Bad review on audible.com

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staley

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Hey all,

Just wanted to point out a poor review of getting Things Done on http://www/audible.com. The review, entitled "too involved" reads like this:
 
"Reviewer: Donald, from Long Beach, NY, USA    Date: October 19, 2004
Very boring. Only a few minutes of easy to understand advice which involved the payment of bills. The rest was painful to get through."

Although all the other reviews are very positive, I'd hate to see people not purchase and benefit from the audiobook after seeing this short-sighted assessement, so you might be interested in countering.

(BTW, audible.com is a GREAT resource if you haven't already discovered it)
 
I noticed that the GTD audio book is #16 on Today's Best Sellers list over at the iTunes Music Store (audio book section). Not too bad.

Mark
 
I wouldn't say painful

But it is a bit difficult to get through.

The audio book through audible was my introduction to GTD. While I did make it through and found many valuable tips there, I didn't find DA's reading style particularly compelling or entertaining. It was a very dry delivery and many people just zone out, as my friend did when she listened to the program.

I've had many teachers and mentors throughout the years with very dry deliveries and I've learned to deal with them.

So my guess is that reviewer just happened to tune into the area on bill paying (perhaps that is one of his issues that he needs to particualarly address?) and the rest was new or far enough out of his range of interest to be lost. If he got the book and read that perhaps he would feel different.

But I don't know that anyone particularly needs to 'counter' that one negative post. The best way to rebute would be to simply post your positive experience with the product if you choose to post at all. Personally I feel that the high sales of the audio speak for themselves.
 
This type of comprehensive organizing system is most certainly NOT for everyone. There are many people with personality styles completely opposed to this sort of thing.
As a matter of fact, and i have said this before, some folks who are "random" can be much more productive than some of those obsessed with organizing every detail.
Everyones different.

Coz
 
Reverse Barometers

Sometimes critics can make good "reverse barometers."

My first exposure to David Allen was reading a review of Getting Things Done on cnn.com. The reviewer panned it left and right, but I could tell by the kinds of things he was complaining about that I probably would like the book.

I was right. :)
 
Well in truth both the audio for Getting Things Done and Ready for Anything are just horribly dry. David's voice does not lend itself well to the "Reading" format.

Far better are the Getting Things Done Fast CDs where you get the energized and engagement that a live audience "from memory" teaching situation produces......
 
Combination of Book and Audio work for me...

I bought the GTD book about three weeks ago and immediately started implementing many of the ideas. On initial reading of the book, I skipped the first section as I wanted to start directly with the "how to" section. This weekend, when I saw that the audio version of the book was inexpensive on the iTunes Music store I decided to purchase it. I found the audio to be a better way to get through the first section -- and the book worked better for the second section because I could review the details more easily.
 
I understood a lot about GTD concepts, as well as DA's vocabulary and metaphors, because they were from time-management courses I took in the past. In person. I can see how a person might pick up a lot from the book, but from the audio? I doubt it's going to be the #1 method of delivery on many people's list.

What I like about audiobooks is that they reinforce things I already know or am familiar with. I can't listen to fiction or new info without paying close attention, and rarely do I want to sit and simply listen. If I'm on a train or running, I want to be aware of what's going on around me. So the audiobooks are like a new voice to drown out the Propaganda Channel in my head. I have seen people teach and use various techniques (model), and I've done some of them myself (kinesthetic). I have the state-of-the-art info in written form, with diagrams (visual). So what's lacking, what boosts my learning curve considerably, is audio (aural/auditory). Most of my nutty* thoughts come from my interior dialogue, not things I read. So it's best to combat Propaganda Channel with voices saying useful, reasonable things.

If somebody is coming to GTD for the first time through the audiobook, they may very well zone out. People learn in different ways. Motivation to learn is also a key factor, so no audiobook is ever going to bat 1.000.

*counterproductive, procrastinating, perfectionistic, confused, wrong, tepid...
 
Truth is, I stopped reading ALL the many time management, get organized, stop procrastinating biz books many years ago - it became apparent that none of the systems were having any impact, whatsoever, upon my actual life. So although the field was interesting to read about, I simply 'dumped' it.

Earlier this week I read a long review of GTD which appeared last summer in the Atlantic Monthly.

I really liked the review.

Indeed, I wasn't sure whether I should get the BOOK, as I feared it might detract from the positive impact the reviewer's writing had upon me.

LOL - but of course I got the book, and I am deeply interested in exploring Allen's GTD processes. This is the FIRST book I've ever run across of this genre that is really making cogent articulate explanations on the how/why behind our current existential quagmires and I'm often amazed how right on target some of Allen's analyses are -- I haven't finished the book yet, as I intend to slowly absorb it.

