What do you think?
Rate this book
Dare To Do Nothing
We may think that doing nothing goes against all of the teachings of a life well lived; after all, how can one derive satisfaction from having nothing to do? Well, park your boredom at the door. In her new book, Dare To Do Nothing, Amy Minty offers a counter-argument against any urge to become a workaholic: When you do nothing, you have more time for fun! And shouldn’t that be the point? Minty’s book, published by TriMark Press, covers the various over-achiever traps and walks the reader through all the ways to avoid doing actual things. Minty also recounts events in her own life that expand on her beliefs. Would you like to do nothing at work? Covered. Is it important to at least appear busy? Absolutely. Does doing nothing come down to genetics? Read and find out.
254 pages, Paperback
Published August 17, 2021
3 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 23, 2021
Amy Minty, Author
Dare To Do Nothing
TriMark Press, ISBN 978-1- 943401-88-8
Non-Fiction –health, letting go, focus, introspection, goals, present, life, satisfaction
245 pages
November 2021 Review
Reviewer-Michelle Kaye Malsbury, BSBM, MM
Review
Amy Minty, author of Dare to Do Nothing, has penned five novels. (2021, back cover) She loves to observe people and as such selects to write in restaurants. She lives in North Palm Beach, Florida.
Dare To Do Nothing was born during the Pandemic when there was little most of us could do. Minty says that “We may think that doing nothing goes against all of the teachings of a life well lived; after all, how can one derive satisfaction from having nothing to do? Well, park boredom at your door.” (2021, insert)
Minty says that the overachiever has the most difficult time doing nothing. Everyone has choices to make and no two are alike. Some are simple and others require some deep thought. (2021, paraphrase) “You must remember that the little things are not so important. Remember that learning is voluntary. So is listening.” (p.39)
Getting at doing nothing can sometimes take an interesting route. Minty says, “…sit down and make a list of the people you would do a week in jail for.” (2021, p.44) This activity is directed at choosing your closest friends. “Next, do a another list of things you’ve done with people that you never want to do again.” (p.45) “Make sure you identify all ringleaders. Ringleaders are the people that are good at persuading you about how much you’d be missing if you didn’t tag along.” (p.46) Try vociferously not fall prey to their demands. Do just what you want.
Minty says there can be some snags to simply doing nothing at all. “A snag is a person who wants to strike up conversation with you for no good reason. On top of being annoyingly outgoing and opinionated, this person never gets the hint that you would rather be left alone. A snag can be male or female, each capable of ruining your solitude.” (2021, p.87) Beware of snags!
“The more entangled and attached you get in life, the more heartbreak and disappointment. -- What I learned is that good things only happen when you are not expecting it. -- In fact, when I met my future ex-husband, I wasn’t trying to make it happen.” (2021, p.135) Let’s not dwell on that fact that he is now her ex as there must have been some good times while they were married.
“Our primary goal should be to sleep as much as possible. I propose a range between eight and ten hours per night.” (2021, p.169) Jeez, how I would love to be able to sleep that long each night. Some things are just meant not to be.
This book appears, to me, to be somewhat tongue in cheek. Some of her musings were witty and fun. Some biting. If doing nothing is an avid aspiration of yours perhaps this book can help you find a way to get there.
Dare To Do Nothing
TriMark Press, ISBN 978-1- 943401-88-8
Non-Fiction –health, letting go, focus, introspection, goals, present, life, satisfaction
245 pages
November 2021 Review
Reviewer-Michelle Kaye Malsbury, BSBM, MM
Review
Amy Minty, author of Dare to Do Nothing, has penned five novels. (2021, back cover) She loves to observe people and as such selects to write in restaurants. She lives in North Palm Beach, Florida.
Dare To Do Nothing was born during the Pandemic when there was little most of us could do. Minty says that “We may think that doing nothing goes against all of the teachings of a life well lived; after all, how can one derive satisfaction from having nothing to do? Well, park boredom at your door.” (2021, insert)
Minty says that the overachiever has the most difficult time doing nothing. Everyone has choices to make and no two are alike. Some are simple and others require some deep thought. (2021, paraphrase) “You must remember that the little things are not so important. Remember that learning is voluntary. So is listening.” (p.39)
Getting at doing nothing can sometimes take an interesting route. Minty says, “…sit down and make a list of the people you would do a week in jail for.” (2021, p.44) This activity is directed at choosing your closest friends. “Next, do a another list of things you’ve done with people that you never want to do again.” (p.45) “Make sure you identify all ringleaders. Ringleaders are the people that are good at persuading you about how much you’d be missing if you didn’t tag along.” (p.46) Try vociferously not fall prey to their demands. Do just what you want.
Minty says there can be some snags to simply doing nothing at all. “A snag is a person who wants to strike up conversation with you for no good reason. On top of being annoyingly outgoing and opinionated, this person never gets the hint that you would rather be left alone. A snag can be male or female, each capable of ruining your solitude.” (2021, p.87) Beware of snags!
“The more entangled and attached you get in life, the more heartbreak and disappointment. -- What I learned is that good things only happen when you are not expecting it. -- In fact, when I met my future ex-husband, I wasn’t trying to make it happen.” (2021, p.135) Let’s not dwell on that fact that he is now her ex as there must have been some good times while they were married.
