E-mail Books

To be fair, I think for many people the section about keeping your inbox empty is worth reading (first chapter of) the book; but the same job with much more fun does the Inbox Zero pitch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9UjeTMb3Yk

Many of the other elements are ok - but not really differentiating the book from any other productivity habits one should adopt. I.e. they have little to do with 'bit literacy', but a generally with improving personal efficiency. This doesn't make the book bad as such, but the title is misleading.

While I found the concept of moving todo's out of your mind by deferring them into the future is not new, the book (rightly) makes the claim that many computer based todo lists could do a better job here. But in my humble opinion, there's a huge flaw in the book: Managing larger lists of todos efficiently cannot (should not) be the objective of anyone. The author just claims that he cannot help if you got too much to do in general. I personally believe any book about personal productivity should also consider helping you focus; i.e. improving effectiveness.

Last but not least, especially when talking about efficiency: The book is very (very) wordy, and the essence of it could easily be packed into half the size.

So: Complementary reading, but sufficient in my opinion.

I have been searching for good tips on productivity for a long time. This book has a lot of them that are really easy to follow and to apply on our day-to-day life at work and at home. Recommended it to anyone willing to start living more productively.

This is an excellent book, and a must read for all, even for computer-science majors.

It is written in an exceptionally clear language, and the ideas are so intuitive (I kept on saying to myself, yeah- why have I not done it like that all this time!)

I would recommend this book to all my friends and associates.

Bit Literacy helped me realize how inefficient my relationship with email and digital media was. I am now much more efficient and timely in my responses to associates and customers and it has certainly made a difference in the bottom line. Great book!

I was so mesmerized by this book that I read it nearly cover to cover in the in-between times during a recent college reunion weekend. I had to table the recommendations until several months later, when I returned to work after a week's vacation abroad. Determined to put the ideas into practice, I performed "email induction" using the steps outlined and got my inbox from 1900 messages to 0 in just one day - the first day I returned to work from vacation.

Since then, I've heralded the book on my IM status message and have sung its praises to anyone who complains of being overwhelmed by the stresses of knowledge work. Apparently, I've made several disciples of Bit Literacy and a few are giving the book as Holiday presents to family and colleagues this year!

Get Bit Literacy now and become 100x more productive.

The system covered in this book works well, in my experience, for handling large volumes of e-mail. One of the central premises of this system involves transforming e-mails into tasks. This approach is action-oriented and keeps one focused on execution and deliverables.

A number of Chapters in this book may not be applicable for all users (e.g. the Chapter on "Topic-Based E-Mail Filing"), but the book is worth reading.

I have found the system covered in this book to work only if one puts the time and effort into implementing it as advised by the author.

I'd been tinkering with Outlook for a while trying to use it to manage my email and scheduling, but it just seemed too complicated. Mr. Linenberger presents a well thought out, efficient and effective method for using Outlook that I easily adapted to my own needs.
The day I first started reading the book I set about cleaning out the 2000+ emails in my inbox, and after a day and a half my inbox was empty. More importantly, I have been able to maintain an empty inbox each day for the past three weeks so I am sold.
Although I bought the book thinking it would help me to tame Outlook, as Mr. Linenberger alludes to in his book the benefits of having an empy inbox and control over my schedule are much, much larger than that. I was having serious stress issues with the number of projects that I handle simultaneously, and using this system I have eliminated about 75% of this stress.
This book has allowed me, more and more, to leave my work behind at the end of the day (which is still well into the evening but not quite as late as before). I can actually be "present" at home now instead of thinking about what I MAY have forgotten or missed.
Mr. Linenberger has done me an invaluable service by writing this book and it is worth every penny.

I found this update version easier to used than the original. I use the ClearContext plug-in for Outlook.

I bought both Total Workday Control by Michael Linenberger and Take Back Your Life by Sally McGhee. They are both excellent. I prefer Total Workday Control. Like many people, I have too many top priority emails and tasks to ever complete. Michael's book provides a simple framework for quickly processing email and prioritizing the resulting tasks. He then describes his system for handling a high volume of tasks, so regardless of how many you complete, you always know what needs attention so you can avoid surprises!

