroughly enjoyed it"
100.0%

absolutely excellent

"absolutely excellent expose of a hidden world that we desperately try to collectively ignore"
99.9%

great material

"adam kay has a brilliant comic touch and since he worked in urology and gynaecology he has plenty of great material"
99.9%

brilliant turn

"well written the author has a wry sense of humor and brilliant turn of phrase"
99.9%

simply amazing

"this is simply amazing"
99.9%

absolutely wonderful

"absolutely wonderful book that truly does sum up what it's like to be a doctor"
99.9%

absolutely fantastic

"this book is absolutely fantastic"
99.9%

charity shop

"not even good enough for a charity shop"
99.9%

brilliant insight

"brilliant insight into the life of a junior doctor and the nhs funny poignant and evocative"
99.9%

rich medium

"as was the pms comment when campaigning to a tearful nurse who hadn't had a pay rise in 6 that there wasn't a "magic money tree" well there is for the things this government feel are important like wespons and the dup the nhs however a socialised health care system for rich medium or poor for anyone including mps is clearly not one of them"
99.9%

beautifully written

"adam kay's beautifully written book had me laughing out loud from page 1 and kept me amused throughout"
99.9%

really witty

"adam kay gives a really witty gritty and brutally honest account of his years spent as a junior doctor which if you're like me you'll be surprised to learn is a doctor of any grade below consultant"
99.8%

good laugh

"i would definitely recommend this especially to people who moan about junior doctors and nurses or `anyone who likes a good laugh"
99.8%

absolutely hilarious

"an absolutely hilarious yet heart breaking read"
99.8%

unexpectedly moving

"it's laugh out loud funny indiscreet and at times unexpectedly moving"
99.8%

very witty

"this diarised account of a junior doctor at work is equally very witty and very shocking"
99.8%

frequently hilarious

"excellently readable frequently hilarious and often touching account of life as an nhs doctor"
99.8%

huge contribution

"hilarious worrying harrowing and moving by turns this book is a great insight into the lives of those who make such a huge contribution to our society in hospitals around the country"
99.8%

most amusing

"a true insight to the 'workings' of the nhs but the writer has portrayed his experiences in the most amusing but at the same time totally honest way"
99.8%

very brave remarkable

"what a very brave remarkable man"
99.7%

excellent seller book

"excellent seller book in great condition and a fantastic read"
99.7%

great lengths

"this book gives a small insight into how human beings go to great lengths to keep the system up and running and how the pressure is taking its toll both on them and on the patients they are trying to help"
99.7%

incredibly funny

"not only a fantastic insight in to the nhs but also incredibly funny heart warming and at times sad"
99.7%

immensely funny

"aswell as being immensely funny people do do the strangest things to the most sensitive parts of their anatomy !"
99.6%

remarkably funny

"i thought this book was remarkably funny"
99.6%

humour hilarity

"although the overriding emotion as i read this book was humour hilarity actually i nearly did pee my pants on several occasions i couldn't help but feel an almost overwhelming sense of horror and also anger at what being a junior doctor in a hospital entails"
99.6%

quite funny

"quite funny quite serious mostly engaging on a harrowing subject we all have to deal with in life"
99.5%

funny heartwarming

"this book is funny heartwarming and poignant in equal measure"
99.5%

superb account

"superb account of the scant regard given by our nhs to the training and welfare of the next generation of doctors"
99.5%

really funny

"but a lot of the stories are really funny"
99.4%

most humorous

"one of the most humorous reads i’ve had in a long time!"
99.2%

absolutely amazing

"it is an absolutely amazing read and anyone that has worked in a hospital will relate to it"
99.0%

funny beautiful

"as heartbreaking as it was funny beautiful and poignant this was definitely a case of me finding the right book at the right time"
98.9%

very funny

"as a doctor myself i found adam's book honest and endearing but above all very funny"
98.8%

delightfully indulgent

"i have sat in the offices of delightfully indulgent consultants and registrars when all around simultaneously phones are ringing there are knocks on the door and nurses seeking advice and answers"
98.7%

superb mixture

"it is a superb mixture of humour cynicism stoicism and politics"
98.6%

applauded adam

"lots of other reviewers have rightly applauded adam kay for his message life as a junior doctor in the uk's hospitals has become almost unlivable"
98.6%

anybody living

"i'd recommend anybody living in great britain read this book"
98.3%

extremely entertaining

"i have shared this book with my friends as the similes and other references throughout the book are extremely entertaining"
98.3%

sheer perfection

"this was sheer perfection in displaying the comical aspect of our humanity and i wish everyone would read and get an understanding of what it means to work as a doctor in the nhs the pride and passion and sacrifice it takes "
98.2%

hilarious anecdotes

"all the way through his diary of being a junior doctor through to consultant in hospitals in england there are hilarious anecdotes that i could so relate to during my 13 years of working in surgical rehab and resource centre for the elderly"
97.9%

remain defiantly

"instead we remain defiantly in denial of the cancer and cling to a false hope that it isn't really there"
97.9%

fantastically well

"it describes the pressure put on the nhs staff fantastically well"
96.6%

utterly hilarious

"utterly hilarious educational and heartbreaking"
96.3%

wildly funny

"brillant and wildly funny but also through anecdote and personal history of a young nhs doctor working in a hospital a searing critique of the current nhs and government policy: quitely savage you laugh as you cry"
96.0%

witty recollection

"this is a witty recollection of an ex dr and how he came to walk away from this career because of the cost emotionally and to his relationships"
95.2%

very realistic

"but it seems a very realistic portrayal of what the pressure truly feels like regardless and i think jokes aside kay really wanted to celebrate everyone working on the front lines of the nhs not just the doctors"
94.4%

great humour

"laughter cause some of the stories are ridiculously funny and it is written with great humour"
94.0%

superbly written

"this book is superbly written: i could hardly put it down"
93.7%

truly amazing

"it is truly amazing how these ‘rocks ’ of our nhs keep so focused and positive when all around there is this incessant demand for their attention"
93.5%

