Initial reaction: Quick little guide for understanding the structured procrastinator and horizontal organizer, whether you are one or know someone who is. I did like Perry's respective musings and explanations, though I'll admit I didn't really learn much that I didn't already know about procrastination (and I'll admit I'm guilty of it myself). Still, I think this book is worth picking up just to see Perry's thoughts on the matter, and he does give good resources/thoughts about the subject.Full review:*at a simulated Proclaiming Procrastinators meeting*Me: I'm Rose Summers, and I'm a structural procrastinator.Group: Hi Rose!Me: I've been a structural procrastinator since I was about...mmm...maybe five or six. My mother would give me a list of things to do in order and I would jump and do other things on that list before the number 1 item. She would often ask me "Why didn't you do it in the order I gave them to you?" I would think "I did them in what seemed the most interesting way to do them. Wouldn't it be fine as long as they're done?"Me: Though I was scolded many a time and eventually did adopt an orderly sense to following what people assigned to me, when it came down to structuring my own goals and priorities, I fell back into that pattern. It made more sense to do other things quickly and what I was invested in, though I would be putting off something that needed to be done as well. They were all important to me, just a matter of doing them.Group: Hear, hear!Me: I'm glad to say I've found a book that makes me feel like I'm not alone and better about being one of the group. So who's with me?Group: MEEEE!*end meeting*...Okay, I have to be serious now, but at least you know a little more about where I come from in terms of this particular attribute of mine. XD John Perry's "The Art of Procrastination" is a fun read, but also enlightening on some levels. It addresses the measure of structural procrastination and horizontal organization in different dimensions, giving insight to the author's own experiences as well as ways of coming to terms with it. To be honest, there wasn't much about this book that I didn't already know about the nature of procrastination, but it was helpful to get such a personal perspective on it and have all of that information put in one place. It also helped that this book does not alienate the procrastinator. In other words, it gives insight to those who are procrastinators on how to use it to work for you, rather than saying "You're W.R.O.N.G and need to C.H.A.N.G.E."I found Perry's voice funny in spurts and the prose easy to understand. Actually, this was a fairly quick read and well organized for each particular dimension of the conversation he took on. The resources towards the end where even helpful (provided that some are for those who may decide that the procrastinating lifestyle isn't for them.)I suppose what kept this from being more than my respective rating for the novel was that it did feel all too brief and there wasn't much that I learned beyond what I use and consider with respect to my own procrastinating habits. I imagine for those who may procrastinate and may feel guilty and haven't read much literature that sets the usefulness of that trait, this would probably serve as a more helpful read. I did like Perry's insightfulness and expansions, though, and this would be a neat little book to keep in a collection for those who are curious on the subject matter. I enjoyed it and certainly would recommend it for what it offered.Overall score: 3.5/5Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Workman.