I also recommend Outlook users get very familiar with using the Activities tab in Contacts to track tasks. It's very effective for tracking all current tasks by contact. And a great program to extend Outlook functionality for Treo and Palm users is Keysuites software, www.chapura.com.

It took me about 3 hours of reading the philosphy behind the system (this is important - don't skip it) and another 2 hours of setting up and tweaking Outlook. The first day or two afterwards were strange as I tried to get accustomed to the system, but now, after a few weeks, I couldn't live without it. It's not all about email management (that's a minor concern for me, although having a perfectly empty inbox is wonderful for your stress level) - it's really a great tool for managing the dozens of tasks that pop in and out of your head all day long along with the medium and long-term projects that have been staring at you from your task list for the last year or so.

Before this book, I really, really, really tried to like and use GTD, but I could never internalize the methodolgy and use it effectively. In contrast, TWC/Manage-your-NOW just makes sense to me.

Bottom line - it's a good book with a good system - definitely worth your time to try it.

Schleicher's book is so forbidden, ahead of its time.

Many years ago I had a gay boyfriend... I never understood why??? Was it me? Dennis Schleicher's book helped me realize the truth.
Everyone must read this!!! I believe all of the other reviewers tell it all. I look forward to his future work.

One cannot help but feel for Byron the gay married man as you'll sympathize with how society has made it unbearable for people like Byron, James McGreevey, Dennis Schleicher to be honest with their wives, family members, place of business, friends, their colleagues and most importantly themselves. Dennis so inadequately addresses the feelings of Roberta, the wife he might leave behind. You'll be dying to know if he actually musters up the courage to be a real man and tell the truth.

In my view, Dennis and Byron may have done a real disservice to the thousands of women who learn their husbands are on the down low or using the bisexual excuse when in fact they are 100% gay. What about the wives feelings in all this? She's the one who will ultimately have to deal with her husband's coming out for the rest of her life.

On the other hand there was something so forbidden about reading this real-life sharing as two people developed an extreme bond for each other. I'll be standing in line waiting for the next release or the first person to purchase a ticket at the box office witness this incredible life connection that two individuals have developed. Schleicher's book will show all of us that love has no boundaries.

Byron, it's almost 2009 and people are more understanding than ever. It would be an honor to meet you both in person as I would say; Kudos to you both as you each deserve five 10+ stars along with an outstanding citizenship for your courageous courage that I know will help thousands become truthful to themselves. You both are like the Martin Luther King movement that paved the way for Barack Obama to become president of the United States. Great job!!!

I've been an actress on a soap opera (GUIDING LIGHT) for over 20 years. I try to stay out of the public eye and don't ever believe in endorsing books, movies etc. however, Dennis Schleicher's explosive memoir "Forbidden Love with a Married Man," deserves to be noticed on the big screen. I would play Roberta the wife of Byron who is the man having this scandalous affair in a heartbeat.

"Forbidden love" is an easy read while it's paginated in several different fonts that separate the actual e-mails from Schleicher's narrative. This is what makes it a page turner. Intriguing, controversial, ahead of its time as I've never read anything like it. The fact that it contains actual e-mails between Dennis the "other man," and Byron the husband searching for his sexual identity while his wife is left in the dark. You can feel the raw emotion and struggle that both face continuing this forbidden act.
"SCANDALOUS." I LOVE IT!!!
I look forward to following and reading many more books from this author.

All my best,
Kim Zimmer
a.k.a. Reva Shayne Lewis etc.

Insightful, provocative. I ended up reading through this book in only one day. The biography is well-written and very fluid and explains Schleicher's thoughts in detail that makes one feels as though he were there. Although a very accomplished life, one filled with success, and self-discovery, what made the most compelling "read" was not the text, but the real e-mails included.
I highly recommend this book as a must to read for all and agree with the other reviewers that this life shocking story belongs on the big screen

I find the author to have been totally brave to have opened his soul. My heart melted and I became mesmerized by his honesty. I look forward to the second installment of this story. I'd like to see more of this authors work in the future. This book would make an exceptional story for Lifetime.