feel empathy

"kay uses a blend of bluntness and comedy to convey exactly what he was facing as a junior doctor for example earning an hourly wage less than a mcdonalds shift supervisor and certainly less than the hospital parking meter whilst literally saving lives and this clever mixture made me feel empathy without feeling like i was reading a political piece"
93.3%

most poignant

"its entertaining but this book is also accurate in the most poignant way"
93.2%

witty and hilarious

"adam’s diary entries are so well written witty and hilarious however still manages to be heartbreaking"
93.1%

satisfaction and love

"some jobs you definitely do for the satisfaction and love of the job and not the remuneration of appreciation"
93.1%

such an amazing

"also opens your eyes to what our junior doctors have to go through and how amazingly grateful i am to live in a country with such an amazing nhs"
93.1%

still hilarious

"i don't underestimate the serious effect of the underfunding to the nhs and the overwork and long hours that medical professionals face but this book is still hilarious so funny in fact ive read it three times adam kay has a brilliant turn of phase and every page makes me laugh out loud despite the sometimes"
93.1%

comedic talents

"kay's comedic talents are something to behold with so many truly laugh out loud moments which for anyone that's had the pleasure or misfortune of working with the general public can most definitely relate"
93.0%

funny and genuine

"funny and genuine"
92.8%

real talent

"by turns laugh out loud hilarious stoic and reflective it is a rollercoaster ride written by an author of humanity and with a real talent for anecdote whether a hilarious single sentence or a page of thought provoking depth"
92.3%

excellent insight

"an excellent insight of one doctors experiences!"
92.1%

sometime hilarious

"a sometime hilarious sometimes saddening and often worrying experience of a doctor from first appointment as a junior house doctor to his final post as a senior registrar before packing it all in to become a writer after a particular heart rendering experience of absolutely no fault of his"
92.1%

thoroughly enjoy

"i know people who've read it and mentioned recommended it to myself without me knowing who wrote it i was given the book as a christmas present only to properly thoroughly enjoy it"
92.1%

enlightening and honest

"a fantastic selection of diary entries covering adam kay's time as a junior doctor this book is funny enlightening and honest"
92.0%

interject hilarious

"it was written well after the final dreadful experience that made this extraordinary doctor quit medicine yet he manages to interject hilarious wit into this account as well as documenting the 'quiet desperation' which so often attends his working day"
92.0%

writing is superb

"told like a true storyteller i’ve known adam kay for many things but this writing is superb and the “story” very well told"
91.7%

highly enteraining

"i feel that though written in a highly enteraining style this book clearly highlights the unreasonable expectations that we place on "junior" doctors and goes some way to explaining why we in the uk are losing so many of them"
91.6%

painfully funny

"this book is painfully funny shocking heartbreaking and very humbling"
91.4%

read and fascinating

"i prefer fiction to non fiction as a general rule but found this very easy to read and fascinating the only reason i have given it 4 and not 5 stars is that i felt the middle section was a bit repetitive and i could probably have gained the same insight into the world of being a junior doctor by reading"
91.4%

glorious detail

"i reckon humour is the only way they and the patients manage a small degreevof sanity which the book shows in all its glorious detail"
91.2%

hilarious double

"they were such an hilarious double act and i dragged so many friends along to see them perform as i had to spread the word about them!"
90.7%

hilarious laugh

"adam kay is a brilliant wordsmith providing the reader with many hilarious laugh out loud moments coupled with the often absurd realities of life and the inevitability of death"
90.5%

honest & informative

"honest & informative with a very blokey sense of humour peeping through at numerous points"
90.3%

with empathy

"amount of depth the final part is heart wrenching and makes one realise how close many come to leaving the nhs i really felt every story diary entry with empathy and very often glee !"
90.2%

great work

"it gives a very honest insight into the great work our nhs staff do and it's a crying shame that professionals such as adam who have very obviously studied and worked so hard to reach the high standards they have should be lost to private hospitals and hospitals abroad where they're better looked after because they're being let down by government upon government not giving the support the nhs so desperately needs"
89.8%

will enjoy

"very funny as reviewed and if your are involved in the nursing world you will enjoy it"
89.8%

hilarious insight

"everyone should read this book it is a wonderful warm honest and at times hilarious insight into the realities of working as a doctor in our crazily under funded understaffed mismanaged but amazing nhs"
89.8%

comedy genius

"i don't know how to explain just how much i loved this book adam kay is a comedy genius"
89.5%

heartbreakingly funny

"adam kay has portrayed it in a heartbreakingly funny but truthful way and is an absolute genius in the way he has written this book"
89.5%

such a tremendous

"it's amazing how well the nhs works and that the people on the ground do such a tremendous job despite having to work the length of shifts they do"
89.5%

truly stirring

"a truly stirring insight and a real window into life not just as a doctor but i suspect also representative of many healthcare professionals"
89.5%

might enjoy

"we saw it on the telly and she gave me some subtle hints she might enjoy it"
89.3%

sobering message

"great book very funny with a sobering message"
89.2%

very well told

"told like a true storyteller i’ve known adam kay for many things but this writing is superb and the “story” very well told"
89.2%

develop is fascinating

"the variety of problems people develop is fascinating"
89.0%

thoroughly entertained

"it's a book that has probably elicited the most emotion out of me i've felt happy deeply saddened shocked anxious and comforted by the many diary entries in the book but mostly i've felt thoroughly entertained"
88.8%

hilarious and heart

"managed to be both hilarious and heart breaking"
88.8%

good outcomes

"next time you sit in a&e complaining about the wait just remember the doctor or nurse you're seeing has probably had little or no sleep has seen hundreds of cases some with good outcomes some perhaps not so good and yet you're given the same high quality of care and understanding as if you're the first person they've seen that day "
88.8%

loved the humour

"loved this book it was comprehensive it had a purpose it had great humour humour keeps us human loved the humour right up my street"
88.7%

every success

"he has a wicked sense of humour is a brilliant writer and i wish him every success in his new career"
88.7%

fantastic and warm

"he brings such a fantastic and warm if slightly warped sense of humour to an extremely stressful account of the trials and tribulations of his particular skill"
88.6%

