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jakesutor's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a very practical book on minimalism, with short chapters each highlighting a very specific point. I found it to be somewhat helpful, though it was more of a personal account than providing additional evidence, so it lacked some of the psychological, philosophical, or economic arguments that I find truly fascinating.
yourfriendwd's review against another edition
3.0
Essentially, the Japanese version of Atomic Habits by James Clear and Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit. There's a little more humility in its tone, and some integration of Eastern philosophy which I appreciated, but as evidenced in its 50 (FIFTY!) steps to habit formation, it has little to do with minimalism as the subtitle suggests. For a pragmatic guide to habit formation and maintenance, the aforementioned titles, I find, are more effectively laid out.
shanya's review
4.0
Inspiring!
I enjoyed reading Fumio Sasaki's first book, Goodbye, Things. Anyway, it didn't make me a really minimalist person, but I unhauled a lot of books I didn't even wanted to read. A couple months ago, when I found out he has a newly published book, I wanted to read it right away.
Hello, Habits was a real habit changer. At the moment, I was trying hard to be more productive in any kind of other activities except sleeping and binge-watching shows on Netflix. *add being stuck in a stressful house, full of 5 people and 12 cats, in the pandemic*
I feel like every page of this book were attacking me personally. This book was all I needed. It's written in a very simple way with inspiring stories. I highlighted a lot of passages and hoping that I could implement all of them in real life.
If you want to improve your habit, you must read this!
I enjoyed reading Fumio Sasaki's first book, Goodbye, Things. Anyway, it didn't make me a really minimalist person, but I unhauled a lot of books I didn't even wanted to read. A couple months ago, when I found out he has a newly published book, I wanted to read it right away.
Hello, Habits was a real habit changer. At the moment, I was trying hard to be more productive in any kind of other activities except sleeping and binge-watching shows on Netflix. *add being stuck in a stressful house, full of 5 people and 12 cats, in the pandemic*
I feel like every page of this book were attacking me personally. This book was all I needed. It's written in a very simple way with inspiring stories. I highlighted a lot of passages and hoping that I could implement all of them in real life.
If you want to improve your habit, you must read this!
reading_rainbow_with_chris's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.75
“Hello, Habits” by Fumio Sasaki
Fumio Sasaki is an author who has written widely about his journey to minimalism as a lifestyle. Now, Sasaki turns to the discipline of habit development which brought him to that journey, as well as other habits he maintains in his life. Through a combination of personal narrative, expert testimonials, and incorporation of research, Sasaki offers a how-to guide for both forming new habits and quitting others.
I have significant mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I found the blend of research and narrative to be reasonably credible. I also found some of the tips and ideas related to build habits to be intriguing and potentially helpful. On the other hand, however, I found many of Sasaki’s recommendations rooted in an assumptions about scheduling and life experiences which were privileged. As a freelance writer, Sasaki is able to give himself the time and space needed to develop these habits. I also found that he had SO many layers of recording for accountability (journals, recording your habits, social media, apps, etc.) that I don’t know where he finds time in the day to do the habits themselves. It just doesn’t feel attainable and fills the day with unnecessary steps which eat into the habit times or other routines essential for daily life.
I always have a mixed relationship with self-help books because I often pick up some helpful tips but I also find so much of the self-help steps rooted in over-idealized assumptions about the space people have in their lives to implement those steps. This book is a perfect example of this. I’m sure it is helpful for some but I needed more attention to the traditional working lower to middle class to overcome my skepticism.
Fumio Sasaki is an author who has written widely about his journey to minimalism as a lifestyle. Now, Sasaki turns to the discipline of habit development which brought him to that journey, as well as other habits he maintains in his life. Through a combination of personal narrative, expert testimonials, and incorporation of research, Sasaki offers a how-to guide for both forming new habits and quitting others.
I have significant mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I found the blend of research and narrative to be reasonably credible. I also found some of the tips and ideas related to build habits to be intriguing and potentially helpful. On the other hand, however, I found many of Sasaki’s recommendations rooted in an assumptions about scheduling and life experiences which were privileged. As a freelance writer, Sasaki is able to give himself the time and space needed to develop these habits. I also found that he had SO many layers of recording for accountability (journals, recording your habits, social media, apps, etc.) that I don’t know where he finds time in the day to do the habits themselves. It just doesn’t feel attainable and fills the day with unnecessary steps which eat into the habit times or other routines essential for daily life.
I always have a mixed relationship with self-help books because I often pick up some helpful tips but I also find so much of the self-help steps rooted in over-idealized assumptions about the space people have in their lives to implement those steps. This book is a perfect example of this. I’m sure it is helpful for some but I needed more attention to the traditional working lower to middle class to overcome my skepticism.
angekathy232's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked the scientific studies the author referred to as examples to help back up his personal experiences. 50 steps to building habits is obviously a little ridiculous - it was more like 50 tips to help you succeed. The book having been originally written in Japanese probably didn’t help in that arena. There were a few other issues with the book - but that’s on me, as someone who isn’t well versed on Japanese writing styles.
His situation is entirely different from my own - he’s a single man with no children in a small town in Japan who struggled with weight and alcohol. I’m a married mother of two living in suburban middle America who struggles with balancing my work life with PTA meetings and hockey practice. But I still found ideas to take away from the book, and I think that says something beautiful about humanity as a whole.
His situation is entirely different from my own - he’s a single man with no children in a small town in Japan who struggled with weight and alcohol. I’m a married mother of two living in suburban middle America who struggles with balancing my work life with PTA meetings and hockey practice. But I still found ideas to take away from the book, and I think that says something beautiful about humanity as a whole.
fernthepanda's review against another edition
1.0
I received an eARC courtesy of W.W. Norton & Company via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.
This book is far too tedious. I'm not sure if it is a translation issue, but for a book on minimalism I found this entirely too wordy. The content in this perfectly fine, but it was simply not a book that I enjoyed. I think it was just not what I was expecting.
This book is far too tedious. I'm not sure if it is a translation issue, but for a book on minimalism I found this entirely too wordy. The content in this perfectly fine, but it was simply not a book that I enjoyed. I think it was just not what I was expecting.