This book has a lot of great, practical, easy-to-implement ideas on how to reduce the quantity of your emails, while increasing the quality. It's an easy, quick read written in fable format. Highly recommend!

The Hamster Revolution is a provocative and helpful book that takes on one of the great challenges of work and personal life: email.
I have been trying to implement what I learned myself and also hope my organization will start this revolution among our workers.
Considering how email dominates our lives these days, this is one self-help book that is really helpful!

Wow. I didn't even know I was a hamster.

The tips in this book are wonderful and I've had three of the people above me in the office heirarchy tell me how much they like my new email format. Not only are my emails getting attention, they're also getting better responses!

If you're in the email quagmire, this is the book you must read!

It is a quick read with some very good ideas for communicating clearly and effectively via email and how to minimize the amount of email that you send and receive. Excellent for groups and teams.

Excelent Book, using the strategies presented on it really helps to manage email. have succesfully reduced 30% of my email.

OK, this is a cheap book so I can't complain too loudly (thus, 3 stars). But the only reason I decided to buy the book was for the section on Kindle and email, thinking there was some trick I'd missed. The author recommends using Gmail (and using email forwarding and aliases to give the impression you can read/send from other email accounts). In fact though, it would appear Gmail has changed and the process outlined doesn't work. Not for me anyhow (YMMV) but beware. The rest of the content IMO is going be either (a) mildly interesting but you've probably already figured it out, or (b) a hidden but no so useful function. I'm fairly technical (OK, very technical) so I don't believe I quit too soon trying to get email working. If you've recently beamed in from the 1950's, you may find this useful. Otherwise...doubtful.

while well written, it seemed to be 95% of stuff I have already read about, on internet blogs.

If your computer operating system is a Mac then this book has it's limitations. It should have been mentioned in the promotion of this book that some of the tips work only with a Windows PC. However, there are other good tips that work with any OS so I wouldn't let this discourage you from purchasing this book.

Looking forward to the day that Mac's rule the computer world and NOT PCs.

I have a couple other Kindle guides and find this one to be the best! I have come to find that Kindles are not just for reading books. There are so many more uses that most people aren't aware of. The Kindle Cookbook has all the "ingredients" for these additional uses. This is a must for Kindle users!

Great book for anyone with a new Kindle or if you haven't had time to figure out how to use your wonderful Kindle yet.

There is so much great information in an easy to use format on this ebook. Even though Amazon includes an instruction manual, there are many more things to learn that Amazon didn't include.

If you want to get the most out of your Kindle, this book is a must have!

As I read this book I found myself nodding a lot and thinking "The same thing happened to us," or "We've had that exact conversation at my house." Alesia tells it to us straight--the positive, the negative, and everything in between. Plus she has a wicked sense of humor, which shows us what it takes to thrive in today's military. Bravo for Email to the Front!

Marna Krajeski
author, Household Baggage: The Moving Life of a Soldier's Wife

I read this book as part of research into the type of challenges I might face before I married someone in the military. Unlike so many books that seem to claim that if you bake cookies everything will feel all better, Ms. Holliday bares her soul and shows us what a real military spouse goes through on a day to day basis.
Her emails and commentary are poignant and honest. My only criticism is that I feel she does fall a bit in the trap many military spouses fall into, that of trying to gloss things over and make them sound better than they actually are.
Nevertheless, I think this is a wonderful book, especially for those preparing for their spouse's first deployments.

This book was wonderful. Very well written and hilarious! Even though deployments can be a hard time, I enjoyed that she composed this book with a light-hearted and humorous approach. I have loaned it to several of my friends and they too have delighted in her story. Excellent read, I would reccomend it to anybody, military or civilian.

I am an AF Veteran but also military spouse for 21 years now. I have been trying to get this book for sometime and was finally able to get my hands on a copy. Of course, it arrived when I was 3 months into yet another deployment to Iraq and I debated on whether it was a good time to read it or not.

