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encx's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
3.25
brandifox's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful prose and fascinating ideas well worth considering. A lovely piece of philosophical nonfiction.
lulululu's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
em_harring's review against another edition
1.0
[dnf at 50 pages. The writing is just so. dry. No, thanks.]
clhen's review against another edition
2.0
Some good thoughts on the idea of beauty, but overall too academic and dry
sarahellen's review against another edition
3.0
Some really amazing gems are tucked in here, but the structure wanders aimlessly and the photos are often on the wrong page.
emilyfrizz's review against another edition
3.0
Have read a few other books by Alain de Botton, but this one was a little bit of a letdown. The title should rather be 'The happiness from Architecture' or something close to that sentiment. It did have a few good essays within, and if you want some light philosophical reading with lots of pictures and anecdotes, then it's not a bad read. It was easy to get through, but now very rewarding at the end. I would recommend the Art of Travel instead!
licorice_piazza's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this one - it's a great primer with lots of photos. Botton suggests a psychology of taste; we find buildings to be beautiful because they communicate a language or set of ideas that mimic our own values and perspectives.
Some quotes I saved to come back to later:
"...we seek two things of our buildings. We want them to shelter us. And we want them to speak to us - to speak to us of whatever we find important and need to be reminded of."
"a home is merely any place that succeeds in making more consistently available to us the important truths which the wider world ignores, or which our distracted and irresolute selves have trouble holding onto."
"we should know to ask at once what people would have to lack in order to see an object as beautiful and can come to understand the tenor of their deprivation even if we cannot muster enthusiasm for their choice. A diversity of styles is a natural consequence of the manifold nature of our inner needs."
Some quotes I saved to come back to later:
"...we seek two things of our buildings. We want them to shelter us. And we want them to speak to us - to speak to us of whatever we find important and need to be reminded of."
"a home is merely any place that succeeds in making more consistently available to us the important truths which the wider world ignores, or which our distracted and irresolute selves have trouble holding onto."
"we should know to ask at once what people would have to lack in order to see an object as beautiful and can come to understand the tenor of their deprivation even if we cannot muster enthusiasm for their choice. A diversity of styles is a natural consequence of the manifold nature of our inner needs."
brendan_h's review against another edition
2.0
Seemed incredibly devoted to a touchy-feely, almost pop psychology, view of architecture and architectural history. I got the feeling I'd really hate de Botton if I spent any time with him. Still, for a someone who doesn't know anything about architecture, this was an interesting and useful read. I'm sure there are better introductory books on architecture, but I'm not asking for my time back or anything.