And really..... that review was NOT all positive, by any means -- but for me, where the reviewer was very hesitant or even almost-demeaning (i.e., is GTD a cult?)... all happened to be topics that simply increased my curiousity --- and it was in that review where I first learned of the "2-Minute Rule" which instantaneously changed LOTS in my existance, and will irrevokably continue to do so.

So, I agree with those of you who generally say, Oh-don't-worry, it'll be okay. :)

I have NO idea what Mr. Allen and his coaches thought of that Atlantic Monthly --- but I suspect that they were not as positively impressed as I was -- indeed, a day later I realized it was significant enough that I went out and retrieved it from the recycling container and read it over two more times, LOL :)
 
tracking down article

Grateful said:
... Earlier this week I read a long review of GTD which appeared last summer in the Atlantic Monthly. I really liked the review.
...
I have NO idea what Mr. Allen and his coaches thought of that Atlantic Monthly --- but I suspect that they were not as positively impressed as I was -- indeed, a day later I realized it was significant enough that I went out and retrieved it from the recycling container and read it over two more times, LOL :)
Click to expand...

In case anyone's interested, a couple of minutes of web-searching found me the Atlantic Monthly review at Atlantic Online, for subscribers only, and at Keepmedia, free trial: http://tinyurl.com/2wm9s
 
If you search back through several threads on this BB, you'll find some discussions which directly address the Atlantic article and that Davidco has a positive view of it. You'll also find some posts from James Fallows - the author of the Atlantic article - on this BB. (He's a great writer) If you look on the GTD home page, you'll find the Atlantic article referenced and linked directly at the top of the "Press Links" - that's a pretty good indication of their approval.

I am grateful for the Atlantic article, because it is what introduced me to GTD. After I read the article, I bought both David's books the next day and by that evening had ordered the GTD FAST cd's. Overall, probably the best investment I've made in years.
 
Re: oops. url seems broken. try this

mef said:
mef said:
In case anyone's interested, a couple of minutes of web-searching found me the Atlantic Monthly review at Atlantic Online, for subscribers only, and at Keepmedia, free trial: http://tinyurl.com/4y7gq
Click to expand...

Changed above url to http://tinyurl.com/4y7gq . You need to type in an email address.
Click to expand...

Thank you so very much!

The fact is, that last night, while pondering a remark above that maybe David wasn't the "correct" person to read the book - I had a mini-Eureka moment that perhaps that means that audio-book is a real GEM, and that I must purchase it immediately -- BEFORE it is re-done, with one of those ordinary, fake, gratingly-disgusting sounds-like-digitally "enhanced" phoney voices that populate the airwaves.

Along the lines of what I've read about that at broadcast schools EVERY soon to be announcer is taught the SAME so-called voice "enhancement" techniques, which to me sound downright phoney, and often cause me, for instance, to switch the radio dial.

All that modulated nonsense, that makes it seem that every "professional" is speaking with a permanent smile planted on their face and TRYING so obviously to have what they think is a melodious voice.

If I like the audio, then I can buy a buncha holiday gifts -- the audio, along with nice print outs of the Atlantic article. That would make a dynomite present for lots of individuals I know.
 
spectecGTD said:
If you search back through several threads on this BB, you'll find some discussions which directly address the Atlantic article and that Davidco has a positive view of it. You'll also find some posts from James Fallows - the author of the Atlantic article - on this BB. (He's a great writer) If you look on the GTD home page, you'll find the Atlantic article referenced and linked directly at the top of the "Press Links" - that's a pretty good indication of their approval.

I am grateful for the Atlantic article, because it is what introduced me to GTD. After I read the article, I bought both David's books the next day and by that evening had ordered the GTD FAST cd's. Overall, probably the best investment I've made in years.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that! I'd be very interested in reading those threads.

As yet, I've not gotten beyond exploring past the third page of postings, so I had no idea that James Fallows article had been discussed here. That will be interesting to read, LOL.

In fact, one thing that will go on my "Projects List" will be to do a search on this author as his writing is simply superb, and I'd like to see what else he's explored and expounded on.

Of course, the REASON I read a July(?) issue of The Atlantic Monthly so late in the year, is that when I finally purged all the magazines that I obviously will never have time to peruse, I didn't toss any issues of The New Yorker or of the Atlantic, so I have a huge pile of offline reading material that I can sample whenever the urge occurs.

I'm glad I didn't purge that specific issue, LOL :)
 
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