The Noticer
The Noticer is only 156 pages long and a quick read. It does have some great lines, such as:
- “Experience is not the best teacher. Other people’s experience is the best teacher. By reading about the lives of great people, you can unlock the secrets to what made them great.” (p. 9)
- “Most folks figure a true friend is someone who accepts them as they are. But that’s dangerous garbage to believe…The kid who works through at your local fast-food restaurant accepts you for who you are – because he doesn’t care anything about you. But a true friend holds you to a higher standard. A true friend brings out the best in you.” (p. 30)
- “Five seagulls are sitting on a dock. One of them decides to fly away. How many seagulls are left?” “Well…four.” “No. There are still five. Deciding to fly away and actually flying away are two very different things.” (p. 111)
Overall, though, I wasn’t impressed. One chapter was a re-hashing of The Five Love Languages (a book I love, by the way; but I’d rather have the original than a chapter-long summary of it). I never bought into the premise – a semi-non-fictional account of the author’s supposed encounter with a wise God-like drifter named Jones.
It’s not a completely unworthy read, but for my taste it’s largely cliched platitudes with some a few good insights sprinkled throughout.
