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Notes to Myself
Reading "Notes To Myself" is one of those rare experiences that comes only once in a great while. The editor who discovered the book said, "When I first read Prather's manuscript it was late at night and I was tired, but by the time I finished it, I felt rested and alive. Since then I've reread it many times and it says even more to me now." The book serves as a beginning for the reader's exploration of his or her own life and as a treasury of thoughtful and insightful reminders.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
441 people are currently reading
8366 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Prather
46 books153 followersHugh Prather, Jr. was a writer, minister, and counselor, most famous for his first book, Notes to Myself. , which was first published in 1970 by Real People Press. It has sold over 5 million copies, and has been translated into ten languages.
Together with his second wife, Gayle Prather, whom he married in 1965, he wrote other books, including The Little Book of Letting Go; "I Touch the Earth, The Earth Touches Me"; How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy; I Will Never Leave You: How Couples Can Achieve The Power Of Lasting Love; Spiritual Notes to Myself: Essential Wisdom for the 21st Century; Shining Through: Switch on Your Life and Ground Yourself in Happiness; Spiritual Parenting: A Guide to Understanding and Nurturing the Heart of Your Child; Standing on My Head: Life Lessons in Contradictions; A Book of Games: A Course in Spiritual Play; Love and Courage; Notes to Each Other; A Book for Couples; The Quiet Answer; and There is a Place Where You Are Not Alone.
Born in Dallas, the younger Hugh Prather earned a bachelor's degree at Southern Methodist University in 1966 after study at Principia College and Columbia University. He studied at the University of Texas at the graduate level without taking a degree. While he could be categorized as a New Age writer, he drew on Christian language and themes and seemed comfortable conceiving of God in personal terms. His work underscored the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty; declined to endorse dramatic claims about the power of the individual mind to effect unilateral transformations of external material circumstances; and stressed the need for the mind to let go of destructive cognitions in a manner not unlike that encouraged by the cognitive-behavioral therapy of Aaron T. Beck and the rational emotive behavior therapy commended by Albert Ellis.
Together with his second wife, Gayle Prather, whom he married in 1965, he wrote other books, including The Little Book of Letting Go; "I Touch the Earth, The Earth Touches Me"; How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy; I Will Never Leave You: How Couples Can Achieve The Power Of Lasting Love; Spiritual Notes to Myself: Essential Wisdom for the 21st Century; Shining Through: Switch on Your Life and Ground Yourself in Happiness; Spiritual Parenting: A Guide to Understanding and Nurturing the Heart of Your Child; Standing on My Head: Life Lessons in Contradictions; A Book of Games: A Course in Spiritual Play; Love and Courage; Notes to Each Other; A Book for Couples; The Quiet Answer; and There is a Place Where You Are Not Alone.
Born in Dallas, the younger Hugh Prather earned a bachelor's degree at Southern Methodist University in 1966 after study at Principia College and Columbia University. He studied at the University of Texas at the graduate level without taking a degree. While he could be categorized as a New Age writer, he drew on Christian language and themes and seemed comfortable conceiving of God in personal terms. His work underscored the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty; declined to endorse dramatic claims about the power of the individual mind to effect unilateral transformations of external material circumstances; and stressed the need for the mind to let go of destructive cognitions in a manner not unlike that encouraged by the cognitive-behavioral therapy of Aaron T. Beck and the rational emotive behavior therapy commended by Albert Ellis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 349 reviews
June 16, 2007
Hugh Prather is a huge inspiration and motivation in my life. I have read this book more than 7 times from cover to cover, and I still go back to it everytime i feel a need for the comfort of his words.
This book has a particular significance for me. My father passed it to me. His is a 1979 edition, which he 'stumbled' upon in a bookstore he can't recall. And his love for this slim book of wisdom finally caught on me when i read it after ending my first relationship. I had skimmed through it once before in my teens but it did nothing for me until I came of a certain understanding and age.
I still breathe in the mildew pages and somewhat dog-eared corners, with penciled notes on my thoughts and their respective dates which I penned them in the sides.