humorous and poignant

"very well written honest humorous and poignant in various measures"
88.6%

professional and gifted

"he was clearly a passionate empathic professional and gifted doctor"
88.6%

poignant and honest

"this is a brilliantly written hilarious poignant and honest account of life as a junior doctor*"
88.6%

honest and heartfelt

"this is an honest and heartfelt book giving a real peek behind the curtains and scrubs into what it is like to be a doctor"
88.5%

just brilliant

"the diary entries were just brilliant and the footnotes were a great touch"
88.5%

truly laugh

"kay's comedic talents are something to behold with so many truly laugh out loud moments which for anyone that's had the pleasure or misfortune of working with the general public can most definitely relate"
88.4%

positive outcomes

"because i do think it was rather too balanced towards the positive outcomes and funny episodes"
88.3%

quite rightly

"having said that his last diary entry where he quite rightly remained serious had me in tears and i'm not surprised he reacted the way he did"
88.1%

poignant and evocative

"brilliant insight into the life of a junior doctor and the nhs funny poignant and evocative"
88.0%

great anecdotes

"great anecdotes telling how bizarrely stupid some people can be"
88.0%

genuinely the funniest

"it's genuinely the funniest but also the most important book i've read recently that really gives an insight into the nhs and the pressures the amazing people that make it tick are under"
88.0%

illuminating picture

"by the end you have an illuminating picture of why a highly motivated and skilled doctor was traumatised by the inadequacy of the nhs system and super human demands made on working hours"
75.0%

great deal

"kay's book has done a great deal to bring this further to public attention"
75.0%

survival technique

"the gallows humour is a survival technique familiar to many in public service a way of coping with the unreasonable demands and lack of control over prevailing political circumstances"
75.0%

proper laugh

"some proper laugh out loud moments in this book"
75.0%

funniest book

"omg i loved it i binged read the whole thing i am feeling like i want vol 2 the funniest book i have ever read but with a few sad bits too pure fun from the first paragraph"
75.0%

really brought

"we all hear about how the nhs is stretched and the long hours doctors work but this really brought it home"
75.0%

efficient doctor

"as patients and relations of patients we see an efficient doctor looking and sounding efficient totally unaware of how many shifts he has done back to back or how many other patients he is struggling to treat juggling what equipment beds and procedures he has available"
75.0%

great sense

"there have always been medical students who dropped out junior doctors who did not complete their training and senior doctors who left the profession however this was done inconspicuously quietly and with a great sense of shame"
75.0%

honest reflection

"thank you for an honest reflection of reality"
75.0%

additional gems

"do read the footnotes as you go through the story not only do they explain the technical words but there a re additional gems of humor hidden in them!"
74.9%

darkly humorous

"a darkly humorous account of one doctors experience of life in the nhs trenches: with glossary!"
74.9%

extraordinary moments

"he not only shared many of my experiences the clinical situations were all different but the extraordinary moments and ridiculously impossible situations were at heart identical but admits to all the same emotions that i felt at the time"
74.9%

humour fact

"there is a great blend of humour fact and hard truth"
74.9%

humorous events

"both myself and my husband read it and we both equally laughed at some of the well described humorous events but also there was always an underlying sadness at the way these young professionals are overworked and not treated particularly well"
74.9%

more efficient

"for example the money spent on a new computer system which cost oodles of money and some top dog has decided it will make things more efficient"
74.9%

funniest books

"this was one of the best alarming informative funniest books i have ever read"
74.9%

nice thread

"that said a decent book with a nice thread of humor throughout making what can be a heavy subject sprinkled with a lightness that makes the completion of reading the book effortless"
74.9%

perfect summary

"lovely to read poignant uplifting and perhaps a perfect summary of the plight of working for the nhs the highs and the lows and above all the fantastic honour it is to work with and support people"
74.9%

humour angst

"just when you think it’s just a series of funny stories you get taken to different levels of humour angst and sadness in the level of each story"
74.9%

very positive

"this has had numerous very positive reviews and whilst i don’t want to detract from them i did feel that the book got quite repetitive in parts hence four stars and not five"
74.9%

immense sadness

"such an immense sadness that he felt responsible for the major incident that tipped the author over the edge and it sounded as though he received little support during that time"
74.9%

sensationally written

"one of the best books i've read in years sensationally written laugh out loud funny with sections that are heart breaking"
74.8%

greater impact

"i think it would have made the points more strongly and had greater impact thus avoiding the accusations of being trite and superficial levelled by some"
74.8%

national treasure

"this is a timely tribute to the personal sacrifice of the men and women who staff the national treasure that is our nhs"
74.8%

sweet writing style

"totally in awe of the bitter sweet writing style with its refreshing yet jaw dropping metaphors"
74.8%

funniest things

"and yet it's one of the funniest things i've ever read not in a black humour way but stand up comic one liners"
74.8%

book honest

"as a doctor myself i found adam's book honest and endearing but above all very funny"
74.8%

binding agreement

"all mps especially the secretary o f state for health should have to sign a binding agreement that when they require medical treatment they must attend the local gp surgery or hospital under an assumed name so as to enjoy the total experience of waiting 5 days to see a doctor and months for a hospital appointment"
74.8%

candid narrative

"i applaud you for your candid narrative and hope that people with no medical background regardless of what area they may work in appreciate the nhs in its entirety"
74.7%

tightly recommend

"tightly recommend"
74.7%

interesting insights

"also really interesting insights into not only life of a junior doctor and what the term "junior doctor" really means by also lots of interesting info and insights into the nhs"
74.7%

home deliveries

"particularly ‘home deliveries belong with pizzas not babies’"
74.7%

uniquely british

"it does applaud the life saving work of this uniquely british institution whilst at the same time underscoring its shortfalls"
74.7%

five stars

"i would have given it five stars if it had been a little longer"
74.7%

funny moments

"adam kay does a great job going through his years in the profession ups and downs and funny moments and sad moments"
74.6%

were funny

"the stories were funny some are not so"
74.6%

human nature

"his entries reflect many aspects of human nature from an open light hearted perspective"
74.6%

