**Created**:: [[2023-02-10 Friday]] **Link**:: https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY **Duration**:: 7:23 ![A step-by-step guide to creating an illustrated book-on-a-page summary without reading the book](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY) # Summary In this video, the creator demonstrates a step-by-step process for creating an illustrated "book on a page" summary without having read the actual book. Utilizing tools such as ChatGPT, MidJourney, Lunapic, and Excalidraw in Obsidian, the presenter highlights how to effectively extract and visually represent key concepts from a book. Ultimately, the approach emphasizes the value of visual thinking and illustrates how this method can enhance understanding and retention of information. # Key Takeaways - The process for creating an illustrated summary involves using AI tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney for content generation and illustration creation. - Visual thinking workshops can provide deeper insights into a book's content by engaging with the material through visual summarization. - While the method is efficient for producing visual summaries, it is still recommended to read the book for a comprehensive understanding. # Content Hey everyone! In today's quick video, I'd like to give you a step-by-step walkthrough of my process for creating an illustrated book-on-a-page summary for a book that I have never read. The topic is especially interesting to me since we are coming up to the end of the second cohort in the visual thinking workshop, where participants read and illustrate a book using Excalidraw and Obsidian. Through this process, we learn about tools for visual thinking, and the question for me is if there is a future for this workshop—can I organize cohorts three, four, five, six, etc.? [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=0) My process for creating this illustrated book-on-a-page summary involved four systems. First of all, I used ChatGPT-3. Then I used MidJourney for the images, followed by Lunapic to edit the images, and finally, I used Excalidraw in Obsidian to author the book on a page and to create this presentation. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=46) Step one was pretty simple. I asked ChatGPT-3 to summarize the top five points from Atul Gawande's book, "Being Mortal." As a follow-on question, I asked ChatGPT-3 to add three short bullet points to each of the five key points so I have some detail to include in my book-on-a-page summary. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=75) In the next step, I asked ChatGPT-3 to recommend some illustrations that incorporate all of the detailed bullet points for each of the five key points. Once I had the recommended illustrations, I proceeded to ask ChatGPT-3 to create the MidJourney prompt. I didn’t actually ask for the MidJourney prompt originally; instead, I requested a list of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, which I would use for the MidJourney prompts. With these enhancements, I went over to MidJourney and created my illustrations. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=104) I did this by separating the prompt into three parts: the first part was the short summary title of the topic, the second part was a comma-separated list of words from the recommended illustrations, and the third part was always the same—it specified an artist and included some of the styles of the image that I was looking for. I kept the third part consistent to create a cohesive look. By the way, I have a separate video on the topic of creating SVG icons with MidJourney, so check that out if you're interested in this topic in further detail. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=122) Once I had my images created in MidJourney, I moved on to cropping and making these images transparent. I used Lunapic for this; Lunapic is my go-to tool for these kinds of actions, and I find it pretty simple to use and very effective. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=187) Once I had my images ready, I opened Excalidraw in Obsidian and simply added the images along with the text generated by ChatGPT-3. Finally, I used the slideshow script to create my presentation. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=209) So how does the end result look? The final product consists of five pictures, each with a title, and accompanying details and bullet points. In terms of a "book on a page" summary, this does provide a good overview of the book. It starts with the critical point of shifting the focus in medicine from prolonging life to improving the quality of life for patients, while also addressing the fact that contemporary healthcare often ignores the needs of the elderly. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=231) It continues discussing the importance of collaboration in care, planning, and preparation for the end of life, ultimately closing with the topic of having a successful end-of-life experience. I believe that the "book on a page" looks great and it only took me 30 minutes to create the entire summary, including all of the text and image editing. The speed of this process is commendable, especially when considering the quality of the result. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=291) While the images turned out well, I must admit that I have no in-depth understanding of what the book is about; I've only read those five titles and have a very vague idea of what Atul Gawande writes about. I feel like I have missed the details and the connections to other concepts in my understanding. Therefore, my takeaway is that the visual thinking workshop is probably not in jeopardy. The tools for visualizing and summarizing ideas are effective not only for efficiency but also because they allow for a much deeper understanding of the material. [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=355) All in all, I think this was a fun process! I definitely recommend you try this out as it's an excellent learning experience. Engaging with ChatGPT-3 and MidJourney, as well as learning about a book you've never read, could serve as a good first step toward deciding if you want to read that book. However, once you've selected a book, I do recommend reading it, highlighting key ideas, utilizing Thiago Forte's technique of progressive summarization, and then putting in the effort to create a visual summary. By the way, I have a couple of videos linked in the description about creating a "book on a page" summary, so if you want to create one yourself, check those out! Also, if you're interested, I invite you to check out my visual thinking workshop. Thank you! [* ](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=440) # YouTube Details ## YouTube Description #obsidianmd #excalidraw #pkm #midjourney #chatgpt ✏️ Sign up for the Visual Thinking Workshop: https://www.visual-thinking-workshop.com/ 🚀 Cohort 4 starts on May 27. 