I guess I would call this my 'family heirloom'. Indeed, 'on becoming a person' the book which inspired Prather initially, has worked its miracle in my life!
A please-you-have-to-read-it book.
This book has a particular significance for me. My father passed it to me. His is a 1979 edition, which he 'stumbled' upon in a bookstore he can't recall. And his love for this slim book of wisdom finally caught on me when i read it after ending my first relationship. I had skimmed through it once before in my teens but it did nothing for me until I came of a certain understanding and age.
I still breathe in the mildew pages and somewhat dog-eared corners, with penciled notes on my thoughts and their respective dates which I penned them in the sides.
I guess I would call this my 'family heirloom'. Indeed, 'on becoming a person' the book which inspired Prather initially, has worked its miracle in my life!
A please-you-have-to-read-it book.
April 19, 2019
Since they're both attempts to make sense of life and personal responsibility in diary form, this reminded me of one of my favourite books of last year, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I'll state a few differences:
- Meditations was clearly never intended to be read by anyone else. Notes to Myself manages to maintain a deeply personal feel but is far more accessible, clearly having been written with a wider audience in mind.
- While reading Meditations, getting into the mind of Aurelius often felt like being inside a cement mixer. His thought process seemed like a continual, churning struggle against certain desires and habits in order to shape himself into an ideal. Notes to Myself is influenced by Stoicism as Aurelius was, but takes a more modern, mindful approach, with a greater emphasis on overcoming problems through acceptance.
- Of course, some of the previous point is undoubtedly due to a difference in scale: Aurelius was a Roman Emperor during the height of its power, while Hugh Prather is in every sense an 'ordinary person'. On the one hand, this means Aurelius' writing is vaster in scope and deals with a wider array of issues and responsibilities, and as an account of that kind there's nothing else like it, but on the other, Prather's is more relatable in the modern day on average.
- Aurelius is far more disciplined and well-educated in his approach. He was taught by some of the greatest tutors of his time, as you would expect from the adopted son of the Emperor. Hugh Prather seems largely to be exploring these ideas by himself, and as such is occasionally rather naive, but that does little to devalue the rest. Aurelius lent on ideas that had a fairly strong philosophical basis, whereas Prather's thoughts are occasionally treated as self-evident, though there is value in some of these, as they were relatable or able to be reasoned out.
- A handful of Prather's notes are 'a bit Christian-y', just as some of Aurelius' are 'a bit Roman pantheon-y', but these parts can be safely ignored while doing little to alter the read.
Both are the sort of book where you get out of them what you put in. Much of what either of them say can be said to be obvious, but at their best, both express even the most obvious ideas very well, and serve as an excellent reminder, since the obvious isn't always readily available in a bind. I intend to consult both in the future.
- Meditations was clearly never intended to be read by anyone else. Notes to Myself manages to maintain a deeply personal feel but is far more accessible, clearly having been written with a wider audience in mind.
- While reading Meditations, getting into the mind of Aurelius often felt like being inside a cement mixer. His thought process seemed like a continual, churning struggle against certain desires and habits in order to shape himself into an ideal. Notes to Myself is influenced by Stoicism as Aurelius was, but takes a more modern, mindful approach, with a greater emphasis on overcoming problems through acceptance.
- Of course, some of the previous point is undoubtedly due to a difference in scale: Aurelius was a Roman Emperor during the height of its power, while Hugh Prather is in every sense an 'ordinary person'. On the one hand, this means Aurelius' writing is vaster in scope and deals with a wider array of issues and responsibilities, and as an account of that kind there's nothing else like it, but on the other, Prather's is more relatable in the modern day on average.
- Aurelius is far more disciplined and well-educated in his approach. He was taught by some of the greatest tutors of his time, as you would expect from the adopted son of the Emperor. Hugh Prather seems largely to be exploring these ideas by himself, and as such is occasionally rather naive, but that does little to devalue the rest. Aurelius lent on ideas that had a fairly strong philosophical basis, whereas Prather's thoughts are occasionally treated as self-evident, though there is value in some of these, as they were relatable or able to be reasoned out.