good blend

"it's such a good blend of the funny side of a situation with the seriousness of it at the same time"
74.6%

healthcare staff

"it also shows how doctors nurses and other healthcare staff are holding it all together through dedication and determination that mostly goes unrecognised or rewarded"
74.6%

subtle hints

"we saw it on the telly and she gave me some subtle hints she might enjoy it"
74.6%

best people

"they are doing their best people give them a break they are human"
74.6%

educational especially

"very educational especially for non medical people who may be patients at some time"
74.6%

witty realism

"i'm not massively political nor is this book thank god just a dose of witty realism that has affirmed my respect and love for doctors nurses and everyone else in the nhs while simultaneously confirming my assumption that jeremy hunt* is 100% a c bomb"
74.6%

funny story

"every chapter entry deserves to be there and it all adds up to an interesting sad funny story about humanity"
74.6%

poignant moments

"the anecdotes were engaging and usually hilarious with poignant moments mixed in"
74.6%

amazing people

"it's genuinely the funniest but also the most important book i've read recently that really gives an insight into the nhs and the pressures the amazing people that make it tick are under"
74.6%

witted clever

"it’s quick witted clever and deeply insightful into a world i knew nothing about"
74.5%

funny comments

"i loved all the funny comments especially in the footnotes"
74.5%

witty and mind

"a witty and mind blowing account of a junior doctor working in the nhs"
74.5%

talented doctor

"good luck in all you do dr adam & i am so sorry that we your patients have lost a talented doctor!"
74.5%

absolute genius

"adam kay has portrayed it in a heartbreakingly funny but truthful way and is an absolute genius in the way he has written this book"
74.5%

very compassionate

"adam key was obviously a very compassionate committed doctor and the sad thing is it’s the nhs’s and ultimately our loss but he is just as worthy as a comedy writer"
74.5%

social worker's

"rather like a social worker’s life and workload"
74.5%

interesting look

"it was described as funny as well as an interesting look into how the nhs actually treats doctors"
74.5%

lovely tales

"some lovely tales but also upsetting and heartbreaking too"
74.5%

fantastic point

"the author adam kay makes a fantastic point almost everyone has a direct link to an nhs employee be that a doctor a nurse a porter a receptionist any of the no doubt thousands of roles within the organisation that sees us from cradle to grave"
74.5%

good enough

"not even good enough for a charity shop"
74.5%

pretty quickly

"well this opened my eyes heart and mind pretty quickly thoses modern heroes and their nhs gang really have superhuman strength to endure us all"
74.4%

enjoyed it though

"my daughter enjoyed it though!"
74.4%

pretty funny

"this is an insightful and pretty funny collection of anecdotes but i found it rather gruelling"
74.4%

will probably

"a great read very funny and enjoyable in places you will probably learn something new too i’m sure!"
74.4%

educated wholly

"wow this is an eye opening account of those well educated wholly driven to the medical profession but so poorly acknowledged and appreciated junior doctors on such low salaries for the pressures and responsibilities they face"
74.4%

pretty good

"it is a valid point no doubt but maybe made a bit too repeatedly and without the balance of their take home salary being pretty good in this book"
74.4%

favourite parts

"one of my favourite parts was a footnotes about a myomectomy"
74.4%

very big heart

"adam is a very talented comedy writer but also a dr with a very big heart indeed"
74.4%

psychological thriller

"much different to what i usually read i normally go for a psychological thriller but fancied something different and a friend recommended it!"
74.4%

entertain people

"this book made me think it's time i tried to entertain people"
74.4%

high quality

"next time you sit in a&e complaining about the wait just remember the doctor or nurse you're seeing has probably had little or no sleep has seen hundreds of cases some with good outcomes some perhaps not so good and yet you're given the same high quality of care and understanding as if you're the first person they've seen that day "
74.4%

whole lives

"i have such respect for these young men and women who practically give up their whole lives for their work"
74.4%

very honest

"it gives a very honest insight into the great work our nhs staff do and it's a crying shame that professionals such as adam who have very obviously studied and worked so hard to reach the high standards they have should be lost to private hospitals and hospitals abroad where they're better looked after because they're being let down by government upon government not giving the support the nhs so desperately needs"
74.3%

humour sadness

"a fantastic book the tales of the day to day or should that be over long shift to over long shift grind are beautifully weaved with humour sadness and passion for the profession"
74.3%

honesty sadness

"o this book is written with so much humour honesty sadness and life"
74.3%

very moving

"very moving tears of laughter and sadness in one book show"
74.3%

overall good

"overall good book"
74.3%

brutally honest

"adam kay gives a really witty gritty and brutally honest account of his years spent as a junior doctor which if you're like me you'll be surprised to learn is a doctor of any grade below consultant"
74.3%

punishing schedules

"our doctors should be cherished and nurtured and above all appreciated for their long hours and punishing schedules"
74.3%

tenacity passion

"thank you to mr kay for your honesty and humour and all members of the medical profession that have the tenacity passion and courage to enter this diabolical institution and braver still not simply leave once you realise the harsh reality of working for the nhs"
74.3%

loved ones

"i have always been a supporter of the nhs of the people that work for them and of any treatment that i and loved ones have had to receive but it really is an eye opener on what the staff have to put up with"
74.3%

bright sunshine

"i bought both the book and audiobook but as i was on holiday in bright sunshine decided to listen to the audiobook which is excellently narrated by the author adam kay himself"
74.3%

good value

"good value for money"
74.3%

please adam

"medicine's loss is comedy's gain more please adam"
74.3%

truthful accurate

"this book stands out from the rest as it is not only truthful accurate a reflection of a world that most people could never think existed and is hilarious"
74.3%

super heroes

"these people are real life super heroes and it seems that a sense of humour is essential in order to cope with the physical and mental demands of the job"
74.2%

amazing doctor

"adam was obviously an amazing doctor and like all junior doctors he was undervalued underappreciated and underpaid by those in power"
74.2%

favourite book

"this is easily my favourite book of this year!"
74.2%

rational thought

"a book which is hilariously funny and heartbreaking in equal measures plus it also shows the lack of intelligence in some people who willingly insert objects into their various orifices without rational thought of the consequences or any consideration for the medical staff who then have to fish those objects back out again "
74.2%

interesting info

"also really interesting insights into not only life of a junior doctor and what the term "junior doctor" really means by also lots of interesting info and insights into the nhs"
74.2%

fantastic read

"excellent seller book in great condition and a fantastic read"
74.1%

improved easily

"it could be saved and improved easily yet it has become an enormous political football "
74.1%
...