I chose to read it because the God's honest truth was I didn't think there was ever going to be a "good time" to read this.

The book does not disappoint. There were many stories I could sit back in my chair and smile and think "Thank God I am not the only one that did that". Some stories made me laugh and many others made me cry.

My daughter who is 18 saw the book sitting on the table and picked it up and asked if she could read it when I was done. She's grown up in this world and without having read a word of the book, commented that Military Wives were the strongest women she knew. That meant alot to me, knowing all the struggles her and I have had, which only seem to get worse when dad is off in some foreign land.

Us veteran wives know that what can go wrong will go wrong when there is a deployment. We try to prepare for every crisis, and we always think we're ready, but to be honest you can never be truly ready.

Thank you Ms Holliday for sharing your personal triumphs and crisis with us. And thank you for writing this book. This wife salutes you.

This book may be difficult to find - take the time! A fantastic read. Alesia Holliday has crafted a wonderful representation of the world many of us live in nowadays. She presents her story in an interesting format of email between herself and her husband (with narration at the beginning of each chapter to introduce the topic of that chapter). Illnesses, job changes, children, deployments, and much more. It really runs quite a course, and is highly recommended for anyone with a relative in the military, new (or experienced!) military spouse, or just someone who would like some insight into the everyday life of today's military family. Warning however! Be careful drinking hot liquids while reading this book! I have a sweatshirt that took many washings to get the stain out after laughing so hard that I completely lost control of my coffee mug. Alesia has managed to turn some very stressful moments on their ear by relating it through humor. What an extraordinary woman, and a must-have book. Keep them coming!

I'm so glad I bought and read this book! I would consider myself very advanced in terms of high-tech and technology, but this book taught me a few things about the phone that would have taken me weeks to learn on my own. Andy writes a great book with a sense of humor that I can relate to, and made the book a joy to read.

I think Andy did a nice job here (the ramblings are real - but not a major distraction). The book is more than just what the iPhone can do - but a rather creative melding of the iPhone with the Web and other resources. While the iPhone applications market is humming - and a few of the ideas not as valuable - it's the creative thought behind the suggestions that I think warrants the purchase.

...but that is what makes his books interesting. The problem with so many "how to" books is that they're boring as watching cheese ferment and I end up falling asleep in bed after barely reading a page. I've never had this problem with any of Andy's books, from the OSX Tiger one, the iPod one or this one. He cracks jokes which helps to keep you engaged with the material, something very few 'Dummies' or 'Complete Guide to' books do.

This book is great for showing you how to do things with the iPhone that it wasn't really intended to do. It's sort of a book on how to 'hack it' without having to actually 'hack it'.

If you don't know how to get your email or how to put music on the iPhone, this is not the guide for you. However, if you're looking at your iPhone and wondering, "hmm, what other interesting stuff can I do with this while I wait for Apple to release Applications for it", then this is the perfect book.

If you're still worried that you might not like the book's style, check out the authors website (his last name dot com) and read some of his review of tech gadgets. If you then think "OMG, I can't stand this guy" what is wrong with you? No seriously, if you find his reviews hard to follow, then this would not be the book for you.

This book covers Stage II of iPhone operation. That is to say, it's the book for those who have already read & understood the (nonexistent) clear, concise, and complete user's manual. More specifically, this book is nearly entirely focused on adding and managing digital content to your iPhone, to the exclusion of the rest.

This book will *not* help you understand how to navigate the iPhone & iTune, etc, etc. It's litteraly the 2nd book you read. If you buy it to help you get familiar with your new device, you are simply not going to get what you need.

As a side note, the author is quite generous with his brand of geeky humor. I have nothing against geeky humor, but that one didn't agree with my system. I would urge potential buyers to take a quick look at Ihnathko's blog and make sure they are compatible...

If you are a power user of iTune, this is a good book. Otherwise, it might leave you confused.

