On the Smugglers’ Radar

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On the Smugglers’ Radar

Fairyloot Unboxing - February 2019 "Beauty and the Beast"

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Wellcome Book Prize: Amateur and The Trauma Cleaner

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“Percipient and exquisitely rendered” – Constellations by Sinead Gleason

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“Percipient and exquisitely rendered” – Constellations by Sinead Gleason

"Constellations is a collection of fourteen essays written by an eloquent storyteller. Each celebrates the imperfect body - its workings and failings. There are musings on wider attitudes to ownership and behaviour. The stories told are incisive and highly personal. They cover a variety of the author’s lived experiences including: bone disease, cancer treatment, pregnancy, motherhood, and death. As a woman growing up in Ireland she has shouldered a burden of expectation against which she quietly rebels..." - Jackie Law reviews Constellations by Sinead Gleason

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Review: Summoned to Thirteenth Grave - Darynda Jones

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“Peerless storytelling” – Folk by Zoe Gilbert #IDTP2019

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“Peerless storytelling” – Folk by Zoe Gilbert #IDTP2019

"Imagine, if you will, a time long since passed. Before governments and nation-states; before accountants and Gross Domestic Product. A time when water, land and sex were yet to be monetised. When individual purpose and the common good were shaped only by wind, sun and tide. This is the backdrop to Folk, a novel / loosely-coupled collection of short stories by Zoe Gilbert, winner of the 2014 Costa Short Story award. And these stories – fables – bear witness to all that is elemental: to timeless human failings and random cruelties. Through tales of coming of age, of patriarchy, sexual awakening, envy and deceit, Folk projects forward, holding a (cracked) mirror up to our present..." - Folk by Zoe Gilbert reviewed by Tamim Sadikali

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“Painterly album tracks” – Instructions for a Funeral by David Means

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“Painterly album tracks” – Instructions for a Funeral by David Means

"He's consistent, yes, but he's more than consistent too because consistent suggests workmanlike when in fact what he's doing is exemplary. We know he's not for everyone - and we say that because we can see that some of the beauty is beneath the surface and could be missed if all you want from a book is something to hurry through. You don't want to hurry through David Means. There is both density and intricacy here. Tell us about the other stories you might say. Tell us about 'The Butler's Lament' (another stand out). Tell us about Means' ruminations on 'Carver & Cobain'. Tell us about 'El Morro' and 'The Ice Committee'. I'll tell you this: they are all great stories. Why don't you find out for yourself?"

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Review: Sky in the Deep - Adrienne Young

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Over at Kirkus: All the Time Travel RIGHT NOW

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Over at Kirkus: All the Time Travel RIGHT NOW

New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube

Penguin Authors On Mother's Day
Best books and must-reads for International Women's Day 2019 with our authors recommended favourites for your reading inspiration. For more ideas check out our website: https://ift.tt/2uzzTFP The video features: Dani Dyer - What Would Dani Do? https://amzn.to/2HWuSz6 Viv Groskop - How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking https://amzn.to/2NUcVlT Oliver Shah - Damaged Goods: The Inside Story of Sir Philip Green, the Collapse of BHS and the Death of the High Street https://amzn.to/2Fxlkb4 Matt Parker - Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors https://amzn.to/2EF4fLQ Aaron Dignan: Brave New Work https://amzn.to/2CL9Dgd Rory Sutherland - Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense https://amzn.to/2C7uMB2 Savannah Brown - The Truth About Keeping Secrets https://amzn.to/2Qvsksz ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky

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“Plodding bureaucratic procedurals” – Prefecture D by Hideo Yokoyama

"Maybe somewhere a market exists for plodding bureaucratic procedurals where middle-managers delegate investigations to their subordinates. But I’d rather feed my noir jones with hard-boiled novels and bend an elbow with crusty, hard-drinking, iconoclastic rule-bending private eyes. Hey, look, Jim Thompson is beckoning from the bar, I better grab the last stool before Charley Willeford’s plops his big ass on it. . ." - Chris Oleson reviews Prefecture D by Hideo Yokoyama

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Blog Tour: Sky in the Deep - Adrienne Young

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“Plodding bureaucratic procedurals” – Prefecture D by Hideo Yokoyama

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JEFF NORTON - DINO KNIGHTS - BIG COVER REVEAL

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books is thrilled to reveal the book cover image for Dino Knights which has been brilliantly illustrated by the very talented George Ermos. This is the first book in a brand new series to be published by Jeff Norton. It is due to be published this summer by Awesome Reads on 6th June 2019. If this sounds like your kind of book then you can pre-order it here. https://awesomereads.com/book/dino-knights/

Imagine medieval times where the dinosaurs never went extinct. Bravery. Loyalty.