simply brilliant in both products

"simply brilliant"
100.0%

absolutely brilliant in both products

"an absolutely brilliant book worth buying if you are even the slightest bit interested in habit building"
100.0%

highly recommend in both products

"highly recommend"
99.6%

really good in both products

"he’s done a really good job with this book must read for anyone it is so well written and is so easy to read"
99.3%

good insight in both products

"worth a read good insight into creating healthy habits"
96.8%

absolutely loved in both products

"absolutely loved reading this book"
92.2%

well written in both products

"it's well researched well reasoned and well written"
91.2%

really well in both products

"a really well written interesting and applicable book that i think most people would get something from"
74.9%

enjoyed this in both products

"enjoyed this"
74.6%

true insight in both products

"great content absolutely loving it well written well presented and provides true insight"
74.6%

recommended read in both products

"overall a definite recommended read and well worth signing up to the newsletter too"
74.5%

great book in both products

"a great book to have and to give to someone for xmas present"
74.4%

added humour in both products

"he is for me the dale carnegie of the modern era with added humour"
74.3%

very interesting in both products

"very interesting book"
74.3%

very happy in both products

"i'm very happy i got this as i know i can just go back to it whenever i want to refresh some notions on habit building and habit maintenance"
74.0%

excellent hacks

"this audio livre is without doubt the best i have heard its full of excellent hacks and insights into habits "
100.0%

highly enjoyable

"it was well presented and practical with chapter summaries and illustrations made the whole experience highly enjoyable"
100.0%

really powerful

"the linkage of habits to your core identity is another simple yet really powerful anchor to the book"
100.0%

highly effective

"it's much easier to apply than covey's 7 habits of highly effective people one of 3 personal development books i like including this one and the tone is informed but humble"
100.0%

very inspiring

"very inspiring and backed up with tons of data"
100.0%

truly awesome

"i urge anyone who loves the book to read his blog which has loads of truly awesome resources"
100.0%

brilliant handbook

"brilliant handbook to help you improving your efficiency"
100.0%

absolutely superb

"it's absolutely superb!"
100.0%

great stories

"just great stories and clear actions to take"
100.0%

obvious attractive

"make it obvious attractive easy and satisfying are etched in my brain when i am struggling with any of my current habits that have gone pear shaped or i am thinking of making changes in my life"
99.9%

most informative

"it's quite simply the best and most informative book on habits and how to change them"
99.9%

remarkable stories

"very good book and audiobook very practical exercises remarkable stories definitely in top5!"
99.9%

great writer

"james clear is a great writer"
99.8%

incredibly interesting

"as habits are literally everything we do it make for an incredibly interesting read"
99.6%

favourite author

"james clear is now my favourite author"
99.4%

more productive

"really first rate i cannot praise it highly enough for the goodies it contains that will help you move forward towards a more productive and enjoyable life with more good habits and fewer bad ones!"
99.0%

very satisfactory

"but the author synthesized all those ideas in his own relatively complete system and the formulation is very satisfactory"
99.0%

great structure

"the book has great structure as well and the personal stories keep you engaged"
98.8%

outstanding blueprint

"is an outstanding blueprint to be the best version of yourself"
97.8%

super digestible

"i love the way it has been written super digestible and a delight to read"
95.6%

very pleasant

"very easy to read book doesn't say anything that you don't know or groundbreaking but it was very pleasant and i can see how it would help you"
95.1%

remarkable results

"the message is actually simple: tiny changes yet remarkable results"
94.1%

amazing and informative

"amazing and informative book and i was lucky enough to get it for 99p!"
93.9%

really fast

"if you get a warm and comfortable feeling from academic literature hold your nose and read atomic habits really fast"
93.7%

surprisingly amazing

"but this was a surprisingly amazing exception"
91.5%

interesting and inspiring

"his articles are interesting and inspiring and this book collects and expands upon a lot of his key ideas plus a whole lot more"
90.4%

long habits

"this book provides insightful and pragmatic advice on building life long habits that reflect the people we want to be"
89.7%

what habits

"helps you understand what habits are and how you can take steps to create new habits"
89.6%

good researches

"wonderful book filled with very practical advices and good researches"
88.8%

good analogies

"lots of common sense but some good analogies given throughout and always worth reinforcing common sense"
88.8%

humble inspirational

"the author is humble inspirational and down to earth"
88.3%

great hobbits

"we are all aware that these is no one way to build great hobbits but this book describes the best from the authors' own experience"
88.0%

delight to read

"i love the way it has been written super digestible and a delight to read"
88.0%

well articulated

"incredibly intelligent well articulated and just so so useful"
87.7%

some inspiration

"this is a must read if you’re ready to change your habits for the best and need some inspiration and practical to do it whilst understanding the theory behind habits"
75.0%

great gift

"this is a great gift for anyone struggling with habits and i cannot recommend it enough"
75.0%

liked everything

"i liked everything this book has in it it's full of practical suggestions you can implement straight away"
75.0%

positive changes

"already made positive changes to my life by creating new habits"
75.0%

really useful

"but every now and again he did come up with some really useful bits of advice and knowledge"
75.0%

immensely useful

"the author writes gripping stories and peppers immensely useful examples throughout his book"
74.9%

precise instructions

"clear breaks down the biology around habits in an understandable way and gives precise instructions on how to approach habit change in our own lives"
74.9%

sustainable change

"excellent book and worth reading if you have any interest in understanding how to make long lasting sustainable change in your life"
74.9%

well presented

"it's practical useful and always well presented"
74.9%

personal development

"i have read so many books as part of my personal development but i always find that authors end up glorifying themselves throughout continuously going on and on about their own achievements"
74.9%