- A handful of Prather's notes are 'a bit Christian-y', just as some of Aurelius' are 'a bit Roman pantheon-y', but these parts can be safely ignored while doing little to alter the read.
Both are the sort of book where you get out of them what you put in. Much of what either of them say can be said to be obvious, but at their best, both express even the most obvious ideas very well, and serve as an excellent reminder, since the obvious isn't always readily available in a bind. I intend to consult both in the future.
April 14, 2021
We have several thoughts during the day (or if researchers have anything to say about it, 6500/day). It is quite difficult, if not impossible, to describe them. This book is a collection of "descriptions" of thoughts and feelings, felt enough number of times to come even close to putting them on paper - that is the best I can describe it at the moment I guess. Maybe an excerpt would help:
"I also sense that I am misusing the idea of being real whenever I discover myself anxiously weigh my words and actions, that is, whenever I am being careful to be "real". When I do this I am only playing a new role - the role of the "real person". Calculation does not enter into being real. Concerns with appearances does not enter into it. Being real is more of a process of letting go then it is the effort of becoming. I don't really have to become me, although at times it feels this way - I am already me. And that is both the easiest and the hardest thing for me to realise."
"I also sense that I am misusing the idea of being real whenever I discover myself anxiously weigh my words and actions, that is, whenever I am being careful to be "real". When I do this I am only playing a new role - the role of the "real person". Calculation does not enter into being real. Concerns with appearances does not enter into it. Being real is more of a process of letting go then it is the effort of becoming. I don't really have to become me, although at times it feels this way - I am already me. And that is both the easiest and the hardest thing for me to realise."
July 13, 2011
An old friend let me borrow this book before. I've only read it once, never read it since, but have still kept what i've learned from this book close to my heart. It's a collection of little sayings, ideas, or "notes" if you would, from the author. It's his notes to himself basically. It comes from such a raw, uncut perspective, that it's a work of art in it's own right. I wrote down a bunch of my favorite notes and refer to them from time to time for consolation. Some favorites include, "My trouble is I analyze life instead of live it.", "When I get to where I can enjoy just lying on the rug picking up lint balls, I will no longer be too ambitious.", and "Don't strive for love, be it." to name a few.
June 12, 2015
One man's struggle to look into moral obligations, societal dilemmas, temptations and fears all of us face and how to overcome all these are presented in the form of axioms by the man himself - Hugh Prather.
Though I am not much of a fan of Self-Help books, this one got me glued and I read it for days in bits and pieces. The subtle presentation with great nicety of this man's inquiry into his doings, thoughts and feelings are not just about himself but about all of us, the whole human race.
#MUST-READ
Though I am not much of a fan of Self-Help books, this one got me glued and I read it for days in bits and pieces. The subtle presentation with great nicety of this man's inquiry into his doings, thoughts and feelings are not just about himself but about all of us, the whole human race.
#MUST-READ
April 20, 2013
When I picked up this book, I was expecting revelations that would make me think, challenge my preconceived notions about life, and become one of my favorites. The book has no page numbers, so I don't know exactly where I stopped reading, but I'm about halfway through. I can't read any more of this drivel. I had heard such great things about Hugh Prather and I'm sure some people find this kind of thing enlightening, but it's simply boring. Perhaps I'm more self-aware than some, but I have had many of the same "revelations" years ago. This is an example of the trite drivel contained in this book. "Standing before the refrigerator. If I have to ask myself if I'm hungry, I'm not." Wow, how profound! It's like the author just jotted down every single lame thought and emotion that entered his head throughout the day and made them into a book. I'm not sure why this was even published. I gave it two stars instead of one just for the effort it must have taken to note all of these daily thoughts. He should have kept them to himself.
January 23, 2008
Hugh Prather, Notes to Myself (Real People Press, 1970)
Ouch. This was an ugly experience. The worst part is, it didn't HAVE to be an ugly experience. Yet more evidence that, yes, it's all in the presentation.