“Our primary goal should be to sleep as much as possible. I propose a range between eight and ten hours per night.” (2021, p.169) Jeez, how I would love to be able to sleep that long each night. Some things are just meant not to be.
This book appears, to me, to be somewhat tongue in cheek. Some of her musings were witty and fun. Some biting. If doing nothing is an avid aspiration of yours perhaps this book can help you find a way to get there.
September 24, 2021
Horrible
I could not get past the second chapter. The author is snarky, rude, and entitled. This is what is wrong with the world today, everybody wants to get something for nothing. The way this twit brags about not doing her job and making other people do it for her is disgusting. Not impressed at all. Would not recommend.
I could not get past the second chapter. The author is snarky, rude, and entitled. This is what is wrong with the world today, everybody wants to get something for nothing. The way this twit brags about not doing her job and making other people do it for her is disgusting. Not impressed at all. Would not recommend.
January 4, 2022
I read and reviewed Dare to Do Nothing for the Non-Fiction Authors Association Book Awards.
I’m always attracted to non-fiction books that promise to make my life a little bit easier, and who doesn’t want to do less? On the whole, Dare to Do Nothing is a humourous approach to getting away with doing nothing.
Unfortunately, I struggled with the humour and content. Upon closer inspection, I realise the author is well-known and loved for her sarcasm and brand of humour in her fiction work, but I’m not sure it transfers as well to non-fiction unless it is to entertain her current audience.
I can’t fault the writing. It’s a well-written book with lots of potential for the right audience, unfortunately, it wasn’t for me.
I’m always attracted to non-fiction books that promise to make my life a little bit easier, and who doesn’t want to do less? On the whole, Dare to Do Nothing is a humourous approach to getting away with doing nothing.
Unfortunately, I struggled with the humour and content. Upon closer inspection, I realise the author is well-known and loved for her sarcasm and brand of humour in her fiction work, but I’m not sure it transfers as well to non-fiction unless it is to entertain her current audience.
I can’t fault the writing. It’s a well-written book with lots of potential for the right audience, unfortunately, it wasn’t for me.
December 9, 2021
What was this editor thinking?
My sister-in-law bought this at the airport during a family vacation. A few pages in, she threw it down and suggested I take a look. I did. It was insultingly bad. We read the rest together to see how much worse if could get and we weren't disappointed. We now have an ongoing joke about how to be the most heinous person possible in every situation, based on Minty's guidance. We joked that I should write a review. I decided to follow through and spare some potential readers any wasted time.
This book positions itself as a "witty, humorous, tongue-in-cheek" approach to living your life unburdened by things like listening to friends or helping others when they need it. It's a poorly-written and obnoxious collection of trash advice.
It mocks those who work hard, listen when people speak to them, or take on serious responsibility. It views them as "suckers." How the author thought is was appropriate to release this in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis illustrates how self absorbed her philosophy is. It shames those who care about their friends, family or co-workers. It's one long self-centered humblebrag disguised as a lifestyle guide.
In our current climate it reads as tone-deaf, self-aggrandizing and unoriginal. The jokes and "observations" are tired and outdated material that may have been funny decades ago, but don't hold up today. This is not wit, humor or playful observation. The author also details at length what she looks like, eats, the color of her eyes, etc. etc. etc. It's out of place and self-important in the worst way.
At one point in the book, Ms. Minty makes a statement about "worrying that her haircut will make her look like she had fled a mental institution." She also makes a couple of other crass comments about mental health. Are we doing that now?
The only time you should follow her advice is on the occasion you see this book and consider buying or reading it. In that case, I would also encourage you to "do nothing."
My sister-in-law bought this at the airport during a family vacation. A few pages in, she threw it down and suggested I take a look. I did. It was insultingly bad. We read the rest together to see how much worse if could get and we weren't disappointed. We now have an ongoing joke about how to be the most heinous person possible in every situation, based on Minty's guidance. We joked that I should write a review. I decided to follow through and spare some potential readers any wasted time.
This book positions itself as a "witty, humorous, tongue-in-cheek" approach to living your life unburdened by things like listening to friends or helping others when they need it. It's a poorly-written and obnoxious collection of trash advice.
It mocks those who work hard, listen when people speak to them, or take on serious responsibility. It views them as "suckers." How the author thought is was appropriate to release this in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis illustrates how self absorbed her philosophy is. It shames those who care about their friends, family or co-workers. It's one long self-centered humblebrag disguised as a lifestyle guide.
In our current climate it reads as tone-deaf, self-aggrandizing and unoriginal. The jokes and "observations" are tired and outdated material that may have been funny decades ago, but don't hold up today. This is not wit, humor or playful observation. The author also details at length what she looks like, eats, the color of her eyes, etc. etc. etc. It's out of place and self-important in the worst way.
At one point in the book, Ms. Minty makes a statement about "worrying that her haircut will make her look like she had fled a mental institution." She also makes a couple of other crass comments about mental health. Are we doing that now?
The only time you should follow her advice is on the occasion you see this book and consider buying or reading it. In that case, I would also encourage you to "do nothing."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews