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I headed back to university to study engineering. I started at the lowest possible level of math—algebra for people who had failed it in high school.
“Since digital resources began to develop new models of selling, a great deal of ingenuity has been invested in trying to replicate the experience of browsing. The results are impressive, if a little creepy, in the recommendations by association in both the search results (‘if you bought this, you may also like this’) and the micro-targeted paid advertising. But what if we want something different, rather than more of the same? What if we do not know that we want something different, but a chance encounter sparks our interests? Digital has not found a way either to replicate this unplanned event”
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“If you instead remain one of the many for whom depth is uncomfortable and distraction ubiquitous, you shouldn’t expect these systems and skills to come easily to you.”
― Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
― Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
“If you tend to … procrastinate jump from one activity to another without finishing any have trouble keeping workspaces or homes neat and organized forget to do things you’ve promised find yourself chronically running late lose your cool when people don’t behave the way you think they should struggle to come up with Plan B when things don’t go the way you thought they would fritter away your time when you know there’s work to be done”
― The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success: How to Use Your Brain's Executive Skills to Keep Up, Stay Calm, and Get Organized at Work and at Home
― The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success: How to Use Your Brain's Executive Skills to Keep Up, Stay Calm, and Get Organized at Work and at Home
“It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones.
"There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion.
"If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few: when you want to feel better, then you go to the 'medicine closet' and choose a book. Not a random one, but the right book for that moment. That's why you should always have a nutrition choice!
"Those who buy only one book, read only that one and then get rid of it. They simply apply the consumer mentality to books, that is, they consider them a consumer product, a good. Those who love books know that a book is anything but a commodity.”
―
"There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion.
"If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few: when you want to feel better, then you go to the 'medicine closet' and choose a book. Not a random one, but the right book for that moment. That's why you should always have a nutrition choice!
"Those who buy only one book, read only that one and then get rid of it. They simply apply the consumer mentality to books, that is, they consider them a consumer product, a good. Those who love books know that a book is anything but a commodity.”
―
David’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at David’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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