Book Review: Be Happy Hungry

There are many ways to describe Edwin Soriano’s latest book, Be Happy Hungry, all of them positive.

For starters, it is easy to read. Correction, it is very easy to read! There are no long paragraphs. The words he uses are simple. It helps too that the font size is relatively large than usual. It is a self-help book which contains easy-to-follow steps. This serves as a guide for those who feel they have insurmountable problems. So merge that with “easy to read”, then for sure you can solve your problem – whatever it is – in a jiffy. But even if you feel you are not confronted with a big issue, it is a read which helps refresh one’s spirits.

The book also contains snippets of experiences of Edwin both as a person who learns from life and also from some of the people who sought his advise. It doesn’t picture the world as a bed of roses. On the contrary, the experiences are down-to-earth and may even be shocking – if not heartbreaking like the short paragraph on page 136. (I wish to provide a glimpse of that story but do not want to be a spoiler).

My personal favorite is his ATM experience. But like many thoughts and actions of the author, be forewarned that he does not provide you with a reaction an ordinary mortal would. It is a test to our selves if we could possibly duplicate what he does. Not that we couldn’t but the more appropriate query would be if we are willing to. Over-all, the advise that Edwin gives range anywhere from the obvious to the emotionally radical. He has managed to rise himself above the typical and because of that, he deserves praise not only for feeling, thinking (or doing) out-of-the-box but more for raising the level of being humane. Me thinks that if half the planet were filled with people who live by the principles espoused in the book, it would be a truly wonderful world. (I challenge every reader to be part of that wonderful half!).

By way of suggestion, it would do well if the book were written in Filipino and other major dialects. The reason I say so is because this should be read by all our countrymen – whether you’re a struggling student or a struggling retiree or just looking for a good book.

To cite the obvious – it is a must read!

About the author:

BONG is a Freelance consultant in Human Resource Management as well as other Management disciplines such as Operations, Finance, Marketing.

He is a former Member of the Philippine Society for Training and Development. Former Vice-President of People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) Calabarzon Chapter. Former Auditor of the Association of Human Resource Managers (AHRM) in the Hotel and Restaurant industry.