You can't turn over the corner of a Kindle page...

We’ve finally been Kindled. 

It took a while but this year Sheconomics came out on Kindle edition. 

As it’s four years since our book was published it's fabulous that people still want to buy it. Even last week a PR contact popped this at the bottom of her email:

 Ps I think your book is working. I went into Space NK last weekend and bought one thing instead of 3 so I think that's progress

How do you feel about Kindle books? As a voracious reader I’ve been pondering the pros and cons…..

Pros

• ·       I can hear Mariella Frostrup raving about a book on Radio 4 and have downloaded it before she’s done gushing.
• ·       I can take 14 heavy books abroad with me and stay within the measly baggage allowance that punitive airlines inflict on passengers these days.
• ·       With my Paperwhite Kindle I can read at night without waking my husband by flooding the room with light so he thinks there's a police raid. I can even adjust its lighting levels depending on where I am.
• ·       Kindle editions are usually cheaper than printed books. In fact I’ve downloaded hundreds of classics for free.
• ·       I can highlight away to my heart’s content and view my clips in an electronic version on my computer later. I used to laboriously copy our favourite passages and quotes.
• ·       (I know others say an advantage of the Kindle is that others can’t see what you’re reading [in a Fifty Shades kind of way] but I don’t care who sees what I’m reading. It's just not racy that anyway).

So would I eschew printed books in favour of my electronic friend? 

Here are what I see as the cons of the Kindle …

• ·       I love the feel, smell and completely tactile experience of a real book; technology doesn’t offer the same sensual pleasure as a much-loved paperback with turned-over corners.
• ·       I like reading in the bath. And, yes, I confess I do take it in there with me sometimes. But I know it’s only a matter of time before it slips through soapy fingers and stops working. I'd read in the shower too if I could.
• ·       I love passing favourite books on to friends. I still do that sometimes, but that means buying them the real thing after I’ve read it on Kindle (and how sheconomical is that?).
• ·       With non-fiction I love to dip in and out or flick through the pages for bits that catch my eye. That's tricky to do on a Kindle. 
• ·       I have read whole books on Kindle without having the foggiest idea of the book’s title. Or the author. That’s because I see it once –at the start – but it never appears again. At least with a real book the cover gets imprinted on the brain and you know what you’ve read.

So, the choice is yours. If you’re a Kindle kinda girl you can buy Sheconomics on Kindle for £4.99  

or if you want to see it in all its pink glory and dip in and out of real pages, then you can buy the print copy of Sheconomics on Amazon, where the average rating is still five lovely stars.

I'd be interested to know whether you think these electronic devices spell the end of the real book. Or whether we'll always want the thrill of crunchy pages, musty smells and jazzy jackets..... 

Behavioural change? It's mental!

What a night that was! 
Polly tweeted that the evening was ‘mental’. Rose said it was ‘high energy’. Andy gave his book to a stranger he got chatting to on the train. Charlotte travelled all the way to Richmond wearing a badge that said Harlot. Mike said "I've just had the most interesting 45 minutes I've had with a stranger for a long time!"
It was the  launch of Flex: Do Something Different at the Groucho Club on Monday night.
Everyone got into the spirit of Do Something Different. Armed with a pack of Do cards they left their inhibitions at the door, donned their rhyming badges, grabbed a glass of wine and went for it!

Bald caps and black glasses (in homage to Ben Fletcher) were de rigeur for the Do team on the night. Rhyming badges made guessing people's names good fun (this is Neil above), even if Charlotte did get some funny looks on the tube going home.

One Do was to 'Pat a bald man on the head'. Not difficult with so many baldies floating around. People who didn't pat a slaphead were too busy taking off their shoes and introducing themselves to others in a foreign accent. Or gurning in the Doodio...

The Doodio was where people could go and take their own crazy photos. Weirdo expressions were optional.

Paul (or Tall as he was here) went out and befriended Darren, a Big Issue seller. He ended up giving him his Do cards, his copy of Flex, and vowing to keep in touch. A heart-warming story from what was a very chilly night, the sort of thing that happens when we talk to the least likely person...

Do Something Different always seems to lead to people doing more for others. 

I love that. A beautiful demonstration of this came from a super guy called Mike Clark. Mike bought a signed copy of our book, got everyone at the launch to sign it and then gave it back to Ben and I. What a fabulously karmic goosebumpy kind of gesture. 

That's why we're trying to get a million people to Do Something Different. It's behavioural change with a difference. It has to make the world a better place.

---

NEW BOOK REVEALS PROFS’ SECRETS

Our book launch in London tonight (16th Jan). How exciting!

If all goes well I'll post some photos up here soon. If not, I'll just post some random pictures of very sensible people being well-behaved.

The new book? It's by by Professors Ben Fletcher and Karen Pine and it's called FLEX: Do Something Different. How to use the other 9/10ths of your personality

SEE BELOW FOR HOW YOU CAN WIN A FREE COPY.

Do Something Different. What a nice simple idea, someone commented recently. Yes, the idea IS simple. That’s what we like about it. 

But the science behind it is less than simple. In fact, it is based on over 30 years research. And now you can read about all the science behind do something different in the new book.