📔 We will be summarizing Decoding Greatness by Ron Friedman into a book-on-a-page This video is about creating an illustrated book on a page summary for Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, a book that I have actually never read, using GPT-3, Midjourney, and Excalidraw in Obsidian. Timestamps ------------ [00:00](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=0) Intro [00:46](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=46) The process at a glance [01:11](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=71) Summarize the book [01:39](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=99) Recommend illustrations [01:54](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=114) Create image prompts [02:16](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=136) Generate images with midjourney [03:06](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=186) Edit images [03:29](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=209) Create the book on a page in Excalidraw-Obsidian [03:50](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=230) The resulting Book-on-a-Page [04:51](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=291) Evaluating the process [05:52](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=352) Are handmade book-on-a-page summaries dead? [06:19](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=379) Closing thoughts and recommendation ------------ 🍿Watch next: 📽️ 📽️ Digest What You Read: Walkthrough of my process for understanding Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky: https://youtu.be/yy4b6geeQSY ----------- If you find my videos helpful, please say thanks by buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/zsolt If you want to connect, you can reach me (@zsviczian) in the Obsidian Members Group (OMG) on Discord or on Twitter. This video was created with the Obsidian-Excalidraw-Plugin. Links -------- Visual Thinking Workshop: https://www.visual-thinking-workshop.com/ Excalidraw Plugin: https://github.com/zsviczian/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin Obsidian: https://obsidian.md My blog: https://zsolt.blog Support my work: https://ko-fi.com/zsolt Watch next: -------- Design unique icons with AI: https://youtu.be/ZeqsDWBawdo Excalidraw Slideshow script: https://youtu.be/HhRHFhWkmCk Progressive Summarization: https://youtu.be/n3dbH2c3l0M Creating a book on a page summary: https://youtu.be/KTsw020KFf0 ## YouTube Transcript [hey everyone in today's quick video I'd](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=0) [like to give you a step-by-step](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=3) [walkthrough of my process for creating](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=5) [an illustrated book on a page summary](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=8) [for a book that I have never read](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=10) [the topic is especially interesting to](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=13) [me since we are coming up to the end of](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=16) [the second cohort in the visual thinking](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=19) [Workshop where participants read and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=21) [illustrate a book using excalator](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=25) [obsidian and where through this process](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=28) [we learn about tools for visual thinking](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=31) [and the question for me is is there a](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=34) [future for this Workshop can I organize](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=38) [cohorts three four five six Etc](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=42) [so my process for creating this](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=46) [illustrated book on a page summary](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=50) [involved four systems so first of all I](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=52) [use chatgpt3 then I use mid-journey for](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=55) [the images then I use Luna pick to edit](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=58) [the images and finally I used excaled](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=62) [raw in obsidian to author the book on a](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=66) [page and to create this presentation](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=69) [so step one was pretty simple](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=72) [I asked chat gpt3 to summarize the top 5](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=75) [Points from Atul gavandes being mortal](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=79) [book](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=83) [and then as a follow-on question I asked](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=84) [Chad gpt3 to add three short bullet](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=88) [points to each of the five key points so](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=91) [I have some detail that I can add to my](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=94) [book on a page summary](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=97) [then in the next step I asked chai gpt3](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=99) [to recommend some illustrations](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=104) [illustrations that incorporate all of](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=106) [the detailed bullet points for each of](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=110) [the five key points](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=112) [once I had the recommended illustrations](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=114) [I went ahead and asked chat gpt3 to](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=117) [create the mid-journey prompt I didn't](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=122) [actually ask for the mid Journey prompt](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=124) [I asked for a list of nouns verbs and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=126) [adjectives and I will be using this for](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=130) [the mid Journey prompts with these](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=134) [enhanced I went over to my journey and I](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=137) [created my illustrations the way I did](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=140) [this was I separated the prompt into](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=142) [three separate parts the first part was](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=147) [the short summary title of the topic the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=150) [second part was the comma separated](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=153) [words from the recommended illustration](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=156) [and the third part was always the same](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=159) [it specified an artist and then](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=162) [specified some of the styles of the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=166) [image that I was looking for I have the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=168) [third part in order to create some](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=171) [consistency by the way I have a separate](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=174) [video on the topic of creating SVG icons](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=177) [with mid Journey so check that out if](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=181) [you're interested in this topic in](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=183) [further detail](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=185) [once I had my images created with my](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=187) [journey I moved on to cropping and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=190) [making these images transparent I used](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=194) [Luna pick for this lunapic is my go-to](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=197) [tool for these sort of actions I