Do you ever see a book that you would love to read, but you know that you just don't have the time to check it out?
If you go to a library, you probably see a lot of books that you would ideally love to read, or when your friends start talking about their latest reading adventures you might feel anxious to read the same things.
But, do you really have the time to read everything that you want to?
If this is the case for you, you may be interested in checking out the Blinkist app, which has over 2,000 nonfiction book summaries that you can “read” in under 15 minutes.
This probably sounds a bit more manageable with your schedule than sitting down and reading all the books that you want to read.
You might wonder: “Is Blinkist right for me?”
Well, in this Blinkist review, I will cover all the aspects of the programs, including the cost, the pros and cons, and “who” would best benefit from this app.
Let’s get to it!
What is Blinkist?
The short answer:
Blinkist is an app that provides executive nonfiction book summaries to busy professionals.
The Blinkist team reads books, takes out the key points, and explains them to the reading/listener in an easy-to-understand, 15-minute book summary.
Every insight is referred to as a “blink” and is able to fit into a few pages (or few minutes of listening).
This app is best used to either get a brief overview of some of the most popular books on the market that can help enrich your education, or to help you make a decision on whether a specific book is worth reading in its entirety.
The people behind Blinkist review bestseller lists, talk to thought leaders, and read many book reviews to pick and choose which books they want to turn into “blinks.” Once they choose a book, their group of readers and writers extract the most valuable insights (or “blinks”) and summarize them to highlight key ideas.
This app is designed to be used on your smartphone, although it technically can be used on a computer using their web app. The app is available on iTunes and Google Play. It also works with Amazon Alexa.
It is easy to sign up for this app by simply using your email or your Facebook account. Mobile users can also sign up using their Gmail account.
How Much Does Blinkist Cost?
Blinkist offers both free and premium plans.
The free plan allows users to read and/or listen to the Blinkist Daily Pick, which changes every day.
Blinkist allows you to try out the premium version for free for 30 days, and if you enjoy it, you can pay $12.99 per month, or if you want to make an annual commitment, you would only pay $6.67 per month. This is a great way for you to experience the premium features without making a financial commitment.
Blinkist Premium gives you the best of Blinkist. Some of its features include:
- Unlimited access to over 2,000 titles and counting
- The ability for users to learn hands-free by listening to the books
- Highlight ideas that particularly interest you
- Access your library offline
- Send your books to Kindle
- Sync your highlights with Evernote
What Type of Books are Offered on Blinkist?
There are 19 book categories available on Blinkist, meaning that there is something in here for everyone. No matter what your career or interests are, you will be able to find some value in the following categories, including:
And to give you a preview of what type of books are offered, here are 9 popular book summaries that you can find through Blinkist.
9 Blinkist Book List Titles (A Sample)
1. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy discusses increasing your productivity by getting your most difficult task completed at the beginning of the day.
If you are able to do this, you can spend the rest of the day focusing on things that you are happier doing and you will be more efficient. This may be a great book for you if you find that you are overwhelmed with work.
2. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
This book helps readers uncover what their most important goal is and provides the necessary tools to make sure people use your time productively. The book shows the reader how some things that are likely thought of as being productive are actually hindrances in progress.
The author gives rich advice on how to live your life with a sense of purpose and productivity while still keeping a sense of balance on all of life's priorities. This is a great book for people who are seeking clarity in the purpose of their work.
3. Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity by Charles Duhigg
This book uses both personal stories and business research to show the importance of making the right decisions when you are trying to be productive.
The highlights of this book that are given on Blinkist help readers stay motivated, stay on track, and efficiently work in teams to maximize creativity and success.
4. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
This book teaches the reader how to achieve more by doing less.
It gives the reader some practical solutions for prioritizing tasks and helps readers eliminate any excess things in their routine that are prohibiting them from being productive and fulfilled. This might be the right book for you if you are trying to prioritize the things in your life.
5. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
This book, originally written in 1990, looks into how people can enjoy life by controlling their attention and increasing their ability to be decisive. This can be done by participating in an activity that does not facilitate anxiety or boredom.
In the state of flow, people are able to let go of self-consciousness, selfishness and lose track of time. Doing this can help people increase their self-worth and provide more meaning for life. This book is great for people who think their life is becoming just mediocre and want to improve it.
6. Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini
This Blinkist staff pick explains the core concepts of persuasion that get people to say yes, and addresses how these concepts are used against people salespeople, advertisers and even con artists.
Being aware of these principles will allow you to become more persuasive and also be able to defend yourself when someone is trying to persuade you. This is a great book for anyone who is working in sales of any kind.
7. The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield
This book gives the reader practical steps to help lead a more successful and fulfilling life.
The author uses stories and anecdotes from those who have achieved very high goals and who have experienced the feeling of being highly successful. This may be the right book for you if you are ready to switch up your routine and start pursuing your dreams.
8. The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life and Your Success by Darren Hardy
In this book, the author teaches readers how to make effective changes by focusing on the smallest decisions that we make and their compounded impacts.
The reader will learn that by accepting responsibility for their own life, they can change their habits and create a happier and more fulfilling life. This is a great book for people who have not had success with quick fixes and want to take their time to create a longer-lasting change.
9. Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body by Jo Marchant
This book offers a guide to how people can use their minds as a healing power. The highlights show the positive effects of the placebo effect, the curing effects of hypnosis, and explains scientifically-supported alternatives to common painkillers and surgeries.
This may be the right book for you if you are interested in learning about how powerful your mind can be.
If you're someone who prefers to learn via videos, be sure to check out our book summaries on Youtube:
What Can You Learn from Executive Book Summaries?
Executive book summaries condense an entire book into a much smaller version that only notes the highlights and main points of the book.
By reading an executive summary, you avoid fluff in the book that won't necessarily benefit you.
The idea behind executive book summaries likely derived from “executive summaries” that have been popular for many decades.
These are summaries that are presented before long reports or lengthy proposals (or groups of both) that business people use and read to become quickly acquainted with a material. These summaries often allow a person to decide whether or not they want to read the entire report.
Executive book summaries are nothing new, but Blinkist possibly has one of the largest libraries of books to choose from. They are especially easily accessible by using their app and through their reasonably affordable subscription.
The summaries that are provided by this app allow you to read the book in 15 minutes by only highlighting the important points.
Some may argue that reading the summary of a book does not compare with reading everything written, as each book is authored to be read in its entirety. However, just knowing the important concepts of a book can help people decide if they want to invest the time that is needed to read the entire book.
Pros of the Blinkist App
Cons of Blinkist
Final Thoughts on Blinkist Summaries
All in all, I’d give this app 4.5 out of 5 stars. The reason I deducted a half point is because in my humble opinion, reading an entire book will always provide more value than an executive summary.
However, if you’re a busy professional like I am who doesn’t have a lot of free time but still wants to gain a lot of knowledge, then this is an excellent app that can act as an incredible filter for what’s important to read and what can be skipped.
In conclusion, I hope this article was able to give you a solid overview of Blinkist and all of your questions. If you want to have an executive book summary app that is easy to use, then try out the free trial offer of Blinkist so you can see what it has to offer.
Browse through the various categories of books and you may come across something that interests you that you never thought would do so.
You may open this app hoping to learn how to be more creative and leave with a full understanding of how to practice mindfulness. You never know what you’ll discover when checking out the Blinkist app.
I hope you have enjoyed this Blinkist Review. Let me know in the comments below if you have tried Blinkist for yourself. Please share your thoughts on this book summary application so that others can make a decision if it may be right for them.
Finally, if you want to level up your productivity and time management skills, then watch this free video about the 9 productivity habits you can build at work.