If you're looking for an instruction manual on the basics of the iPhone, this is not your book. Look up the owner's manual on the apple website for free or read one of the many other books on iPhone basics. If you're ready to take the next step in expanding your grasp of not only the iPhone, but also the entire web, this is your book. This book was exactly what I was looking for.
As others mentioned, this book does not describe some of the basic features of the iPhone, but assumes the reader already knows most of these things. It instead delves into how you can utilize web programs and iTunes to your advantage to overcome certain limitations of the iPhone. I have already ready some chapters several times and find new information every time. Andy Ihnatko has a humorous writing style and this was a very enjoyable read. I will continue to reference this book after I have finally retired it from the reading pile.
I will definitely look forward to any future books by Mr. Ihnatko.

My first exposure to Afghani literature was "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. Shortly after reading this book I picked up Tamim Ansary's book and could not put it down. I wish every American would read this book. Ansary's book is brilliant, informative and places you right in the heart of the struggle of the Afghani people from the Soviet invasion in 1979, to the seizure of power by the Taliban in 1996. Ansary weaves a tapestry of understanding that should not go untold in any household.

Wow! It is so rare to finish a book in just a few sittings simmply by lack of will-power to tear yourself away from it. Rare still is it to find a non-fictional book having that effect. Buy this one. If you like that feeling of not being able to resist reading "just 10 more pages" and having it turn into 50, you won't regret this book.

In brief, it is about a hyphenated man - born in Afghanistan by an american mother (the first american mother ever to live in Afhanistan) and an Afghani father. By high-school, he has moved to America and 'loses track' of his Afghani roots - truly Americanized. The real 'blow by blow' of the book comes from a trip he took as a freelance journalist back to Afghanistan to write about it before/during the cold war, and his subsequent return to America, ending with his torn feelings over Sept. 11.

The beauty of this book is that he remains sympathetic both to his Afhghani and American sentiments. While recognizing the hell that the middle east can often seem, he never fails to recall his fond memories of growing up Afghani. At the same time, he dances close to the conclusion that he is, for any intent or purpose, an American first and an Afghani second (without ever really imposing that choice upon himself).

As the other reviewers will tell you, the sparkle that is this book came about after the world trade center bombings. The author, who writes educational childrens books for a living, decided to write an e-mail on Sept. 12 to 'set the record straight' seperating the Afghani fact from the Taliban fiction. Subsequently, the e-mail, which he mailed to 20 or so people, got forwarded enough times that it reached possibly 1,000. The e-mail (and you may have gotten it) is included as an epilogue, and he explains his feelings on the 'middle east question' in the prologue and last chapter of the book.'

Like I said, though, the action is in the middle of the book, where he recounts his catastrophic trip to the middle east (where, among other things, they don't take American Express. Just read it and you'll understand!) From first page to last, this book will entertain, enrage, entrhall, and...dare I say...enhance you!

A fine, engaging book that offers insights into Afghanistan and its people and the current world condition. Along with The Kite Runner, the people of Afghanistan come to life for many of us who have no, or little, prior knowledge of this part of the world. On a larger scale, the book is touching and true about the human condition anywhere. Well written, often amusing, this is a warm memoir.

A friend who is working in Kabul suggested that I read this book. Another friend who saw that I was reading it told me that the author is the cousin of a colleague! It's a small world. The book is a good read and I would suggest that anyone who is interested in culture and learning about Afghan Americans read it. It's a quick read and worth the time.

this was one of the first books i read on afghanistan. come to find out quotes from this book are all over the web. it is apparently a well known work. the author does a superb job of explaining his life and past living in afghanistan prior to the state the country is in now. with well defined images of the area, people, and culture, the authors tale will keep you reading without stopping. there are also great clarifications of terms and language used that is not familiar to those who are not privy to the language of aghanistan. the travels the author takes as a grown adult also give great insight into other areas, such as algeria, and has tales of interesting interaction with those who follow varying degrees of islam. a great read even if your not heavily into the afghan cause or culture.

This thing should be burned I found a dirty copy on the street and I decided to pick it up. It is so horrible! Complete waste of time. This guy obviously did not go to college!

