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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Wonderfully written book explaining introversion, and celebrating it. Offering anecdotes and suggestions for everyone. It seems this is the seminal book on introverts or shy people, as I am seeing so many books on this topic. If you are or know someone who is an introvert it might help them or you.
informative
medium-paced
As a probable extrovert who gets overwhelmed by too much noise or light or smell, I read this book with a little trepidation. While not being able to fully relate to the introvert ideal, Susan does touch on what it means to sit in a middle sort of space that finally touched on the feelings and needs I've always had. I'm grateful for this book articulating the many things I've known about working with introverts and I learned many new things about how the differences can play out.
My only very small gripe, is that I've encountered some introverts who look at all the studies and read this book and have used it as a way to tout how superior they are. Which in my mind misses the point, Susan's very valid points of how without the mix of both "types" of people our overall world would suffer is important to remember. This book is a celebration of being an introvert and is something we've been needing to see for a long time.
My only very small gripe, is that I've encountered some introverts who look at all the studies and read this book and have used it as a way to tout how superior they are. Which in my mind misses the point, Susan's very valid points of how without the mix of both "types" of people our overall world would suffer is important to remember. This book is a celebration of being an introvert and is something we've been needing to see for a long time.
Finally finished this book!! I was so excited to read it, but felt that I struggled through it quite a bit. It was incredibly eye opening, but towards the end I felt a bit bored. Anyway, a good read if you are introverted!
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
My husband and I are both introverts who were raised in otherwise extravert families. Of our 5 children, only one is an extravert. I thought I knew quite a lot about introversion and came to this book mainly for validation and coping methods (coping with a world with an extravert bias, not coping with my own introversion with which I'm quite happy).
Actually, though, I learned a lot. Some of that was about Big Business and Financial Law, and this not relevant to my life, but interesting nonetheless. The studies were fascinating. They certainly helped me to understand myself and my husband and children. I might have teared up a few times. Once on a train.
Cain tries not to be anti-extravert, but she knows she's singing to a choir of the like-minded and the prejudice was apparent most of the time. As a balance against the western world's usual prejudice, though, it had a lot of weight to carry.
It was longer than it needed to be. The point had been made a couple of chapters before the end and those last chapters added little. One thing which was missing, but promised, was a look at ambiverts. One of my daughters appears to bridge traits of both types and I was looking forward to reading about people like that, but all we actually got was the word "ambiverts" early on.
Sadly extraverts are unlikely to read this. But I wish they would.
Actually, though, I learned a lot. Some of that was about Big Business and Financial Law, and this not relevant to my life, but interesting nonetheless. The studies were fascinating. They certainly helped me to understand myself and my husband and children. I might have teared up a few times. Once on a train.
Cain tries not to be anti-extravert, but she knows she's singing to a choir of the like-minded and the prejudice was apparent most of the time. As a balance against the western world's usual prejudice, though, it had a lot of weight to carry.
It was longer than it needed to be. The point had been made a couple of chapters before the end and those last chapters added little. One thing which was missing, but promised, was a look at ambiverts. One of my daughters appears to bridge traits of both types and I was looking forward to reading about people like that, but all we actually got was the word "ambiverts" early on.
Sadly extraverts are unlikely to read this. But I wish they would.
This book was fascinating and perfect in every way. I think the fact that it was written by an introvert helped make it very appealing to me in its reflective and thoughtful style. I appreciate that Susan Cain emphasizes that both introvert and extravert styles are valuable and important in society, without ever putting one or the other on a pedestal. However, I am really grateful that this book has been written to raise awareness about the introvert personality style which is often undervalued in western cultures. I know who I am and I'm pretty good at feeling comfortable and confident in making choices that are best for me, but I've definitely felt like something is "wrong with me" when I don't fit into the extravert ideals that society has constructed. I've also definitely been misunderstood by extraverts in a number of intensive situations, in ways that have at times been very overwhelming.
It's empowering to read this book as an introvert: to pinpoint the situations that lead to challenging or uncomfortable experiences, to recognize and affirm the fact that this is a normal personality style and there is nothing wrong with it, and then to identify ways that the introvert's strengths can be amplified. I can imagine that this would also be an important book for extraverts to read, because I think some people may not even be aware that this personality style exists. I think it can also help improve relationships between people, since introverts and extroverts inevitably will interact in this world.
