Whenever You're Ready

Sometimes you find the book that just makes you “feel good” and you are at a loss for words.

Jee-yoon Kim, talented pianist, shares her thoughts on life and strategies/practices for becoming successful no matter what you study. I loved the structure of this book as it is divided into movements and intermissions, rather than chapters.

It is explained that when Kim is backstage, just before going out to perform for a concert, someone will prompt her by saying, “Whenever you’re ready…” she carries this message with her through her writing by explaining to readers how to tackle new challenges/meet new goals “whenever they are ready.”

Kim comes across as such a genuine and kind spirit, and I feel like I do after a meditation session by just listening to her speak in this audiobook.

A beautiful crossover between a self-help book with practical advice from a life in concert piano playing, and an autobiography, with beautiful insights into the creative life. I particularly enjoyed the reading style, and felt very at peace whilst listening. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Particular highlights for me were the masterclass on classical music appreciation and the insights into habits and mental preparedness. Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED it.
Jeeyoon Kim is a pianist. She has a YouTube channel and a podcast called "Journey Through Classical Piano". In this book she shared her life experience and how piano was the centerpiece, and the lessons she learned through it, which could work with any life aspect.
It's a self-help book and an auto-biography.

The audio book was narrated by the author herself. I loved listening to her soothing narration and her cute accent.

What a wonderful audiobook! Jeeyoon’s journey to become a classical pianist was paved with bumps and forks in the road. She overcame them by refocusing on what seemed to be impossible situations into manageable moments. She presented how to overcome obstacles by looking at them in a different manner and approached them with patience and determination. I really loved her story and am now following her on YouTube and listening to her podcast.

This book is part self-help book & part autobiography, but don’t let that put you off!
The self-help parts are lessons learnt from her life and she shares these with the reader/listeners but also challenges them with little habits or exercises they can try. She is realistic, understanding that not everybody can or will be a concert pianist but also acknowledging that with focus, you can face seemingly huge hurdles or impossible situations by breaking them into manageable chunks and focussing only on the next chunk! The title of the book comes from the moments immediately before a performance when she is backstage. Somebody will open the door and say “Whenever you’re ready . . .” - Jeeyoon uses this phrase to challenge the readers to take their own steps in life, whether this is to reach a goal, meet a challenge or develop a new habit.

The book is structured rather like a concert performance with a series of movements separated by intermissions. This really worked as she focussed on different aspects in each “movement” and the intermissions gave you time to digest the content before a change of pace/direction to the next topic. I will definitely be exploring Jeeyoons YouTube channel & Podcast as she references these in the text and they seem like great companions to this book.
The audiobook was narrated by the author & it truly feels like a conversation with her. The pace is perfect, and her gentle voice is almost soothing. Thoroughly enjoyable!


#WheneverYoureReady #NetGalley.

Thank you #netgally
I listened to this audio book today. Jeeyon Kim is a truly inspirational woman, her dedication to her life and piano practice is amazing. Her voice is soft and easy to listen to.
Her tips and encouragement on becoming motivated and inspired to start gently at ten minutes a day for 3 weeks.

* What you express who you are is another gift to the world. *

She made many things happen for herself being her own agent for years.

Believe in yourself. I am going to apply some of these tips to get my fitness back up.

Know your work can inspire others to create.

A great reflective read on life, challenges, motivations, and building habits. The author is a professional pianist. She does a great job connecting with the listeners early on, describing her humble childhood in Korea and introduction to music. She then progresses through her childhood, high school years, and challenges during undergraduate and graduate trainings. I consider this a refreshing listen (or read), focusing on steps to encourage life balance, changing daily habits, and ‘enjoying the journey’ rather than solely focusing on the finish line of life and its challenges.

Kim shares many stories that are personal, with her journey and challenges as a professional musician, and adaptations she has had to make during the COVID pandemic. She also has quite a history of teaching, with great anecdotes sprinkled in throughout. Perhaps my favorite part of this listen are the various teaching pearls that I plan to incorporate into my daily flow and repertoire of teaching tools.

I also enjoyed the creativity the author demonstrated, including arranging the read/listen into an organization similar to a classical music concert, with links for live music!

I highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley for my free copy. The comments above are mine without influence.

THis was an interesting story. It was inspiring to hear Jeeyoon's history and how she overcame.. It really made me think about my life and how I can live my life.

Format: audiobook
Author: Jeeyoon Kim ~ Title: Whenever You're Ready ~ Narrator: Jeeyoon Kim
Content: 4.5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars

You can read this book as a memoir or as a self-help book. But for me, it was more than just that.

I didn’t know the pianist Jeeyoon Kim before, so I watched some of her live performances on YouTube. She plays the piano very well, and I think we can learn a great deal from musicians like her. They go through enormous pressures and tests to achieve what she did. So she can now play so well in front of a demanding audience.

I listened to an audiobook and read the book at the same time. The book is like a concert list. It contains a prelude, five movements, and an encore. I loved intermissions about classical pieces that Jeeyoon loves. I wish the audiobook format would include the complete works played by her. In both versions, the author invites you to listen to these pieces on her Podcast.

Both formats are great. If you are interested in the self-help part of the book, an ebook or a physical copy is maybe a slightly better choice. You have those “Something to think about whenever you’re ready“ parts at the end of each chapter, and it can be a better experience to see that written.

If you read a lot of self-help books about how to create a habit, stay positive, be successful, etc, you may know some of these tactics. But the format and the unique way the author presents this content deserves a 4.5 star from me. It would have been a 5 star if the author included the entire pieces of intermissions.

The narration did the author herself, and I liked it. Her accent made it even better and authentic.

I enjoyed listening to Ms. Kim's voice as she shares her life experiences and tips for our own betterment.

Practical advice for creating the life you want and finding the courage to do the things you are scared of. Concert pianist Jeeyoon Kim relates what she has found to work for her to create her successful life. Having the author as narrator makes it feel like a conversation.

Listening to this #audiobook about building habits to reach your goals, creating small steps along the way.
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@jeeyoonkimpianist, a concert pianist who has played at Carnegie Hall and numerous highly sought after venues, walks you through how to shape your routine to tackle the progress you want. She stresses that so much of the talent we assume people are born with is truly their hard work and consistent practice, not just in music but in many aspects of life.
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As the daughter of a concert pianist myself, and a pianist myself, I have to concur. We may be born with a curiosity or interest - particularly due to early music exposure - but only when we invest and keep returning to practice and those instruments do we uncover our skills.
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Like Jeeyoon, I too decided to examine what was getting in the way of some of my desires like regularly jogging. I found it was sometimes small hurdles like only having time to run in the morning and not having workout clothes ready that were easy to solve; I began sleeping in yoga pants and tank tops and kept my key on a hair scrunchie so I could roll out of bed, tie up my hair, slip on my shoes and hit the road. It worked like a charm when I made the preparations the night before.
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Similarly, Jeeyoon reminds us we choose how we spend our time and new habits are best started in bite size pieces associated with existing habits. What if you played piano for just 10 minutes after the morning coffee that's already built into your routine? It's easier than you may think. The biggest hurdle is always simply being vulnerable enough to try, allow yourself to be a beginner, forgive yourself when you fail or break the habit, and get back up to start again.

#WheneverYoureReady #NetGalley #OutNow

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I very much enjoyed this read. It takes things you’ve hear before and gives it a new perspective. I had a hard time with the audiobook at first, but adjusted the speed which helped.

I love her overall view on life and how upbeat yet realistic her view is. She definitely helps you want to get something started!

Great Read. Love the music that is woven in and how the book is laid out.

Big thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and GoodReads (I won this after I already requested it!).