Book synopsis: Imagine medieval times where the dinosaurs never went extinct. When dinosaur stable boy Henry Fairchild stops a vicious T-Rex from attacking his master, he is invited to join the most elite group in Brecklan, the brave Knights of Panterra, the Dino Knights. But before he can prove himself, the enemies of Brecklan attack with a flock of pterodactyls and kidnap Lord Harding. Whether he's ready or not, Henry and the Dino Knights mount a daring rescue mission...but nothing is what it seems.

Biography

Jeff Norton is a London based author focused on creating compelling characters, awesome stories, and immersive worlds. A reluctant reader as an adolescent, Jeff's newest book is 'Alienated: Grounded At Groom Lake', is the fun, funny misadventures of the only two human kids at the high school for aliens at Area 51.  

Jeff's first novel is 'MetaWars: Fight For The Future' (Orchard Books), which he created to feel like "a video game you can read" and has spurred three successful sequels. He then wrote the laugh out loud 'Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie' books (Faber) and the young adult thriller 'Keeping The Beat', written together with Marie Powell (KCP Loft / Hachette).

'Stomp School' (Little Tiger Press) is Jeff's first picture book. It's about the day care for little kaiju (that's Japanese for destructive monster). 

Originally from Canada, Jeff has lived in Ohio, Boston, and Los Angeles now lives in London with his wife and two young sons where he writes, produces TV, and coaches baseball. 

Jeff is on the web at www.jeffnorton.com and tweets as @thejeffnorton

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Review: The Trouble With Twelfth Grave - Darynda Jones

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New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube

How To Revolutionise The Way Companies Work With Aaron Dignan
The world of work isn’t working. Business strategist Aaron Dignan is here to help us revolutionise our companies, slash red tape and make work more intelligent and human. Brave New Work by Aaron Dignan is out now: https://amzn.to/2HAYvqm. The way we work is broken. It takes forever to get anything done. Meetings and emails are incessant. Bureaucracy stifles talent and creativity. After decades of management theory and multiple waves of technological and societal change, is this really the best we can do? Aaron Dignan is one of the world’s most highly sought business strategists. He’s taught companies from Uber to General Electric how to eliminate red tape, tap into collective intelligence, and rethink long-held traditions that no longer make sense. In this talk, he will show you how to revolutionize the way your company works forever. Using stories from companies at the cutting edge of organizational transformation, Aaron will show you how to transform your team, department and business from the inside out, making work more adaptable, abundant and human. He’ll reveal new tactics and tips for updating your company’s operating system: the simple rules and assumptions so deeply embedded that you don’t even think to question them. Learn how to reignite passion and energy throughout your organization and to build a company that runs itself. Filmed with the how to: Academy at the Emmanuel Centre, London on the 11th March 2019. https://ift.tt/1sBccZr ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky

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“It’s another blinder” – Wolf Pack by CJ Box

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“It’s another blinder” – Wolf Pack by CJ Box

"Drones buzzing cattle and poachers setting traps doesn’t sound too gripping you might say, but that is just the set-up. There is also a team of hired killers (the eponymous Wolf Pack), thought by those who know of them to be a legend, busy tracking down FBI informants spilling the beans about the Sinaloa Cartel and – didn’t you just know it? – their course is set for the person Joe is busy trying to track down (and here is one of the many reasons Box is so damn good: Joe is busy investigating a downright unpleasant person who, at some point, you know he’s also going to have to defend…). With the Wolf Pack themselves, Box has fashioned a ruthless (and wildly compelling) brute force, dispatching people with casual disinterest and almost demonic glee at times. Plus it should be said, the inclusion of a fentanyl sub-plot (that grows out of New York) demonstrates Box is as keen on his research as Don Winslow (and twins this book with Winslow’s own The Border)."

