Tag: finances

I won’t lie—the first book by Babaykin, Retired at 35, didn’t really appeal to me. However, intrigued by the topic and the titles, I bought both of the author’s books at once. Even though I wasn’t too impressed with the first one, I decided to read the second to understand why both books have such high ratings and so many positive reviews.

If the first book was about how to retire at 35, the second delves deeper into the F.I.R.E. movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and provides a closer look at the lifestyle of these early retirees.

Indeed, the main impression from the book is that it’s more about the author’s worldview and lifestyle. Personally, I didn’t find much practical value, especially since much of it feels like a verbose rehashing of the first book. There’s nothing particularly new here—just the same stories told in different words.

Moreover, the book lacks clear structure. The blog-like nature is very evident: individual chapters feel like blog posts written at very different times. This approach inevitably leads to repetition. While that’s understandable in a blog, it doesn’t work as well for a book. A book requires some structure—a logical progression through which the author conveys the core idea they set out to share.

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Another book by yet another popular blogger. Lately, I find myself reading more and more of these. On the other hand, it’s always interesting to see what people like and why. Although this case is a bit different. I have no idea who this Babaykin guy is. He claims to talk a lot about investments and be well-connected in various circles… but a quick search didn’t bring up this so-called “famous blogger,” so I couldn’t figure out what the book is based on (probably just bad at searching). Unlike Alexey Markov, whose book Hoolinomics was clearly grounded in his blog and who pops up instantly in search results. And then there’s the fact that the author is hiding behind a pseudonym, which I always find odd. Maybe he just doesn’t want attention (even though he talks quite a lot about his personal life).

But that’s beside the point. I wasn’t that interested in the blog anyway, given that there’s already a book. Plus, the rating seems pretty high.

The title of the book is intriguing in itself. Everyone’s lazy these days, no one wants to work, and sitting idle at 35 while feeling like a millionaire is the ultimate dream for most ordinary people. I’ll buy the book, read it, and become just like that! (Sounds a bit like some pitches I heard back in the ’90s.)

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