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cafo6's review against another edition
5.0
I've been reading this author's newsletter for several months now, and I love how he reminds us to be intentional about seeing around us and paying attention. Aside from time, the most valuable thing we have is our attention - and we can enrich our lives (and those of the people around us) by honing our attention skills. This book is a fun jaunt through several ideas and a lot of activities (from easy to advanced/time consuming). It's a small book, but don't let that fool you.
inesmts's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
I understand that some of the exercises presented in this book are quite simple, and maybe we unconsciously already do them in our everyday life, but I would have loved to have more background information on the importance of these exercises - rather than just quotations of other authors. It felt a bit repetitive too: some exercises are just slightly different prompts from others in previous chapters (or even of the previous pages). Quick read tho.
scarlettrmc's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.75
slg11s's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
10_4tina's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Obsessed! This is the most Christina book. I want to make 131 podcast episodes with my friends as we go through these ideas like a checklist. I found this so fun and have already started some of these things. I'm counting things and treating walks like treasure hunts and looking up more and it's all delightful.
Here are some of the ideas I was most intrigued by:
Ch 1
-Mental Search Image - spot friends in a crowd, recognize patterns, know what to search for and ignore - meaning in chaos (4 runners, FJs, Soy on labels, etc.)
-Paying attention is the only thing that guarantees insight
-Spot something new every day - Aloccota placid (heightened and delighted attention to the ordinary) william henahan
-Draw with your eyes closed - what colors do you notice first? What are the colors that reveal themselves more slowly? Color relationships?
-Perceive perceptions - sight dependent work - Erwin (slow art day 5 works of art for 10 mins each)
-Look for chimneys - raise gaise - boost mood - let more light in your eyes
-Shift frame with the same description (learning by heart) view finder frame and write a caption and then reframe a new image
-Are we too busy documenting our proximity to great works we’re not even paying attention to?
-Adam Grant - Conditional thinking - given a handful of objects, fix an error - specific description vs. subtle ambiguous descriptions (what is vs. what could be)
-sketchers become better observers than non-sketchers
-attention is the doorway to gratitude, wonder, and reciprocity - today’s children can recognize over 100 corporate logos and fewer than 10 plants
Ch 2
-sound shots (audio photos)
Ch 3
-If it catches you sneaking out, boredom will try to talk you into taking your phone, if you do, you’ll be taking boredom with you - Linda Berry
-Think of a question (while navigating home phone-less and buzzed) You will encounter 3 clues in the next 90 minutes (1 in form of person, 1 in trash or object on the ground, and 1 in something above eye level)
-Record 10 metaphor-free observations of the world (work around a need to interpret and engage the world around)
-A field guide to area dogs nearby, interesting objects in 4th floor cubicles, etc.
Ch 4
-SLANT - Sit up, Lean forward, Ask and Answer Questions, Nod your head, Track the speaker
-Civil inattention - silently agreeing not to bother each other - start violating these opportunities
-Follow someone (don’t stalk)
-Midpoint meetups (www.geomidpoint.com) -Imposing meaning on an arbitrary space - who do you trust to hold the other half of your tuba?
-Construct a collective biography - autobiographical statements true of everyone in a group
-Silent walks together - after the walk, you can talk and debrief
Ch 5
-Crowd shyness - trees leaving gaps between the canopy of trees
- It’s hard to research a thing whose name you don’t know (then seeing the thing all over after you know its name)
-A detailed inventory - ie: everything in your bedroom - does this suggest change for your bx? Do you change or ignore the data? Inventory of things you touch, memorable moments, things you didn’t buy, etc.
-Make a personal map - Where You Are (places I’ve nearly been to but have not - Adam Thurowell)
Here are some of the ideas I was most intrigued by:
Ch 1
-Mental Search Image - spot friends in a crowd, recognize patterns, know what to search for and ignore - meaning in chaos (4 runners, FJs, Soy on labels, etc.)
-Paying attention is the only thing that guarantees insight
-Spot something new every day - Aloccota placid (heightened and delighted attention to the ordinary) william henahan
-Draw with your eyes closed - what colors do you notice first? What are the colors that reveal themselves more slowly? Color relationships?
-Perceive perceptions - sight dependent work - Erwin (slow art day 5 works of art for 10 mins each)
-Look for chimneys - raise gaise - boost mood - let more light in your eyes
-Shift frame with the same description (learning by heart) view finder frame and write a caption and then reframe a new image
-Are we too busy documenting our proximity to great works we’re not even paying attention to?
-Adam Grant - Conditional thinking - given a handful of objects, fix an error - specific description vs. subtle ambiguous descriptions (what is vs. what could be)
-sketchers become better observers than non-sketchers
-attention is the doorway to gratitude, wonder, and reciprocity - today’s children can recognize over 100 corporate logos and fewer than 10 plants
Ch 2
-sound shots (audio photos)
Ch 3
-If it catches you sneaking out, boredom will try to talk you into taking your phone, if you do, you’ll be taking boredom with you - Linda Berry
-Think of a question (while navigating home phone-less and buzzed) You will encounter 3 clues in the next 90 minutes (1 in form of person, 1 in trash or object on the ground, and 1 in something above eye level)
-Record 10 metaphor-free observations of the world (work around a need to interpret and engage the world around)
-A field guide to area dogs nearby, interesting objects in 4th floor cubicles, etc.
Ch 4
-SLANT - Sit up, Lean forward, Ask and Answer Questions, Nod your head, Track the speaker
-Civil inattention - silently agreeing not to bother each other - start violating these opportunities
-Follow someone (don’t stalk)
-Midpoint meetups (www.geomidpoint.com) -Imposing meaning on an arbitrary space - who do you trust to hold the other half of your tuba?
-Construct a collective biography - autobiographical statements true of everyone in a group
-Silent walks together - after the walk, you can talk and debrief
Ch 5
-Crowd shyness - trees leaving gaps between the canopy of trees
- It’s hard to research a thing whose name you don’t know (then seeing the thing all over after you know its name)
-A detailed inventory - ie: everything in your bedroom - does this suggest change for your bx? Do you change or ignore the data? Inventory of things you touch, memorable moments, things you didn’t buy, etc.
-Make a personal map - Where You Are (places I’ve nearly been to but have not - Adam Thurowell)
lady_of_books's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.75
alltheradreads's review against another edition
5.0
Big fan of this one— already added it to my Amazon cart so I can have a copy on hand whenever I need a creative boost! It’s chock full of exercises (from easy to more advanced) to help you really keep your eyes open, fuel your creative fire, and stay inspired, and I looooved it. I already put a few into action (and felt super validated by some I already do!) and found them so helpful and motivating.