Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book, by Dan Harris, Jeff Warren, and Carlye Adler, seemed ideal for me–I am a skeptic, and I am certainly fidgety (much like Jeff, one of the authors, I have ADD)! I’m impressed by how much the book makes meditation accessible, makes it seem like just another part of life, like riding the bus to work or brushing your teeth before bed. Just something you do because it makes sense and makes your life a little bit better.The whole attitude of t...

I was a little skeptical of this book (perfect audience, no?!), but am happy to say, I found it both enjoyable and a little helpful. The author has a very relatable way of writing, which feels personal and chatty and I enjoyed this book both for the way he uses humor to talk about deeper issues and for the suggestions he makes, which worked in for him. He is reasonable about his aims and I think that's the only way to go about pursuing meditation. You can't expect to turn into the Buddha, but it...

For the 2021 Reading Glasses Podcast reading challenge, I was supposed to read a book recommended by a library or librarian. My local Burbank branch did not have a recommended shelf, but Brian at the help desk was ready to serve. When asked what I normally read, I said, "Lots of science non-fiction, but I'm open to fiction as well." He had just the thing for me, and recommended Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. It was a good choice: I'm a skeptic if anyone is, fidgety describes me, and I previous...

If you are only going to read one book on how to meditate, this one is probably not it. But if you want to know how meditation works for different people while getting to know Dan Harris (and others), this will certainly give you an overview of both.I was attracted to this book because of it's title and the fact that my own experience with meditation is hampered by both my fidgety nature and my inborn skepticism. The book did address both of these for me. Unfortunately, it's difficult to read th...

Dan Harris shares more thoughts about meditation and its benefits in this second book in his 10% Happier series. This time he teams up with Jeff Warren, a master meditator, and Carlye Adler, a writer, and the result is a clever and thoughtful look at meditation, especially for those of us who tend to think meditation might be too much work. I took furious notes as I read this book. Some of my favorites:There are hindrances in meditation (and life):Boredom/sleepinessDesire (to do something, anyth...

This is Dan Harris' attempt to not only demystify--but also de-stigmatize--meditation. It follows his 10 Percent Happier bus tour, a cross-country journey wherein he meets with everyday people such as cops, military cadets, recovering addicts, television and radio personalities and attempts to convince them of the benefits of meditation. He's helped in this endeavor by Jeff Warren, a meditation teacher. In fact, the book is set up as an ongoing dialogue between Harris and Warren, with each of th...

I gave up about halfway through. I should have known that this would happen, because I couldn't get through his first book 10% Happier. But because I'm doing my dissertation on stress reduction in health professions students, and as part of that I'm developing a course that will likely involve meditation and a captive audience of students who will have mixed feelings about that, I thought this would be worthwhile.There's something about his narrative that bugs me, and I don't know what it is. He...

As a longtime meditator who is not a fidgety skeptic, I'm not the intended audience for this book. But I was curious after hearing Dan Harris talk about it on NPR. I found this book pretty disappointing and can't imagine that it would help beginners start a meditation practice. It's way too complicated; there are too many different types of meditation given, rather than one simple method. Sort of like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.The worst parts of the book were the meditati...

Rounded up to 4 stars because by the last part of the book, they were making me laugh despite myself, and not necessarily where Dan meant me to. Also because of some useful twists on meditation that Jeff shared. I’m neither fidgety nor a skeptic (about meditation, we are only talking about meditation), so I didn’t expect to resonate with the book beyond that it’s about meditation, something I’ve long enjoyed and have been doing a lot of lately. Also, I recently enjoyed a meditation series by Jef...

The book consists of 50% of Dan Harris's experiences (morning TV host and journalist) with the positive effects of mediation on his hyper-stressful lifestyle and 50% guided meditation mini-instructions by Jeff Warren, a hot-looking and completely convincing meditation teacher. I found Dan's parts/his narration annoyingly glib and cheerful (I don't like morning tv) but absolutely loved the soothing voice and meditative content of Jeff Warren's teachings. Still, I tried to control my annoyance at

DNF @ 30%First book was OK. This one is insufferable. There may be some good stuff in here somewhere, but Dan Harris is completely incapable of not writing himself into the center of every sentence. It's like being cornered by the most self-obsessed person at the office party. It's like being held hostage at a karaoke birthday party for someone who is tone deaf.___DNF Disclaimer: Usually I don't mark my DNF/abandoned books as "read" or give them a rating. That said, I might do one or both if any...

OK. I liked the book, but it does remind me of books like Blink, Wisdom of Crowds, etc where a lot of the core concepts can be summarized in a few short pages. Yes, i get the irony of saying this given the title and contents (I also listened to it on Audible at 1.5x speed...so add that to the irony (hypocrisy?)). Anyway, i have been thinking about meditation more and more - and still doing nothing. This book has helpful tips that should get me started. If only I can find the time... :)

Pretty close to 5 starts. I could never get into the whole meditation thing but this book hit the right note for me.

While this was good, I don’t know that I’m the target audience. Since I’m already sold on meditation, some of the counsel offered here didn’t really resonate with me.If you’re struggling or a skeptic I could see where this would be a great read. If you’re already convinced, pass this on to someone who isn’t! (yet)