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Dominique Valente (Author), Sarah Warburton (Illustrator) - Starfell: Willow Moss and the Lost Day - Book Review

This is a magical experience from the debut middle-grade (8-12 years) book by Dominique Valente. Starfell will fall from the glittering sky with a flash of colour into the reading world on the 2nd May 2019. It has been published by HarperCollins Children's Books in a lovely hardback format and has been fabulously illustrated by Sarah Warburton. The black and white drawings will definitely capture your attention; you only need to look at the book cover and judge this for yourself. 

Magic is just around the corner as you turn the pages and enter Starfell. Willow Moss is the main character and has the worst magical ability in her family. Whilst she has the ability to find lost things like keys, socks or underwear, this is not considered to be particularly exciting. However, how wrong you would be as this small and, seemingly insignificant ability, might just save the world or could that be another book?

One day a powerful witch called Moreg Vaine comes knocking on the door for help to find Tuesday - that's the clue to hurtle the reader into a fantastic adventure. The plot is brimming with whit especially from the Monster under the bed. However, just watch out that he doesn't explode. He is such a brilliantly written character full of personality, in fact, I think he is worthy of his very own book!

This is a fantastic story full of unexpected adventures and magical charm; it is pure escapism.  You will visit castles and far-flung places full of monsters, dragons, wizards, and trolls. There is also a group of bad people called the BROTHERS OF WOL who want to take over the world. Every page is an absolute joy to read. The book has hidden depths which you might not even see coming. It certainly leaves an emotional bread crumb trail that will hit you in the face just like a magical broom at 100 miles per hour. 

This is a story that feeds the imagination in a world where magic never dies. Fun, crazy and just a little bit special, it's a story full of friendship, family and perilous action. What a cracking start to a new series from a debut voice with the ability to deliver both a great adventure and brilliant characterisation. This is very much a recommended read. 

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Series Review: NINTH STEP STATION by Malka Older, Fran Wilde, Curtis C. Chen, and J Koyanagi

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Series Review: NINTH STEP STATION by Malka Older, Fran Wilde, Curtis C. Chen, and J Koyanagi

Review: Eleventh Grave in Moonlight - Darynda Jones

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Cover Reveal and Guest Post: Yoon Ha Lee’s Hexarchate Stories Collection

Cover Reveal and Guest Post: Yoon Ha Lee’s Hexarchate Stories Collection

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Review: A Very Charley Christmas - Darynda Jones

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“Nuanced social critique” – Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss #WomensPrize

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“Nuanced social critique” – Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss #WomensPrize

"...it’s a stylistically captivating read: Sylvie’s narration is lyrical and painful, ringing with the rhythms and colloquialisms of her region, and woven both with beautiful meditations on the recent and ancient past and sharp-as-flint renditions of intergenerational campfire hostilities. It’s a short book, so a quick read, but clever, startling and very, very moving..." - Valerie O'Riordan reviews Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

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Review: The Curse of the Tenth Grave - Darynda Jones

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Goodreads Podcast: Elizabeth Talks with Author Nora McInerny

In the latest edition of the Books of Your Life with Elizabeth podcast, Goodreads Co-Founder Elizabeth Khuri Chandler talks with Nora McInerny, the host of the Terrible, Thanks for Asking podcast and the new book No Happy Endings.



The podcaster, author, blogger, and very tall person discusses her latest book, about how she found love again after her first husband, Aaron, died of brain cancer. She also talks about the three books that have shaped her life: Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood, Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food, and Man's Search for Meaning.










You can be part of the conversation, too. We’ve created a book club to accompany our podcast, where you can discuss each guest’s recommendations.






Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to hear the latest interviews and to get great book recommendations from fascinating people.



