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A review by mauricereeves
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers by Sönke Ahrens
3.0
This probably should sit around 3.5 stars, but I opted to round down this time because I think there were parts that required more editing and reorganization. It’s not bad, and in fact, in some areas it was really good. I am fairly sold on the idea of trying out Zettelkasten, but I actually think the book spent time digging into some areas that did not really add to the idea of taking notes.
This is the beginning of a much broader thesis about how the brain works, both with and against us, and so at times it rambles away from the stated thrust of the book to gaze overly long at distant topics and themes.
Towards the end, Ahrens quotes the famous line familiar to many writers when they are about to embark on the painful process of editing their work: “Kill your darlings.” It means that sometimes the lines or sections or whole chapters we love the most need the scalpel the most. We became overindulgent with our writing.
Ahrens, may I suggest you do the same? It is time, perhaps, for you to “kill your darlings.”
Final side note: as this is a book about taking smarter notes I would have loved more examples and even some optional to-do’s or things to try at the end of some sections.
This is the beginning of a much broader thesis about how the brain works, both with and against us, and so at times it rambles away from the stated thrust of the book to gaze overly long at distant topics and themes.
Towards the end, Ahrens quotes the famous line familiar to many writers when they are about to embark on the painful process of editing their work: “Kill your darlings.” It means that sometimes the lines or sections or whole chapters we love the most need the scalpel the most. We became overindulgent with our writing.
Ahrens, may I suggest you do the same? It is time, perhaps, for you to “kill your darlings.”
Final side note: as this is a book about taking smarter notes I would have loved more examples and even some optional to-do’s or things to try at the end of some sections.