Notes to Myself is a collection of observations and thoughts from Prather's journals. They range from the surprisingly insightful ("The principle seems to be: it is a fault if I am capable of it, a disease if I am not.") to the charmingly naïve ("What is the difference between `I want food' and `I want sex'? Consent.") and just about everywhere in between. And had they been presented as prose journal entries (in other words, as they were no doubt written), this could have been a small surprise, a bit of a self-help book that doesn't try to batter the reader over the head with stupid jargon.
Instead, however, it is presented as poetry, and in this presentation it becomes a marvel of offense. You know how magazine editors are constantly decrying submissions that are "prose chopped up into short lines?" Well, Notes to myself is the epitome of prose chopped up into short lines. It's literally prose chopped up into short lines. (If Prather's journal actually contains this stuff in poetic form, that makes it even more monstrous.) The material in here, while workable prose, violates every possible rule of poetry one can conceive. No thought at all went into the line breaks, the word choice, the image (what very little here is presented as image in the first place!), the diction, anything. It's obvious thought and reflection went into the material, but one of the main differences between poetry and prose is that the presentation of the material is far more important in poetry than it is in prose. In fact, the presentation is more important than the material itself, something Prather (or his editor, blame whichever you like) obviously didn't grasp.
In other words, the material gets three stars, the presentation gets zero (and would get negative stars if I gave such things out), leading to an average of * ½.
Ouch. This was an ugly experience. The worst part is, it didn't HAVE to be an ugly experience. Yet more evidence that, yes, it's all in the presentation.
Notes to Myself is a collection of observations and thoughts from Prather's journals. They range from the surprisingly insightful ("The principle seems to be: it is a fault if I am capable of it, a disease if I am not.") to the charmingly naïve ("What is the difference between `I want food' and `I want sex'? Consent.") and just about everywhere in between. And had they been presented as prose journal entries (in other words, as they were no doubt written), this could have been a small surprise, a bit of a self-help book that doesn't try to batter the reader over the head with stupid jargon.
Instead, however, it is presented as poetry, and in this presentation it becomes a marvel of offense. You know how magazine editors are constantly decrying submissions that are "prose chopped up into short lines?" Well, Notes to myself is the epitome of prose chopped up into short lines. It's literally prose chopped up into short lines. (If Prather's journal actually contains this stuff in poetic form, that makes it even more monstrous.) The material in here, while workable prose, violates every possible rule of poetry one can conceive. No thought at all went into the line breaks, the word choice, the image (what very little here is presented as image in the first place!), the diction, anything. It's obvious thought and reflection went into the material, but one of the main differences between poetry and prose is that the presentation of the material is far more important in poetry than it is in prose. In fact, the presentation is more important than the material itself, something Prather (or his editor, blame whichever you like) obviously didn't grasp.
In other words, the material gets three stars, the presentation gets zero (and would get negative stars if I gave such things out), leading to an average of * ½.
February 9, 2017
Notes to myself is one of those books which should be definitely read by everyone.Now by saying this I definitely don't mean everyone will like it but I feel the only reason for not liking it can be the lack of understanding it.(That's purely my judgement of the book)
This isnt one such book which we pick up and read to have a good time and then maybe add one more book to our "Read" list but this book makes you think and see things more deeply and atleast give some insight into life, people and more importantly ourselves.
While reading this book I have come across various lines which gave me the feeling that "yes, I would write the same thing,yes even I feel this way" probably thats what the idea is ... sometimes we think about something but don't know how to express or most importantly to whom at some points it's like reading your own thoughts which we kept hidden inside.
Now even after writing this review I know that I haven't understood the book 100% maybe it will still take much more thinking and clarity of my own thoughts to get it entirely but anyway this book is not a read once types.This one is a keeper and maybe someday when I read it again or someone I know reads it I will have someone to discuss this book and understand it better
This isnt one such book which we pick up and read to have a good time and then maybe add one more book to our "Read" list but this book makes you think and see things more deeply and atleast give some insight into life, people and more importantly ourselves.
