Therese, she’s a business development manager living in Berlin, Germany. Last month, she managed to read over 100 nonfiction titles in psychology, politics and leadership. It started with a bet. A colleague challenged her to read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story Of Success in two hours.
As determined as she was, she couldn’t meet the deadline. She got through the first few chapters relatively quickly but found it impossible to finish the book in the designated 2 hours. Although she lost the bet, she had an idea.
“I want to read more nonfiction books—I find it really useful to read the key takeaways from lots of books to help me get a feeling for what’s an absolute must for my to-read list!”
She found several websites, blogs and apps that transform books into ‘bite-sized’ content. In the end, she opted for the Blinkist app. As one of the first services to condense nonfiction books into quick reads, the Blinkist app has 2,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles in its library (including Outliers: The Story of Success!). To produce quality insights from every book, she learned that they have over 100 literary experts hard at work. She was also convinced by the audio function which allowed her to listen to the learnings throughout her day.
With this cool new sidekick, Therese set a new goal for herself – she would read the key insights from 100 books in just one month. Read all about her experience in her own words below! How many titles did you read in total? 102 to be exact. It might sound like a lot, but the Blinkist packs take only 10-15 minutes to read. I read roughly 3 titles a day, mostly during commutes. What are some of the most interesting things you’ve learned? There were so many! Here are the funniest ones:
I learned that if I go out with a group of friends for dinner, I should order my meal first. This will make me happier with my choice. Sounds crazy, but it’s true! (Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely)
I learned that before the onset of agriculture, women used to have more sexual freedom than men. (Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha)
I can never look at trees the same way again. Apparently, they have personalities and are able to learn. This is why every tree sheds their leaves differently! (The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben) Who is your favorite author? That’s a tough one. I really enjoyed Dale Carnegie’s books, they’re all self-help classics.
Richard Dawkins’ books about the human race are also very interesting. But I’m going to settle on Dan Ariely. His book Predictably Irrational on human behavior has given me the best insights for my job yet.
Would you recommend doing this challenge? Yes! I used to burn a lot of time on social media and Netflix. My job is exhausting, by the time I leave work, my brain is pretty much useless. Reading a book on the Blinkist app however, is like a snack for my brain. I’m able to get the main learnings from a 400-page book in minutes. I’m happy that I’m doing something productive with my time. Everyday, I wake up wiser than the day before. Want to join Therese on her challenge to read 100 books in a month? Check out the Blinkist app and start your reading adventure!
