4 ms·

It's an alright book. Nothing groundbreaking. Could have been condensed into a blog post. I assume most people intuitively know the ideas in it beforehand. Bu

by 2143 4y ago

It's an alright book. Nothing groundbreaking. Could have been condensed into a blog post. I assume most people intuitively know the ideas in it beforehand. Buy it only if you get it cheap. Or buy used. After reading a bunch of such books over the years, I have sworn never to read books about personal productivity.

mikro2nd 4y ago
"Could have been condensed into a blog post" Thanks for that! I've wasted far too many hours of my life on books like this that could easily have conveyed all their useful information in a couple of pages. I had the distinct feeling it might be that sort of book from the vapid, content-free nature of the linked blog post, but to have it confirmed by someone who's actually bothered to look at the source is valuable.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- throwaway572 4y ago
KSteffensen 4y ago
"Could have been condensed into a blog post" Here you go: https://www.chrisbehan.ca/posts/atomic-habits https://www.chrisbehan.ca/posts/atomic-habits Related HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29774859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29774859
mdp2021 4y ago
> Could have been condensed into a blog post Which would have drowned it in the ocean where drops are posts. _We do "need" (it would be a revolution in civilization) a system to review contributions - including posts - ranking them for value._ Something that would allow such «blog post» to have a recognition - closer to "best seller" class and farther to "found it randomly".
stackbutterflow 4y ago
Could have been condensed into a blog post. That's every self help book ever. I've read a few a while ago and don't read them anymore. Past the intro and maybe the first or second chapter it's a collection of anecdotes to fill 100~200 pages.
- purerandomness 4y ago
  Without relatable content, it would become a meaningless "do this, then do that" bullet point list. It's the stories and the emotions that are evoked when reading, that trigger profound changes in my mind. I have no time to waste reading any of the millions of random trivial "do this, do that" lists. They have no relation to me. Why should I follow them?
nerdawson 4y ago
> Buy it only if you get it cheap. Or buy used. If you takeaway a valuable idea, what’s that worth to you? The time I spend reading a book is far more valuable than whatever the cost of the actual book is. I can’t imagine factoring a discount into the decision making process.
- 2143 4y ago
  I see your point and agree with you. You cannot put a price on a valuable idea. In this particular case though, I feel reading that book was mostly a waste of time primarily, and of money secondarily. But then, me being me I would probably have wasted that time doing other mundane tasks anyway. Also, some books are worth far more than their actual cost. For instance, I've been reading the classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. My regret is that I choose a paperback instead of the hardcover, because this is one book I want to keep for a very long time. (My paperback copy is absolutely fine at the moment, but hardcovers tend to outlast them).
ivanche 4y ago
> After reading a bunch of such books over the years This is the "problem". You've read a lot of similar books so this one isn't groundbreaking. But if you were one of today's 10000, this one would be groundbreaking.

by 2143 4y ago

mikro2nd 4y ago

"Could have been condensed into a blog post" Thanks for that! I've wasted far too many hours of my life on books like this that could easily have conveyed all their useful information in a couple of pages. I had the distinct feeling it might be that sort of book from the vapid, content-free nature of the linked blog post, but to have it confirmed by someone who's actually bothered to look at the source is valuable.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
throwaway572 4y ago

KSteffensen 4y ago

"Could have been condensed into a blog post" Here you go: https://www.chrisbehan.ca/posts/atomic-habits https://www.chrisbehan.ca/posts/atomic-habits Related HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29774859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29774859

mdp2021 4y ago

> Could have been condensed into a blog post Which would have drowned it in the ocean where drops are posts. _We do "need" (it would be a revolution in civilization) a system to review contributions - including posts - ranking them for value._ Something that would allow such «blog post» to have a recognition - closer to "best seller" class and farther to "found it randomly".

stackbutterflow 4y ago

Could have been condensed into a blog post. That's every self help book ever. I've read a few a while ago and don't read them anymore. Past the intro and maybe the first or second chapter it's a collection of anecdotes to fill 100~200 pages.

purerandomness 4y ago
Without relatable content, it would become a meaningless "do this, then do that" bullet point list. It's the stories and the emotions that are evoked when reading, that trigger profound changes in my mind. I have no time to waste reading any of the millions of random trivial "do this, do that" lists. They have no relation to me. Why should I follow them?

nerdawson 4y ago

> Buy it only if you get it cheap. Or buy used. If you takeaway a valuable idea, what’s that worth to you? The time I spend reading a book is far more valuable than whatever the cost of the actual book is. I can’t imagine factoring a discount into the decision making process.

2143 4y ago
I see your point and agree with you. You cannot put a price on a valuable idea. In this particular case though, I feel reading that book was mostly a waste of time primarily, and of money secondarily. But then, me being me I would probably have wasted that time doing other mundane tasks anyway. Also, some books are worth far more than their actual cost. For instance, I've been reading the classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. My regret is that I choose a paperback instead of the hardcover, because this is one book I want to keep for a very long time. (My paperback copy is absolutely fine at the moment, but hardcovers tend to outlast them).

ivanche 4y ago

> After reading a bunch of such books over the years This is the "problem". You've read a lot of similar books so this one isn't groundbreaking. But if you were one of today's 10000, this one would be groundbreaking.