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jessbone's review against another edition
Thinks homesless people are just "wanderers" that want to stay out of debt...the author clearly has no idea why people are actually homeless. Do not read.
sawyerbell's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting book that asks us to stop and think about how we spend our precious time.
leeannmarie's review against another edition
This was cute. Nothing I really wanted to bother reading all the way through (partly because it gets repetitive after a while, partly because I'm already pretty great at being idle), but entertaining nonetheless. Would make a great gift for the workaholics in your life.
tesshuelskamp's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book but felt "meh" reading most of the book. There were a few good chapters I found some useful ways to slow down in my day -- I did enjoy his advice about taking a few minutes to lie in bed awake before staring the day and thought it was reasonable not to rush through team time -- but , overall, I was underwhelmed most of the time I was reading this book.
The chapters of this book go through all hours of the day and discusses how to be idle at that hour of the day. It was a nice setup and made it easy to quickly read a chapter on the bus. A few of the chapters stuck with me, the ones that I talked about earlier, but most of them weren't.
The chapters of this book go through all hours of the day and discusses how to be idle at that hour of the day. It was a nice setup and made it easy to quickly read a chapter on the bus. A few of the chapters stuck with me, the ones that I talked about earlier, but most of them weren't.
chowmeyow's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
starsbyname's review against another edition
I haven't quite decided fully what I think of this book. I know I disagree with some of his underlying ideas, but I also agree with a lot of the concepts. I ended up enjoying it more than expected though, since upon reaching the end of the book (without realizing the book was going to end that quickly), I let out an audible "no!"
If you want my full thoughts, probably give me a few weeks, or ask me specific questions. Or if you've already read the book, strike up a conversation about it.
Content warnings, if it bothers you - there's language, some sexual stuff (mainly just one chapter, which you can skip), and many drug and alcohol references. Also, if you're a Christian, know that his worldview is not Christian (that didn't really bother me other than a couple times, since I was more focused on finding concepts and application than agreeing with his underlying worldview).
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
"One of Benjamin’s quotes in Arcades stresses the importance of keeping your eyes open. “To walk out of your front door as if you’ve just arrived from a foreign country; to discover the world in which you already live; to begin the day as if you’ve just gotten off the boat from Singapore and have never seen your own doormat or the people on the landing . . . it is this that reveals the humanity before you, unknown until now.”"
"Conversation is an in-between activity; it takes place when the supposedly important business of the day is done. We see it as a reward for work; but in reality it leads to more and better work, as it is in conversation that our dreams and ideas are conceived and put forward"
"John Steinbeck put it like this: “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”"
If you want my full thoughts, probably give me a few weeks, or ask me specific questions. Or if you've already read the book, strike up a conversation about it.
Content warnings, if it bothers you - there's language, some sexual stuff (mainly just one chapter, which you can skip), and many drug and alcohol references. Also, if you're a Christian, know that his worldview is not Christian (that didn't really bother me other than a couple times, since I was more focused on finding concepts and application than agreeing with his underlying worldview).
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
"One of Benjamin’s quotes in Arcades stresses the importance of keeping your eyes open. “To walk out of your front door as if you’ve just arrived from a foreign country; to discover the world in which you already live; to begin the day as if you’ve just gotten off the boat from Singapore and have never seen your own doormat or the people on the landing . . . it is this that reveals the humanity before you, unknown until now.”"
"Conversation is an in-between activity; it takes place when the supposedly important business of the day is done. We see it as a reward for work; but in reality it leads to more and better work, as it is in conversation that our dreams and ideas are conceived and put forward"
"John Steinbeck put it like this: “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”"
teaandbooklover's review against another edition
3.0
This is a solid three stars for me, only because there was so much in the book I disagreed with and thought ridiculous that I would have given it one star: the other parts of the book feeling like I could relate and learned something and thought he has some good ideas, thereby giving him more stars.
Overall I thought it a bit too long, too meandering; probably because he had to fill each chapter with the hour of the day.
So much that I disagreed with though that I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.
Overall I thought it a bit too long, too meandering; probably because he had to fill each chapter with the hour of the day.
So much that I disagreed with though that I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.