Love, Lists & Labels by Jemma Solomon

My review

3/5 stars

I've not been overly familiar with Jemma Solomon and her work as The Label Lady up to now - I've mainly come across her through her sister's Instagram stories. However, her book's title spoke to me, so I figured I'd give it a go.

As expected, I learned a lot more about her than I knew before. What stood out most about her was her work ethic and her optimism (something that seems to run in the Solomon family). It's inspiring to read a couple of hundred pages from that point of view and it did wonders for lifting my mood. As a side note, I also found it very interesting that she has a business relationship with Lord Sugar, as it's not something that I've come across in the time I've been following her on social media.

The advice given in the book is the same advice you'll find in most books of this nature; it doesn't break the mould, or offer anything particularly unique. What makes the advice readable and palatable is the realism with which it is delivered. The author provides real life examples of where she's used her own advice for benefit and gives real-world tips for how to implement systems with almost zero pressure. She is also honest about where things haven't, or continue not to, work for her instead of trying to paper over the cracks.

I particularly enjoyed two aspects of this book. The first is that she was upfront about where assumptions around her background have made her life harder. This is an important conversation for us to continue having, as there is no reason why someone's accent should mean that they are made to have unnecessarily mean conversations. The second is the list of recommended social media accounts at the back of the book.

It didn't offer me anything new when it comes to organisation, but I did enjoy the tone of the book and finding out more about the author.

Book blurb

'This book is a little bit about me and a little bit about you.'

Being known as The Label Lady and having a business that revolves around organisation, you might think that I have everything all worked out but that hasn't always been the case. I went from working full-time as a nurse, with three young children and suffering from overwhelming anxiety to setting up a business that helps people organise their lives. Organisation has always been something I have used to help bring order and calm to my life, it has soothed my anxiety and helped me to focus on achieving my goals. That's exactly why I want to tell my story whilst inspiring others to do something for themselves, whether it's a small change like organising parts of their home (a cupboard is a great start!) or pursuing a long-held dream.

I want to take you behind the scenes of my own story whilst also sharing tips, hacks and takeaways that have helped me on my journey and during life's most challenging moments. I will show you how you can organise, list and label your life to achieve your own dreams.

'Sometimes the best person to take a chance on is yourself.'

More

You can buy the book here now. It was published by Penguin.

For more on the author, you can head to her website, follow her on Instagram, or check out her Goodreads page.