While reading this book I have come across various lines which gave me the feeling that "yes, I would write the same thing,yes even I feel this way" probably thats what the idea is ... sometimes we think about something but don't know how to express or most importantly to whom at some points it's like reading your own thoughts which we kept hidden inside.
Now even after writing this review I know that I haven't understood the book 100% maybe it will still take much more thinking and clarity of my own thoughts to get it entirely but anyway this book is not a read once types.This one is a keeper and maybe someday when I read it again or someone I know reads it I will have someone to discuss this book and understand it better
April 16, 2018
5 stars are NOT ENOUGH for this book. I know that I'll always keep coming back to it for Hugh Prather's words are like a source of inspiration and comfort to me.
This book although is a collection of notes that the author wrote to himself to sort through his personal struggles but you nevertheless find them reflecting some part of your own life and wonder why you didn't/don't write such notes to yourself.
This is the kind of book you don't hope to finish in one go but read in bits and pieces letting the words slowly sink their meaning in and consequently learning how a simple act of writing small notes to oneself can be so freeing and healing.
This book although is a collection of notes that the author wrote to himself to sort through his personal struggles but you nevertheless find them reflecting some part of your own life and wonder why you didn't/don't write such notes to yourself.
This is the kind of book you don't hope to finish in one go but read in bits and pieces letting the words slowly sink their meaning in and consequently learning how a simple act of writing small notes to oneself can be so freeing and healing.
August 9, 2021
Reflections on the generational attitudes prevalent in the 70's and really not my genre of choice. Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather is written as a private journal. Mr. Prather is a lay Minister and Bestselling author. This text is a testamentary paradigm of his éclat. Now he emphasizes our realization that we all are linked like a living "oneness." Mentions of Jesus and God are in no way conservative. Universal love is an undulating theme.
December 7, 2018
the best the best the best. Read it. Keep it on your desk, by your bed, on your coffee table, in your bag. So much wisdom and inspiration in this book. I am so glad I found it
September 2, 2009
A collection of one man's thoughts through life. Some of it is really insightful, others are mediocre. The nice part is there are no page numbers and no chapters; so it is easy to pick up and put down.
June 13, 2025
Hugh Prather decided to be a writer, while his wife supported them on her teaching salary. Back in the late 60’s this may have been an usual set-up. After a few years he wasn’t getting very far, so he gleaned statements from his journal and the result was this book
They are mostly notes of helping him become a better person. They can be philosophical, or help you think about ways to approach life. It's not quite self-help. I feel like my description here is faulty.
The book has a lot of white space. The notes can be a sentence or two, often longer to a paragraph or more. In-between there is a small graphic of two leaves, at least in my copy of the book.
This book did well for him and these notes became very popular in the 1970s. It started him on a series of a similar theme.
I bought a used copy of the book when I was in my early-twenties and read about half of the book. I liked it at the time, thought it was profound. Not sure why I didn’t finish, but I always wanted to return to it.
Now many years later, I’m trying to get to some of these older books. Started over and read through in a couple of days, and, well it was okay. Didn’t find it amazing or anything. Perhaps the book was more profound while young or the intervening years I’ve lived more. Not sure.
I expect this may be one of those books that when it finds you at the right time it very good, but if not it’s just okay.
They are mostly notes of helping him become a better person. They can be philosophical, or help you think about ways to approach life. It's not quite self-help. I feel like my description here is faulty.
The book has a lot of white space. The notes can be a sentence or two, often longer to a paragraph or more. In-between there is a small graphic of two leaves, at least in my copy of the book.
This book did well for him and these notes became very popular in the 1970s. It started him on a series of a similar theme.
I bought a used copy of the book when I was in my early-twenties and read about half of the book. I liked it at the time, thought it was profound. Not sure why I didn’t finish, but I always wanted to return to it.