I've only had this book less than a week and already there are more dogears in it than an animal shelter. There are so many hilarious emails that you will want to go back and enjoy reading them again and again! Jarod Kintz has a wonderfully unique sense of humor that is showcased throughout this, his first offering on Amazon. I look forward to reading many, many more works in the future by this talented and witty author!

I'm giving this book to a friend for her birthday (bought mine a month ago)
Very seldomnly does creativity blossom in such ways as in this book.
Mr. Kintz's clever and witty sense of humor is among the best.
If you're thinking of getting a copy, just do it, it's such a light and enjoyable read.

I can't decide what's worse. This book, or the practice of vandilizing your city in an effort to promote it. If you want to support an "author", and I use the term loosely, as I don't consider the copying of the "letters from a nut" series into the email medium to constitute any great talent... anyway, if you want to support someone who puts bumper stickers on every flat surface... public or private, in an effort to get visitors to his website, and sell this book, by all means, buy it.

I'd have to agree with everyone's review on here except the guy below me that this book was the most original and interesting book I've ever read. I don't think the guy below me actually read this book because he wouldn't have made himself look so foolish by posting such a moronic review, and I use the term moronic euphemistically. For him to suggest that Jared has no talent because he "copied" Ted's concept into e-mail format is absurd. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that would mean that Ted Nancy invented the concept of a prank in the 90s. I guess the guy below me never heard of a man called Orson Wells, or the radio prank he pulled on New York City in the 40s. Or maybe Ted Nancy copied the radio prank into letter format? Or maybe "Borat" isn't that original because it is a mockumentary, just as the Christopher Guest movie, "This Is Spinal Tap" is. And maybe Oscar Wilde isn't "talented" because he wrote plays, and so did Shakespeare. Never mind that both had distinct ideas and wit, in the same way that Jared Kintz displays unbelievable imagination, as I'm sure Ted Nancy does. And although I haven`t read "Letters From A Nut" yet, it is the next book I'm going to read. But it really makes me mad when people leave silly reviews, having clearly not read what they are reviewing. I know he didn't read Jared's book, because Jared pays tribute in his last email to Ted Nancy. Jared basically says that pranks have been around since the beginning of time, but that he was so impressed with Ted Nancy that he started writing his own. So basically Jared unwittingly had a rebuttal for the idiot below me before the guy even posted his review. So here's a little hint for the guy below me: You might want to learn how to read before you think of posting reviews, or else you risk looking even more stupid than you probably do in real life. Well, that's probably hard to do, even for a fool like you. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor.

Excelente livro sobre o uso do e-mail para a divulgação de informaçòes pela Internet.

Livro de facil leitura, mostrando de forma clara e através de exemplos páticos e concretos a arte do uso do e-mail. Um dos melhores livros que ja li sobre o assunto, que tem 100% minha aprovacao e recomendacao

This is truly a terrible book - very thin on usable content. Further, the author, Chris Pirillo, writes like a high school "valley girl." It is a prime example that the Internet allows anyone - despite how dumb they are - to venture, and in this case, publish their opinions. Don't waste you money. And for the author, become a cheerleader!

This book was a poor excuse for a definitive guide. Poor Richard rehashes are...well.......kind of like Sam's Publishing IT books being definitive guides on how to fix a network in 10 days.

You could spend months in the school of hard knocks learning what you need to know to publish an email newsletter....but why would you?!?

This book has the type of detailed up-to-the-second information that will save you a lot of trouble.

If you want to:

1)Save Time

2)Make Money

Get this book.

An interesting book. Chris Pirillo discusses publishing an e-mail newsletter, or e-zine. In fact, he covers it almost completely. The only problem I had with this book was the author's incomplete and sometimes rambling discussion of configuring an e-mail account for your mailing list. I had to look elsewhere (online) to understand this. To his credit, it is difficult to understand.
Other than that, this book is a fabulous introduction to e-mail publishing and will give the reader many good ideas and tips on publishing online.