I own and have read the book. I thought the author was a good, clear writer who was able to make his points in a clever and humourous way. Nice bits of exaggeration from time to time, and the stories flowed with ease. Frankly, the book inspired me to come up with my own challenge based on my own circumstances. No, not $100.00 per week for 10 weeks, as I don't even earn that, let alone have enough fat to cut that out! I agree that his categories/strategies were not ones that pertained to my life. The part where he wrote of finding ongoing charges on his credit card that he simply had not examined for a long time was funny and well written. And I took it as a caution that if I were unwise enough to put an ongoing charge on my card, I may need to be more diligent about getting it off. Might be a lot better for me if I forego the expense in the first place. (The way to hell is paved with good intentions thing!) I am planning to gift the book to someone else who I think will enjoy it, and who has a much more mainstream income/way of life than do I. Nicely written book, made me think, was not a life changer (for me), enjoyable read. Does not deserve to be panned.