I found this book very refreshing. It helped shape my outlook on life. I've always wanted to make myself just a little bit better and this book has helped me figure out a way to do just that. I recommend this book to anyone interested in bettering themselves. ( )

Read my review here: http://everydaygyaan.com/2012/07/one-good-deed-book-review/ ( )

I really like the idea of this book - "do a good turn daily" (to quote the Girl Scouts). The author decides she will do one good deed each day for a year - and write about it. The book starts out great, but by the end of the year, I feel the author was running out of things to write about, and it just became a series of entries about her daily routine. That said, it did make me start to think about what I could be doing to help other people - so I guess the author was successful in her goal to make people think about being nicer! (She also includes a couple of recipes that I intend to try in the near future!) ( )

Some of the good deeds are clever, some questionable. All, though, are doable, and anecdotes show that even the smallest good deed can make a difference. The idea may inspire readers, but they may not make it through the entire book as there is a good deal of repetition. ( )

The devastation of Hurricane Sandy makes One Good Deed a most timely book. I live in NYC, and for the last week have seen not only the worst that Mother Nature can do, but also the best that human nature can be; and being a better human being is what this book is all about.

Erin McHugh chronicles her 365 day journey to be "a little kinder, a little more helpful, a little more thoughtful" by doing one good deed a day. The deeds don't have to be big, they can be as simple as bringing a friend flowers to cheer her up, buying a co-worker a soda, or purchasing the ugliest cupcake at the church holiday fair. McHugh relates a story about one good deed multiplying: she purchased several boxes of Girl Scout cookies from a persistent young lady, and then donated a few boxes back to the Girl Scouts who arranged for them to be donated to a feeding program. She received a note from the troop leader describing a homeless veteran who was so happy to receive Girl Scout cookies because it reminded him of being a kid again, and he said that "it was the first time in a long time I felt like a person again." It brought tears to my eyes.

McHugh writes with such humanity about her journey, but this book is never preachy. I found it funny, moving, inspiring and thought-provoking. Her tone is conversational, and you feel like you are reading a friend's journal. And as someone who worked in retail for many years, I related to one of her good deeds, when she didn't lose her cool with a rude customer. Been there, done that, and I applauded her self-control.

As I watch people dropping their own lives and volunteering to help feed and clothe hurricane victims and clean up the mess left behind by Hurricane Sandy, I can't help but feel that One Good Deed came around at the perfect time. After reading this, you feel that doing something small and simple can help someone else have a better day, and with many people gathering together to do good deeds together, we can make a huge difference.

One Good Deed is a book that I will be giving many people this year for Christmas because it inspired me to look at the people around me a little more closely with a little more care, and I think it will inspire others to do the same. Wouldn't it be great if all the people who read Fifty Shades of Grey read One Good Deed next? Just think how we could change the world. ( )