The book covers topics such as:

• ·      The personality trap
• ·      Shaping a life
• ·      The myth of willpower
• ·      Behavioural change
• ·      Alleviating stress
• ·      Behavioural flexibility
• ·      Doing the right thing
• ·      Towards greater personal coherence
• ·      How Do Something Different works
• ·      What a Do Something Different intervention looks like

Now you can experience for yourself the way we test people’s habit levels and their behavioural range. Be warned, it can be quite an eye-opener! These tests are used in our online programmes to design tailor-made Do’s for our Do-ers.

The Do’s, usually sent by text or email, start off simply. ‘Walk a different way to the shops’. ‘Listen to someone else’s music’. As people start to get the hang of it, the Do’s get more tailored to their own profile, spotting the gaps in their repertoire.  Helping them to expand new areas of their personality.

For example, a very systematic person might be encouraged to be more spontaneous, to:

·        Phone an old friend out of the blue

·        Turn up at the cinema and watch the next film that’s starting

·        Drop everything and invite a friend or colleague for a coffee 

And someone who’s introverted would be encouraged to try these extraverted Do’s:

·      Say hello to someone you've never spoken to before

·      Practise telling a funny story, embellish it for effect

·      Organise a night out at a karaoke bar, put your name down first.

The emphasis is on expanding the range of behaviours people use, so they flex the behaviours that don’t come naturally. People find they can approach old problems in new ways, which can help to reduce stress.

Professor Ben (C) Fletcher says about behavioural flexibility. “The more behaviours you have in your toolbox, the more able you are to react to different situations in your life, the less anxious you will be. Our Do Something Different programme helps people to develop new behaviours and break restrictive habits. It’s easy to do, most people find it great fun and it gets fantastic results.”

FLEX: Do Something Different. How to use the other 9/10ths of your personality, by psychologists Professor Ben (C) Fletcher and Professor Karen Pine, is published on 16^th January 2012, by University of Hertfordshire Press and available from Amazon.

TO WIN A FREE COPY ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

What type of machine do the authors of Flex say people are?

a) washing machine

b) mean machine

c) habit machine

Email me (k.j.pine@dsd.me) and I'll pick five correct answers at random to receive a free signed copy of Flex: Do Something Different.

When did you last do something different?

Are you a human habit machine?

Here's a quick test, taken from Flex:Do Something Different:

DO YOU OFTEN... 

• wear the same outfit because it’s easy or comfortable?
• express the same view?
• do something you said you'd give up doing?
• sit in the same spot to watch TV or eat a meal?
• visit the same holiday destination?
• recall negative things that people have said or done to you?
• watch a regularly scheduled TV programme?
• get bothered when people change plans at the last minute?

If you answered YES to three or more of these statements then you are probably very habitual. Yes, habits are comfortable but they mean many of us end up using only about a tenth of our potential.

The answer is to do something different. Why? Because it help improve a person's behavioural flexibility. And years of doing psychological research have convinced me that behavioural flexibility is the one critical asset we all need for a healthy and happy life.

That's why Do Something Different runs through all the work I do. It's incredibly powerful, and it's fun and life-enhancing too. 

We deliver behaviour change tools based on do something different via www.dsd.me and......

NOW - A NEW BOOK!
I'm so excited because we've put all the science and the methods for Do Something Different into ONE FABULOUS NEW BOOK.
It's called Flex: Do Something Different, How to use the other 9/10ths of your personality.
(Published by UH Press. See panel below right).

It's released on 16th January 2012 and is available from Amazon for pre-order. 


I hope you'll buy it, particularly if your habits need a good old shake-up!

New print run shortly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

January 2012: Our publishers have assured us another print-run of Sheconomics is on the way soon. 

So if you're trying to order a copy, thank you for your patience.

Meanwhile, thanks to everyone who's put fabulous reviews of Sheconomics on Amazon. They are all incredibly positive about the book (and we didn't even have to pay them) :) 
Out of 14 ratings, 13 people give it FIVE STARS. 

We're thrilled to bits that so many of you love Sheconomics and we thank you for your continued support. We plan to continue to bring you lots of up-to-the-minute tips for handling your money, comments on the latest issues, as well as some quirky psychology here.

We also get fabulous reviews and comments on our Facebook page, this week Nicolette wrote: 

"The best non fiction book I have ever read. I have recommended it to all my friends and keep a very well worn copy in my hand bag . It helps me if I feel the urge to splurge on unnecessary things! Lol. On a more serious.note a truly inspirational and motivating book which everyone should read!"

Don't forget to contact us via our website if there's anything else you'd like to see here, or if you'd like to receive our newsletter. And do let us know your thoughts on the blog by leaving us your comments. We look forward to hearing more from you in 2012.

Staying in's the new going out.

Where I live in Herts is like a frozen wasteland at the moment. There's so much snow that I haven't left the house for days!

That's not as desperate as it sounds.

I had papers to write and have got lots done without interruptions, holed up in one room, not quite wearing fingerless gloves and sipping cabbage soup but nearly, feeling a bit like Anne Frank (but with friendlier neighbours).

I did manage to force my husky dogs out to the post-box, to send the five winners of signed books their prizes for helping with research.

Thanks Nina, Nicolette, Janet, Debbie and Alisoun!

Hope you enjoy the books, not just Sheconomics but the latest one 'The Do Something Different Journal: 100 Ways to Shake Up Your Life' by me and Professor Ben Fletcher.

If you've taken part in our research surveys in the past, a big, warm, thermal-lined thank you.

We'll run further competitions soon and who knows, we could be digging Postman Pat out of a snow drift and pointing him in your direction soon!