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<h1>phil@bajsicki:~$</h1>
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<h1 class="content-title">Weekend thoughts - Mastering Emacs by Mickey Petersen</h1><span class="content-meta"><p class="author">[Phil Bajsicki]</p><p class="date">2022-10-08</p><span>2 min read&nbsp;</span><a href="http://localhost:1313/tags/emacs">emacs</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://localhost:1313/tags/review">review</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://localhost:1313/categories/books">@books</a>&nbsp;</span></section>
<section><p>Over The Past few weeks I&rsquo;ve found myself spending more and more time in Emacs. As such, I want to learn more about it, and how to use it effectively. It seems worth the effort, because if I save 5 seconds every day, that stacks up and saves inordinate amounts of time.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s a lot like training to type faster and more accurately. If I can finish the tasks before me 10% faster, that means that I get that 10% more free time. Which I like, because it lets me occupy my mind with other efficiency fixes.</p>
<p>In researching how to use Emacs better, I stumbled upon <a href="https://www.masteringemacs.org">Mickey Petersen&rsquo;s website</a>. He&rsquo;s got a wonderful blog with loads of tips, and is selling a book, Mastering Emacs.</p>
<p>I do admit that it is a bit pricey for my tastes (at least compared to simply reading the blog and reading the documentation). Nonetheless, it is exceedingly accurate in explaining the very fundamentals, the <em>core of Emacs</em>, and the functionality.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;m about halfway through it, and it certainly merits a second read once my brain isn&rsquo;t so occupied with work.</p>
<p>I think the most important part of &lsquo;Mastering Emacs&rsquo;, and what justifies the book in my mind, is that it explains some very advanced functionality (e.g. point and mark, occur mode in isearch) which isn&rsquo;t present in other software that I am aware of, in a way that&rsquo;s lucid, approachable, and easily comprehensible.</p>
<p>Of note, and the reason I have come to <em>love</em> this book, is its mention and clarification of <code>imenu</code>. I was not aware of its existence, and given that I extensively work with org-mode files, it has become by far my preferred way of navigating them.</p>
<p>As if turns out, Doom Emacs has it bound by default to <code>C-c s i</code>, which while not a perfect binding on Colemak (<code>s</code> is right above <code>c</code> - they&rsquo;re hit with the same finger), is absolutely wonderful to have.</p>
<p>In any case, the book is worth it. Some of it is already in the blog posts on the website, but frankly - even if all were there, it&rsquo;s still worth a buy to use as a guidebook for explaining Emacs to people who don&rsquo;t yet understand the power that is in their grasp.</p>
<p>Good read. Might update this after I finish the book, if I have time or any thoughts to add.</p></section>
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