Rating:
3.5 Stars

In a nutshell:
A series of very short suggestions for ways to reconnect with one’s self and the world.

Best for:
Those of us who may find ourselves easily distracted and/or hoping to focus more on what is important in our lives.

Quote that made me think:
“What, among everything you encounter, could be made better somehow?”

Why I chose it:
I spend so much time on my phone, multi-tasking, and sort of floating through life, and I was hoping this would give me some ideas of how to be more intentional with my time and attention.

Review:
This book was not quite what I expected, which is my own fault, as I didn’t spend enough time looking through it when I bought it. Instead of containing traditional chapters, it has five sections, each containing suggested projects along a theme. Each project is rated on a scale of 1-4, with one being very easy to do and four being challenging / very involved.

The areas of focus are ‘looking,’ ‘sensing,’ ‘going places,’ ‘connecting with others,’ and ‘being alone.’

The book feels a bit more like a collection of bits of performance art, and indeed the author very openly borrows many of the suggested practices from performance and other types of artists. Which isn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was still interesting to contemplate nonetheless. Example projects are as basic as ‘notice something new every day’ and as complex as ‘exhaust a place.’

There are definitely some projects in here that I plan to pursue, but it will require some intentionality. Unlike, say, a ‘do this each day’ type of book, where each day you’re assigned a new task, this book is just a catalog of ideas, and its up to me to actually pick one and go with it. For me, the easiest ones would probably be in the ‘looking’ and ‘being alone’ sections, which probably means I should start with the other sections.

Would I recommend it to its target audience:
Yes, with the understanding that some of the suggestions will likely be a bit much.