"If books on personal development may be fancifully construed as deft keys of transcendental truth gently turning in antiquated, psychological locks, then The Good Psychopath was the mental health equivalent of a nail bomb"
Sorted! The Good Psychopath's Guide to Bossing Your Life
Forget 'Girl Boss' - these are the books for me! Ever since I finished reading Andy McNab's Bravo Two Zero last month I have been hoping that he would turn his pen to writing some kick-ass self-help books. So when I was browsing round Waterstones last week and I came across these two books I was beyond thrilled that my wish had been granted.
The Good Psychopath's Guide to Success and Sorted! The Good Psychopath's Guide to Bossing Your Life are brilliantly funny self-help books that teach you how to get a handle on life and make it behave itself. They aim to demonstrate that we can all learn something from those go-getting, no-nonsense psychopaths out there, who are killing life not people - because psychopathy isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's how it is used that counts.
These books introduce the highly positive aspects of psychopathy, which they call The 7 Deadly Wins, giving lots of examples of how and where it pays in life to be just a tad more psycho. It's not about sharpening your blade and going in for the kill - it's about sharpening your mind and making a killer deal, getting that job, giving great attitude and being the Boss of your own life...because if you're not the boss of your life, who is?
I love the writing style of these books. It's very down to earth and completely engaging. Co-authorship can be a tricky business; it can be difficult for the reader to know which author is speaking, but in these books the authorial voices are blended together into a conversational man-banter on the page. It is like witnessing two good pals having a laugh together and putting the world to rights as they go. It made me realise how much I miss working behind the bar in the local pub, listening to grown men rag each other like school boys. The Good Psychopath books have that same sort of laddish tap-room vibe. This makes the science bit much easier to digest. You know that these two guys know what they're talking about - it's not just banter - there is a point to it and much to be learned from them. All you have to do is absorb the information they present and start putting it into practice.
They frequently take the piss out of each other and when the Dr gets too grandiose, the SAS soldier puts it in a nutshell, brings it back down to earth and makes it easy to understand what's going on. Conversely when the soldier gets a little too crass, the good Dr elevates the tone and keeps it clean - ish. All in all this makes for a unique writing style that I have never come across before. It really made me smile. I learnt a lot - but it was so much fun!
To add to this comic style are funny illustrations throughout the books - the kind that you might find in a newspaper. The Rat Nav one really made me giggle! There are quizzes too, so that you can see where you are on the various dials that make up psychopathy. This means that you learn where your strengths and weaknesses are and what you need to work on if you want to nail life and be more successful. In this sense it is quite an interactive read - you can take part in the authors' research project if you want to, or simply use the quizzes to enhance your personal self-awareness.
There are anecdotes from the authors' lives and experiences, but unlike McNab's SAS biographies, there are no harrowing details of conflict and capture given in these books, which was a relief to my sensitive side and this time the tears in my eyes were of laughter because these books are a pure joy to read, from start to finish.
Of course there are the inevitable sports analogies men like to use, which I just didn't get because I don't like sports. Or at least I don't like the sports they mentioned in the books such as football, golf and cricket. I would have been more on board with a nice sparkly figure-skating or show-jumping reference, maybe even a balletic pirouette in the prose, but hey, you can't have everything. I wish some nice female soldier would write some self-help books aimed at women - I'm sure that is a gap in the market that needs filling.
On the whole though these books are a fantastic, informative and entertaining read. They will make you think about how you behave and how you can improve yourself and your overall performance in life. I read them both in three days and I just couldn't put them down. They make for great bedtime reading to set you up for the next day. And what smart, intelligent woman wouldn't want to take both a doctor and a soldier to bed with her, at the same time?😉
If you are interested in reading these books, visit the authors' website here and take a closer look at their work.
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