Book Notes
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How a Book on Negative Thinking Made Me 20% Happier
There’s one passage from The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman that has been a more potent wake-up call for my happiness than blasting trumpets, buckets of icy water, and a double espresso shot combined. It goes like this: The startling conclusion at which they [reputable psychologists and philosophers] had all arrived, in different ways, was this:…
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‘The Longing for Less’ by Kyle Chayka: 5 Key Lessons on Minimalism
I have a strange problem with most content on minimalism: It’s all a bit too convenient. See, the typical minimalist hero’s journey goes like this: (1) discover you feel miserable, (2) blame all your problems on your stuff, (3) get rid of as many possessions as you can, and (4) be happy. It’s a neatly…
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Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman: Top 5 Lessons
One of the things I love most about this book is the author’s personal history. You see, long before publishing Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman wrote a weekly column on productivity. He’s a productivity geek. A guru. He knows every trick in the book — and added a few chapters. Did it make him happier, though? Complete,…
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3 Deep Lessons from Greenlights (and Why You Should Get the Audiobook)
Ironically, I’ve never been a huge fan of Matthew McConaughey. The only noteworthy thing I used to know about him was the insane number of “Murphs” he dropped in Interstellar. But then, I picked up his memoir Greenlights on a whim. (It was a long train ride, and I needed some soothing words in my…
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3 Key Lessons From Rest by Alex Pang
Sometimes you’re lucky enough to read a book when you really need it. For me, Rest by Alex Pang was such a book. See, at the time, I was spinning too many plates. Heavy plates. On the one hand, I did a full-time master’s program where I was head over heels in projects and courses.…
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How to Worry Less About Money: 5 Lessons from the Book
Normally, I really hate books about money. Sure, they teach you how to invest, how to go by with less, how to save for retirement, and all that. But here’s the problem: These are band-aid solutions. They might butter up your financial situation, but neglect far more critical, underlying questions: Luckily, I found some intriguing…
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Why Reading ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ Is a Huge Waste of Time
Goodreads rating: 4.15 Stars. Over 1.2 million copies sold in the US alone. Recommended by Will Smith, Kanye West, and Michael Jackson. I desperately searched for a silver lining in The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Unfortunately, though, I hated every second of reading this treasure map to hell. I can’t tell you…
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4 Addictive Books for Short Attention Spans
Whenever I feel my attention span dwindling, I turn to these four books. They’re highly condensed, edited to the maximum, and hook your attention on every page. Plus, they’re made up of stand-alone chapters so you can flip them open and start wherever you like. These quietly addictive books are ideal if you want to…
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5 Lessons From Dune by Frank Herbert
(Note: This article will include elements of Dune’s early plot, but it will not contain any spoiler material.) When the credits of Dune rolled on the big screen, I was blown away. In fact, I was still trembling when I walked out of the theater. What is it about this world leaves me shaken to…
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3 Life-Changing Books I Re-Read Every Year
Many books are 90% fluff. There’s one good idea explained on five pages, and the remaining 300 pages are filled with empty words coating that single idea like the fat rim of a steak. That’s why I generally dislike re-reading books — it can feel like a waste of time and energy. But every once in a…