Deep Work
by: Cal Newport

Questions & Challenges:
*What are the components of deep practice/work?
​*What are the 2 components of deliberate practice?
*Why is it worthwhile to learn how to enter a deep work state?
*Is there a difference between the states of "flow" & "deep work?"
*Can you work harder & better if you are regularly scheduling or blocking out time for leisure?
​*Do you make time for productive meditation in your schedule?  
*Do you have a "shutdown ritual" each day? (p. 151) What does that look like & are you able to get enough work done if you stick to that ritual? 
*Have you felt like some of the communication you have in your life is enriching? Or impoverishing?" (Packer's thoughts on p. 193) 


Favorite quotes:
"Deep work is necessary to wring every last drop of value out of your current intellectual capacity...the state of mental strain that accompanies deep work is also necessary to improve your abilities."

"Men of genius themselves were great only by bringing all their power to bear on the point on which they had decided to show their full measure." -Sertillanges

"Network tools...fragment our time & reduce our ability to concentrate."  

"The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult & worthwhile."  

"A deep work habit requires you to treat your time with respect. A good first step toward this respectful handling is the advice outlined here: Decide in advance what you're going to do with every minute of your workday. It's natural, at first, to resist this idea, as it's undoubtedly easier to continue to allow the twin forces of internal whim & external requests to drive your schedule."

My Book Rating: 
4/5 (mostly because some of the business contexts & stories were too  obscure or complex for me to muddle through. But I loved his tips overall for working more efficiently!) 

Below you will find pictures & links to all of our books for 2021; I'm excited to start reading along with all of you! Please read along, comment & vote on Instagram or share insights about book club here. I did try to find the cheapest version (excepting on Audible or Hoopla) for all 12 books; so see the links below. And my book club is FREE, so the only cost incurred would be if you decide to buy one of the books we read this year.
​ Thank you for being part of the Love of Lit. Book Club! 
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JANUARY:  (NEW YEAR!!!) 
Deep Work 
by: Cal Newport 
www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692/ref=sr_1_2?crid=16AM4FIVN1I28&dchild=1&keywords=deep+work+cal+newport&qid=1609608460&sprefix=deep+work%2Caps%2C215&sr=8-2 

FEBRUARY: (Valentines Day!) 
Dear Mr. Knightley
by: Katherine Reay
www.amazon.com/Dear-Mr-Knightley-Katherine-Reay/dp/140168968X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SYIXHYR3A76M&dchild=1&keywords=dear+mr.+knightley&qid=1609608985&sprefix=dear+mr.+knight%2Caps%2C203&sr=8-1


MARCH: 
Heartless
by: Marissa Meyer 
www.amazon.com/Heartless-Marissa-Meyer/dp/1250148189/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=heartless&qid=1609629615&sr=8-1

APRIL: 
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet 
by: Jamie Ford
www.thriftbooks.com/w/hotel-on-the-corner-of-bitter-and-sweet_jamie-ford/249409/#edition=5195353&idiq=3252336

MAY: (Mothers Day!) 
Strong Mothers, Strong Sons 
by: Meg Meeker
www.thriftbooks.com/w/strong-mothers-strong-sons-lessons-mothers-need-to-raise-extraordinary-men_meg-meeker/8851113/#edition=9007398&idiq=10498221

JUNE: 
The Hidden Life of Addie LaRue
by: V.E. Schwab
www.amazon.com/Invisible-Life-Addie-LaRue-ebook/dp/B084357H23/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1609630247&sr=8-1

JULY: (INDEPENDENCE DAY!) 
The American Covenant
by: Timothy Ballard
www.amazon.com/American-Covenant-Nation-Under-Founding-ebook/dp/B00CJJD1EC/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+american+covenant&qid=1609635634&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

AUGUST: (Friendship Month)
I'll Push You: a Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, & One Wheelchair 
by: Patrick Gray
www.amazon.com/Ill-Push-You-Journey-Wheelchair/dp/1496421701/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=I%27LL+PUSH+YOU&qid=1609651127&sr=8-1

SEPTEMBER: 
High Performance Habits 
by: Brendon Burchard 
www.thriftbooks.com/w/high-performance-habits_brendon-burchard/11912311/#edition=11514528&idiq=26071406 
​
OCTOBER: (Halloween)
The Clocks: a Hercule Poirot Mystery
by: Agatha Christie
www.amazon.com/Clocks-Hercule-Poirot-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B000FC2IYY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+clocks&qid=1609635856&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

NOVEMBER: 
The Book of Lost Names
by: Kristen Harmel
www.amazon.com/Book-Lost-Names-Kristin-Harmel/dp/198213190X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1609650241&sr=1-1

DECEMBER: (Merry Christmas!) 
Little Women
by: Louisa May Alcott
Bonus Read-- An Alcott Christmas Collection 
www.thriftbooks.com/w/little-women-by-louisa-may-alcott/285700/#edition=24762945&idiq=36950320
www.amazon.com/Complete-Little-Women-Good-Wives-ebook-dp-B083V329SP/dp/B083V329SP/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1609630447

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NS9J18N/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1