tremendous impact

"having implemented some of the tools i already find that they have had a tremendous impact"
74.9%

will happily

"will happily recommend"
74.9%

such traits

"however by drawing attention to these things and explaining their importance i do think it makes you more likely to keep doing it or at least appreciate the effectiveness of such traits"
74.9%

look forward

"thought provoking and inspirational i know i will read this again and again and get even more from each time and i look forward to it!"
74.8%

perfect blend

"it has a perfect blend of research anecdotes real life stories tools and references"
74.8%

reward model

"great practical book: deserves 5 5 for a useful recap of cue craving response reward model of behaviour"
74.8%

seriously great

"informative and well written it has some seriously great tips to change your life"
74.8%

bonus material

"you also get bonus material and i would recommend signing up for the emails"
74.7%

glad i read

"i offered fantastics ways to improve habits and i'm glad i read it"
74.7%

outstanding book

"it's an outstanding book and i look forward to going back over it again with a highlighter pen and making some notes of my own"
74.7%

great summary

"a great summary of all the known techniques to establish new habits and break old ones"
74.5%

cracking insights

"very very practical after some cracking insights in the first few chapters"
74.5%

fantastic takeaways

"this book is completely different a no nonsense down to earth practical piece with fantastic takeaways which anyone can apply so easily to fit in with their lifestyle"
74.5%

leading a fuller life

"an easy read that will inspire you to make little changes that will go a long way to leading a fuller life"
74.5%

engaging listen

"it's an engaging listen or read and comes highly recommended by me!"
74.4%

much value

"this book is as practical as the content of his email newsletters and i intend on reading or listening to this book multiple times over so i can 'extract' as much value from it as possible"
74.4%

very helpful

"i have been following jc's facebook and subscribing to his emails and i find all his articles very helpful in my everyday living"
74.4%

just great

"the book is just great"
74.4%

good information

"very clearly sets down a lot of good information about creating and sticking with habits"
74.4%

very useful

"i found it very useful and after implementing some of these i can attest to their effectiveness"
74.3%

absolutely loving

"great content absolutely loving it well written well presented and provides true insight"
74.3%

relatively enjoyable

"found this book to be really valuable comfortable to read and relatively enjoyable"
74.2%

phenomenal book

"what a phenomenal book!"
74.2%

amazing book

"an amazing book that helps you to understand how important are small changes"
74.1%

self improvement

"excellent and practical book with great tips for using the power of habit for self improvement"
74.1%

self help book

"it's the only self help book that i've thought afterwards was worth reading"
74.1%

excellent book

"this is an excellent book to give people a kick in the pants a formula to use and a principle to hold onto through all seasons and challenges in life"
74.1%

well worth

"overall a definite recommended read and well worth signing up to the newsletter too"
74.1%

continuous improvement

"'atomic habits' provides evidence based and practical advice on how to choose develop and reinforce habits that can support continuous improvement"
74.1%

practical piece

"this book is completely different a no nonsense down to earth practical piece with fantastic takeaways which anyone can apply so easily to fit in with their lifestyle"
74.1%

excellent read

"an excellent read would highly recommend"
74.0%

resistant butt

"more importantly my resistant butt is exercising again reading more and watching less mindless tv so that's proof enough for me"
74.0%

precious time

"and the biggest achievement is i have not touched the game on my phone which i played madly for last few years and wasted my precious time on it thanks to this book"
74.0%

counter intuitive

"i like the idea of identity change as a first step which is counter intuitive"
73.9%

easy to read

"it is very easy to read and offers some fantastic advice"
73.9%

better place

"it would change the world to a better place"
73.8%

biggest achievement

"and the biggest achievement is i have not touched the game on my phone which i played madly for last few years and wasted my precious time on it thanks to this book"
73.7%

easy to implement

"this is an extremely practical book and makes habits easy to implement"
73.7%

even remotely

"which is why if this subject even remotely interests you get the book right away!"
73.7%

process of habits

"with that in mind james clear demonstrates the process of habits are formed and gives great insights on how to effectively create new ones whilst also making the bad ones easier to change"
73.7%

perfect xmas gift

"perfect xmas gift for any loved one!"
73.7%

clear and engaging

"it is clear and engaging throughout"
73.7%

good results

"the book is clearly structured well written in bite size chunks and if you apply the habit stacking approach in particular my experience tells me that you will see good results"
73.6%

very practical

"a very practical approach to creating good habits and be aware of the bad ones"
73.6%

most practical

"the most practical book i’ve ever read"
73.6%

good behaviour

"once you really understand how habits work and learn to set up systems and your environment to make good behaviour the default behaviour change just happens"
73.6%

full potential

"thanks james for sharing these ideas in such a useable format and for staying on task so the rest of us can achieve our full potential too"
73.5%

most recommended

"it's become one of my most recommended books and one of the most important mindset books i've ever read"
73.5%

thoroughly recommended

"thoroughly recommended"
73.3%

whole family

"this incredible method from atomic habits has been extended to the whole family!"
73.2%

self development area

"rarely am i surprised by a book in the self development area but james clear took me completely by surprise"
73.2%

written well

"very well written well researched and a wealth of personal knowledge and experience in this field"
73.2%

good amount

"there's a good amount of additional supporting material that you can download too links are in the book "
73.2%

amazing insights

"amazing insights so so useful as someone with adhd"
73.1%

than habits

"third what are really "routines" rather than habits: for example writing 10 pages of your novel before breakfast every morning"
73.0%

clear and interesting

"every chapter was detailed clear and interesting"
73.0%

habit formation

"i have been a health care practitioner for almost three decades and a couple of years ago i had a realisation that understanding habit formation is the secret to health and wellbeing when i was struggling myself"
72.9%

good habit

"this book is especially useful to me as i need to come back to the good habit of everyday reading"
72.9%

changing habits

"atomic habits is packed with strategies to start changing habits today"
72.9%

useful stories

"useful stories and interesting researches are there to support his claims and methods"
72.8%

warm and comfortable

"if you get a warm and comfortable feeling from academic literature hold your nose and read atomic habits really fast"
72.8%

