The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
innae's review against another edition
3.0
Finished this up today, and it has a lot of good advice, and at the very least makes you feel a little better about where you are with your own "Big Thing".
karcitis's review against another edition
1.0
So I was going to give this two stars and then I decided not to finish it, so down to one star it goes. It seemed to start out pretty well, but quickly lost focus and structure. I felt like each chapter was just a series of tangents on the same subject that were loosely tied together at the end to relate back to the "big thing." Like other reviewers I also found it repetitive and unclear. The title proclaims it a self-help book, but instead of offering clear strategies to help complete your project, it mostly seems like a meditative study on different ways creative people (usually very famous like Beethoven or Darwin) have coped throughout the ages. Not was I was hoping for and unhelpful to my endeavours.
annieandherbooks's review against another edition
3.0
From my blog, http://annieburdickwritten.blogspot.com/
My Rating: 2.5/5
My Estimated Rating for someone who actually has a Big Thing in the works: 4/5
Let me start by saying that I actually see a lot of good in this book. While my personal rating of it is relatively low, I do see why so many people are already loving it. However, for me, I think this wasn't the right or necessary time to read this book. While I do have a vague fantasy of writing my own novel someday, I'm still young and more focused on a balanced day-to-day life than cracking down to write the next Great American Novel. I do think I'll hold onto this book, though, as I can see myself later in life appreciating it so much more as I actually look realistically at the possibility of my own Big Thing, whatever it may be.
In this book it is incredibly clear that Korkki did extensive research and interviewing during the writing process. I was consistently impressed at the amount of information included, as well as her willingness to try any advice she received from experts. As an estimate, I'd say about 30% of this book is Korkki reflecting on her own experiences, 60% is her interviewing people and discussing their multitude of diverse outside experiences, and a mere 10% is her talking about what YOU should do. Keep that in mind as you pick it up. If you're someone who thrives on being informed and inspired by the experiences of others, this is absolutely a perfect book for you. A huge majority of the book is dedicated to 2-8 page long interviews/mini-biographies of people who range widely from rich and famous to poor and modest, and both living and dead. These people are artists, writers, entrepreneurs, housewives, aging drug addicts, long-dead cultural icons, and so on. Some of these mini-stories fascinated me; some dragged on or felt far-removed from the overall point.
I will say, this book would be very easy to skim. There were certainly portions even for me that I speed-read through or glazed over. In other parts, I was riveted, underlining passages and making notes in the margins. And I think that variation is okay. This book is separated into larger overarching topics, including things like physical studies on sleep, breathing and wellness, as well as more typical topics like loving your work and building piece by piece. Every reader will relate to some concepts more than others, and that's alright. The parts I found interesting in this book could easily be the opposite for another reader. I read this primarily to gain some insights, and I certainly did. However, I do still think I'll receive it better at another point in my life.
If you have a Big Thing in progress, or an idea waiting in the back of you mind, I highly recommend this book as the next step in teaching and inspiring you towards your goal.
My Rating: 2.5/5
My Estimated Rating for someone who actually has a Big Thing in the works: 4/5
Let me start by saying that I actually see a lot of good in this book. While my personal rating of it is relatively low, I do see why so many people are already loving it. However, for me, I think this wasn't the right or necessary time to read this book. While I do have a vague fantasy of writing my own novel someday, I'm still young and more focused on a balanced day-to-day life than cracking down to write the next Great American Novel. I do think I'll hold onto this book, though, as I can see myself later in life appreciating it so much more as I actually look realistically at the possibility of my own Big Thing, whatever it may be.
In this book it is incredibly clear that Korkki did extensive research and interviewing during the writing process. I was consistently impressed at the amount of information included, as well as her willingness to try any advice she received from experts. As an estimate, I'd say about 30% of this book is Korkki reflecting on her own experiences, 60% is her interviewing people and discussing their multitude of diverse outside experiences, and a mere 10% is her talking about what YOU should do. Keep that in mind as you pick it up. If you're someone who thrives on being informed and inspired by the experiences of others, this is absolutely a perfect book for you. A huge majority of the book is dedicated to 2-8 page long interviews/mini-biographies of people who range widely from rich and famous to poor and modest, and both living and dead. These people are artists, writers, entrepreneurs, housewives, aging drug addicts, long-dead cultural icons, and so on. Some of these mini-stories fascinated me; some dragged on or felt far-removed from the overall point.
I will say, this book would be very easy to skim. There were certainly portions even for me that I speed-read through or glazed over. In other parts, I was riveted, underlining passages and making notes in the margins. And I think that variation is okay. This book is separated into larger overarching topics, including things like physical studies on sleep, breathing and wellness, as well as more typical topics like loving your work and building piece by piece. Every reader will relate to some concepts more than others, and that's alright. The parts I found interesting in this book could easily be the opposite for another reader. I read this primarily to gain some insights, and I certainly did. However, I do still think I'll receive it better at another point in my life.
If you have a Big Thing in progress, or an idea waiting in the back of you mind, I highly recommend this book as the next step in teaching and inspiring you towards your goal.
endemictoearth's review
2.0
This book was so odd, almost meta. I read the first few chapters and then skimmed a lot, because the book was so autological, referring back itself all the time.
kil3yp's review
3.0
This book was fine. It had some gems and some great insights, but also some weird stuff (really...you threw a chapter on dating in there? Because it was "for the book"? Date away, but I don't need to hear about your dating experiences as a random chapter in your "big thing" book).
I did this on audio, and I'm glad I did - I think in print it might have been a DNF. I could fall asleep to this book, and never once needed to or felt the urge to back up to find the spot I fell asleep and see what parts I missed.
Give it a skim, but probably not going to become your productivity bible.
I did this on audio, and I'm glad I did - I think in print it might have been a DNF. I could fall asleep to this book, and never once needed to or felt the urge to back up to find the spot I fell asleep and see what parts I missed.
Give it a skim, but probably not going to become your productivity bible.
allisonplus's review
3.0
"The mind craves the long arc that a book provides."
"I have long berated myself for being lazy when it comes to my personal aspirations. I consider myself possessed of 'a fine natural indolence,' as Virginia Woolf describes the heroine in The Voyage Out"
"The moment when you heave yourself over from inactivity to activity is the hardest to endure."
"To do is to undo. And to do is to not do."
"Efficiency can also mean recognizing the importance of taking a break, having a drink, talking with friends, thinking, or napping."
"Mental and physical illnesses are characterized by tension and lack of ease. Most of life, really, is lack of ease. If we did not feel uneasy, we could not move forward."
"How do you create a deadline for a creative project when nobody but you really cares whether you finish it? One answer: find other people who are doing the same thing and join some system of accountability for that."
"I have long berated myself for being lazy when it comes to my personal aspirations. I consider myself possessed of 'a fine natural indolence,' as Virginia Woolf describes the heroine in The Voyage Out"
"The moment when you heave yourself over from inactivity to activity is the hardest to endure."
"To do is to undo. And to do is to not do."
"Efficiency can also mean recognizing the importance of taking a break, having a drink, talking with friends, thinking, or napping."
"Mental and physical illnesses are characterized by tension and lack of ease. Most of life, really, is lack of ease. If we did not feel uneasy, we could not move forward."
"How do you create a deadline for a creative project when nobody but you really cares whether you finish it? One answer: find other people who are doing the same thing and join some system of accountability for that."
celli's review
2.0
I got a couple of good ideas from it, but ultimately I found it frustrating - the author worked so hard to be honest about her flaws and struggles that I got none of her joy. When it shows up in other people's stories, the contrast is startling.
(also don't fatshame ffs)
(also don't fatshame ffs)
More...