You can listen to episodes of Books of Your Life with Elizabeth on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Join the Group

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Book Review: THE LIGHT BRIGADE by Kameron Hurley

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Book Review: THE LIGHT BRIGADE by Kameron Hurley

“It came out without any grand schemes” – An interview with Ronan Hession, author of Leonard & Hungry Paul

More often than not, when people start raving about a book, we approach it with bemused chagrin. You have to understand. We don’t like standing outside the restaurant window in the rain. We want to belong, really. But more often than not, when we read books that people get all excited about, we’re all “Seriously? This is what you’re excited about? This?” But then when a book comes along that people seem to like that we like too, well, we get all giddy. Leonard & Hungry Paul is one such book. To paraphrase the Jim Carrey in Dumb & Dumber: we liked it a lot. So, like an economy stalker, we approached those nice people at Bluemoose Books (publishers of Ben Myers, among others) and they put us in touch with Ronan.

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“It came out without any grand schemes” – An interview with Ronan Hession, author of Leonard & Hungry Paul

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“The standout debut of 2019 so far” – Leonard & Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession

Sometimes a book comes along that blows all the cobwebs away, that reminds you of that joy you first experienced way back when (all that way back when) when you first started reading. A book doesn't have to blow any bloody doors off. It can sneak up on you like an old friend you've not seen in the longest time. Here I am, it says. That old feeling. Do you remember? Before you really knew how good reading could be? That moment you first saw it. The sheer untrammelled joy of being taken somewhere else. Leonard & Hungry Paul has that feeling in spades. It's not showy, it's not got explosions, there are no murders, no misdeeds, no foul play of any kind. And yet it's a small miracle in its own way, a gentle hand about your shoulder, a distraction from the woes of the world, a solace.

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“The standout debut of 2019 so far” – Leonard & Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession

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Review: The Dirt on the Ninth Grave - Darynda Jones

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“You can only achieve so much with a retelling” – Circe by Madeline Miller

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“You can only achieve so much with a retelling” – Circe by Madeline Miller

"Never judge a book by its cover. Circe is absolutely beautiful but ridiculously boring. Madeline Miller’s debut novel, The Song of Achilles, won the Orange Prize for Fiction and received much praise so a lot was expected of her second novel, a vague retelling of Homer’s epic Greek poem The Odyssey..." - Bethany Pritchard reviews Circe by Madeline Miller

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Three pieces of news about the Laundry Files

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On the Smugglers’ Radar

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On the Smugglers’ Radar

New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube

Happy Reading: The Penguin Classics Pop-Up Shop
The Penguin Classics pop-up shop is coming to Shoreditch, London from 25th - 31st March 2019 https://ift.tt/2Wg2MTa Both a shop and a cultural space, the pop-up will celebrate that these are books to love, not just to study, and will bring together diverse voices to explore, discuss and challenge the literary canon. Alongside a display of every single Penguin Classic (over 1,200 books) Happy Reading will be a hub for talks, walks, workshops and more. The space will function as a shop and bookish hang-out where readers can browse titles, spend some time in one of the reading corners and participate in creative workshops. We will also be filming some of these events and posting them on this YouTube channel so don't forget to subscribe. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky

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Review: Brighter Than the Sun - Darynda Jones

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The Wellcome Book Prize 2019 Shortlist

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“Who can have children and not go completely mad?” – Lanny by Max Porter

"Lanny is also an excoriating look at pettiness and prejudice and judgment and ‘tribulation chasers’; as bleak as it is, it’s still deeply funny, and while Toothwort is an ogre of sorts, he’s nonetheless awesome, in the terrifying-splendour sense – nature is an amoral force in this England, a force beyond our control or comprehension. We live at the mercy of a primal world, and in this novel, only Lanny himself seems to appreciate that..." - Valerie O'Riordan reviews Lanny by Max Porter

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“Who can have children and not go completely mad?” – Lanny by Max Porter

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“An intense love letter to language, literature, life and liturgical lambastings” – Little Boy by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

"I arranged a séance with my high school literature teacher to discuss Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s, Little Boy. “Chris, I was so happy to get your invitation on BookedFace to discuss this new novel with you. You were always my favourite student, such a good reader. Dickens, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. Who is this Farlongspaghetti? What is this mess that you asked me to read?” - Chris Oleson reviews Little Boy by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

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“An intense love letter to language, literature, life and liturgical lambastings” – Little Boy by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

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Review: North Cyprus (Bradt Travel Guide)

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“Lacks the satisfying swagger of noir” – The Long Take by Robin Robertson

"The two great strengths of the book are the weight of research that Robertson has undertaken (you can't help get the sense that he has absolutely immersed himself in this world, The Long Take is awash with casual detail that rings of truth) and the deft way in which a veritable parade of imagery flashes by your eye as if viewed from a car driving at speed..."