always present

"for me i found the translation into real life always present"
72.8%

your habits

"analyse your habits first before applying the science of 'atomic habits'"
72.7%

highly recommended

"highly recommended if theres one book you're going to read this year let it be this one :"
72.6%

further inspiration

"in addition to the book you get downloadable content and you can sign up to james newsletters for further inspiration and information"
72.5%

health wellbeing

"this book is a must read if you want to take responsibility for your health wellbeing and your life"
72.4%

interesting to read

"verty easy and interesting to read"
72.4%

comfortable to read

"found this book to be really valuable comfortable to read and relatively enjoyable"
72.4%

would recommend

"i would recommend"
72.4%

incredibly insightful

"this is an incredibly insightful and practical book about habits one of the best books i’ve read"
72.4%

useful thought

"it's simple to understand but packed with useful thought provoking and powerful tips ideas"
72.3%

existing habits

"how you can use it in daily life to adapt or remove existing habits or stack new ones on existing"
72.2%

recommending this

"i will be recommending this to any clients who struggle with introducing positive new habits"
72.1%

very logical

"it is very logical"
72.0%

much better

"i've been skimming the pages and reading selected articles so far and it is very helpful and informative and i hope it can give me some help in being a much better person"
71.9%

lots of extras

"so you not only get the book to read but lots of extras to help you make use of what is taught"
71.8%

make improvements

"this book will change the way you think and make improvements in your life wherever you want them"
71.8%

extra resources

"grateful for the extra resources he's included in the book too"
71.7%

stacking works

"habit stacking works amazingly!"
71.6%

extremely practical

"this is an extremely practical book and makes habits easy to implement"
71.5%

definitely worth reading

"definitely worth reading"
71.4%

with habits

"highly recommend for anyone who is working with habits eg in business or coaching as well as for personal development"
71.3%

rather better

"i'd recommend getting on to his email list as his regular free communications are rather better than many other people pushing life improvement concepts"
71.1%

recommend this

"i would recommend this to anyone who wants to change something in their life for the better"
70.9%

change growth

"definitely recommended if you are looking for a change growth"
70.8%

take action

"a book that helps you to take action and not to blame yourself for not sticking to the habit"
70.5%

good sense

"you can go to the james clear web site and see his work style in action first which will give you a good sense of what to expect"
70.2%

enjoyable read

"this book is on my "must read every year" list not just because it's full of actionable practical non judgemental advice and info but because it's an enjoyable read"
70.2%

enjoyable to read

"i think its a very good combination of a book that is enjoyable to read but also realistic as a self help style way to change your habits"
70.0%

lasting difference

"a self help book that actually makes a significant and long lasting difference"
70.0%

simple change

"i made one simple change based on this book and now i get up at 6"
69.9%

really valuable

"found this book to be really valuable comfortable to read and relatively enjoyable"
69.9%

loving this

"haven't finished reading but am loving this"
69.8%

great practical book

"great practical book: deserves 5 5 for a useful recap of cue craving response reward model of behaviour"
69.8%

proof enough for

"more importantly my resistant butt is exercising again reading more and watching less mindless tv so that's proof enough for me"
69.4%

great read

"such a great read!"
69.3%

good brake

"gives a good brake down of each area from start to finish and from many different angles so as to give you many options to use each technique"
69.0%

increased the speed

"i found him easy to listen to well spoken and clear i happily increased the speed to x1"
68.7%

atomic habits

"atomic habits is packed with strategies to start changing habits today"
68.6%

fascinating insights

"i have highlighted so many fascinating insights and tips from the pages within this book"
68.6%

worth the money

"very good buy and well worth the money"
68.4%

useful footnotes

"the flow is fluid with illustrative anecdotes quotes and useful footnotes"
68.4%

greatest books

"one of the greatest books i have read lately"
68.4%

enjoyed his writing

"i have been a subscriber of james's email for a number of years and have always thoroughly enjoyed his writing"
68.4%

with practical ideas

"a different perspective on forming habits packed with practical ideas"
68.3%

best version

"is an outstanding blueprint to be the best version of yourself"
68.2%

create new habits

"helps you understand what habits are and how you can take steps to create new habits"
68.1%

through honestly

"his character and integrity come through honestly"
68.0%

great insights

"with that in mind james clear demonstrates the process of habits are formed and gives great insights on how to effectively create new ones whilst also making the bad ones easier to change"
68.0%

into habits

"this audio livre is without doubt the best i have heard its full of excellent hacks and insights into habits "
68.0%

character and integrity

"his character and integrity come through honestly"
67.8%

clear and helpful

"so clear and helpful"
67.7%

definitely recommend

"good book definitely recommend!"
67.4%

informative read

"looks like an informative read"
67.4%

describes the best

"we are all aware that these is no one way to build great hobbits but this book describes the best from the authors' own experience"
67.2%

great book everyone

"great book everyone should read"
67.2%

make progress

"james brings together a wide range of perspectives on forming and leveraging habits to help the reader to make progress towards becoming their 'best self"
67.1%

positive new habits

"i will be recommending this to any clients who struggle with introducing positive new habits"
67.0%

relatively complete

"but the author synthesized all those ideas in his own relatively complete system and the formulation is very satisfactory"
66.8%

introduces simple laws

"as said this book introduces simple laws to help us set and maintain good habits which usually means change"
66.7%

golden nuggets

"it continues in the same vein as his newsletters so is very easy to read and is packed full of golden nuggets"
66.7%

deliberate practice

"not to be merely read but studied intensely and put to deliberate practice"
66.6%

worth the read

"so it’s worth the read"
66.5%

implement everything

"i would have liked more examples or a more concrete overarching plan to implement everything"
66.3%

easy and understandable

"picks up on some interesting concepts and explains them in an easy and understandable way"
66.1%

current habits

"make it obvious attractive easy and satisfying are etched in my brain when i am struggling with any of my current habits that have gone pear shaped or i am thinking of making changes in my life"
66.1%

build new habits

"if you want to build new habits or break bad ones i think that this book is definitely worth investing in"
65.7%