I really appreciated the chapter where the the Highly Sensitive trait is described in relation to introversion. I myself am a highly sensitive person and I am really happy to see that it is being described more often! I would love for society to be more aware of high sensitivity so it can be better understood and more accepted.
Susan Cain is an excellent writer! She's definitely done her research, and she presents it in a way that is really easy to follow. There's a very clear plan for how she approaches each topic in each chapter. She describes scenarios with people who represent different personality styles to show how the information applies in real life. There's so much information in this book, including a lot of research and studies which I haven't heard of before! This is really important to me as I've been reading a lot of self-improvement and psychology-based books in the past year, and sometimes authors refer back to the same few studies. But Susan Cain dives deeper and broader into existing introvert research and taught me a lot of new things!
The narration of this book was also great! Sometimes I find that non-fiction narrators read too slowly and I speed up the book in my audiobook app, but the pacing was perfect for this one.
I definitely recommend this book! If you are interested in self-improvement or enriching your relationships, psychological research described in a way that feels scientific but also anecdotally relatable, and overall reading book that is REALLY well put-together, read this one!! I also recommend Susan Cain's TED talk as a taste of what this book is about. I can add that the book is definitely still worth reading after the TED talk because there is so much more to introversion than she is able to describe in her talk! I was really impressed by how much more work she had done in her book, summarized by her TED talk.
It's empowering to read this book as an introvert: to pinpoint the situations that lead to challenging or uncomfortable experiences, to recognize and affirm the fact that this is a normal personality style and there is nothing wrong with it, and then to identify ways that the introvert's strengths can be amplified. I can imagine that this would also be an important book for extraverts to read, because I think some people may not even be aware that this personality style exists. I think it can also help improve relationships between people, since introverts and extroverts inevitably will interact in this world.
I really appreciated the chapter where the the Highly Sensitive trait is described in relation to introversion. I myself am a highly sensitive person and I am really happy to see that it is being described more often! I would love for society to be more aware of high sensitivity so it can be better understood and more accepted.
Susan Cain is an excellent writer! She's definitely done her research, and she presents it in a way that is really easy to follow. There's a very clear plan for how she approaches each topic in each chapter. She describes scenarios with people who represent different personality styles to show how the information applies in real life. There's so much information in this book, including a lot of research and studies which I haven't heard of before! This is really important to me as I've been reading a lot of self-improvement and psychology-based books in the past year, and sometimes authors refer back to the same few studies. But Susan Cain dives deeper and broader into existing introvert research and taught me a lot of new things!
The narration of this book was also great! Sometimes I find that non-fiction narrators read too slowly and I speed up the book in my audiobook app, but the pacing was perfect for this one.
I definitely recommend this book! If you are interested in self-improvement or enriching your relationships, psychological research described in a way that feels scientific but also anecdotally relatable, and overall reading book that is REALLY well put-together, read this one!! I also recommend Susan Cain's TED talk as a taste of what this book is about. I can add that the book is definitely still worth reading after the TED talk because there is so much more to introversion than she is able to describe in her talk! I was really impressed by how much more work she had done in her book, summarized by her TED talk.
There was something in this that felt antagonistic to extroverts, but i think it is from a sense of defensiveness at the world being structured (school, work, public opinion) skewed towards extroversion. Just making a note because, as she discusses, introverts worry about those around them and I fixated on this piece as sort of a reverse bullying of extroverts.
Anyways, good read, it made me a bit confused as it really made me examine some internal things i hadn't considered before. In the innate human need for classification, i had to reclassify, and you probably will too. worth it for the discussion of cultural differences alone, and how these differences feel so much like TRUTH it's hard to shake them to look at another perspective.
Anyways, good read, it made me a bit confused as it really made me examine some internal things i hadn't considered before. In the innate human need for classification, i had to reclassify, and you probably will too. worth it for the discussion of cultural differences alone, and how these differences feel so much like TRUTH it's hard to shake them to look at another perspective.
informative
reflective
medium-paced