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“Lacks the satisfying swagger of noir” – The Long Take by Robin Robertson

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Review: Salvatore - Cecy Robson

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Blog Tour: Salvatore - Cecy Robson

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New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube

What Dementia Teaches Us About Love by Nicci Gerrard
'Dementia is all around us, in our families and in our genes; perhaps in our own futures. If it's not you or me, it's someone we love.' Order now: https://amzn.to/2TWgyNf After her own father's death from dementia, the writer and campaigner Nicci Gerrard set out to explore the illness that now touches millions of us, yet which we still struggle to speak about. What does dementia mean, for those who live with it, and those who care for them? This truthful, humane book is an attempt to understand. It is filled with stories, both moving and optimistic: from those living with dementia to those planning the end of life, from the scientists unlocking the mysteries of the brain to the therapists using art and music to enrich the lives of sufferers, from the campaigners battling for greater compassion in care to the families trying to make sense of this 'incomprehensible de-creation of the self'. It explores memory, language, identity, ageing and the notion of what it truly means to care. And it asks, how do we begin to value those who become old, invisible, forgotten? What do we owe them, and each other as humans? What, in the end, really matters? 'Essential reading about love, life and care' Kate Mosse 'Nobody has written on dementia as well as Nicci Gerrard in this new book' Andrew Marr ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky

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“We were pleasantly surprised” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood & Renee Nault

It might be that you have a gut level reaction to this book. For instance, you might be an Atwood completist or simply a massive fan of The Handmaid’s Tale. You might be all “where do I sign up?” At the other extreme, you might be one of those people who don’t react well to […]

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“We were pleasantly surprised” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood & Renee Nault

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Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Kids Book Picks - March 2019 - US Published Post Two

Colin Meloy - The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid - Published by Balzer & Bray/Harperteen (5 Mar. 2019) - ISBN-13: 978-0062342461 - Paperback - Age: 9+

From the creators of the New York Times, bestselling Wildwood Chronicles comes an original, humorous, and fast-paced middle-grade novel about a band of child pickpockets--imagine The Invention of Hugo Cabret meets Oliver Twist.

It is an ordinary Tuesday morning in April when bored, lonely Charlie Fisher witnesses something incredible. Right before his eyes, in a busy square in Marseille, a group of pickpockets pulls off an amazing robbery. As the young bandits appear to melt into the crowd, Charlie realizes with a start that he himself was one of their marks.

Yet Charlie is less alarmed than intrigued. This is the most thrilling thing that's happened to him since he came to France with his father, an American diplomat. So instead of reporting the thieves, Charlie defends one of their cannons, Amir, to the police, under one condition: he teaches Charlie the tricks of the trade.

What starts off as a lesson on pinches, kicks, and chumps soon turns into an invitation for Charlie to join the secret world of the whiz mob, an international band of child thieves who trained at the mysterious School of Seven Bells. The whiz mob are independent and incredibly skilled and make their own way in the world--they are everything Charlie yearns to be. But what at first seemed like a (relatively) harmless new pastime draws him into a dangerous adventure with global stakes greater than he could have ever imagined.

Thomas Lennon (Author), John Hendrix (Illustrator) - Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles - Published by Amulet Books (5 Mar. 2019) - ISBN-13: 978-1419734915 -Hardback - Age:10+

Fourteen-year-old Ronan Boyle is the youngest and lowliest recruit to the secret Garda, an Irish police force that handles the misdeeds of numerous magical creatures. Ronan’s parents are in jail, but Ronan is convinced that they were framed by the wee people. So, despite his small size, poor eyesight, and social awkwardness, he’s determined to learn all he can in the Garda in order to prove his parents’ innocence. To show he’s got what it takes, he’ll have to confront a fiery leprechaun, a sinister harpy, and a whole world of monsters hidden in plain sight next to real-life Ireland. Fast-paced, action-packed, and completely hilarious, this is the start to an exciting new middle-grade series by actor and writer Thomas Lennon.