about habits

"for those who've read about habits before there's nothing new as the author himself admits which is very refreshing!"
65.7%

well put together

"this is an easy read and well put together"
65.5%

create or break

"it gives you a great framework for planning how to create or break any habits in your life"
65.3%

it's great

"it’s great"
65.2%

actually simple

"the message is actually simple: tiny changes yet remarkable results"
65.2%

rules and guidance

"incisive to the point with clear rules and guidance that makes so much sense that once you start to follow it you’ll be amazed at how simple it is"
64.7%

easy to read book

"very easy to read book doesn't say anything that you don't know or groundbreaking but it was very pleasant and i can see how it would help you"
64.5%

great guidelines

"excellent book with some great guidelines and practical advice"
64.4%

enjoyed this book

"very much enjoyed this book"
64.2%

really great

"i had heard really great things about this book so even going in i had sky high expectations"
64.2%

loved this book

"loved this book"
64.2%

liked the book

"i liked the book"
63.9%

interesting and helpful

"really interesting and helpful"
63.9%

name suits

"it is so methodical in it's approach and so clear the family name suits him well!"
63.8%

good & concise

"good & concise"
63.6%

behind habits

"this is a must read if you’re ready to change your habits for the best and need some inspiration and practical to do it whilst understanding the theory behind habits"
63.5%

very good combination

"i think its a very good combination of a book that is enjoyable to read but also realistic as a self help style way to change your habits"
63.4%

their effectiveness

"i found it very useful and after implementing some of these i can attest to their effectiveness"
63.1%

achieve your goals

"would recommend to anyone that's looking for ideas on how to build and make good habits work in your life to help you be better and assist in helping you achieve your goals"
63.1%

simple usable advice

"great read on how habits work and simple usable advice for every day life"
63.0%

really helped

"she says it's really helped her"
63.0%

significant and long

"a self help book that actually makes a significant and long lasting difference"
63.0%

exactly what you need

"some of the examples are so simple but it’s exactly what you need"
62.9%

recommend it enough

"this is a great gift for anyone struggling with habits and i cannot recommend it enough"
62.9%

an easy read

"this is an easy read and well put together"
62.8%

straightforward guide

"this one on the other hand was a straightforward guide on habit forming and or breaking with lots of direct actionable tips and advice geared specifically to the individual"
62.7%

does not disappoint

"atomic habits does not disappoint"
62.7%

surpassed them

"because not only did it meet all the unrealistic expectations i had it surpassed them!"
62.7%

easy to understand

"although this book is concise i listened to it in one sitting don't imagine it's lightweight it's beautifully structured and easy to understand and comes with resources to help the reader put the ideas into practice"
62.7%

lasting change

"please read this if you are looking to make real lasting change in your day to day"
62.6%

everything positive

"this book is just an extension to everything positive that he is"
62.3%

wonderful book

"this is a wonderful book for tips on how to manage habits"
62.3%

power of habit

"when you read this book you can see some similar thoughts which comes from other books for example: "the power of habit" by charles duhigg or "the principle" by ray dalio etc"
62.2%

well done james

"well done james!"
62.1%

habits grow

"break habits down and do the minimum to let habits grow and make it easy on yourself to keep long term"
62.0%

establish new habits

"a great summary of all the known techniques to establish new habits and break old ones"
61.9%

very refreshing

"this book is different because it doesn't pretend to be a motivational book which is very refreshing"
61.8%

drawing attention

"however by drawing attention to these things and explaining their importance i do think it makes you more likely to keep doing it or at least appreciate the effectiveness of such traits"
61.8%

linkage of habits

"the linkage of habits to your core identity is another simple yet really powerful anchor to the book"
61.7%

good template

"the book offers a good template one can follow when trying to build or discard a habit"
61.7%

brilliant book

"brilliant book!"
61.6%

first step

"i like the idea of identity change as a first step which is counter intuitive"
61.6%

work style

"you can go to the james clear web site and see his work style in action first which will give you a good sense of what to expect"
61.5%

heart and soul

"clearly james clear has put his heart and soul into this to make it most readable and transformative"
61.5%

simple to understand

"it's simple to understand but packed with useful thought provoking and powerful tips ideas"
61.4%

very good buy

"very good buy and well worth the money"
61.4%

some of the tools

"having implemented some of the tools i already find that they have had a tremendous impact"
61.3%

practical to implement

"the information given is practical to implement in your everday life and the book gives scientific and rational explanation for why it works"
61.1%

researched well reasoned

"it's well researched well reasoned and well written"
61.1%

full of useful tips

"great book full of useful tips"
61.0%

highly readable

"' it's amazing that he manages to convey complex and inter connecting ideas in a succinct and highly readable prose"
61.0%

just fantastic

"this book is just fantastic!"
61.0%

without doubt

"this audio livre is without doubt the best i have heard its full of excellent hacks and insights into habits "
60.9%

common sense

"you could argue that some of it is common sense but james offers so much more"
60.7%

good reminder

"however it serves as a good reminder"
60.7%
...

Compare Emotion analysis

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

Positive tone

Neutral tone

Negative tone

21.4% 17.9% 60.6%
  worry 52.0%
  neutral 17.9%
  happiness 14.4%
  sadness 8.0%
  relief 4.1%
  fun 1.2%
  love 0.8%
  anger 0.4%
  surprise 0.4%
  enthusiasm 0.4%
  fear 0.2%
Atomic Habits: The life-changing million copy bestseller

Positive tone

Neutral tone

Negative tone

45.0% 23.3% 31.7%
  happiness 22.8%
  neutral 21.7%
  worry 21.1%
  relief 10.0%
  sadness 7.2%
  fun 4.4%
  love 3.3%
  surprise 2.2%
  fear 2.2%
  enthusiasm 2.2%
  boredom 1.7%
  hate 0.6%
  anger 0.6%

* analysis performed using Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods, data for the analysis has been gathered from multiple publicly accessible sources.
** strength is the level of sentiment expressed in a sentence, phrase or keyword. It ranges from 0 to 100%
prices and sales statistics are updated daily

last analysis update 2024-04-22