Now many years later, I’m trying to get to some of these older books. Started over and read through in a couple of days, and, well it was okay. Didn’t find it amazing or anything. Perhaps the book was more profound while young or the intervening years I’ve lived more. Not sure.
I expect this may be one of those books that when it finds you at the right time it very good, but if not it’s just okay.
January 9, 2025
Some parts hit for sure and I like the thought dump aspect of this book but I think it lacked a deeper intimacy I would want from a collection like this. It felt very ~written by a man in the 1970s coded~ which is exactly what it was so I’m trying to let it be what it is
December 25, 2020
Meaning does not exist in the future and neither do I.
My struggle with today is worthwhile, but it is a struggle nonetheless and one I will never finish.
Unless I accept my faults I will most certainly doubt my virtues.
My struggle with today is worthwhile, but it is a struggle nonetheless and one I will never finish.
Unless I accept my faults I will most certainly doubt my virtues.
June 23, 2025
Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather
Notes to Myself is a quiet, thoughtful book that feels like reading someone’s private journal raw, honest, and deeply personal. Hugh Prather doesn’t try to give advice or teach lessons. Instead, he shares his inner thoughts, doubts, and emotional moments in a way that feels deeply relatable.
There’s no storyline or structure—just short reflections on love, fear, insecurity, and being human. Some entries are just a line or two, yet they often say so much. His writing is simple, but it stays with you because of how true it feels.
This isn’t a book you rush through. It’s something to sit with especially during times when you’re looking inward. It reminds you that you’re not alone in your thoughts or struggles.
Notes to Myself is a quiet, thoughtful book that feels like reading someone’s private journal raw, honest, and deeply personal. Hugh Prather doesn’t try to give advice or teach lessons. Instead, he shares his inner thoughts, doubts, and emotional moments in a way that feels deeply relatable.
There’s no storyline or structure—just short reflections on love, fear, insecurity, and being human. Some entries are just a line or two, yet they often say so much. His writing is simple, but it stays with you because of how true it feels.
This isn’t a book you rush through. It’s something to sit with especially during times when you’re looking inward. It reminds you that you’re not alone in your thoughts or struggles.
June 14, 2022
Recommended by Tim, will have to reread slowly for the rest of my life
February 7, 2017
Every so often, I manage to pick up a particular book at a time in my life right when I need to read it; Notes to Myself is one of those books. I am sure I will be reading this over and over and over again at different stages of my life, but it was absolutely a perfect read for what I needed right now.
November 11, 2024
A beautiful and complex series of notes that provides a way of describing feelings I understand all too well. There's beauty in the way he writes of things and his observations within himself. Noticing who he truly is not from merely being, but through others as well. From other people, he is able to understand himself more clearly and what exactly makes his mind work and think like it does. Incredible personal notes about self-knowledge and self-discovery that truly deserve to be reread and pondered.
February 10, 2009
This wasn't nearly as hippie dippy as I had expected. Though it is definitely self-help, I wasn't put off by it the way I am by a lot of pop psychobabble. Prather offers plenty of good food for thought and some surprising insights. I'm certain I'll pick this one up again.
April 5, 2015
A lovely read for food for thought. Nothing to take at face value alone, but very nice for new perspective and self awareness on things I would like to work on about myself. Will pick up again when I need a reality check, and to see if the things I have underlined have changed from idea to reality.
February 13, 2022
As it happens with these kind of books some of Prather's notes are insightful, some are mundane and banal, cheesy even.
They make you think, smile or cringe.
But there are some passages where he hits the mark so hard you can actually feel the endorphins surge.
They make you think, smile or cringe.
But there are some passages where he hits the mark so hard you can actually feel the endorphins surge.
March 31, 2020
The way this author sees life 💜 So simple life is! we all live the wrong way
January 4, 2023
This book was a collection of thoughts, phrases, and essays that articulated experiences I could not and emotions that I could. Notes to Myself is for the unsure human, the people-pleaser, the ball of anxiety that lives within you. Here are some quotes that may resonate with you (or make you want to read it):
“My anxiety does not come from thinking about the future but from wanting to control it”.
