Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This is a cute little gift book with examples of how to be mindful during the more dull and tedious moments of our days. It’s a cute and easy introduction for those new to mindfulness.

Very helpful to teach mindfulness but I didn’t find it particularly impactful. It does give ideas for how to focus on the little things and ground yourself in daily activities and rituals which is the goal of mindfulness

The Illustrated Book of Mindful Meditations for Mindless Moments by Courtney E. Ackerman aims to help you be a little more mindful with the basic tasks you’re doing on a day to day basis.

Each mindful moment is laid out in a 2-page spread, with a page of brief text (as in a couple of paragraphs) and a page of illustration. The book is divided into four sections: meditations to do alone, while on the go, at work, and while with loved ones.

Despite the title, it’s not so much what you probably associate with meditation, and I think this could still easily be appealing even if formal meditation just isn’t your thing. The focus is on the mindful element, and actively engaging with your senses.

Some of the mindless moments are obvious as potentially mindful moments, such as making your morning coffee, while others are less so, like taking out the trash. The description of mindfully turning a deadbolt was even a little bit sexual (or maybe that’s just me).

Chances are that most of these mindless moments are activities you do regularly, and it’s rather eye-opening to see just how many opportunities there are for us to fit a little more mindfulness into our lives.

While Christmas is over now, I think this book would make a nice little gift.




I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

The Illustrated Book of Mindful Meditations for Mindless Moments is a sweetly whimsical and gentle little book full of tips for living in the present. Due out 29th Dec 2020 from from Simon & Schuster on their Adams Media imprint, it's 304 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
The idea that we can alleviate stress, improve our mental and physical well being, and generally have a higher quality of life if we're focused on the present and perform our tasks intentionally, is well documented. That is beyond the scope of this book, but the author has taken all the everyday tasks (laundry, brushing teeth, cleaning, travelling, etc) and shown how we can be more *present* even in our mundane moments.

The tasks are arranged more or less thematically: meditation at home, on the go, at work, and with loved ones. Each chapter contains several different situations where we can use our skills to meditate and be more present in the tasks. These are very (often VERY) simple moments. The illustrations throughout the book are whimsical and restful - with small anthropomorphic inanimate objects (water fountains, sponges, pads of paper) smiling and looking serene carrying out their tasks.

This is an engaging little book. I'm sure many readers could use a little more calm in their lives. I would possibly recommend it for gifting to a friend whose tastes one is sure of (the sweet friend who is into meditation and has a large collection of crystals and seashells?).

Three and a half stars. Four for readers in the target audience. I enjoyed the illustrations very much. The information and meditations are *very* basic.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

The author, Courtney E Ackerman, invites us to be aware of our everyday activities, be conscious of what we are doing. I think this is quite important, because nowadays everything is fast, and we tend to do things almost automatically. I think it's neccesary to take our time and appreciate the little details. To use all our senses when doing something, for at least a tiny bit of time.

Thank to Adams Media and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

If I have to write one line review for this book then in the nutshell it would be like this: This book suggests being consciously aware and mindful of every activity that we perform throughout a day!

It was indeed a very quick read which I finished within an hour. It may seem quite lengthy for its 192 pages, but when I started reading this book I was expecting some heavy detailing about mindfulness and then the science behind it and how it helps; instead, I can say that this book is the next step after that basic knowledge about mindfulness.

As a reader, if you know how mindfulness works then this book delivers exactly what you may need. In this book all those basic observations from our daily life that go unnoticed and mindlessly, have been put into practice to consider their significance mindfully. From waking up to going to the bed, whatever we do, whoever we meet, everything that we eat, drink, see, smell, hear and touch, this book encourages us to pay attention to them.

With relevant illustrations and 2-3 lines of description for each activity, the author makes this book very handy and basic to read. It's not time-consuming and without any unnecessary details, this book sticks to its motive to teach its readers to give more reasons to be mindful of their everyday life.