Heather Shumaker - The Griffins of Castle Cary - Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (5 Mar. 2019) - ISBN-13: 978-1534430884 - Hardback - Age: 7+

A charming, adventure-filled debut novel that's perfect for fans of The Penderwicks series.

Siblings Meg, Will, and Ariel Griffin are off on an adventure! They can't wait to spend a week visiting their eccentric aunt and her giant, tongue-drooling Newfoundland dog in England. But when they finally arrive, they're faced with a few local secrets that stir up more than a little trouble. 

Add in some very peculiar lights, strange new friends, a police chase and some stampeding sheep, and the Griffin kids are in over their heads--literally. Apparently, this town has a ghost problem and the three children must race to solve the mystery before the ghosts take something that doesn't belong to them.

Keith O'Brien - Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History - Published by Houghton Mifflin (5 Mar. 2019) - ISBN-13: 978-1328618429 - Hardback - Age: 8+

From NPR correspondent Keith O' Brien comes this thrilling Young Readers' edition of the untold story about pioneering women, including Amelia Earhart, who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s--and won.

In the years between World War I and World War II, airplane racing was one of the most popular sports in America. Thousands of fans flocked to multi-day events, and the pilots who competed in these races were hailed as heroes. Well, the male pilots were hailed. Women who flew planes were often ridiculed by the press, and initially, they weren't invited to race. Yet a group of women were determined to take to the sky--no matter what. With guts and grit, they overcame incredible odds both on the ground and in the air to pursue their dreams of flying and racing planes.

Fly Girls follows the stories of five remarkable women: Florence Klingensmith, a high-school dropout from North Dakota; Ruth Elder, an Alabama housewife; Amelia Earhart, the most famous, but not necessarily the most skilled; Ruth Nichols, a daughter of Wall Street wealth who longed to live a life of her own; and Louise Thaden, who got her start selling coal in Wichita. Together, they fought for the chance to race against the men--and in 1936 one of them would triumph in the toughest race of all.

Complete with photographs and a glossary, Fly Girls celebrates a little-known slice of history wherein tenacious, trail-blazing women braved all obstacles to achieve greatness.
 

Ruth NicholsCreditCreditThe International Women’s Air and Space Museum, Cleveland, Ohio

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Excerpt: The 'Digital Minimalism' Approach to Unplugging

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World and So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love.



His new book Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World arrived in U.S. bookstores this February. The following excerpt is from Digital Minimalism, which makes the case for distancing yourself from a barrage of online distractions. Be sure to add it to your Want to Read shelf.

A Minimal Solution




Around the time I started working on my new book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, a columnist for the New York Post published an op‑ed titled "How I Kicked the Smartphone Addiction—and You Can Too." His secret? He disabled notifications for 112 different apps on his iPhone. "It's relatively easy to retake control," he optimistically concludes.

These types of articles are common in the world of technology journalism. The author discovers that his relationship with his digital tools has become dysfunctional. Alarmed, he deploys a clever life hack, then reports enthusiastically that things seem much better. I'm always skeptical about these quick‑fix tales. In my experience covering these topics, it's hard to permanently reform your digital life through the use of tips and tricks alone.



The problem is that small changes are not enough to solve our big issues with new technologies. The underlying behaviors we hope to fix are ingrained in our culture, and they're backed by powerful psychological forces that empower our base instincts. To reestablish control, we need to move beyond tweaks and instead rebuild our relationship with technology from scratch, using our deeply held values as a foundation.



The New York Post columnist cited above, in other words, should look beyond the notification settings on his 112 apps and ask the more important question of why he uses so many apps in the first place. What he needs—what all of us who struggle with these issues need—is a philosophy of technology use, something that covers from the ground up which digital tools we allow into our life, for what reasons, and under what constraints. In the absence of this introspection, we'll be left struggling in a whirlwind of addictive and appealing cyber‑trinkets, vainly hoping that the right mix of ad hoc hacks will save us.



As I mentioned in the introduction, I have one such philosophy to propose:





Digital Minimalism






A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.




