Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain Published by Crown Publishing Group on January 4, 2012
Genres/Lists: Non-Fiction, Science/Technology/Psychology
Pages: 352
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I know I’m a few months late, but I finally jumped on the Quiet (by Susan Cain) train. I had to wait for it to become available through the library, but that’s okay because it was mostly worth the wait. Not that I enjoy waiting, though, because I fall on the extrovert side of the spectrum. But, I also take a lot of things personally, so technically I think I’m a sensitive extrovert (I am also reward and threat sensitive). Whatever I am, I went into this thinking I’d learn a lot about how to understand my introverted husband, but instead I just read more of the same things I already knew.
I did have a lot of ‘aha’ moments during this book. It wasn’t that the information was new, necessarily, but that it was put forth in such a way that it made sense. Such as open office plans being distracting and bad for memory or that it’s better to study alone than in groups. These things make sense but I never gave them much thought.
As a book nerd, I loved the section about ‘flow’ (pursuing something for its own sake). For me, reading gives me flow. I do it for me, not because I gain outside rewards from it. I do it simply because I want to and I enjoy it. Granted, one could argue that liking something is a reward in itself, but that is a philosophical discussion that I am choosing not to go into right now (but it’s along the lines of whether or not someone can be truly altruistic).
My only problem with this book is that the author used the word ‘gregarious’ on almost every other page. You know how when you say something over and over again it sounds weird and loses meaning? That’s what happened with ‘gregarious’ – I just started skipping sentences with that word in it because it held no meaning anymore.
All in all, I wasn’t dazzled by this book like many people seemed to be, but I enjoyed it. It was interesting, informative, and gave me some food for thought. I’m glad I read it, but I don’t know that my life is much different.
