Book Notes

As you might know, I read a lot.

About 10 years ago, I also started taking detailed notes from every book I was reading. Each time I came across a surprising or inspiring idea, I saved it.

Over time this has become a huge database of notes from more than 200 of some of the best books available on life, business, marketing, photography, and creativity. I now use them almost daily to influence my decisions, and they are a huge part of everything I do.

For example, if I need some inspiration about how to create some PR and marketing for my business, I’ll just open my notes from Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday:

And I could do this for every book in my collection. This means I can refresh the wisdom of more than 200 books in a single afternoon, or get very targeted advice with a simple search.

It’s been an incredible help in my life.

And now I’m making them available to you.

While I still think reading books is one of the best things you could ever do in your life, not everyone has the time (or money).

So I’m adding all my notes one by one to this website. I’m sure they’ll provide you with an instant boost to improve your photography business and life.

If you wanted to read all these books yourself if would cost you around $4000 dollar ($20/book) and around 1000 hours of reading time (5 hours/book).

For now (while I’m still adding them) you can get access to all the notes currently uploaded for only $30. This small fee gives me the possibility to keep buying and reading more books to add.

The price will increase for every 20 notes I add though. This means the sooner you join the better, as you’ll also get access to every note I add later on.

I’ve also included my “Photographer’s Notes“, my thoughts about how the ideas in the book relate to photography and how you can use them to improve your business.

Once you join you’ll get immediate access.

The wisdom of some of the best books ever for less than a Lightroom preset.

FAQ

Are These Notes A Summary Of The Book?

No.

These are my own interpretations of the books, mostly in my own words with some quotes. The goal has always been to capture the ideas from a book for use in my own life, business and photography.

In that sense, these notes don’t replace reading the book.

So if you look through a book’s notes and like the ideas, please go read the whole book. It gives so much more context and meaning.

You can join my monthly Photographers Reading List to get interesting recommendations on books to read.

How Should I Use These Notes?

There are many ways you could take advantage of these notes:

• Use them as research to decide which books to buy next (who has time for crappy books?).
• Refresh the main ideas from books you’ve read years ago.
• Get very targeted advice with a simple search.
• Find inspiration for a new project or marketing idea without having to read a whole book.

How Many Book Notes Are There?

Depends when you’re reading this.

I have over 200 notes in my collection in Evernote that I’m slowly adding here. And since I’m also still reading about a book a week those new ones will get added as well, as I’ll put those notes straight on this website from now on.

Expect to see about 2-3 notes added every month.

Why Aren’t There Any Notes From _(Book)_?

Chances are I have read the book but just haven’t uploaded the notes yet.

That said, I’m always looking for new books to read so if you have a suggestion please get in touch! (Reply to one of my emails or leave a comment here.

And I do read fiction, but generally, I don’t take notes then as they are mostly for fun.

Don’t The Authors Get Mad?

Luckily, no.

I’ve only had positive reactions so far, as I’ve helped them reach a bigger audience.

And while these book notes are a valuable resource to grasp the concepts and ideas of a book, I always recommend buying and reading the whole book if it interests you.

If you’re an author and would like to have the notes for your book removed, please get in touch.