How to Live
Ratings24
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings24
Average rating4.1
Not quite non-fiction, not quite self-help. It's a work of art about conflicting philosophies. Many books believe they know how you should live. But each book disagrees with the next. In "How to Live", each chapter believes it knows how you should live. And each chapter disagrees with the next. One chapter makes a compelling argument for why you should be completely independent, keeping all options open. The next chapter argues why you should commit to one career, one place, and one person. One chapter persuades you to be fully present, and experience each moment. The next, to delay gratification and invest for the future. Which one is right? Which does the author believe? All of them. It's a philosophy of conflicting philosophies. A very unique and thought-provoking book. Meant for reflection as much as instruction. 113 incredibly succinct pages of profound insights. No philosophers are quoted. No -isms are named. Only actionable directives. The end result feels more like poetry than prose.
Reviews with the most likes.
Big fan of Sivers and this couldn't be more Sivers in many ways. Brilliant stuff, but it's frustrating at the same time. Lack of narrative makes it read almost like a book of aphorisms (not my thing). The whole point of the book, conflicting advice, is fascinating, but doesn't leave much space to really digest and reflect on each chapter. Might be better idea to read each chapter separately, e.g. one a day, rather than all in a handful of sittings like I did.
An amazing book! Everything I say would not be enough. The perfect format for me - super dense, but it brings up so many questions and thoughts that you can spend months thinking about them.
I highly recommend it, much like most of Derek's books!
Found some really amazing interviews of the author on YouTube and read some of his brilliant blog pieces (via DHH). However, I read through this book and found it comparatively uninspiring and ultimately don't recommend it when the podcasts are so much better.
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