We summarized Lifehacker’s summary of Blinkist’s book summaries

Ever wanted to read a book without, you know, actually reading a book? Well, this is the dream that Blinkist sells.

If you believe its advertising, the company condenses down entire non-fiction books into 15 minute, easily consumable chunks that you can use to expand your brain box.

If you’re more realistic? It’s a subscription service where you pay for book summaries. Specifically, works they probably haven’t given the authors any money for.

With that idea in mind, Nick Douglas over at Lifehacker decided to save us all some time (and money) by summarizing some of Blinkist’s book summaries. And he did a great job.

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Thing is, I’m busy. You’re busy. We’re all busy. Sure, Lifehacker’s summaries were around 2 minutes long, but do you know how many TikToks I can watch in that time? If I’m going to pretend to read a book, I want to do so with as little effort as possible.

Luckily for you though, dear reader, we’ve got your back. So, say hello to the TNW summary of Lifehacker’s summary of Blinkist’s summaries of three popular books.

You are very, very welcome.

‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,’ by Stephen Covey

Book reading time: 7 hours / Blinkist reading time: 15 min / Lifehacker reading time: 2 min / TNW reading time: 30 seconds

There are seven things successful folks do that you should do, too (according to this Stephen Covey fella at least):
- Start by doing things
- Then think about and visualize doing those things
- Organize and plan the way you do things
- Be positive about pretty much everything
- Listen to people talk when they about things
- Be nice to people and the belief they have in things
- Look after yourself (AKA read and go on holiday)… or some such similar thing

‘The Virgin Way,’ by Richard Branson

Book reading time: 6 hours / Blinkist reading time: 13 min / Lifehacker reading time: 2 min / TNW reading time: 20 seconds

Richard Branson is a narcissist
“Blah blah blah airplanes I’m rich”
Reading the summary of a summary has reinforced the fact that people are only wealthy because they’re: a) lucky b) already rich c) both
Branson believes he knows how to run the school system better than people whose job it is to manage education

‘He’s Just Not That Into You,’ by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo

Book reading time: 2 hours / Blinkist reading time: 12 min / Lifehacker reading time: 1 min / TNW reading time: 10 seconds

Oh my god this isn’t worth summarizing
Basically ignore this stupid book and its stupid advice and don’t let men define your worth

There you have it, a completely free breakdown of a free breakdown of a breakdown that cost money. This is what we call efficiency.

Plus, when someone asks you what you did today, you finally have an answer: you’ve read three entire books. Go on, celebrate. You deserve it.

Story by Callum Booth

Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting (show all) Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting was cited widely, including in VICE, the FT, and the BBC. Callum’s writing has appeared in The Verge, The Daily Telegraph, Time Out, and many more. He covers the full spectrum of technology, with a particular focus on how it shapes our daily lives. And a lot of regulation stuff too. Outside of work, Callum’s an avid bookworm, a Fisherman’s Friends addict, and resolutely unshaven. Follow him on Twitter @CallumBooth or visit www.callumbooth.net.