I summarise non-fiction books with more detail and critical analysis than you'll find elsewhere. Join my newsletter to get new summaries delivered straight to your inbox!
December monthly round-up
I hope you've all been enjoying the festive season and getting a bit of a break from work.
This month I posted one book summary and two blog posts:
Book summaries
- The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande - Gawande explains how the humble checklist can increase productivity, improve coordination, and even save lives in fields as diverse as surgery, construction, and aviation.
Blog posts
- Are Self-Improvement Books Worth Reading? - I summarise 4 important lessons I've learned from all the self-improvement books I read this year, with specific examples on how these books have changed my day-to-day behaviour.
- 2023 Round-up - I share some of the website's metrics, my personal top 3 books for the year, and how I stacked up against the vague plans I set back in 2022.
Early next month you can expect a summary of Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal (a well-known YouTuber). His book just came out and I've set myself a little challenge to do a reading + summarising sprint as bit of an experiment.
Lastly, a quick shout-out as we hit the end of the year: Do you have a book or two that you want me to summarise? If so, hit the 'reply' button — let me know what they are and why you've picked them. I won't be able to summarise everything as my reading list is rather long. But I'm keen to hear what you're interested in and I promise to consider every suggestion. Plus, if your picks are already on my list, your email could bump it up the queue.
Thank you all for following this newsletter. Happy holidays and until next time,
To Summarise
ToSummarise.com
I summarise non-fiction books with more detail and critical analysis than you'll find elsewhere. Join my newsletter to get new summaries delivered straight to your inbox!
I've just published a new summary for Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie. Hannah Ritchie was the Head of Research at Our World in Data, so it's not surprise that the book is well-researched and backed up with a lot of, well, data. I've split out into separate posts the Solutions (both good and bad) discussed in the book, as well as some Environmental myths that it debunks so you can also jump straight to those. I'd...
Happy Easter to you if you're celebrating it or just getting some time off work! This month, I published 2 book summaries and 1 blog post: Book summaries Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky - this book sets out a 4-step approach and dozens of practical tips to help you make time for the things that matter most to you. It's written by two former Googlers who have run lots of design sprints with startup companies. How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner - I'd recommend...
Why did the Sydney Opera House ruin its architect’s career? What can we learn about megaprojects from Pixar’s movies? My latest book summary is for How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, which explores why so many megaprojects are disasters and how to prevent these failures. As usual, the key takeaways are below, and you can find the full summary by clicking the link above. KEY TAKEAWAYS Most megaprojects fail. Less than 1% of megaprojects come in on time, on budget, and...