The Art Of Asking; Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Let People Help (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
This book is incredibly raw and honest. I have been a medium fan of Amanda Palmer's music over the years, it is not my anthem but it is a welcome change of tune when a certain mood strikes. I have been a bigger fan of Amanda Palmer's humanity. The raw and honest life on display for everyone to view and take part in, the belief that people can be good and loving and helpful and her dedication to the people in her life: fans, friends, family.... Internet strangers evenThis book is not a self help book. It reads as an autobiography balancing on a Theme. But just like with the Buddhist stories her beloved Anthony shares with her, every story Amanda tells has something that can be gleaned from it, a shred of symmetry to my life or yours.I enjoyed reading this book. It was like having someone pour out their life's secrets for me over tea while I listened and nodded with empathy and tried to convey my love and understanding silently This book could alternatively be titled How Amanda Made a Million Dollars by Saying Please. Yet, it’s about so much more than that. It’s also about being human and about the trials/tribulations of a professional artist in today’s climate. Amanda Palmer was requested to write a book after she did a TED talk on the art of asking for help. The Art of Asking is a nonfiction story about how a struggling artist (street performer and musician) was able to crowd-fund a million dollars for her band, become successful, and create meaningful connections directly with her audience while cutting out any “middle man” or record label. Her half punk-half cabaret band is weird, her audience very specific. Only after I started reading this book did I remember that I used to be one of her fans as a teenager! I used to love her song Coin Operated Boy. While her music may not be for everyone, her story could bring almost anyone to tears and laughter. In the beginning, Amanda tells about her first job as a living statue in a public park. How that performance made her fall in love repeatedly. It also brought loneliness and harassment. Little did she know at the time, she was getting a real education on how to be a professional musician. Soon Amanda becomes able to work full time with her band and even gets signed on with a major record label.However, even after selling thousands of copies of her CD release they considered her a failure. Surprisingly, Amanda Palmer thought of them as failures. She was pissed at her record company. The remainder of the story tells how Amanda did it right -she asked for help. Her and the band raised money through crowd-funding with Kickstarter. They twittered when they needed a place to sleep on tour, or asked for food when hungry. Despite her critic’s antics, Amanda Palmer knows how to keep an authentic relationship with her fans. She formed thousands of friendships full of honesty and based on trust. Instead of some large record label’s marketing schemas of make the audience pay for it, Amanda asks how do we let them offer money?Amanda, if you are reading this – I thank you from the bottom of my heart for gifting your stories and your art for the world to hear. I thank you because these stories inspire my own drive to be myself, to give my art and create more and more of those real connections, forming reciprocal relationships. Most of all, this book helps me to remember to be humble and to ask for help when needed, to go ahead and release the shame and the fear around what the answer may be. Thank you again, Amanda Palmer for your courage.(Note: I bought this book on Audible, I recommend this format because it is read by the author and includes several of her songs in the audio book.)
What do You think about The Art Of Asking; Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Let People Help (2014)?
Sometimes a book seems to have been written just for you. This was one of those books for me.
—Chloe
great mix of biography, advice, observations, and other interesting random stuff.
—imaBASTgirl
So raw and truthful! I needed to read this book and am so glad I did.
—nnn123
Uno de los mejores libros de non-fiction que leí en mucho tiempo...
—VentBelle
A must-read for anyone with artistic or creative ambitions.
—zems1982
