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I have read the whole book, it was a waste of time. Mainly because Newport keeps contradicting himself. I remember a few paragraphs before the end of the book,

I have read the whole book, it was a waste of time. Mainly because Newport keeps contradicting himself. I remember a few paragraphs before the end of the book, he was saying how he didnt want to make a philosophical or moral point and just after said "having a deep life is the best way of living". The full book is like this.

sotojuan 10y ago
It's also a waste of time because it's a book. Deep Work, along with many other non-fiction "self help" books HN loves, could just be a couple of long blog posts. As a book it gets repetitive and tiring after the first half.
- DarkTree 10y ago
  > Deep Work, along with many other non-fiction "self help" books HN loves, could just be a couple of long blog posts. Sure, they could be, but I would argue there is benefit to expanding them into longer books. I haven't read this specific book, but have read several other "self-help" books and while the majority of them have shown repetitive themes, that same repetition is what ingrained the overall message the author is trying to disseminate. Reading a book over the course of weeks has a much more lasting effect on me, than probably any blog posts I've read.
  - sotojuan 10y ago
    Fair enough. Maybe I just don't like self-help books as much as others do.
- aaachilless 10y ago
  I agree that many books could be distilled into small fractions of their total length. I also agree that these books are sometimes repetitive and tiring. That said, I think it's often still sensible to write (and read) such books. I read Deep Work and didn't find anything Newport says in the book to be that profound, counterintuitive, eye-opening, etc. But it's a good book and I'm glad I read it because it's, idk, 2-300 pages of ideas, however mundane, that are simultaneously good to think about and easy to accidentally ignore. As a direct result to reading Deep Work, I made a few small changes that have had a positive impact on my life since. Now, did I _learn_ anything new from Deep Work? I don't think so, but it helped me focus on things that I think I already knew. Books aren't all about information content.
Loic 10y ago
Yes, full of contradictions, like the journalists are good at making deep work in pieces of 10 minutes where just before this is the definition of multitasking reducing the quality of deep work. Every single page is contradicting another in the book. This is because he tries to write a book from a single idea. A bit like if the top comment on this thread about "boring yourself to do deep work" would be converted into a 200 page book. Of course at the end, you eat yourself like a snake and you cannot find any more ideas to fill the pages.

sotojuan 10y ago

It's also a waste of time because it's a book. Deep Work, along with many other non-fiction "self help" books HN loves, could just be a couple of long blog posts. As a book it gets repetitive and tiring after the first half.

DarkTree 10y ago
> Deep Work, along with many other non-fiction "self help" books HN loves, could just be a couple of long blog posts. Sure, they could be, but I would argue there is benefit to expanding them into longer books. I haven't read this specific book, but have read several other "self-help" books and while the majority of them have shown repetitive themes, that same repetition is what ingrained the overall message the author is trying to disseminate. Reading a book over the course of weeks has a much more lasting effect on me, than probably any blog posts I've read.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  Fair enough. Maybe I just don't like self-help books as much as others do.
aaachilless 10y ago
I agree that many books could be distilled into small fractions of their total length. I also agree that these books are sometimes repetitive and tiring. That said, I think it's often still sensible to write (and read) such books. I read Deep Work and didn't find anything Newport says in the book to be that profound, counterintuitive, eye-opening, etc. But it's a good book and I'm glad I read it because it's, idk, 2-300 pages of ideas, however mundane, that are simultaneously good to think about and easy to accidentally ignore. As a direct result to reading Deep Work, I made a few small changes that have had a positive impact on my life since. Now, did I _learn_ anything new from Deep Work? I don't think so, but it helped me focus on things that I think I already knew. Books aren't all about information content.

Loic 10y ago

Yes, full of contradictions, like the journalists are good at making deep work in pieces of 10 minutes where just before this is the definition of multitasking reducing the quality of deep work. Every single page is contradicting another in the book. This is because he tries to write a book from a single idea. A bit like if the top comment on this thread about "boring yourself to do deep work" would be converted into a 200 page book. Of course at the end, you eat yourself like a snake and you cannot find any more ideas to fill the pages.