“Perfectionism is a slow death”.
“If I feel aversion towards someone, if I find myself ignoring or turning away from someone in a group, I am probably avoiding within myself what this person represents that is true about me”.
“If we do not exist as individuals then our relationship does not exist”.
“I must drop my definitions of love. Love is not saying nice things to people or smiling or doing good deeds. Love is love. Don’t strive for love, be it”.
“My anxiety does not come from thinking about the future but from wanting to control it”.
“Perfectionism is a slow death”.
“If I feel aversion towards someone, if I find myself ignoring or turning away from someone in a group, I am probably avoiding within myself what this person represents that is true about me”.
“If we do not exist as individuals then our relationship does not exist”.
“I must drop my definitions of love. Love is not saying nice things to people or smiling or doing good deeds. Love is love. Don’t strive for love, be it”.
September 26, 2019
This is literally one of those books that don't fail to impart something new into you, no matter how many times you have read already.
I see that only 3k people have rated the book here, and I wonder why is that. This book is undoubtedly one of the best books I have read in my lifetime.
Every paragraph in it, was a telling that has the potential to shake you from inside, and leave your brain to storm.
Notes to myself is a book that's about an individual, the psychology of social behavior. The psychology of being you.
Hugh Prather has written it so flawlessly, that I found it hard to 'not highlight' almost all pages.
It's written from a male perspective, and I am sure all my male friends are going to find a part of themselves through the book. That doesn't mean it's not useful for others, I am a girl and I loved it.
Though I am a fast reader, I took 3 days to finish reading it and I am glad I took this slowly ahead, would suggest the same to you too!
Happy reading.
Follow Calm Insights on Instagram and Facebook for more reading updates and reviews by me.
I see that only 3k people have rated the book here, and I wonder why is that. This book is undoubtedly one of the best books I have read in my lifetime.
Every paragraph in it, was a telling that has the potential to shake you from inside, and leave your brain to storm.
Notes to myself is a book that's about an individual, the psychology of social behavior. The psychology of being you.
Hugh Prather has written it so flawlessly, that I found it hard to 'not highlight' almost all pages.
It's written from a male perspective, and I am sure all my male friends are going to find a part of themselves through the book. That doesn't mean it's not useful for others, I am a girl and I loved it.
Though I am a fast reader, I took 3 days to finish reading it and I am glad I took this slowly ahead, would suggest the same to you too!
Happy reading.
Follow Calm Insights on Instagram and Facebook for more reading updates and reviews by me.
February 11, 2025
i’ve never made so many notes about a book as about this one—i’m thinking of compiling them into an essay. also, i feel like this kind of—i don’t know how to describe it non-metaphorically—‘meager’, kind of minimalistic writing: i appreciate it, but i don’t (currently) have an appropriate reading strategy for it (which i think is also the reason i am so bad at, and do not enjoy, reading poetry), so i am a little doubtful as to whether i’ve gotten everything out of this book that i could’ve should i have better known ‘how’ to read it.
August 30, 2021
It's a nice read full of thought provoking insights about life. But it left me wanting a bit more... It's written as a series of journal entries and most are deeply relatable but some seem kind of disjointed. Anyway, it's the kind of book you can revisit randomly to seek some inspiration.
July 17, 2023
I remember finding it terribly interesting, the idea of reading one’s notes to himself. Having re read certain parts, I realize it can be rather repetitive in the beginning, and certain parts being somewhat useless, but as a whole I quite liked it.
I think 3.5 would be a better rating.
3.75 stars.
I think 3.5 would be a better rating.
3.75 stars.
July 19, 2024
The type of book you can pick up, flip to a random page, and give your self something to think about. Majority of the passages really spoke to me; put words to human thoughts and realities i would’ve previously considered ineffable. Helped me decipher a few of my own emotions, cool read.
April 17, 2022
this is such a special book, i plan to give it to many many friends as presents throughout the year ✨💛
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