The so‑called digital minimalists who follow this philosophy constantly perform implicit cost‑benefit analyses. If a new technology offers little more than a minor diversion or trivial convenience, the minimalist will ignore it. Even when a new technology promises to support something the minimalist values, it must still pass a stricter test: Is this the best way to use technology to support this value? If the answer is no, the minimalist will set to work trying to optimize the tech, or search out a better option.



By working backward from their deep values to their technology choices, digital minimalists transform these innovations from a source of distraction into tools to support a life well lived. By doing so, they break the spell that has made so many people feel like they're losing control to their screens.



Notice, this minimalist philosophy contrasts starkly with the maximalist philosophy that most people deploy by default—a mind‑set in which any potential for benefit is enough to start using a technology that catches your attention. A maximalist is very uncomfortable with the idea that anyone might miss out on something that's the least bit interesting or valuable. Indeed, when I first started writing publicly about the fact that I've never used Facebook, people in my professional circles were aghast for exactly this reason. "Why do I need to use Facebook?" I would ask. "I can't tell you exactly," they would respond, "but what if there's something useful to you in there that you're missing?"

This argument sounds absurd to digital minimalists, because they believe that the best digital life is formed by carefully curating their tools to deliver massive and unambiguous benefits. They tend to be incredibly wary of low‑value activities that can clutter up their time and attention and end up hurting more than they help. Put another way: Minimalists don't mind missing out on small things; what worries them much more is diminishing the large things they already know for sure make a good life good.



To make these abstract ideas more concrete, let's consider some real‑world examples of digital minimalists I uncovered in my research on this emerging philosophy. For some of these minimalists, the requirement that a new technology strongly supports deep values led to the rejection of services and tools that our culture commonly believes to be mandatory. Tyler, for example, originally joined the standard social media services for the standard reasons: to help his career, to keep him connected, and to provide entertainment. Once Tyler embraced digital minimalism, however, he realized that although he valued all three of these goals, his compulsive use of social networks offered at best minor benefits, and did not qualify as the best way to use technology for these purposes. So he quit all social media to pursue more direct and effective ways to help his career, connect with other people, and be entertained.



I met Tyler roughly a year after his minimalist decision to leave social media. He was clearly excited by how his life had changed during this period. He started volunteering near his home, he exercises regularly, he's reading three to four books a month, he began to learn to play the ukulele, and he told me that now that his phone is no longer glued to his hand, he's closer than he has ever been with his wife and kids. On the professional side, the increased focus he achieved after leaving these services earned him a promotion. "Some of my work clients have noticed a change in me and they will ask what I am doing differently," he told me. "When I tell them I quit social media, their response is ‘I wish I could do that, but I just can't.' The reality, however, is that they literally have no good reason to be on social media!"



As Tyler is quick to admit, he can't completely attribute all of these good things to his specific decision to quit social media. In theory, he could have still learned the ukulele or spent more time with his wife and kids while maintaining a Facebook account. His decision to leave these services, however, was about more than a tweak to his digital habits; it was a symbolic gesture that reinforced his new commitment to the minimalist philosophy of working backward from your deeply held values when deciding how to live your life.



Before I can ask you to experiment with digital minimalism in your own life, however, I must first provide you with a more thorough explanation for why it works. My argument for this philosophy's effectiveness rests on the following three core principles:





Principle #1: Clutter is costly.



Digital minimalists recognize that cluttering their time and attention with too many devices, apps, and services creates an overall negative cost that can swamp the small benefits that each individual item provides in isolation.



Principle #2: Optimization is important.



Digital minimalists believe that deciding a particular technology supports something they value is only the first step. To truly extract its full potential benefit, it's necessary to think carefully about how they'll use the technology.



Principle #3: Intentionality is satisfying.




Digital minimalists derive significant satisfaction from their general commitment to being more intentional about how they engage with new technologies. This source of satisfaction is independent of the specific decisions they make and is one of the biggest reasons that minimalism tends to be immensely meaningful to its practitioners.







Excerpted selection of Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. Excerpted with permission by from Portfolio/Penguin Random House.






Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World is on sale now. Be sure to add it to your Add it to your Want to Read shelf here.

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