find](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=201) [lunapic pretty simple to use and very](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=204) [effective](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=207) [once I had my images ready I opened](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=209) [xcolored raw in obsidian and I simply](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=213) [added the images and that added the text](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=216) [from chatgpt3](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=219) [and finally I used the slideshow script](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=222) [to create my presentation](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=226) [so how does the end result look like](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=228) [so this is the end result you can see I](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=231) [have five pictures here five titles and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=235) [then I have the details and the bullet](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=238) [points and if you look at this I think](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=240) [in terms of a book on a page summary](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=243) [this does give me a good summary of the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=245) [book so it starts with the important](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=248) [point of Shifting the focus in medicine](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=251) [from prolonging life to improving the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=254) [quality of life for patients and it](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=258) [highlights the issue that Healthcare](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=261) [today ignores the needs of the elderly](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=262) [it then goes to talk about the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=268) [importance of collaboration in care and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=270) [moves on to the topic of planning and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=275) [preparation as a person for the end of](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=278) [our lives and finally it closes with](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=282) [this topic of a successful end of life](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=286) [experience](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=289) [so I think](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=291) [the book on the page looks nice it took](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=292) [me only 30 minutes to create this entire](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=296) [book on a page summary including the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=300) [summary the images and the editing and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=302) [next college droppage I think is pretty](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=304) [fast especially compared to the quality](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=307) [of the end result I think the images are](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=310) [good yes if I would have spent more time](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=314) [I could have found better images but](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=317) [actually the images were pretty okay](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=319) [but](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=323) [to be honest I have no idea what the](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=325) [book was about I just read those five](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=328) [titles for you and](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=331) [I have this extremely vague broad idea](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=333) [of what a tool gavanda is writing about](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=338) [in the book but I miss the details I](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=341) [missed the connections to other thoughts](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=344) [in my world I have really not](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=346) [internalized the material](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=349) [and so for this reason my takeaway is](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=352) [that probably the visual thinking](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=355) [Workshop is not yet in Jeopardy I think](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=358) [the tools for thought for visualizing](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=362) [our thoughts and for recording Book on a](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=365) [paid summaries not because it's](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=367) [efficient but because I can understand](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=369) [the book in a much deeper level by](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=372) [creating the visual summaries thus have](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=375) [a future](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=378) [so all in all I think this was a fun](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=379) [process I definitely recommend you to](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=381) [play with this because it's an awesome](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=384) [learning experience playing with chai](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=387) [gbt3 playing with my journey as well as](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=389) [learning about a book that you have](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=393) [never read and maybe this is a good](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=395) [first step in reading a book or in](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=398) [selecting a book that you would want to](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=401) [read but once you've selected the book I](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=403) [do recommend reading it highlighting it](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=406) [using Thiago Forte's Progressive](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=409) [summarization and then](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=412) [taking the effort to creating a visual](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=415) [summary by the way I have couple of](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=418) [videos here I'm going to link them in](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=420) [the video description about creating a](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=422) [book on a page summary so if you would](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=426) [like to create a book on a page summary](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=428) [yourself you can check those videos out](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=430) [as well as if you're interested I invite](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=433) [you to check out my visual thinking](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=437) [Workshop](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=440) [thank you](https://youtu.be/snfn1ylocvY?t=441)