Hi everyone!
This lovely and calming book gives you ideas on many simple moments that we all take for granted and how to make them mindful. From brushing your teeth to walking around, it also helps giving you things to focus on and adorable illustrations to accompany them.

I really enjoyed the simple, cute illustrations in this book which pair daily, menial tasks with easy meditations. Especially this year with all the seemingly extra time doing household chores, I found these meditations helpful! They bring a new light to the everyday tasks we usually trudge through.

The Illustrated Book of Mindful Meditations for Mindless Moments by Courtney E. Ackerman shows the reader where they can find mindful moments in the hustle and bustle of daily life. The book covers mindfulness at home, while on the go, at work, and  with loved ones. I really adored the illustrations throughout the book and loved that there were visuals to go along with the meditations. I appreciated the premise of the book and believe in the importance of incorporating mindfulness into everyday life. I think someone who is just exploring mindfulness for the first time and has a busy lifestyle would appreciate this book. For me, the sentiments were a bit too elementary. I would have loved it if the author expanded on each topic as it was only covered in a couple sentences. This book is designed more for someone looking for quick and basic tips on how to channel mindfulness into tasks they already complete daily.

This is the sort of book that I'd recommend reading in a waiting room rather than reading the back of a product label (yes, I'll read a product label if there's nothing else to read, LOL), but not something I would spend money on or go to the trouble of checking out of the library. It's a cute little book, but it's so.... eh. Each page has a cute little drawing and then an idea of how to do a chore "mindfully" as a means of mini-meditation. For instance, when you check your social media on your phone, feel the glass under your finger and you scroll. Um.... yeah, okay. I'm just sort of baffled that anybody needs a whole book of ideas on how to do things like notice how something feels in your hand or what something looks like. Feel the key in your hand as you lock your door. Notice your friend's face as you say hello. There are lots of office tasks, since work apparently only takes place in offices. Shrug. I guess if you don't know that mindfulness means that you pay attention to things as you do them, then it can walk you through it?

There are ways that I try to make little tasks meaningful during my day, and I thought this would be that sort of thing. For instance, when I switch laundry, I bend extra and try to feel the stretch in my legs and always try to work a little bit of extra stretching and movement into it in order to (okay, let's get hokey) bless my body, and I try to really feel the pull of my muscles and see it as a little blessing that I'm doing it in extra ways. When I wash dishes, sometimes I envision worries I want to wash away. When I was really sick last spring, I repeated affirmations in my head as I toweled off after a bath about how well my body was taking care of me and healing. I would have loved more of that sort of thing, rather than just the equivalent of "feel the handle under your hand as you flush the toilet" sort of suggestions (no, that one wasn't in there, but just about).

Two stars for me, for "it was okay." Recommended for people who are brand new at what mindfulness means and like cute illustrations.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

I got a digital galley copy of this book via NetGalley.

Things i liked about the book:

- The book and the language used was simple, elegant and concise.
- The book covers almost 80% of moments that we experience in our lives.

What i would have loved to see in the book:

- The ability to be mindful in the mundane or regular moments is easy,. What would have made the book even better was if the author could show how to remain mindful when it is not easy to do so. For example, when someone cuts you off on a highway, you just miss your bus that will ensure you are late for your meeting or when you are waiting for someone and they are late or when someone is getting angry at us for no fault of ours, etc.

That would have made that book a 4 star book for me. This still is a good book to read once every month.

I received an advance copy of, The Illustrated Book of Mindful Meditations for Mindless Moments, by Courtney E. Ackerman. This is a really good book, how while doing simple every day chores, like brushing your teeth and watering the lawn, you can make it a mindful moment and meditate on it. The illustration are good as well.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Quick read that gives you calming ideas about how to stay mindful throughout the day during ever little interaction.

This is a lovely pocketbook on meditation. It reminds us that there are a lot of opportunities for us to meditate, and we can do it when we do everyday tasks, like brushing teeth and taking a shower. The author included a lot of ideas. Each meditation has guidelines where you can focus your attention during a task.

Great for beginners who are looking for ways how to practice meditation.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.