Nonfiction Review: Bored and Brilliant

I devoted November to nonfiction books on audio, too. At the end of the month, I listened to Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self by Manoush Zomorodi, a book I was eager to read after watching Manoush's TED Talk on the same topic (included below). I was fascinated by this book, and it was right up my alley, since I haven't been bored since the '90's and have been feeling very overwhelmed lately.

Manoush is the host of a popular radio show/podcast called Note to Self about living in the modern digital world. In 2015, she led her listeners in a week-long quest to shed some of their bad habits with respect to phones and other devices and see if they could all spend a little less time glued to their phones and a little more time to let their minds wander and be more creative. This book goes through that challenge, with 7 days of mini challenges, supported by lots of research and feedback from her listeners who tried it. Keeping in mind that I listened on audio, so these might not be verbatim, her challenges include:

1. Observe Yourself
2. Put Your Phone Away While In Transit
3. Have a Photo Free Day
4. Delete That App
5. Take a Tech Break
6. Observe Something Else
7. Get Bored - Really Bored

I really enjoyed this audio book and found it very motivating. I don't actually own a smart phone (I know - gasp!), but I spend a LOT of time every day on my laptop (as I am at this moment) and can relate to how every moment is now filled...though, of course, I do take time to read every day! Ironically, since I'd been listening to her book obsessively (I finished it in just a few days), she inspired me to turn off her own book and leave my iPod in my pocket during one of my walks - and it was very nice. I didn't have any earth-shattering new ideas, but I enjoyed the rare bit of quiet time. I would like to try some of her challenges, and I also plan to try her podcast (uh-oh, that's yet another podcast taking up my quiet time!). If you struggle with being a bit too attached to your phone or feel like you haven't had a quiet moment in decades, this is the book for you. And, as a bonus, it is very entertaining, too.

208 pages, St. Martin's Press

P.S. This would make a really fun book group pick, especially if the members all agreed to try the 7-day challenge prior to the discussion!

For a sneak peek at Manoush's book, you can watch her interesting and entertaining TED Talk:

And you can listen to a sample of the author reading her book at this link.

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